Reason #2 – Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola
When you have two aces at the front of the rotation the way the Phillies do, you can win any playoff series. Evidenced by the 2022 run where the Phillies rode their horses all the way to the World Series. It’s not surprising to say but when Nola and Wheeler are on their game, the team wins. In the nine games won by Nola, he has a 2.69 era, .895 whip, and strikes out 10.3 batters per nine innings. In the seven games he’s lost, his era jumps to 6.48, the whip goes to 1.44 and he strikes out 8.4 per nine. Wheeler’s splits are similar. In eight wins, his era is 2.40, whip of .945 and strikes out 11.7 per nine. In the five losses, the era is 5.02, the whip jumps to 1.395, and the strikeouts drop to 9.7 per nine. The Phillies need Nola and Wheeler to be on their game and it seems like they are rounding into form now.
Reason #3 – The offense will come alive
On paper, the Phillies have one of the deepest lineups in the game. Moving Bohm to the two hole and Turner down to seven and Marsh, the Phillies leader in OPS, batting eighth shows the embarrassment of riches that this team possesses. Up until now, the offense hasn’t quite clicked like everyone has thought it would. Castellanos has scuffled since the second half batting .147/.180/.406, Turner hasn’t been able to figure out his offensive woes, Schwarber continues to bat ~.180, Harper is still rounding into form in the power department, and JT has struggled. That all being said, those big names and big names for a reason. They are all great baseball players who historically have shown why they are the best in the game. If the offense can figure it out and get rolling, this team can be the scariest in the league. The offense has been held up by Bohm, Stott and Marsh and the Phillies are still right in the mix. Just imagine if they can all click at the same time.