7 Positive Takeaways From An Awful Phillies Weekend

The Phillies' opening weekend was pretty dreadful. it started with Nola giving up a 5-run lead. Continued with Wheeler and the Phillies bullpen giving up 16 runs in game 2. Then it finished with the lineup being shut down in a 2-1 loss on Sunday night. Meaning they got swept in the first series of the season. Hard for things to get worse. Especially for a team that has World Series aspirations. But it was not all bad. In fact, despite losing all 3 games, there are some positive takeaways from the series vs the Rangers.

For instance, they had 7 hitters end with weekend with an OPS of at least 1.000. The pitching may have mostly been a disaster, but the bats showed up. After 3 games the Phillies are top 10 in AVG, SLG, and OPS. There were star players who showed why they are stars. And there were young unproven players who showed us they could be in store for a good season.

It is easy, and fair, to look at the 0-3 record and go all negative. But in an attempt to lift our spirits a little bit, let's focus on the good things. It is a long season, and there are going to be down stretches. We can't be freaking out and saying the sky is falling 3 games in. Hopefully, this is just one of those stretches. Besides, there were at least 7 guys who gave us positive takeaways this weekend.

Alec Bohm 

The most obvious positive takeaway from the brutal weekend was Alec Bohm. There was significant hype for Bohm coming into the season after we learned he had muscle over the off-season. And while his Spring Training numbers didn’t jump off the page, we saw enough to feel like he could be in for a big jump this season. So far so good for Bohm, for both parts of his game. 

He started out his season with an HR off Jacob DeGrom. It was the first time he ever hit an HR off a 99mph pitch. But his good weekend didn’t stop there. Overall, he racked up 4 hits in 11 at-bats. Two of them were extra-base hits, with a double being the other one.  

And in the field? Well, he flashed the glove a bit. There were none of the mental errors we have become accustomed to. Instead he made a Nolan Arenado esque diving play to rob the Rangers of a hit. 

It is a long season. But Bohm got off on the right foot in it. If he keeps hitting and fielding like this, along with the rest of this lineup, wins shouldn’t be as rare for them as they were Opening Weeekend. 

Trea Turner 

We all already knew Turner was a star. But it sure was nice to see it in person. Trea Turner went 5 for 13 over the weekend. That included a double, and two triples. He hit it hard right at outfielders a couple of times too. Not to mention his speed at Shortstop helping make up for the lack of a shift. The Phillies didn’t win any games, but that is not because of a lack of production from their leadoff hitter. He had a slash line of .385/.429/.769/1.198. MVP like numbers in a short time span.  

Bryson Stott 

While Bohm gets the majority of attention as a young hitter on this team, Stott should not be overlooked. He entered last season as a highly prized prospect. Stott made the team out of camp but struggled early. He got sent down. But he started to look much better after being brought back up. And now with more experience, he gets a chance to improve on it more. He is off to a good start. 

Against the Rangers, he slashed .455/.500/.545/1.054. He didn’t flash the power Turner or Bohm did. But he got on base literally half of the time. Like he did in the playoffs, he battled at the plate. Even when that resulted in an out, he made the pitcher work.  

Plus, like both Turner and Bohm, he got to flash his glove a little bit too. On Sunday Nights game he had to range far to his right to rob the Rangers of a hit that would usually have been right into the shift. He made a sliding grab before throwing the runner out at first. His glove at 2nd has a chance to be a big positive for the Phillies given the new rules.

JT Realmuto 

Yep, JT is still the best catcher in baseball. Not only did he slash .364/.416/.637/1.053, but in typical JT fashion, he was catching base runners trying to steal. With the larger bases and the new rules about pick-offs, over 80% of steal attempts were successful. There were 53 successful steals across the first 50 games of the season. The Rangers did not share in that success though. They attempted 2 steals and got caught once. With JT behind the plate, the Phillies may have a significant advantage with how much easier stealing bases is this season. He also got a stolen base of his own for what it is worth.  

