Fool’s Gold: Taijuan Walker
After having a respectable first season with the Phillies in 2023 in which he led the team in wins with 15, things fell completely apart for Taijuan Walker during his injury-ravaged 2024 campaign. Constantly struggling with his control and command, Walker put up the worst numbers of his MLB career. In 19 total appearances that included 15 starts, he posted an abysmal 3-7 record with a 7.10 ERA and 1.72 WHIP, giving up 66 earned runs, including 24 home runs, with 37 walks and 58 strikeouts in just 83 2/3 innings of work.
As a result of the dreadful performance, the Phillies worked with Walker to re-establishing his velocity during the past offseason, with hopes that he would have a chance at redemption in 2025. So far this year, things have certainly been looking up for the 32-year-old veteran right-hander. In his two starts heading into his Monday start, Walker had held the opposition scoreless on eight hits with nine strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings pitched while sporting a tidy 1-0 record and 1.13 WHIP.
However, Phillies fans should temper their expectations just a bit, since Walker also managed to record a couple of quality starts near the beginning of his 2024 campaign before things started to go downhill from there. On top of that, in his last start against the Atlanta Braves on April 9, he actually escaped two base-loaded situations with the bullpen helping him out in one of them as well. So whether Walker was just lucky or that he has the ability now to grind it out will be up to him to prove as the year progresses.
Sustainable: José Alvarado
As one of the most reliable key cogs of the Phillies’ bullpen in recent years, José Alvarado surprisingly had a down season in 2024. Tasked normally in high-leverage, late-inning situations throughout his tenure with Philadelphia, Alvarado actually struggled mightily when he was handed the closing role last year following the departure of the wildly inconsistent Craig Kimbrel.
In 66 relief appearances, he compiled a 2-5 record with an uncharacteristic 4.09 ERA and 1.25 WHIP while blowing three saves in 16 total opportunities. In the end, Alvarado lost hold of his ninth-inning duties but finished the year on a stronger note, posting a 2.89 ERA, 0.86 WHIP while holding opposing hitters to just a .156 batting average during the final month of the season.
As a result, the 29-year-old left-hander looked for redemption and has been off to a blazing start in the 2025 season. In seven games, Alvarado has amassed a 2-0 record with a stellar 1.23 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, along with a whopping 13 strikeouts in just 7 1/3 innings of work.
More importantly, he's resembling his old dominant form and has also confidently taken over the Phillies’ closing duties this time around over Jordan Romano. Alvarado already showed positive signs of permanently turning things around during spring training when he mowed down hitters like no tomorrow by recording 20 strikeouts in nine innings pitched while giving up zero runs in the process.
Therefore, it appears as though this dominant version of Alvarado will be here to stay, which bodes well for the Phillies’ World Series aspirations this season.