Phillies: Five players who overachieved in 2019
In a season of disappointment, only a handful of Phillies overperformed.
The Phillies 2019 season was riddled with disappointment, frustration, and underachievement from a wide variety of players. Potential franchise cornerstones in Rhys Hoskins and Nick Pivetta took major steps back, and guys like Vince Velasquez and Maikel Franco never took that next leap forward.
However, in a desperate attempt to remain somewhat optimistic this offseason, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on players who actually exceeded expectations.
Here are five players who went above and beyond in their duties this year.
Brad Miller
Good ol’ Bamboo Brad Miller. What an absolutely crazy story this guy has. The Phillies picked up the veteran utility man from the Yankees back on June 13, sending over cash considerations to complete the deal.
He made his debut a few days later, and his role on the team quickly became apparent. He struggled mightily early on, hitting .120 in July and .182 in August and it seemed that he would be nothing more than a veteran presence in a struggling clubhouse.
However, this absolute lunatic of an individual went on to crush eight homers in the month of September, batting .327 with an OPS of .800.
Although the Phillies ultimately failed in their postseason aspirations, Miller did everything humanly possible to keep the team afloat deep into the season.
Adam Haseley
At the ripe age of just 23, Adam Haseley registered 26 RBIs, five homers, 14 walks, an OPS of .720 and slashed .266/.324/.396. He had the fifth-highest batting average on the roster and ranked above the league average in both fielding percentage and range factor per 9 innings.
Considering Haseley wasn’t even on the main roster to start the season, I would argue all these numbers are quite impressive.
Haseley played so well towards the end of the season (.786 OPS in the month of September) that he’s widely being talked about as a lock for the 2020 opening day CF job.
Ranger Suarez
Similar to Haseley, reliever Ranger Suarez began the 2019 season down in the minor leagues. He did not make his return to the majors until June 10, when he got rocked by the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing four runs in four innings (yikes!).
Despite the rough debut for Suarez, he quickly found his footing in the majors, establishing himself as one of the Phillies’ better lefty options out of the pen. Suarez concluded 2019 with a record of 6-1, an ERA of 3.14, a WHIP of 1.315, and a total of 42 strikeouts through 48.2 innings.
Of qualifying pitches, Suarez ranked second on the entire team in ERA and 5th in wins.
Suarez just turned 24, and has only been around the majors for parts of two years now. While he still has some stuff to work on (his WHIP for example), he proved to be an above-average option in a bullpen that was bottom of the league.
Considering he wasn’t even thought of as a major league talent to start the year, I would definitely call him an “overachiever”. Heading into 2020, he will no doubt continue to see an advanced role.
Corey Dickerson
Not only was Corey Dickerson the most overachieving player on the Phillies in 2019, but he might have also just been the most overachieving in the league.
Dickerson was acquired at the deadline primarily to be used as a bench bat, an extra weapon for Gabe Kapler to use late in games. However, after just a few games it became apparent quite rapidly that Dickerson deserved a bigger role.
In just 34 games for the Phillies, Dickerson recorded 39 hits, 34 RBIs, 20 extra base hits, eight home runs, and an OPS of .886. He slashed .293/.307/.579 and played more than adequate defense out in left field. Dickerson literally averaged an RBI per game, that’s absurd.
After an injury-riddled start to 2019 in Pittsburgh, I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted the impact he would go on to have in the second half of the season. The unfortunate truth about Dickerson is that he most likely won’t be in the City of Brotherly Love next year, an impending free agent who will no doubt demand a hefty fee.
JT Realmuto
This entry might surprise you a bit, seeing as J.T. Realmuto was widely regarded as one of the top catchers in the National League coming into 2019. Following a season in which he won his first Silver Slugger award and was selected to his first All Star Game, it made sense for fans to expect a lot from the 28 year old.
However, despite these already high expectations, Realmuto went so above and beyond this season, that it would simply be criminal to not include him on a list like this.
Realmuto slashed .275/.328/.493 (career-high slug%), hit 25 homers (career-high), knocked in 83 RBIs (career-high), and hit 36 doubles (career-high). Realmuto also recorded 41 walks, 92 runs, and 265 total bases, ALL career highs.
Realmuto was a diamond in the rough at the plate this season, hitting his way towards another All-Star selection and maybe even another Silver Slugger award.
People expected Realmuto’s offensive numbers to trend upwards this season, seeing as he was moving to a smaller ballpark, however his improvement defensively is just baffling.
Realmuto led the entire MLB in runners caught stealing (43) and caught stealing % (46.7), the guys in second place were respectfully not even close. Realmuto running away with the Golden Glove award and potentially even Platinum Glove award was something nobody expected.
Next. Top 5 Catchers in Phillies History. dark
Did anyone else overachieve this year? Leave a comment below or let us know on Facebook and Twitter.