Phillies now a top-ten MLB team with Bryce Harper

With the addition of Bryce Harper and other talented players in the offseason, the Phillies have risen to the top third of the league.

No matter what salty Nationals fans may say, adding Bryce Harper has made the Phillies a significantly better team. They went from 86 to 89 projected wins according to Baseball Prospectus’s PECOTA system, tied for first in the National League East. They now have enough not only to stack up in the tight National League East but to win it outright.

Between Harper and other offseason moves like signing Andrew McCutchen and trading for Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia should significantly improve from the 80-82 team that utterly collapsed the last two months of the season. Others who cover the league are starting to take notice.

Philadelphia is listed as the eighth-best team in the league in CBS Sports’ new power rankings. Matt Snyder wrote that the club is much better equipped for a postseason push after this offseason. The Nationals were the only NL East team ranked above the Phils at No. 6, and only four other NL teams came in ahead of Philadelphia.

Scout.com ranks Philadelphia as the No. 9 team in baseball as they win 54% of neutral field simulations. They also point out that the team is not far behind the No. 4 ranked Brewers. Again only the Nationals are the better-ranked NL East team but the Phils are the sixth-best NL team in Scout’s rankings.

Bleacher Report had a more optimistic ranking of Philadelphia after signing Harper, placing them as the No. 6 team in the league, citing the additions made during the offseason. No one is better in the NL East and only the Cubs and Dodgers are better in the NL according to BR.

Philadelphia looks like a sexy pick to do some damage this season after the moves they made during the winter. The team certainly has the potential to make noise in the playoffs, but it will all depend on how the acquisitions gel together.