Phillies 2023 report cards: Grading the outfield

One of the bright spots of the Philadelphia Phillies' 2023 campaign was the emergence of some solid outfielders with, at points, too much talent out there.

The injury to Bryce Harper in 2022 opened up a third outfield spot, showcasing the talent of a recently acquired Brandon Marsh. The return of Harper in May of 2023 again opened up another outfield spot by allowing Kyle Schwarber to slide into a predominantly designated hitter role.

At first, it was shaky. Against the Indians in Harper's first games at first base, Jake Cave took over the role in left field. It wasn't what the team that had just returned to the World Series in 2022 after a 14-year drought was hoping to see in the dog days of summer.

But, just when everyone least expected it, the young guys came to save the season.

Cristian Pache was acquired in March of 2023 from the Oakland Athletics. He had hit .156 over his three years between Atlanta and Oakland, and seemed like a non-factor. Brandon Marsh was a platoon player during most of 2022 and even going into 2023, a decent guy to have in center field. Johan Rojas was a name that no one had heard. A 22-year-old kid who couldn't hit, even in the minors.

All these men made a major impact down the stretch and into the postseason this year.

There were ups and downs, as any unit has. Going into the 2023 offseason, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said that they have not yet committed to Rojas or another player as the third outfielder for the 2024 season.

The performances this past year, the offseason work that each individual player puts in, and their showing in Spring Training will be the only case for why they should earn their role on the 26-man roster come the end of March 2024.

Nick Castellanos

The 2023 postseason ended on a sour note for the Phillies' right fielder, but when looking back on his overall production, it was a complete 180 from his inaugural 2022 campaign with the team.

In 2023, the second-year Phillie improved his slugging percentage by over 90 points, up to .476 on the year. He hit .272 with 29 home runs and eclipsed the 100 RBI mark for only the third time in his career. Throughout the beginning of the season, he was one of the Phillies' more productive bats, cutting down on the swing and miss/chase rate and working the ball more to all parts of the field.

His moment came in Game 4 of the NLDS against one of the league's top pitchers in Atlanta's Spencer Strider.

2023 was a much more Nick Castellanos-type year, another guy who stepped into a bigger role with the injury to Rhys Hoskins. The bopper added the slugging that was missed in 2022 when he had an OPS under .700. He also took a more vocal role in the media and was a complete depiction of what Philly is and what it's all about.

Castellanos had a similar defensive year to the previous one. The coaching staff and analytics department worked hard to place him in positions where he had the best chance to make a play.

The All-Star impressed over the course of 162 and through the first round of the postseason. The 0-21 streak to end the year, however, left a bad taste in the mouths of Phillies fans. If there is one guy who can't wait until next season, it has to be Nick Castellanos.

Grade: B

Brandon Marsh

For the first few months of the 2023 season, Brandon Marsh looked to be on his way to an All-Star-like season.

Through his first 27 games of the year, Marsh hit .329 with a 1.066 OPS, hitting four home runs and walking 13 times. During the next 130-plus games, the young outfielder came back down to earth, ending the season hitting .277 with 12 home runs and 60 RBIs.

Over his season-plus with the Phillies, Marsh's bat has developed more than anyone could've thought. In his two years with the Angels, he hit .239. Over his time with the Phillies, he upped that to .280 with the help of hitting guru Kevin Long.

However, when the Phillies acquired him it wasn't for his bat.

The 25-year-old has tremendous baseball instincts and athleticism in the outfield. According to Baseball Savant, Marsh ranked in the 92nd percentile for outs above average for fielders and in the 77th percentile for arm strength. This gave manager Rob Thomson the ability to slide him around to left or right field late in games when defensive replacements like Pache or Rojas would enter.

Marsh showed a ton of promise in 2023, earning a spot in the outfield for next season. If he can learn to be more consistent at the plate and improve his ability versus left-handed pitching, he could be on his way to a breakout campaign in 2024.

Grade: B-

Johan Rojas

What a surprise for this team and the city of Philadelphia as a whole. Johan Rojas is the new guy in town who's impossible not to like.

The 23-year-old's call-up came off the back of injuries to outfielder Cristian Pache, a player of the same archetype, and Brandon Marsh. What no one knew, however, was the things that this young man was capable of. Every night, he made incredible plays look routine, ran down balls that no one had business getting to, and did it all with a smile from ear to ear.

With every love story, there's going to be a downside. While the defensive wizard's .302 average during the regular season might point toward a borderline elite hitter, he was far from it. Rojas' 25.6 percent strikeout rate was too high for the type of hitter he is. Like Brandon Marsh last year, Rojas chased too many fastballs up in the zone and, overall, didn't take enough pitches.

In the postseason, Rojas' struggles at the plate were even more apparent. He had a .093 average in the playoffs, collecting only four hits and not recording one hit through 15 at-bats during the NLDS. The concept of "his defense is too good not to have out there" came to a crashing halt when he was finally pinch-hit for in the last at-bat of the Phillies season by Jake Cave.

The young center fielder has a bright future ahead of him if he can compose himself at the plate and add any value on that side of the ball. This offseason will be a big one for the youngster, and his determination and hard work will help determine his role in 2024

Grade: C+

Jake Cave

A perennial bench bat/platoon outfielder for the Phillies in 2023, Jake Cave was about as league average as one can get.

Over parts of 65 games, the 30-year-old posted a -0.2 WAR, just below the league average. Cave hit .212, driving in 21 runs and ending the season with just under 40 hits. His major role in the offense was hitting right-handed pitching off the bench in tight moments, hitting almost 90 points better against righties in comparison to lefties (.138 vs. .226).

The Phillies recently agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract with Cave, which doesn't necessarily mean he has a roster spot in 2024. While he struggled in the Major Leagues, at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Cave hit .346 with 16 home runs in 59 games. The only issue is that he's now out of minor-league options.

The former career Minnesota Twin is a fringe player at best for a team with aspirations of winning championships. He played the same role throughout his time with the Twins, however, they were in the in-between phase of trying to win and actually winning. If the Phillies want to get back to the point where they were the past two seasons and eclipse the final obstacle, Cave could end up being a casualty before this time next year.

Grade: D

Cristian Pache

Cristian Pache was another surprising addition to the 2023 Phillies and what could be another Dave Dombrowski masterclass move, depending on the next few seasons.

Pache was sent from the Oakland Athletics to the Atlanta Braves in the Matt Olson trade in March last year. A year later, he was brought to Philly and gave the organization some sparks in the little time he was on the field in 2023.

Over the course of 95 plate appearances, the recently turned 25-year-old hit .238 with a .736 OPS, which would be over 300 points higher than any of his other seasons. Another big swing-and-miss guy, he tallied a 28 percent strikeout rate but backed that with a 10.5 percent walk rate. It would be interesting to see how those numbers would convert to a 100-plus game season.

His troubles for the Phillies were really just staying on the field. Pache had earned the last bench spot with his incredible outfield play (five defensive runs saved in only 220 innings) but kept the spot with his surprisingly good at-bats. His injuries allowed Johan Rojas to earn a call-up and eventually take over his spot.

Now with his third team in the MLB, Pache may have found a situation he feels comfortable in that will allow him to grow into the potential that the Braves originally saw in him when they signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Pache's defensive wizardry, clutch at-bats, and overall energy in the clubhouse definitely added a boost to this year's squad.

Grade: C

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