After Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber hit the injured list, joining J.T. Realmuto, there were concerns that the Philadelphia Phillies would have problems scoring runs at the same clip. The offense looked dicey for the first couple of games but has since come around. Even so, if the Phillies are looking for an infusion of pop into the lineup, they don’t have to look any further than Allentown.
Even if the Phillies aren't looking for another big league bat in the minors, there's at least one potent bat in Triple-A that may not be giving the front office much of a choice.
Red-hot Phillies minor leaguer forcing club's hand with Triple-A dominance
Infielder Weston Wilson has been absolutely demolishing Triple-A pitching for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs recently. Well, more than just recently. Going back to May 12, the 29-year-old is slashing .309/.396/.691 with 15 home runs and 39 RBI in 36 games.
On the season, Wilson is slashing .241/.336/.490 with 17 home runs, 52 RBI and 13 steals in 67 games, which tells you how slowly he started the year. He has even dropped his strikeout rate by a couple of percentage points from last season, down to 24.6 percent.
He’s so hot that he was recently named the International League Player of the Week for the final week of June after hitting .417 with a 1.417 OPS and popping four home runs as part of his 10 hits.
Congrats to @Weston_Wilson8 on being named International League Player of the Week 👏
— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) July 1, 2024
After crushing 2 long-balls last night, Wilson finished the week with 10 hits and 4 home runs while slashing a .417/.500/.917 with a 1.417 OPS. pic.twitter.com/wMhaPVibsO
The right-handed hitter appeared briefly with the Phillies earlier in the season, making four plate appearances across two games. His only other MLB stint came in eight games last year. His 22 plate appearances resulted in a .313 batting average and 1.000 OPS with a home run, five RBI and three stolen bases.
It was an impressive, albeit short, initial MLB performance. If you recall, his home run came in his first MLB at-bat.
Where would Weston Wilson fit in?
Whether there’s room for Wilson on the big league roster is another matter; there are limited openings when everyone’s healthy. Edmundo Sosa showed more than enough on both sides of the ball as the super utility infielder, filling in while Trea Turner was on the injured list.
Whit Merrifield has struggled mightily through the first three months of the season, but it would be surprising if the Phillies were to part ways with the veteran as a bench piece. Although, if he continues to be a black hole at the plate, the front office might eventually say enough is enough.
The weakest bench bats seem to belong to outfielders David Dahl and Cristian Pache. The Phillies seem enamored with Pache's defense enough to overlook the offensive numbers in his limited starts. Dahl has had his moments since joining the big club but has fallen into a funk. After slashing .333/.333/.867 with two doubles, two home runs and three RBI in his first 15 plate appearances, he has hit .171 with a .466 OPS in 45 plate appearances dating back to June 13.
While Wilson has played 23 games at third base for the IronPigs, he has also made 11 appearances in the outfield (10 in left, one in right). The fact that he has been starting to get reps in the outfield speaks to the organization's concern about the outfield depth, which doesn't come as that much of a surprise.
If Wilson shows enough aptitude roaming the outfield for the IronPigs, his bat is doing more than enough to warrant another look in the majors.