4 players Phillies fans are losing patience with

Seranthony Domínguez

Seranthony Domínguez is quite perplexing. Just two years ago, he and José Alvarado formed a dynamic duo at the back end of the bullpen to help lock down many Phillies wins. In particular, they were instrumental in the Phillies' run to the World Series in 2022. Both players threw hard and for strikes, limited hard contact, and maintained a solid ERA. But where Alvarado has continued his success, Domínguez has regressed significantly, especially this year.

Despite putting up solid numbers this spring, posting a 3.38 ERA and 0.88 WHIP with eight strikeouts in eight innings pitched over eight appearances, his 2024 regular season has been a complete disaster thus far.

Domínguez has yielded runs in seven of his 18 games, leading to a bloated 6.75 ERA and 1.56 WHIP, which are his worst marks ever. He has had trouble avoiding contact, giving up three home runs in 16 innings of work and averaging more than a hit per inning for the first time in his career.

Looking at his advanced metrics, his velocity is still top-notch and among the best in the league. However, his barrel rate and ground ball rate have dropped to an alarming 16th and 8th percentile in the league, respectively, which could largely explain some of his struggles.

Domínguez will need to turn things around soon to regain the trust of not only his manager but also his teammates and the Phillies fanbase. Otherwise, emerging dominant arms such as Jeff Hoffman and Orion Kerkering may soon pass him on the depth chart if they haven't done so already, and they will more than likely be handling the higher leverage situations going forward.