5 Phillies players we need to raise the bar for in 2024

Seranthony Domínguez, RP

Seranthony Domínguez is one of the more successful home-grown players to have risen through the ranks in the Phillies organization. He signed as an amateur free agent with the Phillies in 2011 and has gradually built his reputation and repertoire to take on more responsibility in high-leverage situations.

His first year in the big leagues was in 2018 and he was absolutely stellar. Pitching to a 2.95 ERA with a .931 WHIP and a 2.85 FIP. In 2022, he had a 3.00 ERA, 1.137 WHIP, and a 3.09 FIP while taking on high-leverage situations and seemingly closing the door each time. In high- and medium-leverage situations batters hit just .194 and .130 against him, respectively.

Whether it was a nagging injury, runoff from the previous year’s workload or something else, the 29-year-old hard throwing righty was not the same in 2023.

In 2023, Domínguez had a 3.78 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and a 4.84 FIP. Hitters batted .241 and .304 against him in high and medium-leverage situations. Simply put, the Phillies need Domínguez to be a reliable arm out of the bullpen in high-leverage and late-inning situations.

This is a big year for Domínguez because he has a team option in 2025 and he’ll almost certainly be looking for a longer-term extension. Just as much as the team needs him to raise his bar in 2024, he should be looking to become the standout, consistent, dependable reliever everyone expects from him.