The Phillies are riding high for the moment, fresh from a sweep of three games from Division Rival Mets.
While an 8-9 start to the season is not optimal, it could certainly be less. And there are several reasons to think that this team has a real chance of reaching the playoffs at the end of the 60-game season.
Aaron Nola
Let’s start at the top of the rotation. After a 2019 season that did not live up to his, or anyone’s expectations, Nola started the fire by 2020. Three straight starts allowing three or fewer hits and eight or more strikeouts. No Phillies pitcher has had a streak like that since 1893, when the pitcher’s mound was only 50 feet from home plate. If he continues to dominate at this level, the Phillies could not only ride Nola to the postseason, but he could help them be a real problem once they are.
JT Realmuto
Fans call him BCIB – Best Catcher In Baseball – and he’s definitely seen the part so far. He leads all MLB catchers in runes, homers and RBI, despite the fact that the Phillies have played fewer games than all but two MLB teams. He also tops in demolition percentage (.717) and OPS (1,071), throwing out 50% of potential base stealers.
Bryce Harper
As good as an offensive season Realmuto has had so far, it is probably not the best on the team. That may belong to the $ 330 Million Man, Bryce Harper. He has reached the base in every game this season, leading all baseball with a .493 on-base percentage. Good in 17 runs scored in 17 games, and an OPS that ranks 2nd in MLB (1,165), and the 3-4 spots in the lineup are as solid as they have been since the Utley / Howard heyday.
Getting on base
Realmuto and Harper are not the only ones blaming the crime. The team as a whole comes on base with remarkable efficiency. The Phillies have a .343 team OBP, good enough for 3rd in all baseball. They are also not conspicuous. Their 18.7 strikeout percentage is tops in the game up to this point. Put the ball on the ball, good things happen, like ….
Dig the long ball
Led by eight Realmuto players, the Phillies already have 25 as a team, working up to almost 1.5 per game. That’s a 10% increase from last season’s HR / G rate. This is without Rhys Hoskins himself hitting another home point, and he’s starting to find a bit of a groove on the plate (.308, doubled in his last 7 games). It’s hard sledding when a team so dependent on the home team does not get one from a position of power as first base over this long span, but Hoskins can regain his strength, which is a really anxious trio at the heart of that lineup.
Start holding rotation
Including Nola, the starting rotation this season has been impressive. The 3.59 collective ERA generally ranks 8th, they are 3rd in K / BB ratio (4.27), and 8th in K / 9 (9.1). It’s necessary for the starters to carry the post this season, but even so …
The bullpen can not stay so bad all season
Can they? No, they can not. Even though their 8.77 ERA is more than TWO RUNS higher than the next worst team, it needs to get better. Manager Joe Girardi will put certain guys in roles they can handle, and if they can’t, the onus is on Matt Klentak to find players who can handle it. Honestly, the fact that the team is close to .500 with the bullpen working so poorly to this point is a miracle.
A bigger playoff game
Not to forget, each league will send not five but eight teams to the postseason this season. Right now, with that shaky bullpen, with Hoskins only now starting to hit, the Phillies are the 9th seed in the National League, and just two games out of the first in the division. With 43 games left to play (if they all play), they are one hot week away from right in the thick of the postseason. And once the playoffs begin, the records, logic, and everything else are thrown out the window.
Subscribe and rate the Phillies Talk podcast:
Apple Podcasts / Google Play / Spotify / Stitcher / Art19 / YouTube
Click here to download the MyTeams App from NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage from your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
