5 Phillies who outperformed expectations in April

Which Philadelphia Phillies players outperformed expectations in April?

April is over, and the Philadelphia Phillies have to be glad.

After all, even with their multimillion-dollar upgrades, the Phillies still went 11-11 for a perfectly middle-of-the-road month. Their only series wins came against the Oakland A’s on Opening Weekend and when they hosted and swept the Colorado Rockies last week.

But amidst the mediocrity, quite a few players shined, and it’s encouraging for May and beyond (even though the Phillies already started the new month with a frustrating loss). Here are five Phillies who really impressed and outperformed expectations in April:

Alec Bohm

Starting with the obvious, Alec Bohm looks nothing like his 2021 self, and that’s a huge compliment.

Over 20 games in April, Bohm hit .308/.365/.462 with a .827 OPS, two doubles, two home runs, 10 runs scored, and 14 driven in. He’s drawn seven walks and only struck out 10 times, an encouraging sign of improved plate discipline; his walk rate is significantly higher than it’s been in previous seasons, while his strikeout percentage is 10.7% lower than last season.

He does lead the team with three errors, but they all came in one game, so let’s call that a horrific aberration.

Of course, 20 games is a small sample size, but Bohm’s turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable, and hopefully, he only builds on this momentum going forward.

Zack Wheeler

Hear me out on this one, because Zack Wheeler is supposed to be the ace, but his start to the season was slightly in jeopardy a month ago.

After shoulder soreness impeded his offseason throwing program, the Phillies handled their ace with kid gloves in spring training. He had to cede the honor of getting the Opening Day start he’d rightfully earned to Aaron Nola.

Much like the Phillies’ overall month, Wheeler was half-good, half-terrible. His season debut was a short gem of 4 2/3 innings, in which he only allowed one earned run on two hits to his former team, the New York Mets.

However, he followed that up by giving up seven earned runs in three innings to the Miami Marlins, and four earned runs in five innings to the Milwaukee Brewers. Factor in his lower velocity, and there was cause for concern.

But in his final start of the month, Wheeler looked more like his old self when he shut out the Colorado Rockies for six innings, holding them to just one hit. He did issue four walks, but the 90-pitch performance – his deepest of the month – was encouraging nonetheless.

Johan Camargo

In a tumultuous, overcrowded infield, Johan Camargo has proven himself to be a solid, versatile addition.

Over 18 games, he has 14 hits, including two doubles and a home run. He also homered on Sunday night, though it was already May, so it technically doesn’t count towards the topic of April.

Still, Camargo is putting up the lowest strikeout rate of his six-year career while hitting the ball significantly harder than he did last year, with his average exit velocity up from 82 to 88.1 mph. And yes, it’s actually a somewhat comparable sample size, because he only played 15 games in 2021.

Camargo’s glove has also provided some much-needed defense to a team quite weak in that area. He’s spent time at every infield spot already, with no errors to his name.

Corey Knebel

Corey Knebel was somewhat of a risky signing for the Phillies, who gave him a hefty $10M paycheck for just one season.

Knebel had been a great closer in 2017-18, finishing 77 games and earning 55 saves over 133 appearances. However, he missed the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, and upon his return, only made 15 appearances in 2020 and 27 appearances in 2021, mostly as set-up man behind former Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. So, signing him to be the new closer was a bit of a gamble.

But so far, his 0.96 ERA over nine appearances leads the pitching staff. He’s finished nine games, earned four saves, and only allowed one earned run on six hits.

While longevity is still in question for the new closer, who hasn’t pitched a full season in a few years, he’s off to a magnificent start.