4 reasons to believe in the Phillies despite the poor start

4) Reason to believe in the Phillies despite the poor start: J.T. Realmuto hasn't gotten it going yet

Similarly to last season, J.T. Realmuto has gotten off to a slow start to begin the 2023 campaign. He's slashing .247/.281/.429 with two home runs and seven RBI in his first 20 games of the season. The fortunate thing is he's J.T. Realmuto, and there's every reason to believe he's going to turn it around.

Last season he had a .722 OPS with eight home runs in 79 first half games. He then turned it on in the second half and posted a .949 OPS with 14 home runs in 60 games. Coincidentally, the Phillies struggled in the first half before turning it on down the stretch.

When right, Realmuto is the best catcher in the game. He brings it defensively all the time but when he's swinging the bat well, there really is nobody better behind the plate.

Once Realmuto gets going, it'll be even harder to pitch to this Phillies lineup. Realmuto's second half helped catapult him into a top-seven finish in the NL MVP race. Hopefully we won't have to wait until the second half to see his offense finally take off, but there's no reason to believe it won't happen at some poi

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