Phillies Stock Report: In Need of a Shot in the Arm

The Phillies are faltering as we close out the final week before the All-Star break. Philadelphia has lost their last four straight and now will travel for three games to their house of horrors in Miami. Their offense has struggled to produce of late and was shorthanded because of some players being ineligible to play in Toronto due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19. The latter is true too for the pitching staff, who was forced to throw two bullpen games in three days.

Stock Up

Bryson Stott

Stott’s overall season numbers are still poor (.187/.256/.301), but he has shown major signs of improvement. Over the last two weeks, Stott has five walks to just four strikeouts, two home runs, and five RBIs. He played very well in Toronto, as he went 3-7 with those two home runs. But more importantly, Stott hit the ball hard and in the air in Toronto, as even some of his outs were line drives to either the second baseman or center fielder. He’s beginning to show his signature plate discipline and is starting to square up MLB pitching. 

Alec Bohm

Bohm was one of the Phillies’ hottest hitters before dislocating his finger in St. Louis and then being ineligible to play in Toronto due to his vaccination status. He was the Phillies’ entire offense in their wins in St. Louis, as he clubbed two home runs in their 2-0 win and had a sacrifice fly in their 1-0 win. Bohm is hitting .367 over the last two weeks with an OPS of 1.027. The Phillies offense struggled to produce runs without him in Toronto. 

Corey Knebel

Knebel was essential in the Phillies’ 1-0 win over the Cardinals that secured their win of the season series. He worked around a leadoff walk and an error that put runners at the corners with no outs by retiring the next three batters with no runs scored to earn his first save since June 10th. Knebel threw an incredibly courageous curveball on a 3-2 count to Nolan Arenado that froze the Cardinals’ third baseman and got the crucial first out. The right hander has not allowed a run in his last nine appearances dating back to June 20th and has 7 K’s to four walks in that span.

Jose Alvarado

Alvarado has now pushed his scoreless streak to 11 games and has not allowed an earned run in 13 games dating back to June 16th. He has an eye-popping 17 strikeouts during this current scoreless streak with just four walks. The left hander has allowed just four total hits to 34 batters faced with one extra-base hit. Alvarado entered a 1-0 game against the Cardinals and also worked around a leadoff walk and an error without allowing a run. 

Kyle Gibson 

Gibson bounced back in a huge way after his last disastrous outing against the Cardinals. This time, he allowed only two hits and no runs over seven innings with five strikeouts. The Phillies needed all of those shutout innings as their offense was only able to manage one run on a sacrifice fly. However, his vaccination status made him ineligible to start in Toronto, so the Phillies rotation was jumbled before the series in St. Louis. Gibson will start Friday against NL Cy Young candidate Sandy Alcantara.

Stock Down

J.T. Realmuto

Realmuto struggled in the Cardinals series (2 for 11) and became the poster child of the unvaccinated Phillies players who were ineligible to play in Toronto. His poor season at the plate coupled with his comments regarding that decision have drawn the ire of many in the fanbase. The effects of his decision came at a time when it appeared Realmuto was picking up his offense overall (.281 AVG over last 9 G) when the team desperately needed it. 

Kyle Schwarber

Despite being named to his second All-Star Game, Schwarber has hit a rough patch in the midst of his terrific season. He’s just 2 for his last 27 at bats (.074 AVG) with 10 K’s to just two walks over that span. Schwarber has done the heavy lifting for the Phillies offense since Bryce Harper went down with an injury and fully deserves his All-Star nod. But the offense has grinded to a halt as he’s gone cold. 

Didi Gregorious

Gregorious has been an almost non-factor for the Phillies this season. His early base hits have evaporated, and he still has yet to hit a home run. Gregarious is slashing .125/.176/.219 over his last ten games. His season line now sits at .236/.298/.339. When Gregorious had a strong season in 2020, his value was tied into his pop from the shortstop position in the middle of the Phillies order. That has completely disappeared, and he is now a liability in the field as well with -5 defensive runs saved in 2022. It’s clear that Gregorious should be the odd man out in the Phillies infield whenever Jean Segura is healthy. 

Zack Wheeler

The Phillies needed Wheeler on Wednesday to recreate his dazzling performance from last Friday against the Cardinals. That was when he went 7 shutout innings and outdueled Adam Wainwright. However, Wheeler turned in his second worst start of the season. He allowed 6 runs on 7 hits and surrendered two home runs in just 4.2 IP. Philadelphia desperately needed length from Wheeler as they had an overworked bullpen after two bullpen games in three days due to injuries and ineligibility. 

Darick Hall

Hall is hitting .231 with an on-base percentage of .259 over the last week. He has 8 K’s to no walks and just six hits over that span. Hall had a particularly rough night against the Blue Jays’ Jose Berrios on Tuesday, going 0-3 with three punchouts. He wasn’t alone in that game however, as Berrios fanned 13 Phillies in just six innings of work. Nevertheless, Hall’s on-base skills are starting to be exposed at the major league level.