5 Phillies that need to step up for the ballclub to stand a chance in 2023

Despite some struggles along the way, the Philadelphia Phillies have actually done well enough to stay afloat in the NL playoff race so far in 2023. Currently, they hold a 61-51 record and sit tied with the San Francisco Giants for the first Wild Card spot, while giving themselves a little breathing room from those that are trying to chase them down in the Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Along the way, the Phillies have had some unsung heroes such as Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh, Jeff Hoffman and Cristopher Sánchez. Together, they have helped give the ballclub that extra boost with impressive seasons to date. But at the same time, there have been those that have struggled somewhat throughout the year that were expected to contribute to a higher degree based on their previous track records. The fact that they haven’t heated up yet while the Phillies are comfortably in a playoff spot bodes well for the team, as down the stretch, if they do end up turning it around, the Phillies could become an unstoppable force in the playoffs.

Here, we take a look at five Phillies players that will need to step it up for the ballclub for them to comfortably nail down a playoff spot, along with having a fighting chance to win it all in the postseason this year as a result. Without them, it could potentially be more of a grind and struggle to the finish for the ballclub without a guarantee that they would even make it either.

Aaron Nola

As the de-facto ace of the Phillies pitching staff, Aaron Nola has undoubtedly had a very disappointing season thus far in 2023. It has been bad enough such that it ranks among his worst seasons in his nine-year career with the ballclub. In particular, he was just coming off a spectacular season as well in 2022 in which he finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting, so nobody saw such a regression coming for the usually reliable and consistent number one starter.

For the 2023 season, Nola has compiled a 9-8 record, with a 4.58 ERA, 94 ERA+, 1.14 WHIP, giving up a whopping 26 home runs to lead the league, along with 34 walks and 147 strikeouts in 143.1 innings pitched. But more worrisome has been in his last five starts, in which every game is deemed important for the ballclub from here on out, Nola has gone 1-3 with an ugly 5.64 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .280 opponents batting average, and had been tagged often by the long ball again, surrendering another eight home runs in the process.

For someone that will be heading towards free agency at the end of the season, Nola’s underwhelming performances aren’t helping the team, as well as himself in the long run. For the Phillies to have any success in the stretch run and the playoffs, they will definitely need Nola to turn things around and become the dominant force he once was to lead the team again to success.

Seranthony Domínguez

For the past season, Seranthony Domínguez had been a key cog in the Phillies bullpen along with José Alvarado, as they have been often entrusted into key situations in ballgames to help provide the successful bridge to the closer. Time after time, we would see both Domínguez and Alvarado mow down the hitters to hold them at bay in providing the key shutdown innings for the ballclub, leading to many victories.

However, for the 2023 season, while Alvarado has continued his dominance this year, Domínguez, on the other hand, has been a different story. Domínguez has had trouble this year keep hitters from getting on base and in doing so, have already given up more runs than he had all season last year and in 17 less games. For the record, he is 2-2 with a 4.31 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, giving up 19 runs, 14 walks and 33 strikeouts in just 31.1 innings of work. Since coming off the IL recently, he has picked up two saves, but have blown two saves as well.

When Domínguez is on his game, he can be one of the most dominant and feared pitchers in all of baseball. Unfortunately, because of his inconsistency this year, that effect has yet to rear its head for the 2023 season. Fortunately, Hoffman has helped offset some of that inconsistency lately for the ballclub, but for the Phillies to match up against their strong opponents down the stretch and the playoffs, they will definitely need Domínguez to regain his form and be the stabilizing force that he could be.

Gregory Soto

Gregory Soto was actually one of the key acquisitions by the Phillies via trade this past offseason to help bolster their bullpen. Soto was acquired from the Detroit Tigers along with infielder Kody Clemens in exchange for outfielder Matt Vierling, utilityman Nick Maton and catcher Donny Sands. The Phillies believed that Soto would fit in perfectly with the hard-throwing threesome of Domínguez, Alvarado and Craig Kimbrel to form a four-headed monster for the back end of their bullpen that no one else in the league could match.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t really worked out that way so far for Soto, as for the 2023 season, he has struggled to a 3-4 record with a 4.15 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, giving up 20 earned runs, 17 walks and 42 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched. Those numbers normally would be respectable for any MLB reliever, but with Soto being a former closer for the Tigers with his electric stuff, he has produced a lot stronger numbers in the past, so he was more or less expected to at least reproduce similar-type numbers in a Phillies uniform.

As a result, Soto will certainly need to step up his game to show the Phillies’ faithful that he still got it, as by having an additional reliable flamethrower in the bullpen, it would put less stress on the Domínguez, Alvarado and Kimbrel threesome down the stretch, keeping them as fresh and effective as possible to be at their absolute best. Otherwise, if they become overworked, the results could potentially be detrimental to the health of the players, along with Phillies’ playoff hopes.

Johan Rojas

It may be seem outrageous to suddenly find a rookie here who had just made his MLB debut recently on the list, and to say he has to step it up for the Phillies to have a chance in 2023, but here we have one of the Phillies top prospects in the organization in outfielder Johan Rojas. Rojas was called up to the big leagues following the All-Star break and made his official MLB debut with the team on July 15th.

So far in 17 games, Rojas has certainly impressed with his bat, speed and his fielding, as he has hit a solid .326 with a .751 OPS, five runs scored, three doubles, eight RBI, and four stolen bases, along with 3 DRS and a .976 fielding percentage to date. If he could hone his power and it ends up rounding into form, he has the potential to be a ‘five-tool’ star player for the ballclub.

Now that with everyday outfielder Brandon Marsh on the sidelines for 2-3 weeks with a bruised left knee, it has left a hole in the Phillies outfield as well as in their everyday lineup for the coming month. Added to the fact that the Phillies failed to acquire an outfield power bat at the deadline, it is now essential that someone like Rojas needs to step it up (if he hasn’t done so already) to help fill the void both on the field and in the lineup. If Rojas can maintain his stellar defence, along with providing some solid offensive output to boot, it should provide the Phillies with just the right supplemental boost to keep the team in the playoff hunt.