Phillies' biggest perceived weakness is fueling an awesome response to the haters

There is no Philadelphia Phillies fan on earth this spring training who would've believed you if you told them the Washington Nationals series to begin the season would be as tight as it between division rivals.

However, after a 3-3 start to the 2026 season, which feels like a 2-4 if we were basing it on effort, the Phillies seem to be right where they left off last year: with gem after gem from our pitchers, and little to no run support. But it's just the beginning of the season, right? They're still greasing the wheels, here, right?

Even through the lows of this first week into the 2026 season, an electrifying moment like the 6-5 walk-off RBI from rookie center fielder Justin Crawford was no joke this past April Fool's Day. Moments like that - or when the team's new right fielder, Adolis García, rang the bell for the first time in his Phillies tenure - are what give us fans just more new reasons to be excited about this team and the potential it holds this year.

It's clear that the verdict on whether the Phillies' superstar lineup can get in step with one another again offensively is still out, but keep in mind, we've barely seen a full week of play yet. Notably, the outfield trio that so many deemed a "liability" seems to provide theoffensive spark the majority of the lineup is missing most consistently.

Phillies' outfield trio tops the teams on-base percentage through the first six games

Those same fans who wished they could've looked ahead to this mild 3-3 start seemed to be very active throughout the offseason. Pessimists couldn't see the point of signing García to complete an outfield that, going into the 2025 offseason, consisted of Brandon Marsh (definitively), Justin Crawford (maybe), and...a question mark, as all the front office knew was they wanted to move on from Nick Castellanos.

In full transparency, if it weren't for the offense of the three in the Phillies' outfield, the biggest highlights of the opening week were the Opening Day Schwarbomb and Cristopher Sanchez's two starts. As of right now, going around the horn, Brandon Marsh finished the homestand hitting .350 in his 20 at-bats (with a .750 OPS), Justin Crawford (who is just 22, mind you) is hitting .412 in just 17 at-bats (with a .915 OPS), and El Bombi, Adolis García, seems to be getting his groove back at the plate, hitting .318 in his first 22 at-bats (with an .878 OPS).

"On-Base plus Slugging" is a statistic that measures a hitter's total offensive value by adding their on-base percentage (OBP) with their slugging percentage (SLG), combining the ability to reach base with the ability to hit for power. If you combine those two elements together to create OPS, you can gauge how often a player produces runs, gets on base, and even hits for extra bases. The Phillies outfield seems to be the only place where that's consistently happening in these first few games.

While Marsh and Crawford's defensive performances are good, not great, they can still pose a threat when playing at full health. Adolis García, moreover, is a Gold Glove-winning right fielder, and defensively has been arguably one of the best in the game for some time. With his arm strength, he had 17 defensive runs saved last year, giving this offensively threatening outfield an edge in the right corner, posing them as an all-around threat among some of the league's top outfields.

The nay-sayers hopefully already see the error in their ways, as these three - and one of Wednesday's heroes, Edmundo Sosa - continue to carry the team, while the lineup's "superstars" remain asleep at the plate.