5 dark horse candidates to fill out the Phillies 2024 Opening Day bench
Which Phillies players could surprise this spring to steal a bench role by Opening Day?
With the bulk of the players from the Philadelphia Phillies 2023 roster returning for the 2024 season, one would believe that most of the roles and positions on the team are more or less already defined for the upcoming year.
In particular, when it comes to the Phillies’ bench, incumbents Edmundo Sosa, Jake Cave, Cristian Pache and Garrett Stubbs all seem like locks to break camp with the big club. But there may be some fringe yet promising players who might want to have a say about the team's plans.
Here is a closer look at five potential dark horse candidates who could challenge for a spot on the ballclub’s bench for Opening Day 2024.
Kody Clemens
Kody Clemens spent the first three months with the Phillies last season, primarily as a part-time player at first base after Rhys Hoskins’ season-ending injury. In his 47 games with the ballclub, Clemens failed to impress, batting just .230 with a .644 OPS, with 15 runs scored, four home runs, 13 RBI, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5:1. Eventually, when the Phillies decided to move Bryce Harper to first, it pushed Clemens out of a job and back to the minors.
However, that move enabled the Phillies brass to witness Clemens’ untapped power potential as he went on to crush minor league pitching for the rest of the season. In the end, the slugger hit .256 with a strong .937 OPS, with 51 runs scored, 10 doubles, four triples, 18 home runs, and 52 RBI in 62 games. His impressive run was highlighted by a massive three-home run game in mid-August.
Kody Clemens went 4-for-6 with 3 home runs and 5 RBI in Thursday's @IronPigs win over Rochester. pic.twitter.com/zBrA1cbKlH
— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) August 13, 2023
With the ability to play most of the infield positions in addition to the outfield, Clemens’ flexibility, along with his new found power, could be enough to earn him a spot on the Opening Day roster if he has an impressive spring.
Scott Kingery
Some may have already forgotten, but Scott Kingery was once upon a time an up-and-coming top prospect in the Phillies’ organization. Selected by the Phillies back in the second round of the 2015 MLB Draft, Kingery made his major league debut just three seasons later in 2018 as the No. 2 ranked prospect in their system at the time after signing a disastrous six-year, $24 million contract.
His debut season didn't turn out as well as he hoped, as he struggled a bit to put up big numbers. But he promptly followed it up with a much stronger sophomore season in 2019, in which he hit a solid .258 with a .788 OPS, along with 64 runs scored, 34 doubles, four triples, 19 home runs, 55 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 126 games. He appeared to be on the rise after that breakout season.
Unfortunately, after a battle with COVID-19 along with some injury woes over the following two seasons, Kingery's once-promising career got derailed and he failed to regain his prior form. He has spent the majority of his time in the minors in recent years while hardly getting a sniff of major league playing time, with just one game appearance since 2022.
However, Kingery showed some signs of life with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley last season, displaying some of the speed and hitting prowess that many witnessed back in his good days in the big leagues. In 2023, he hit .244 with a .725 OPS, with 68 runs scored, 18 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs, 47 RBI, and 24-for-25 in stolen bases in 117 games.
Grand entrance for a king 👑 pic.twitter.com/hgbEs0Hdhx
— Lehigh Valley IronPigs (@IronPigs) August 2, 2023
At 29 and as a non-roster invitee to major league spring training, Kingery is a long shot to make the Phillies Opening Day roster. But if he manages to put his skills and abilities on full display once again this spring, maybe, just maybe, he'll finally get a chance to salvage and resurrect his big league baseball career.
Darick Hall
Darick Hall has always been known as a potent power hitter coming up through the Phillies minor league system. With the ability to put up 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons at ease each year, Hall appeared to be on the fast track to the majors with that kind of run production potential.
