The Phillies climbed back to .500 after a four-game sweep over the Rockies, their first over Colorado since 2010. That was on the heels of a series against the Brewers that started strong but ultimately ended on a whimper in a 1-0, Angel Hernandez-full loss. But it seems the Phillies bats have finally arrived to the season (along with their jerseys) as they head to Queens for a crucial series with the Mets.

Stock Up

The Phillies Offense

The Phillies scored a total of 32 runs in the four-game series against the Rockies following a brutal 1-0 loss to the Brewers on Sunday. Entering Thursday’s finale, Philadelphia as a whole was batting a collective .311 with an .857 OPS. The home runs haven’t really come yet, as the Phillies ranked 11th in baseball at the start of play Thursday. Regardless, they are starting to finally generate runs consistently. 

Hitting with Runners in Scoring Position

Expanding upon the previous point, the Phillies have been excellent with RISP, hitting .294 with an OPS of .732. That batting average was good for third in all of baseball entering Thursday, trailing just the Giants (.303) and Dodgers (.297). It’s an area they struggled with at times last season, as they finished 19th in AVG at .248 and 15th in OPS at .762. 

Alec Bohm

A major part of the success with RISP has been the continued performance of Alec Bohm. Bohm is hitting an eye-popping .556 (5-9) with RISP with an OPS of .984. His 14 total RBIs are tied with Bryce Harper for the team lead. Bohm hit his second home run of the season on blustery day at Citizens Bank Park and raised his season line to .326/.375/.500.

Bryce Harper

Harper has been heating up despite his elbow injury that’s kept him out of right field. He’s hitting .327 with a .935 OPS since the Mets series in which he suffered the injury. Harper continues to drive the ball to center field and the opposite way, the telltale signs of when the reigning MVP is locked in. However, Harper being limited to the designated hitter role has compromised the Phillies already shaky defense. 

Didi Gregorious

Gregorious’ statcast numbers are not kind, but his traditional numbers are a pleasant surprise. In 14 games this season, Gregorious is hitting .311 with a .760 OPS. Those numbers are more in line with his 2020 season where he posted a 116 wRC+ and 1.2 WAR than his dismal 2021. His barrel percentage and exit velocity are near or at the bottom of the league however, so regression is coming. 

Odubel Herrera

Herrera was activated on April 22nd and has started 5-14 with two home runs and a triple in five games. It appears he will occupy the left-handed side of the centerfield platoon with Matt Vierling. That may change if he stops hitting by the time Mickey Moniak is healthy. 

Stock Down

The Colorado Rockies

Credit the Phillies for being able to take advantage of a truly horrendous series from the Rockies. Colorado committed seven errors in just four games with numerous other defensive misplays that were not ruled as such. The most egregious was a fly ball hit to right center by Kyle Schwarber that should’ve ended the inning but instead dropped in between Charlie Blackmon and Randal Grichuk for a double that scored two and gave the Phillies the lead.

Rhys Hoskins

Hoskins has entered into one of his on-off cold spells, as he is hitting just .176 over the last 15 games with 18 strikeouts. In ten games since being moved into the number two spot in the batting order, Hoskins is hitting .237 with a .709 OPS and 12 punchouts. Hoskins is a fine choice for the two hole when his is on one of his hot streaks because he brings power and on-base skills. However, when he’s cold, he should be dropped in the order. 

Johan Camargo

It appears Camargo’s early season magic has worn off a bit. He’s 5 for his last 23 and 0 for his last 13. With the resurgence of Bohm and the returning Gregorious, Camargo will likely see his playing time slide back into a utility role as the first option off the bench in the infield. 

Bryson Stott

Stott was demoted on April 25th after 4 for 30 at the plate in his big-league career. He looked comfortable early, but it was becoming clear as time when on he was getting overwhelmed. He had just two hits off of 75 fastballs seen with a whiff percentage of 35.1. However, Stott also hadn’t played in a game for a week when he was demoted. It was ultimately the correct choice sending him to get regular playing time instead of rotting on the bench. He should be in line to return the moment Gregorious starts to struggle. 

Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber still hasn’t quite gotten going, as he’s still hitting just .164 on the season with a .661 OPS. In the last 15 games, Schwarber has a whopping 24 strikeouts to just 15 combined hits and walks. One small positive is that he has started to hit for power, as he has three home runs over that same span. He also gets points for an epic ejection on primetime television.

Johan Camargo

It appears Camargo’s early season magic has worn off a bit. He’s 5 for his last 23 and 0 for his last 13. With the resurgence of Bohm and the returning Gregorious, Camargo will likely see his playing time slide back into a utility role as the first option off the bench in the infield. 

Joe Girardi

It was puzzling that Girardi elected not to say or do anything about the horrendous strike zone on Sunday night until after Schwarber took up the cause for both teams. Kudos to Schwarber for sticking up for his teammates, but that job should be the manager’s. Girardi is in the final year of his managerial contract, yet he doesn’t seem all too keen on fighting for his job.  

Angel Hernandez

Phillies Top Plays of the 2022 Regular Season I Week #2 – YouTube

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