5 Phillies Who Have Pleasantly Surprised So Far This Season
By Matt Rappa
A handful of Phillies are performing better than expected this season.
Through 63 games, the Philadelphia Phillies find themselves just above the .500 mark (32-31) and in second place in the National League East — three games behind the New York Mets (32-25, .561).
Momentum is going strong for the Joe Girardi-led team, who have won four straight games, swept the Yankees over the weekend, and won three consecutive games in walk-off fashion for the first time since August 2013 (Michael Young single, Domonic Brown single, and Chase Utley walk).
This team is on a roll as they head out to California to face the second-place Dodgers and first-place Giants this week.
Here are five players who have pleasantly surprised thus far.
1. Ronald Torreyes
Veteran infielder Ronald Torreyes played just four games last season in a Phillies uniform — all of which were doubleheader contests as part of the rare seven-game road series against the Miami Marlins. In seven at-bats, he logged just one hit (a double).
A year later, the former New York Yankees player — who is reunited with Girardi — appears to have found similar success as he did in the skipper’s final year in the Bronx (2017). The Phillies brought back the Venezuela native on a minor-league deal in early December, and the move has paid off, especially as he fills in for fellow former Yankees infielder Didi Gregorius.
Entering Sunday’s series finale against the Yankees, the seven-year veteran had slashed .302/.323/.429 in 21 games and 66 plate appearances this season — slugging five doubles, one home run, and 10 RBI, while walking twice and only striking thirteen times.
In the field, Torreyes has played second base, shortstop, third base, and center field, committing only three combined errors (all at shortstop) through 67 chances.
Torreyes scored Saturday’s winning run in the team’s third straight walk-off. Starting the 10th inning at second base, he advanced to third on a Travis Jankowski sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, he scored thanks to a Jean Segura infield single to the hot corner.