The first half of the 2024 season is in the books as the Philadelphia Phillies get set to return to action Friday evening.
Finishing with the best record in baseball (62-34), the Phillies are blazing a trail towards a World Series championship. They will have to maintain their efforts for the second half of this season in order to do so. A team with playoff experience and high expectations delivered on their promise for a fast start in 2024. Will they deliver that promise down the home stretch?
In an effort to recap and summarize the first half of this season, I wrote out the following position grades for each Phillies’ group.
Starting Rotation: A
Zack Wheeler is the ace of the Phillies staff. Or is it Aaron Nola? Or is it Ranger Suarez? Or is it Cristopher Sanchez?
The Philadelphia Phillies have had one of the greatest first-half performances by a starting rotation in the history of their franchise. It has also been one of the better units in Major League Baseball. The Phillies pitching staff has accumulated 11.6 wins above replacement, which is the best in baseball.
For a large portion of the first half, the Phillies starting pitchers ranked in the top 10 in so many pitching categories for the National League. ERA, wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, etc, the Phillies dominated the leaderboards. If you check sports betting favorites for NL CY Young, the list is riddled with these four names.
Even the fifth starter in their rotation has been a bright spot for the team. Spencer Turnbull was excellent in his time as a starter, Tyler Phillips has risen to recent success, and for as much as he has struggled, Taijuan Walker put together a few good outings as well.
You could not ask for a better representation of a playoff team than what the starting rotation has done for the Phillies. Pitching wins in October and the Phillies have plenty of it. In 2023, the playoff rotation was Wheeler-Nola-Suarez-Bullpen. Ranger would only go roughly 5 innings in his starts, putting a heavy reliance on the ‘pen. Now you have four capable starters and Rob Thomson could use any guy in a high leverage situation.
I grade the starting rotation of the Phillies with an A. They are the best unit on the best team in baseball.
Infield: A-
Three All-Stars from your four infielders is a pretty strong showcase for a ballclub.
MVP contender Bryce Harper led the way in the first half of the season, pairing with what has become a breakout season for Alec Bohm. Both players held the fort down while Trea Turner went down with injury and since his return, Trea has been argueably the best hitter in baseball.
The Phillies’ infield has been stallar. Bryce Harper leads first baseman with 4.8 WAR. Bryson Stott is the 12th ranked second baseman with 1.4. Trea Turner and Edmundo Sosa combine for 4.6 WAR at shortstop, and Alec Bohm sits in 7th with 2.5 WAR.
Speaking of Edmundo Sosa, the veteran infielder stepped up in Trea Turner’s absence. Sosa hit .275/.336/.505/.841 with 4 HR and 17 RBI\S during Turner’s stint on the injured list. It allowed the Phillies to continue racking up victories, leading them to the best record in Major League Baseball.
Bryson Stott is the one spot in the infield that drops the Phillies grade just a bit. While Stott has still played at a gold glove caliber level at second, his bat has regressed in the first half of 2024. Bryson is hitting just .238 on the season which is closer to his rookie season than what he did in 2023.
Overall, the Phillies’ infield has played tremendous baseball. Bryce Harper will certainly finish in the top three of MVP voting with a chance of beating Shohei Ohtani out for the award. Alec Bohm will likely set personal records and find himself toward the top of award voting at the end of the season. A Silver Slugger at third base might just be in the cards for the Phillies’ third baseman.
If Trea Turner remains healthy for the rest of the season, he should be able to qualify for the batting title. At the current moment, he would win that honor. If Bryson Stott can return to a similar form at the plate to what he produced in 2023, the Phillies offense gets that much stronger.
I grade the Phillies’ infield with an A-. They are the team’s second-best unit.
Bullpen: A-
Traditionally, the only way for a relief pitcher to make the All-Star game is if they are a team’s closer. The Phillies broke tradition in 2024, seeing both Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm make the mid-summer classic in Arlington, TX.
