3 surprising Phillies players who are off to slow starts and holding the team back

Erratic performances from some veteran players have hindered the Phillies early in the season.
ByMatt Grazel|
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola has struggled to begin the 2025 season.
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola has struggled to begin the 2025 season. | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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The Philadelphia Phillies have some concerns despite some good starts by their roster in the first month of the 2025 regular season. If the club has some inconsistencies, the bad play should occur at this point in the season rather than in mid-August and September, if given a choice. Despite winning their first National League East division title since 2011, Philly peaked during June last season but fizzled down the stretch and lost early in the postseason.

There have been concerning performances for Philadelphia a few weeks into a six-month regular season. The players have battled inconsistencies as the bad traits have outweighed the good. The players need to perform better regularly, before their statistics get worse.

3 surprising Phillies players who are off to slow starts and holding the team back

Max Kepler, OF

The Phillies signed Max Kepler in the offseason and intended to use him as their starting left fielder. The 32-year-old was the club's most productive starting player during spring training with a 1.175 OPS in 17 games. He entered the regular season with momentum.

However, Kepler has experienced his share of ups and downs during the first few weeks of the regular season. He had a 3-for-4 game in the home opener versus the Rockies in which he had a double, a home run and one RBI.

Following his first multi-hit game in a Phillies uniform, Kepler went 1-for-18 over his next six games. His OPS dropped from 1.318 to .678, and his batting average lowered from .364 to .172. The outfielder responded with two hits in back-to-back games, followed by going hitless in seven at-bats in his next two contests.

Kepler once again had two hits in the next two games against the Giants, including a double in each and one RBI in the first contest of the four-game series. He had a slash line of .245/.333/.377 line and an OPS of .710 entering the April 17 contest versus San Francisco.

However, the native of Berlin, Germany, went 2-for-16 with one double, one RBI, and five strikeouts in his last four games in the Phillies' homestand. In his first 19 games, Kepler gets on base when he gets hits, but he does not hit too many extra-base hits. His home runs and RBIs are infrequent as well. The former Minnesota Twin had two hits, including one double versus the New York Mets on April 21, raising his OPS to .673.

After the Phillies' 5-1 loss to the Mets on Tuesday, Kepler is now slashing .240/.337/.360 with just one home run, four RBIs and 10 runs scored in 86 plate appearances. He has 10 walks to 17 strikeouts, and his 9.8 percent walk rate and 19.5 percent strikeout rate are right around his career averages.

Kepler's 89.1 mph average exit velocity and 7.0 percent barrel rate are also close to what he has put up over his 10-year career. He should perhaps have had a better start to the year, as his 50.9 percent hard-hit rate so far is a career-best. Plus, his .275 xBA and .390 xSLG indicate that he has run into some bad luck early on this season.

Barring multiple injuries to position players, Kepler will not be batting any higher than fifth or sixth in the lineup. He should demonstrate more consistency at the plate in a batting order that has been underwhelming near the bottom of the lineup. Once again, the Phillies have an outfield position group that has shown some concerns offensively, and the club's newest outfield addition is one reason for the pessimism.

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