3 overreactions from the first two weeks of the Phillies' season
It's easy to overreact to the first two weeks of the Phillies' six-month-long season.
By Matt Grazel
Following the first two weeks of the season, there is much to still be determined with the 2024 Philadelphia Phillies. Can they keep up with the Atlanta Braves for the division lead in the early going, unlike last year?
Through 16 contests, Philadelphia is 8-8 and trails the Braves for first in the NL East by 2.0 games. After going 2-4 through their first six contests, the Phillies have gone 6-4 in their following 10 games.
The Phillies are not among the league leaders in offense as their .234 team batting average trails Atlanta by a significant amount who is hitting .301 as a club through the first two weeks of the season. Philadelphia's total of 55 RBI is in the bottom third of the league as well. Their 11 doubles is last in the league, but their 58 walks rank eighth. They tend to get a lot of their offensive production from home runs.
The pitching staff sits 14th in the league with a 3.88 ERA while their 156 strikeouts is among the best. Despite Citizens Bank Park being friendly to hitters, they have allowed 15 home runs which is tied for seventh-best.
Even though the 2024 season is only two weeks in, fans will have more than their fair share of overreactions. Here are three overreactions from the first two weeks of the Phillies season.
Brandon Marsh is the Phillies' best hitter
Marsh has emerged this season as one of the Phillies' best hitters. In 15 games, he’s second on the team with nine RBI in addition to being second with 15 hits. His four home runs lead Philadelphia, as does his .318 batting average and .958 OPS.
Marshy comin' thru ☝️ pic.twitter.com/rJbo7zNQLP
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 10, 2024
The only flaws in his game at the plate are his struggles versus left-handed pitching. Marsh has a line of .214/.250/.286 and a .536 OPS versus left-handed throwers. Against right-handed pitchers, he has a .353/.371/.765 slash line with an OPS of 1.136. He also is tied with Kyle Schwarber with 20 strikeouts, the most on the club.
Thomson has elected to not play Marsh against left-handed starters. If he can improve versus left-handed pitching, that will make him one of the Phillies' best overall hitters at the current pace he is on. He represents Philadelphia's best hitter in the bottom third of the lineup.