So long as the Phillies don’t have to play the Nationals in the playoffs, their chances of doing well are pretty high. They’re giving mid-2000’s Marlins vibes whenever they play the Phillies, but thankfully, they’re done with Washington for the rest of the season.
Three up
Trea Turner
Usually when I look for these players, some are easy to find, like Turner this week. Other times, I filter for the week, see who is among the best players and go from there. Turning that filter on Fangraphs, we see that Turner was
not just the best hitter this past week for the Phillies, he was one of the best hitters in the league. It is funny that some people are just now coming around to the idea that the team was wise to sign him to the contract that they did, solidifying the shortstop position for years to come, that it took a hot run this season to “justify” it. Whatever it takes, I guess.
J.T. Realmuto
Whoop, who was a tiny bit further down on that list linked above?
It’s been said by not just a few people in our TGP Slack channel that if this is the version of Realmuto the Phillies get in the playoffs, they’re winning the World Series. Not sure that I’d go that far in my effusive praise, but it would certainly go a long way if there were at least four hitters in the lineup doing regular, consistent damage against the opposition.
Ranger Suarez
Raise your hand if you were slightly concerned about how Suarez looked prior to this week? If we’re being honest, every single person reading this would have their hand up. These last two starts should start to calm a lot of nerves about how he might perform later in the season. They weren’t the best of offenses (hey, the Mariners looked exhausted), but the dominance he showed in both games was the Suarez this team will need down the stretch.
Three down
Zack Wheeler
Mostly down here because how can you not be? The Ace of the team, one who is annually in contention for the “best pitcher in baseball” title is now not going to be a part of the run for the World Series. It’s discouraging. Not that they still can’t win the whole thing because they absolutely can. It’s just that not having one of the best, most dependable arms in the playoffs is going to change the calculus.
Jhoan Duran
You think blowing a save will let you avoid the ignominy of making this list? I think not. No one gets away with blowing a relatively nondescript game in August on my watch.
Matt Strahm
It’s going to be a high wire act when Strahm is on the mound. He’s going to give up contact and that contact will likely be in the air, meaning you’re going to have a heart attack each time it happens. Of qualified pitchers on the team’s staff, he has given up the highest average exit velocity on the team (89.9 mph), but he’s also not giving up a ton of barrels, so maybe he’s found a happy medium. Still, it’s been tough to watch at times and as the hitting gets better, maybe that percentage of barrels rises a bit. We’ll have to see.
