The Philadelphia Phillies...are in second place....deservingly. In 2018. How?
This is a team that was really giving off a 'still a couple years away' vibe at the beginning of the year. A lot of youngsters that weren't really ready, or contract signings that were looking better on concept, and...to be honest, that's kind of what we've gotten. JP Crawford and Jorge Alfaro aren't doing great, and neither is Carlos Santana. There are several pieces that aren't really coming to fruition, and Nick Williams, Scott Kingery and Aaron Altherr aren't 100% where we wanted them to be.
...and yet they're in second place, creeping up to the Mets.
It's honestly thanks to some great stuff from the pitching. Aaron Nola, Nick Pivetta, Jake Arrieta and...for all intents and purposes, Vince Velasquez, are all doing pretty well. Additionally, Hector Neris has finally learned how to save games, and the bullpen has improved from its trash pile status from last year. Also, as good as Cesar Hernandez was in 2017, he's even better here, finally coming into his own 3 years after replacing Chase Utley. And, of course, those two flagship outfielders, Rhys Hoskins and Odubel Herrera, are giving career performances and amazing averages. So while things aren't perfect, this team is winning games and getting by on cumulative talent.
The only problem is...they're in between two teams that might be a bit more well-rounded. The Mets have a few more pieces working, while the Braves...have the unstoppable duo of Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. So the Phillies' days at 2nd might be numbered, especially after losing a few to the D-Backs and, well, playing a current series against Atlanta.
However, as good as these guys are, they could definitely stay in the race for a while, and keep poking around the Mets and Braves for the rest of the time. Plus, the Nationals might make things tricky for all three, so the Phillies could have a lot more to prove as the year goes on, which is promising enough.
Coming Tonight: Long-haired pitcher for one of the best pitching rotations in baseball. So it could be anyone, really.
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