Phillies: Top 3 overreactions following sweep of Braves
2. The Phillies have three aces at the top of their starting rotation.
I have to admit, when this was talked about in spring training, I smirked a little. In 2020, right-hander Zack Wheeler had what many considered a career year after never living up to his ace potential while with the New York Mets. Zach Eflin also made some great strides with a promising 2020 season.
Neither disappointed in their 2021 season debut this weekend. Wheeler went seven innings, giving up only one hit and striking out 10 in a 4-0 win. He also retired each of his last 17 batters faced in order.
Eflin, meanwhile, followed with just as many innings, surrendering just four hits while striking out eight. His only run allowed was a solo home run to former Phillies catcher prospect Travis d’Arnaud, traded more than a decade ago to the Toronto Blue Jays for future Hall of Famer Roy Halladay.
What makes this great is that Aaron Nola had the “worst” outing among Phillies starting pitchers in the series, which won’t happen very often. Nola was not even terrible, either, likewise making just one mistake — allowing a two-run home run to pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval. But, in this specific scenario, it was a great sign.
There is a lot of potential for both Wheeler and Eflin to turn into great pitchers. Maybe they won’t allow one run combined every start, but it doesn’t mean they can’t be excellent going forward.
Also, Dombrowski should look to lock Eflin up before his price gets massive in a couple of years. It would be great to keep this trio together long-term.
3. These are not the 2019 nor 2020 Phillies.
This might not be an overreaction like the first two, but this does need to be said. The 2021 Phillies are not the teams of recent seasons. In fact, they are a much better club than the 2019 and 2020 Phillies ever could be.
Let’s start with something obvious. The 2019 Phillies didn’t have Wheeler, nor this kind of pitching from Eflin. They came into the season with Nick Pivetta as their No. 2 starter. Also, Jean Segura is a better second baseman than shortstop, and Didi Gregorius is a clear upgrade to Cesar Hernandez.
Maikel Franco makes Alec Bohm look like Mike Schmidt, and the Phillies are even a little bit better in center field — with the current Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn platoon instead of Odubel Herrera.
Now, we can compare the 2020 Phillies with the 2021 Phillies. The obvious upgrade appears to be the bullpen so far, but there is even more to it. Brad Miller came back as a bench piece, and Scott Kingery is in Triple-A — which right now makes the big-league team better.
Nationals have cleared up the numbers: Four players have tested positive, seven more players are in quarantine after being deemed close contacts, and two staff members are also in quarantine. A total 11 players would be unavailable if the team plays early this week.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) April 4, 2021
The 2021 Phillies deserve some respect in the National League East and are getting some after their sweep of the Braves. Next up is the New York Mets and Jacob deGrom in the first of a three-game series on Monday. It is something to note that the Mets have yet to play a game this season due to their series against the Washington Nationals being postponed due to their COVID-19 outbreak.
Hopefully, the 3-0 Phillies will show the Mets and the rest of Major League Baseball in their upcoming series that they are here for business in 2021.
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