6 NL East hitters who will torment Phillies pitchers in 2022

Which NL East rival hitters will hit Phillies pitchers the hardest in 2022?

Aside from Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suárez, the Philadelphia Phillies pitching staff essentially ranged from mediocre to maddeningly awful in 2021.

And while they added some new arms, like Kent Emanuel, Corey Knebel, and handed out a slew of minor-league pitching contracts, there’s no guarantee their pitching woes won’t repeat next year.

Here are six NL East batters who will almost certainly continue to torment Phillies pitchers in 2022…

4. Juan Soto, Washington Nationals

In 60 career games against the Phillies so far, Juan Soto hit .310/.444/.610 with a 1.054 OPS.

Soto’s 66 hits include 11 doubles, a triple, and a whopping 17 home runs, the most he’s hit against any MLB team. Phillies pitchers have walked him more (53) than they’ve struck him out (50). He’s also 6-for-8 in stolen-base attempts against the Phillies; only the Atlanta Braves have let him steal more bases.

Zack Wheeler, in particular, has struggled against Soto, who has a lifetime .314/.478/.514 line and .993 OPS against him. In 35 at-bats, Wheeler has given up 11 hits and 11 walks to Soto. The Nationals star has doubled once and homered twice against the Phillies ace.

3. Garrett Cooper/Miguel Rojas/Jesus Aguilar, Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins roster has a lot of new kids on the block, so here are three Florida fish who have done damage against the Phillies in their careers.

Garrett Cooper is another Phillie-Killer, with a lifetime .312/.369/.441 line and .810 OPS in 31 career games against his division rivals.

He has 29 hits versus Phillies pitchers, which is even more impressive than it sounds, since he only started 25 of those 31 games. Cooper has four doubles, a triple, and two home runs off Phillies arms, has scored 15 runs, and driven in 15.

Cooper hits Zack Wheeler considerably well; he’s 3-for-8 lifetime against Wheels, with an RBI and three strikeouts. Aaron Nola and Zach Eflin have each struck him out four times in a combined 18 at-bats.

Jesus Aguilar is yet another batter Nola can’t figure out; Aguilar is 4-for-12 against him, with a home run and four RBI. But Eflin has fared even worse against the Marlins infielder; he’s faced him 13 times and given up six hits (including two doubles) and four RBI.

Miguel Rojas is currently a free agent, but he also hits the Phillies quite well. He’s homered twice off Wheeler and once against Eflin.

None of these Marlins batters do an immense amount of damage, but as a team, they always give the Phillies a lot of trouble.

2. Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves

The NL East wasn’t the same without Ronald Acuña Jr., who tore his ACL right before the All-Star break.

However, his absence made life easier for the Phillies; he’s hit .317/.410/.561 with a .971 OPS in 51 career games against them. His 60 hits include 13 doubles and 11 home runs, 39 runs scored, and 33 RBI. He’s also 9-for-12 in stolen base attempts.

Against their current pitching staff, he has a lifetime .295/.441/.727 batting line and 1.168 OPS in 95 at-bats.

Acuña hits Aaron Nola especially hard; in 29 at-bats against him, he’s hit a preposterous .379/.500/.793 with a 1.293 OPS, three doubles, and three home runs. Nola has walked him seven times, and struck him out nine times.

Zack Wheeler has fared slightly better; Acuña is *only* hitting .286/.310/.714 against him with a 1.025 OPS, but again, three doubles and three home runs. The key difference? Wheeler has only walked Acuña once in 28 at-bats.