2023 Phillies Regular Season Discussion

[bkox]

Our problem isnt hitting at this point.. its timely hitting.. coming into todays game we were 2nd in all of MLB in BA and tied for 4th in OPS

But our OPS with RISP is over 100 points lower... the other issue is. We arent walking. 5th least walks in MLB. Stott and Realmuto have each only walked once all season. Nick Castellanos of all people leads the team in walks

[allentown]

This team has been playing pathetic baseball. Even with the expanded wild card, they are in serious danger of digging too deep a hole. Admittedly they dug out of a fairly deep hole fairly far into last season. They are probably close to 2 months from getting returned from injury or promoted from minors help.

[zambonir]

Kind of hard to unpack all that really. I think that OPS and OPS with RISP will eventually align. But if they aren't walking - and the OBP component of their OPS is coming more from hits (or SLG) - there will also be regression there.

Either way it sounds like they need both walks and HRs (and even more so given the struggles with RISP).

But also, yeah, pitching.

The question of what Hall can contribute by mid-June or what they might need at the deadline is moot at the moment I guess. They might only be good enough to make a few tweaks and play for that last seed again, vs. the kind of big move you make to get a first-round home series (or chase the division).

[LoneStarPhan]

Certainly possible to turn this season around but so far, they are playing like a last place team.

[bkox]

Following today’s game, RHP McKinley Moore was optioned to Lehigh Valley (AAA).

— Philadelphia Phillies ( @Phillies ) April 15, 2023

[zambonir]

Well at least they didn't actually lose Jhailyn Ortiz for him. Time for Ortiz the pitcher? Sanchez?

[DurhamBull]

Especially if JT and Turner and Castellanos continue to come up short in that department (but none of them are traditionally boppers).

My $.02 is that Castellanos could be RH power if he hit like the guy the Phils were probably thinking of when they wrote him a big paycheck. His OPS has been over 800 in six of his last nine seasons.

Nick Castellanos Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |...

[zambonir]

Well, yeah - they want him to be in his 20s again! But he's never been a consistent 30-HR guy. More of an all-around productive hitter with some pop. 2021 feels like a bit of an outlier, albeit one the Phillies may have foolishly bet on.

He's got a perfectly good .821 OPS right now, but zero HRs. He's also batting .357 with RISP, accounting for six of his 8 RBIs (the other two with a man on first).

Similarly, Turner and Realmuto are big well-rounded bats at premium positions. But not sluggers the way you expect from a 1B or corner OF.

[Austinfan]

On the other hand, they have power from almost every spot in the lineup, Stott, Bohm, Marsh, Turner, Reamuto, even Sosa. So Schwarber probably isn't going to hit 40 again, but every starter should end the season with double figures in HRs. More concerning has been the lack of plate discipline, but it's early.

Castellanos has been more disciplined, but is still chasing the low and away breaking ball - if he can just learn to spit on that pitch, he can compete for a batting title.

[zambonir]

They have power on paper. JT has one home run. Turner has zero. Stott has zero. Castellanos has zero. Hoskins, Hall and Harper are out. Will be great if Bohm and Marsh can legitimately keep leaving the yard or Sosa adds a few (heck, even Ronald Torreyes hit 7 in 2021) but you don't count on that.

Right now, sure, it's a long season and you expect most of these guys will eventually start to live up to their baseball cards but even if they do I think they'll be shopping for a bat in July, especially if Harper can't just come back full-bore (he certainly didn't last year after the wrist injury) and Hall isn't a factor (which I don't think he will be). They could still use the RHB and they also can't have the current versions of Jake Cave or Josh Harrison as LF/DH options.

[andyb]

We are ranked 25th in the majors in home runs now. 4th in batting average and 5th in slugging percentage though. We are a high average team with doubles power. That is what we are. We strike out far too much of course (2nd in the majors), but that seems a symptom of the type of hitters we have. Aggressive, but not enough power for pitchers to pitch around.

Not sure there is a great solution here. Getting Harper and Hall back will add some of that home run power. Probably not a great way to trade for more now since we would prefer to not dip into our prospect base. We are not going to ever draw a huge number of walks with this lineup of non-scary hitters. We just need to do more damage when we are aggressive. They are not going to pitch around our hitters other than Schwarber until the balls start flying out of the park more.

[bkox]

The Phillies have recalled RHP Luis Ortiz from Lehigh Valley (AAA).

— Philadelphia Phillies ( @Phillies ) April 16, 2023

[zambonir]

Right, more power would also equal more walks. And no, it's not something they can address now. But may or may not still be a critical need come July. It remains to be seen how far they want to dip into prospect base, and for what, at that point. (And then there is the real worst-case, where they have a very productive deadline as sellers!)

I do still think RISP will normalize.

[LoneStarPhan]

Luis Ortiz pitches a scoreless inning in his first day on the active roster. Gives up a hit but faces only four batters and strikes out two. Good first outing for Ortiz as a Phillie.

[andyb]

Well I think we just learned when Sanchez' first start/turn through the rotation will be:

The White Sox/Phillies game tonight is getting postponed due to weather. They'll play a straight doubleheader tomorrow, per source.

— Jesse Rogers ( @JesseRogersESPN ) April 17, 2023

They might not line Sanchez up quite that day since there is an off day next week also, but guessing his last couple of AAA starts have earned it. Not 100% sure who goes down since Sanchez would not be ready to be the 27th man tomorrow.

[zambonir]

Right so do they even bother to bring back Moore or Marte tomorrow? Plassmyer in case of garbage time (no idea what turn he's on)? Sanchez probably set to start Saturday per Gelb.

[David_Criss]

I kinda want to see Strahm get another shot at a start.

[HopeSpringsEternal]

I would think Strahm starts Thursday’s game. He would be starting on his normal day after 4 days off.

[zambonir]

Strahm is unaffected by this.

[LoneStarPhan]

Since they have a double header now scheduled, they will almost certainly add the extra player to the roster. It will almost certainly be a pitcher. Someone will be flying to Chicago tonight.