The Philadelphia Phillies signed Trea Turner in December 2022 to an 11-year, $300 million contract. Turner got off to a slow start in his Phillies tenure, and it has been blinding some Phillies fans to a fantastic 2025 season that he has put on display.
It's no secret that he had a slow start in 2023, his first season with the ball club, and it even took a giant standing ovation from the fan base to revive his play. It worked, and since then, Philadelphia has seen a different player. In his 2024 season, he was an All-Star player. In 2025, he is on pace for some career numbers, all while it does not seem like fans are realizing the extent of the season he is having.
Phillies fans are starting to take notice and defend Trea Turner's incredible season
Turner is on pace to break his season total in hits with over 200, per MLB.com's Paul Casella, while also hitting the 40 stolen base mark for the first time since the 2018 season, yet he is still being underappreciated.
Fans are starting to take notice and come to Turner's defense, that the Phillies' leadoff hitter has earned over the course of the season.
Turner is gonna sleepwalk to a 5+ WAR season with 20-25 homers, 200 hits, and 40 steals and it still isn’t good enough for some people
— Jake (@PhilliesJake) June 18, 2025
Wild stuff man
The Phillies asked Tuner to adjust his game, and the shortstop has done that and more. He has his highest batting average since the 2021 season and on-base percentage since that same year. He is stealing bases again at a high rate, matching his 2024 total already, and the season is not even at the All-Star break yet.
It finally seems like fans are starting to take notice of the season he is having. Turner has a slash line of .299/.354/.445, while adding 19 stolen bases. He has seen more contact than in years past, with his strikeout percentage down to 15.7 percent, his lowest since 2020.
It's not just Turner's offense, either
Defensively, his fielding percentage sits at .982, his highest in that regard since the 2016 season. Turner has had a fantastic season and continues to get better during his tenure. He will be a large part of any playoff run the Phillies might have come October.
defensive stud Trea Turner pic.twitter.com/zmuO2KumxD
— Devan Kaney (@Devan_Kaney) June 23, 2025
His improvement has been large this season, picking up for Bryce Harper since the injury that sidelined the Phillies' first baseman. Turner has solidified his spot in the batting order as well after bouncing back and forth between the first and second spots. He has become the team’s everyday leadoff hitter.
While Turner might not become a 2025 All-Star, as he has a lot of ground to make up in the voting process, sitting in fourth after the second update, he is having a deserving season that is getting overlooked by MLB fans. Turner is fourth in all of baseball and first in the National League with 95 hits.
It’s actually a shame that we have one of the best shortstops in the game and this fanbase doesn’t know how to enjoy it. pic.twitter.com/YTnKlVbLVw
— Phillies Central (@philscentral_) June 18, 2025
Phillies fans have started to take notice of Turner’s game from both the offensive and defensive standpoint, as the player once viewed as getting overpaid and having a bad contract is starting to become a fan favorite, and it is well deserved. Fans should take notice of the work the shortstop has put in to get better and continue to work.