Will Bryce Harper hit 500 home runs? ‘Absolutely,’ Mike Schmidt said.

Mike Schmidt displays his milestone home run balls — the ones he hit en route to joining the 500 Club — inside a trophy case at home.

“I think the only one I don’t have is 200, which was off Vida Blue,” Schmidt said Sunday morning.

But that’s OK because Schmidt has the ball that matters most, the one he hit at Three Rivers Stadium in 1987 and ultimately secured his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. So as Bryce Harper nears a milestone homer — he’s three away from career No. 300 — it’s worth wondering what the Phillies’ home-run king thinks of Harper’s chances to join him in the 500 homer club.

“Bryce? Absolutely. Are you kidding,” Schmidt said. “He’ll hit 30, 35 a year and he’ll be there in about six years.”

Schmidt was 31 years old when he hit his 300th homer, in August 1981 at Shea Stadium. He was in his 10th major-league season and hit his 500th in Season No. 16. Harper, in his 12th season, turns 31 in October. If he matches Schmidt’s pace, he’ll hit No. 500 in 2029 and be in the 11th season of his 13-year Phillies contract.

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“God, I hope I’m around here six years from now when that happens,” Schmidt said. “I hope I’m here to watch it and shake his hand. There’s no doubt in my mind that he will. Plus, Bryce will have a couple more MVPs in that time.”

Schmidt played 95% of the team’s games between home runs No. 300 and 500. He managed knee and back soreness and stayed on the field, allowing his homer total to keep stacking. Schmidt hit at least 33 home runs each season between 1982 and 1987 and even led the National League with 37 homers in 1986, when he was 36 years old.

“You just go out and do your thing. You’re not counting yourself,” Schmidt said. “In my case, I was lucky enough to be 30 here, 36 here, a couple 40, then 400 came along, and the same old thing. You keep banging them and play hard every year and you’re lucky to avoid injury. The next thing you know, you begin to approach that number. It just happens.”

Harper has missed time with injuries in each of the last four seasons, which have trimmed his homer totals. But his longevity should be aided by the National League’s adoption of the designated hitter, a position Schmidt wishes had existed when he retired in 1989 at 39 years old.

“Had we had the DH when I played, I definitely would have stayed longer,” Schmidt said. “I couldn’t get it over to first base because of shoulder surgery, but I could’ve been a DH nowadays. I could probably get two or three seasons and somewhere between 20 to 35 home runs. The numbers would have been significantly higher.”

“One reason I’m pro-DH in the National League is because it would have allowed guys like me to continue to play. Not because it allows me to get more of this or that, but because people come to see a particular player. They come to see the star of the game play. This allows the stars of the game to keep playing.”

The Phillies have used that rule to keep Harper in the lineup when he normally would have been on the injured list. It has already kept him on the field, and it has helped him chase history.

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Rhys Hoskins’ rehabilitation from a torn ACL has been a “slow moving time frame,” Rob Thomson said. It will be difficult for Hoskins to return this season, the manager said. … The Phillies will honor the Media Little League team that reached the Little League World Series before Monday’s series opener against the Angels. … Ranger Suarez will throw live batting practice Monday. He could be activated off the injured list as early as Friday if his hamstring responds well Monday. … Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch against the Phillies but will be in the Angels lineup as long as he elects against getting surgery to repair his torn ulnar collateral ligament. “I called them and told them that’s what I think they should do. I mean why wait,” Thomson cracked. … Taijuan Walker will pitch the series opener against Angels right-hander Lucas Giolito.