3 Phillies who need to step up in Bryce Harper’s absence

Can the Philadelphia Phillies keep winning without Bryce Harper?

Whether the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans like it or not, we’re going to find out if the team can win without Bryce Harper, who will be out indefinitely with a fractured thumb.

There’s no crying in baseball, nor is there an option to forfeit.

The latter is true, anyway.

Dave Dombrowski confirmed the obvious, that Harper is not replaceable, saying that his teammates will need to go the extra mile to make up the difference:

“He’s a guy who’s not really replaceable on an individual basis but we’re in a position where other people need to step up offensively. That’s what teams have to do, they have to pick it up, even for star players.”

Realistically, it’s not an extra mile so much as an entire marathon. It feels impossible, yet the Phillies did take the series from the Padres, winning Saturday and Sunday’s games without their superstar.

With that in mind, here’s who we’re looking at to pick the Phillies up while Harper is down:

Kyle Schwarber

On Sunday, Kyle Schwarber hit his 21st home run of the season. He continues to lead the team in home runs, and only he, Harper (15), and Rhys Hoskins (13) have homer counts in the double digits. Good for them, bad for everyone else slacking.

Schwarber has now played 72 games for the Phillies, which is exactly how many he played for the Washington Nationals last year before going on the Injured List and getting traded to the Boston Red Sox.

Here’s how his 72 games with each NL East team stack up:

Nats: .253/.340/.570, .910 OPS, 9 doubles, 25 HR, 42 runs, 53 RBI, 31 BB, 88 K

Phils: .219/.340/.502, .842 OPS, 12 doubles, 21 HR, 51 runs, 46 RBI, 47 BB, 92 K

Schwarber’s powerful swing is helping the Phillies immensely, but he’s still striking out too much. Now, more than ever, he needs to figure that out so he can maximize his contributions.

Nick Castellanos

Castellanos had a four-hit game on Sunday, his most hits in a game since May 9, but on the whole, his first few months in Philly have been underwhelming.

He’s hitting .252/.306/.387 with a .693 OPS. His batting average is the lowest of any season in his 10-year career in which he played more than 60 games, and his slugging percentage and OPS are the worst of his career, excluding his 11-game debut in 2013.

As far as bridging the power gap created by Harper’s absence, Castellanos hasn’t done much. He’s homer-less in June, with only four doubles in 24 games. Worse yet, he’s scored only five runs and driven in nine RBI this month, after putting up double-digits in both categories in April and May.

After a four-game hitless streak last week, it was nice to see Castellanos have six hits in the four-game set against the Padres over the weekend, but the power still isn’t there; none of his hits were for extra bases. In fact, he hasn’t had an extra-base hit since his two-double game on June 17.