Brandon Marsh 

The final of the trifecta of young guys in the Phillies lineup. Like Bohm and Stott, he showed up for the first few games, even if the full team did not. Marsh did not play last night. But in his first two games got a double and a triple. They haven’t let him face lefties yet, but that will change tonight with him in the lineup vs the lefty Nestor Cortes. Marsh was once a highly-rated prospect, and with a full offseason working with Kevin Long we will see if Marsh can get back to that level.  

Nick Castellanos 

No player had more question marks hanging over his head than Nick Castellanos coming into this season. He struggled badly last year after signing a large contract with the Phillies. He swung at pretty much everything last year and made contact with almost nothing.  

Not only did he go 4 for 11 with 3 doubles, but he walked two times too. Patience was a big issue last season. A focus was on getting him to be selective at the plate. So far so good. If Castellanos finds even half of his form from his 2021 season with the Reds, it would be huge for the Phillies. Especially now that they lost the power bat of Rhys Hoskins. That starts with him having better at-bats overall. And he seems to be doing just that. 

Bailey Falter 

There were not many positive takeaways from the Phillies' pitching staff. Nola and Wheeler were disasters in their first starts. The bullpen was not much better, with both Seranthony and Kimbrel getting blown up. But one surprising source gave the Phillies a pretty solid performance. No one is expecting Bailey Falter to be a star. At least they shouldn’t be. But if he gives them 5+ innings, and two earned runs every night, you will take that from the 5th best pitcher in your starting rotation.  

See what Andrew Salciunas found in The Audio Vault today! Every day Andrew dives deep into the Vault to pull out audio relevant to the day to play for Anthony Gargano. And after we saw the much-anticipated debut of Trea Turner yesterday, Andrew dedicated today's Vault to other great debuts in Philadelphia sports history. The times we couldn't wait to see someone play, and it more than lived up to the hype. He pulled 7 great debuts, plus what Trea Turner did yesterday.

Trea Turner's debut did not go quite as planned sadly. Phillies coughed up a 5-0 lead in the 4th inning. 9 total runs crossed the plate for the Rangers that inning. 5 courtesy of Aaron Nola. The Phillies were never able to claw back and ended up losing on Opening Day. But for Trea Turner it went somewhat well. He was responsible for 1 of the 7 runs the Phillies scored when his triple drove Brandon Marsh in.

Nothing earth-shattering.  But enough to get us excited about what Trea Turner can do in the next 161 games. Phillies may have lost, but Trea at least looked the part in his first game.

But there are 7 great debuts that Andrew found in the Vault to play for us today. The times when guys came in right away, and made a splash.

Eric Lindros had an interesting debut. It started with a trip to the penalty box. But he also showed off his skill as well as his size. He got his first NHL Goal on a Power Play in his first game with the Flyers.

Allen Iverson made himself known right away. In his first ever game he racked up 30 points. The first of many 30-point games for the Sixers guard. And Andrew played the audio of this "Mini-Movie" about his amazing NBA Debut.

Terrell Owen's time in Philly started and ended with a bang. Things fell apart after just one season. But man that one season was magical. And in the first game of the Pre-Season, McNabb, and TO immediately connected. On the first play TO took it 81 yards to the house. If only the duos off the field chemistry were half as good as their on-field connection.

Jim Thome did not waste any time endearing himself to Phillies fans. he hit not one, but two home runs in his first game with the Phillies.

Cliff Lee made quite a statement in his first game with the Phillies. He carried a no-hitter deep into the game, and then went the distance holding the Giants to just 1 run. The start of an amazing run that helped carry them all the way to the World Series.

AJ Brown had a hell of a first game with the Eagles. He and Jalen Hurts were constantly connecting, especially in the first half. He fin wished with 155 yards, helping the Eagles beat the Lions.

Much like Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay was not messing around in his Phillies debut. He gave up just 1 run over 7 innings and fanned 9 Nationals hitters. The start of a great season that saw him win Cy Young, throw a perfect game, and later a no-hitter in the playoffs.