Philadelphia Phillies baseball is back. The Fightins should be one of MLB’s best squads in 2024 and, if all (or even most) goes well, the team could reach the 100-win mark for the first time since 2011. The ultimate goal remains the World Series but each player will also have personal statistical checkpoints to keep track of along the way.
Some Phillies players are nearing career milestones that are all but certain to occur this season. Others are in play but will take a career-best effort. There will be plenty of accomplishments to watch for throughout the season, so let’s take a look at some of the most notable ones.
Phillies milestones likely to happen this season
Kyle Schwarber’s 250th home run
Only four more Schwarbombs need to be launched into the stands until Kyle Schwarber reaches the quarter-millennium mark. He would join 17 other active players in that achievement.
It’s not totally out of the question for Schwarber to reach his 300th home run this season. Hitting 54 long balls is not easy but once upon a time, he spent 72 games with the Washington Nationals hitting homers at a pace that would have given him 56 on the season. In all likelihood, that’s going to be a mark he reaches in two seasons.
Nick Castellanos’s 1,500th hit
With just 49 more hits, Castellanos will join the 22 active players who have recorded 1,500 of them. Given how streaky he can be, it could happen as soon as mid-May or as late as mid-June. He could also reach the 1,500 threshold in strikeouts with 155 of those.
Aaron Nola’s 100th career win
Although the statistic of pitching wins is becoming more and more obsolete, reaching 100 of them in a career is a legitimately impressive accomplishment. With just 10 more wins, Nola would become the ninth player to post 100 wins for the Phillies. After he extended his commitment to the club this offseason, it will be nice to see him further etch his name in its record books.
J.T.Realmuto’s 600th RBI
Currently sitting at 578 career RBIs, Realmuto could become the 118th catcher in MLB history and only the second active catcher along with Salvador Perez to reach the 600 mark. If he picks up better than he performed last season, he should reach the feat in May.
Ranger Suarez’s 500th strikeout
Mr. Ranger needs to fan 91 more batters to make it to 500 Ks. It’s not a massive achievement but would be a nice signifier of his growth into a top-notch starter. He’ll probably secure this feat in July or August.
Taijuan Walker’s 1,000th strikeout
One of several pitchers who will join the 49 active ones with a thousand strikeouts, Walker needs just 56 more to officially make it there. Should he have the same role as last year and remain just as effective, he’ll get there sometime in June.
Walker is also about to reach 200 games and starts in his career. Two of the former and six of the latter will get him there.
Zack Wheeler’s 1,500th strikeout
This is the last leveling-up for strikeout achievements. Just 99 more until Wheeler reaches what just 20 other active pitchers (including Nola) have done. He’s also about to reach 1,500 career innings and, should he have a typical Wheeler season, will officially have spent more innings as a Phillie than as a New York Met.
Phillies milestones that are still possible this season but not likely
Trea Turner’s 300th stolen base
Turner’s base-stealing prowess is still among the best in MLB. The proof is in his fifth-place ranking among active players in swiped bags. He sits at 260 heading into 2024. However, it’s probably more likely that the Phillies’ shortstop notches one stolen base for every Trojan in the battle of Thermopylae in 2025.
Turner has stolen 40 bases in a single season before — twice — but not since he was with the Washington Nationals in 2017 and 2018. He tallied 30 last season and, if he gets on base better than he did to start out the campaign, should get enough attempts to approach 40. It’s definitely possible but not all that likely.
Bryce Harper’s 1,000th RBI
After reaching 300 career home runs in dramatic fashion last season, Harper could become the 40th player since 2000 to hit 300 homers and bat 1,000 runners in.
It will take 111 RBI, which would be the second-highest single-season total of his career, for Harper to get there. Based on what he did last year, he might actually have it in him. Once Harper made his first start at first base last season — a span of 63 games following a period of feeling himself out after recovery from Tommy John surgery — he tallied 46 RBI. That pace over a full season would give him 118 RBI.
In the likely scenario where the heart of the Phillies doesn’t reach that feat, he can at least celebrate his 1,000th run. He can look at his jersey to figure out how many more he needs.
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
