We all owe Nick Castellanos a huge apology

The Philadelphia Phillies' offense is prone to streakiness. This is no surprise to anyone who has watched this lineup over the past three seasons. One player who has caught the most heat from Phillies fans and media across baseball is Nick Castellanos.

Over his three seasons in Philadelphia, the everyday right fielder has caught criticism for his free-swinging approach and frustrating at-bats. However, after putting together an All-Star caliber season in 2023, the 32-year-old has been one of the club's most productive hitters since the beginning of July.

We all owe Nick Castellanos a huge apology

The start of the 2024 season was forgettable for Castellanos. Through the end of May, the right fielder was hitting just .210 with a .610 OPS. It seemed as though the already concerning Phillies' outfield situation was getting worse.

Fast forward to the summer and things changed in a positive way for Castellanos. Since July 1, the veteran outfielder has been one of the most productive hitters in an otherwise inconsistent lineup. Through 52 games in that span, the right fielder has slashed .275/.324/.477. He also has smashed eight home runs, 31 RBI and scored 25 runs.

What has helped Castellanos put up considerably better numbers of late? One major factor is that his strikeout rate is well below his career average at just 18.4 percent since the beginning of July. On the season he has been striking out less than in previous years as well.

For example, in 2023 Castellanos struck out at a 27.6 percent clip. To this point in 2024, he has lowered his strikeout percentage to just 20.9 percent, which is still below league average.

Heading into the current campaign, the strikeout issue was something that the Phillies needed to improve upon after getting knocked out of the postseason by the Arizona Diamondbacks. While some players have not cut back on their swings outside of the zone as much, Castellanos has. According to Baseball Savant, he has cut back on his whiff percentage by over five percent from a season ago. Castellanos is also swinging at almost three percent fewer pitches out of the strike zone compared to 2023.

Castellanos will always be a streaky hitter. His career stats will tell you just that. However, his improved discipline at the plate — while still a little worse than league average — has benefitted him in his mid-season turnaround.

The five-hole hitter in the lineup has had some big hits recently including three home runs in his last five games. After his three-run blast on Tuesday night against the Houston Astros, Castellanos spoke with reporters, including Tim Kelly of Phillies Nation, about his approach and his position in the Phillies' lineup.

“But knowing that my style of hitting … which is always like glorified batting practice, right?" Castellanos said, per Kelly. "… I don’t really have an approach, I look for the baseball and hit it as hard as I can … having protection behind me usually forces the pitcher to throw to me more."

While his approach may be unorthodox and frustrating at times, it cannot be argued that Castellanos has put together a quietly solid season. He has improved in areas in which he has previously received criticism and has been a relatively steady part of this team's offensive production.