Nick Castellanos Waking Up Could Be The Phillies Secret Addition

Nick Castellanos Celebrating with his team

PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 31: Nick Castellanos #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates with teammates in the dugout after coming around to score on a RBI single by Matt Vierling #19 (not pictured) in the fifth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on July 31, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

Nick Castellanos's first season in Philadelphia has not gone as anyone hoped it would. As of now, he has the lowest season Slugging percentage since his rookie season. He has hit only 9 home runs and has a sub .700 OPS for the first time ever in his career. We knew he was a lousy fielder. He lived up to that with a -12 total runs saved. We did not expect the bat to be this bad. This combined with him ruffling some feathers with the local media has led to his reputation taking a hit around here. But yesterday, he came up very big to help the team win, with a game-winning two-run shot to center field. And no one was happier than his teammates.

"It was electric because everyone is pulling for him. They know what he's gone through and they know that he cares and so they care about him. It was really neat."- Rob Thomson after the game

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It was Nick Castellanos's first HR since the end of June. His bomb was the key moment in a 3-1 win over the Braves. He has actually been hitting well of late. Castellanos has an OPS of .949. And the strikeout rate is down to just 13.2% in that time, after being up at 24.9% the rest of the season.

"Nick's a really good hitter. He's just struggled a little, but I think people exaggerate it more than it is. He's been a pretty solid hitter for us if you really look at it. It was nice to see him get that home run in a big spot."- Zack Wheeler

The Phillies added Brandon Marsh, Noah Syndergaard, and David Robertson at the trade deadline. They have Jean Segura and eventually Bryce Harper coming back from injury. But an underrated addition for the final two months may be Nick Castellanos waking up. If he could turn into the player they thought they were getting when they signed him, this could be a very good team. Yesterday was a good start.

MLB Phillies

Dylan MacKinnonEditor

Dylan MacKinnon is The Digital Content Coordinator For 97.5 The Fanatic. he has been an Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, and Flyers fan his whole life. He graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelors in Journalism. Dylan has worked at the Fanatic since 2016, starting as an Intern, moving to the Street team, and eventually was hired as an Associate Producer before settling into his current role in the Digital Department. You may hear him referred to on-air as "The D-Train."