Uncustomed Heroes of 2024: Phillies

 

This is the thing about the modern playoff schematic. The Philadelphia Phillies put together an incredible team this year, one that was way better than either of the teams that made the NLCS. They were finally the alphas of the NL East, they had great seasons out of multiple starters, and they clinched a key playoff spot. But, of course, because they were in a position to lose momentum during a first round bye for the first time, they weren't able to advance past the NLDS round. A lot like the 2011 team, they had the better team, but not the luck.

That is Phillies baseball. You're rewarded every year except the one where you honestly deserve it. And even after this year, we're probably gonna make some major upgrades in the infield and outfield.

Edmundo Sosa is one of those guys we were lucky to hold onto, as after Trea Turner got hurt, Sosa plugged right into the infield and had a phenomenal year. Sosa's great because he's an above-average defender with some occasional hitting perks. So even as he was honestly a step up from Turner at short, Sosa also hit .257 with 31 RBIs and 7 homers, plus a postseason hit, which seemed hard to come by for this team.

2025 Prediction: A similar backup role with moments at the forefront, one that'll improve his trade case around the league. 

For as long as I can remember, the Phillies' bullpens have been a punchline, where despite all the attention put in it turns into a bottomless pit where great relief seasons go to die. So to have two of the single best relief seasons of 2024 come from two Phillies relievers is an excellent change of pace. Matt Strahm, who I honestly hope retires as a Phillie at this rate, was wonderful in a full season of relief, with a 1.87 ERA, a 6-2 record and a 0.750 WHIP in 66 appearances. Jeff Hoffman was the real surprise, as he was healthy all year and was truly incredible, with a 2.17 ERA, 89 Ks and 10 saves in 66 innings. Unfortunately both got lit up during the postseason, but they were both All-Stars, and they both had 2.0+ WAR seasons.

2025 Prediction: Strahm has another impressive year, even picking up more saves, while Hoffman is gonna make a lot of money thanks to this season that he may not completely deserve over the course of the forthcoming contract.

I never would have thought that for a portion of the season, the fans would be crying out 'why isn't Spencer Turnbull starting games over Taijuan Walker?'. Walker has been the more consistent pitcher over the last few years, and Turnbull's only consistency with the Tigers has been getting injured. But miraculously, Turnbull became a surprisingly awesome fifth option for us early, going 2-0 with a 1.78 ERA and 38 Ks in 7 starts. His bullpen work wasn't quite as good but I saw him do some amazing long mop-up work after Ranger Suarez left a start. Then, of course, as this is Spencer Turnbull after all, he got hurt and missed the rest of the season.

2025 Prediction: 12 very good starts somewhere, and a lot of missed time.

After Johan Rojas's debut last year, most fans were saying that Rojas would really be a help to this team once he figured out how to hit at the MLB level. A year later that still hasn't happened. Rojas's excellent defensive play keeps him in the lineup consistently for us, but at the plate he hit .243 with 3 homers and 32 RBIs. To his credit, he did steal 25 bases this year, and he is only 23. Something could develop, it's just not happening as quickly as the fans would like.

2025 Prediction: An improvement, but something tells me he won't be starting as often.

Weston Wilson was the real surprise this year, a super-ute bench bat that could show up without warning and provide some much needed help. In 40 games, he hit .284 with 25 hits, 10 RBIs and 3 homers. The word for Wilson is 'handy', because we've needed a fun bench guy like him for a while.

2025 Prediction: Becomes even more of a fan favorite and does something insane to end a game at some point.

Because of our lack of outfield pop, the Phils went and got Austin Hays from Baltimore in exchange for Seranthony Dominguez. I'm not sure if either side truly WON the trade, but Hays...did what he could, I guess. In 22 games he hit .256 with 6 RBIs, limited by injuries. He was hitless during the playoffs. The Phils have since cut him.

2025 Prediction: Clearly this season was the problem. Someone's gonna pick him up for cheap and he's gonna hit .300 and be a regular. 

Carlos Estevez joining the Phils was great for me because I specifically said 'we need to get this guy'. He was a consistent, fun closer in Anaheim, he looked like a great fit for the Phillies, I said 'go get 'im, and they did. While not quite as incredible as he was with the Angels, Estevez still did well in a closing role, with a 2.57 ERA, 18 strikeouts and 6 saves. He also struck out 4 in the postseason. Also, really cool that we had a guy this year whose closing celebration is doing a kamehameha from DBZ. 

2025 Prediction: I think someone will pick him up, but I don't think he'll be doing the bulk of the closing. 

Coming Tomorrow- For a team that didn't make the playoffs, the Pirates took a surprising amount of steps forward.