A bullpen that has given opposing offenses fits, the Phillies’ unit has been dominant in 2024. They are second amongst Major League teams in WAR with 4.7, just .1 behind the Cleveland Guardians. Led by Hoffman and Strahm, this group still contains Jose Alvarado, Orion Kerkering, Seranthony Dominguez, and Gregory Soto. Each of these players has gone on incredible stretches of dominance this year.
Like all bullpens, there have been some outings the Phillies would like back. Jose Alvarado and Seranthony Dominguez are not in the same form that we once saw both arms and the club really needs them to bounce back in the second half. When I say bounce back, I reference to their elite caliber play, As it currently stands, teams would be lining up to add them to their bullpen.
It does feel like the club is one arm short in the ‘pen. Depending on how the trade deadline shakes out, the Phillies might be able to address the last spot. It is not the most important addition but certainly a valid concept. Overall, if this unit stays healthy, they have to potential to be even better in the second half.
I grade the Phillies’ bullpen with an A-. They are the third-best unit on the team.
Catchers: B
Catching is one of the more under-appreciated aspects in today’s game of baseball.
The Phillies have an elite catcher in JT Realmuto and solid depth at the position with Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchan. That depth was tested in the first half of the season once JT Realmuto went out with injury. In his absence, Stubbs and Marchan have held down the fort. While they are producing offensively, it does seem some of the pitchers might miss the way JT calls the game from behind the dish.
When healthy, JT was hitting .261 on the year. He was finally starting to even out some of the extreme home and away splits that we had seen in the previous two seasons and it felt like Realmuto was on his way to having another solid season with the Phillies. Missing the last month of action will certainly hurt his overall numbers but JT has proven to be as tough as they come. I would expect him to be locked in upon his return to the lineup in the second half.
The Phillies will have to make a choice between Rafael Marchan and Garrett Stubbs for the backup catcher role. It is likely for the team to demote Marchan back to Triple-A but there is always the potential for Stubbs to get sent back down. Both played well in their limited opportunities but when Realmuto returns, he will get the bulk of action for the remainder of the season.
I grade the Phillies’ catching unit with a B. Overall, this grouping for the Phillies has been everything you could have asked for, and once healthy, they should see an improvement in overall numbers.
Outfield: C+
Now we get to the spot where the Phillies are at their weakest, the outfield.
Which in large part has been a combination of Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, and Nick Castellanos, I also attach Kyle Schwarber in this grouping. Schwarber brings the overall grade of the outfield up thanks to his contributions offensively in the DH role.
Nick Castellanos has been the best of the three starting Phillies’ outfielders this season. Castellanos is hitting .233 on the season with 13 home runs. A recent turnaround over the last six weeks has grown his average from sub .200. Nick has played in every game this season, providing stability in right field.
Brandon Marsh is having a decent season for the Phillies but is starting to fall into a limited playing role. Marsh’s struggles against left-handed pitching have continued in the first half of the 2024 season. Due to these struggles, the Phillies have tried all sorts of combinations (Whit Merrifield, Cristian Pache, Wes Wilson) in left field against left-handed pitching.
Brandon has faired well against right-handed pitchers but is starting to really solidify that he is more of a platoon-type player. The trade deadline seemingly has the Phillies linked to right-handed hitting left fielders, which would nail Marsh down to that role.
Johan Rojas has had an up-and-down season himself in the first half of 2024. The second-year outfielder was demoted not too long ago in order to improve his offensive production. Some early defensive lapses hid in the shadow of some spectacular plays that only he can make. Rojas continues to improve slowly but surely at the plate. His defense is proving to be worth the playing time but as the Phillies have an opportunity to win the World Series, they cannot afford to have a repeat of Rojas in the 2023 post-season.
There is a lot of room for improvement out of this unit in Philadelphia. The Phillies will likely add an outfielder for their playoff push at the trade deadline and we shall see how this group can bounce back in the second half of 2024.
I grade the Phillies’ outfield with a C+. They played well in spots but overall left some room for improvement.
Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
