During the 2023 MLB season, the Philadelphia Phillies had quite a few of their players who had career years, posting some impressive numbers in the process. At the same time, there were also some players who struggled quite a bit and will want to put last season behind them and come back stronger and better in 2024.
So who will fall back down to earth, and how many will bounce back in a big way?
FanGraphs has recently come out with the annual Steamer projections for 2024, so we'll look at three Phillies players predicted to improve next season and three who may regress after a stellar 2023 season.
3 Phillies projected to improve in 2024
Bryce Harper
Despite all his heroics down the stretch and in the playoffs, many may have forgotten that Bryce Harper got off to a slow start in 2023 after coming off Tommy John surgery. That much was expected, given he came back from the procedure way earlier than planned, to the surprise of many of the Phillies' faithful, and probably Harper himself. However, he still managed to put up solid numbers across the board by the season’s end.
Given Harper’s tremendous track record, there’s no doubt he'll bounce back in a big way in 2024, and that is exactly what the Steamer projections show. His home run total will rise from 21 to 30, his RBI from 72 to 97, and his WAR from 3.3 to 4.0.
Surprisingly, his batting average will take a little hit, falling from .293 to .283, but if the Phillies get the dominant, full-fledged, run-producing Harper back in 2024, nobody will be complaining.