3 Phillies preseason predictions that were shockingly accurate

TRUE: Bryce Harper would have an MVP season for the Phillies, but Alec Bohm would struggle

Last but not least in the positive part of their projections, ESPN’s Doolittle wrote that Bryce Harper would “remind[s] everyone of why he was once projected as a perennial MVP candidate.”

Ultimately, their bold prediction about Harper was spot-on: he had a “huge season,” but it was “not enough to get the Phillies into the postseason.” He finished the season leading MLB in a career-high 42 doubles, as well as slugging percentage, OPS, and OPS+.

However, the worst-case scenario section of the predictions was spot-on for Alec Bohm, whose sophomore slump was significant. ESPN dramatically predicted that he would commit 46 errors; he committed 16. They also wrote that the defense as a whole would show “the range of your average foosball table,” but the Phillies’ 94 errors were tied for 9th in MLB, and three of their division rivals committed more errors than they did.

What will it take for the Phillies to defy the odds in 2022? A real bullpen, for one thing. Really, though, it’s about letting Dave Dombrowski do what he does best: spend big to win big. I can almost guarantee that next year’s Phillies will be a very different team.