Trea Turner
As Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski always emphasizes, you need star players to help win championships. Amidst an All-Star season, shortstop Trea Turner had definitely been doing his part in providing a significant impact for the club when healthy.
In particular, after coming off the IL in late June, Turner had a scorching month of July in which he scored 20 runs and pounded out 10 home runs and 23 RBI, all while batting .292 with a stellar .944 OPS.
However, Turner fell into a major slump in August, batting only .250 with a .637 OPS, along with just 14 runs scored, six doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI. Despite showing signs of potentially breaking out at times, it was never sustainable. To no surprise, the Phillies also ended up scuffling a bit that month as well, going only 15-13 and allowing teams that were chasing them to make up some crucial ground.
But don’t count out Turner just yet, as he is one of the best in the business when it comes to delivering down the stretch. If anyone needed any reminders, just last season he hit close to .300 with a .932 OPS, 21 runs scored, five doubles, seven home runs, 16 RBI and seven stolen bases in just 24 games to close out the season.
With a career September/October batting average of .301 and .883 OPS, along with registering 45 home runs and 136 RBI, which is the most he has of any month in his career, look for Turner to rapidly turn things around and help the Phillies with a dominant and productive final month once again.