However, Hall has failed to deliver on that potential so far after making his major league debut with the ballclub in 2022. There's no doubt his enormous power plays well, as he managed to mash nine home runs in just 41 games in his first season with the Phillies. However, with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of almost 9:1, he was getting owned by major league pitching as they essentially neutralized his effectiveness.
Nevertheless, Hall still got a chance again in 2023 after a strong spring training in which he hit .316 with a 1.041 OPS, 10 runs scored, five home runs, and 13 RBI while walking as much as he struck out over 20 games. He began the season with the Phillies as the starting first baseman due to Hoskins’ injury. However, an ill-timed thumb injury just six games into the season took away any chance he had to grow his game in the majors.
He received one more opportunity later in the season after returning from his injury. Hall was called up in July, but his continual disappointment at the plate punched his ticket back down to the minors for the rest of the season. In the end, he batted only .167 with a .437 OPS with 18 strikeouts in just 54 at-bats over 18 games.
If Hall can somehow translate his game from the minors to the majors this coming season, he could represent the most potent bench bat the Phillies can deploy, even more so than a Sosa or Cave. But first and foremost, he'll need another strong spring training and make the right adjustments to lower his strikeout rate when facing big league pitching. If he's successful, the Phillies will suddenly have another Schwarber/Castellanos-type player at their disposal in 2024.
Símon Muzziotti
Among all the dark horse candidates on this list, Símon Muzziotti is the only highly-touted prospect in the group. Muzziotti was an international prospect signed by the Phillies back in 2016. His main playing card isn’t his power but rather his solid contact skills, along with his elite speed and defensive capabilities.
Despite being ranked in the Phillies' top 12 prospects in four of the past five seasons, according to MLB Pipeline, Muzziotti has actually spent quite some time growing and developing his game in the minor leagues. He made a cameo with the big league club in 2022 but was promptly sent back down to the minors after an underwhelming performance.
However, Muzziotti put together his best minor league season to date in 2023 when he posted career highs in runs scored (67), home runs (seven), RBI (61), stolen bases (26), and OPS (.761). At age 25 and heading towards his prime, his offensive game is beginning to mature and round into form to match up with his speed and defense.
With the Phillies having a lack of strong outfield defenders at the major league level other than Johan Rojas, a strong showing by Muzziotti this spring training can go a long way in ensuring him a potential spot on the big league roster for 2024.
With a lifetime fielding percentage of .985, he would make a strong defensive replacement off the bench late in games. If he can also prove that his bat is finally MLB-ready, the arrival of Muzziotti could be coming sooner than you think.
Weston Wilson
Weston Wilson was signed to a minor league contract by the Phillies during the 2022-23 offseason. After spending six grueling seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league system with mixed results, Wilson put together the best year of his professional baseball career with Lehigh Valley this past season.
He obliterated his previous personal marks by setting seasonal career highs with 90 runs scored, 31 home runs, 86 RBI, and 32 stolen bases. His 31 dingers also established the Lehigh Valley single-season record for home runs.
With that kind of performance, Wilson earned a promotion to the majors down the stretch and appeared in eight games. He held his own despite the limited playing time, batting .313 with five runs scored, one home run, two RBI, and three stolen bases. Most impressive was that his first home run came in his first at-bat in the big leagues, making it a moment he will never forget.
WHAT. A. MOMENT.
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) August 9, 2023
Weston Wilson's first MLB at bat is a solo home run. Amazing. 😍 pic.twitter.com/501JlJYO7F
With the ability to play at first and second base, along with the corner outfield positions, his added flexibility, along with his potent bat, could give him the advantage heading into spring training in nailing down one of the final spots on the roster. And at age 29, he'll want to make sure he doesn’t see another game in the minors for his career if possible.
It’s obvious that not all five will be fortunate enough to land a spot on the Opening Day roster with the Phillies in 2024. But with many of these players having the future outlook of their careers on the line, don’t be surprised if one or more of them manage to unseat a regular from the Phillies’ bench to become a key contributor for the ballclub for the upcoming season.
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