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Nick Castellanos Redemption Arc Is The One Good Thing About Phillies

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Author and Dylan MacKinnon
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 09: Nick Castellanos #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after hitting a two run home run during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park on May 09, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Let’s face it, this Phillies season has sucked. There have been no prolonged stretches of great play by them as a team. Prized Free Agent Trea Turner hasn’t just been disappointing, he has been bad period. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have both struggled out of the gate. And as a team, they are still under .500 into June. After the Sixers collapse, we thought the Phillies would lift us up. But all they did was tie an extra anchor dragging us even deeper into our sports depression. But there has been one good thing this season for Phillies fans to get on board with. Nick Castellanos.

Last year, Nick Castellanos was Trea Turner. He was bad pretty much all season. After Slugging at a rate of .576 in 2021 with the Reds, that fell under .400 with the Phillies last season. He went from 34 home runs to just 13 last year. His batting average dropped from .309 to .263. He quickly drew the tire of fans with his lack of performance, and occasionally a lack of accountability.

But whatever he worked on this offseason, has worked. Because through two months, he has been their best hitter. Not Kyle Scwharber. He is batting .172. Not Trea Turner. Who has done next to nothing all season apart from one big hit. And not Bryce Harper who missed the first month of the season. No, Nick Castellanos.

…

As of June 5th, he has a slash line of .316/.360/.498. He leads the Phillies in batting average and slugging percentage, and his OBP is the 2nd best on the team. Nick is also first in doubles, and 2nd in HRs and RBIs. Unlike many of his teammates, he has not had a sustained cold streak either. Brandon Marsh opened the season on a crazy hot streak but then hit .208 in May. But Nick has hit well from game 1 until this weekend’s series vs the Nationals.

So what has him back to the player they thought they were getting last year? While no one would ever call him a patient hitter, he is at least being a little selective now at the plate. 17 walks through 2 months is not a ton. But he had just 29 all of last season. He went up there swinging at pretty much everything.

We saw it in the World Series where Hector Neris struck him out in a big situation on 3 straight balls. But this season, he is laying off pitches he has no chance to hit. That of course leads to pitchers actually having to throw some strikes. And when Nick Castellanos gets a ball in the zone, he can hit it. Just being a little bit more selective as led to much improved results.

Yea, his actual power numbers aren’t quite back to what they were in 2021. But what they now have in Nick Castellanos is a professional and dependable hitter. He nearly beat the Nationals on his own last Friday with a  2 HR, 4 hits, and 5 RBI night.

Those 5 RBIs in one game are 1/3rd of what Turner had all season at that point.

There was talk of the fans turning on Nick early this offseason. If he had come out and played poorly again, he could have turned into public enemy number 1. Instead, he worked hard this offseason fixing his approach at the plate. And now we all get to enjoy the rewards. While many of his teammates continue to let us down, Nick Castellanos is a bright spot in an otherwise miserable season thus far. And his turnaround is exactly the type of thing that can make Philly fans fall in love with a player.

Grading Every Phillies Hitter Two Months Into the Season

The Phillies are in trouble. We thought these issues were behind us. After last year’s miracle run, we thought that they would be prepared to have a full season. Especially after their busy off-season where they added Trea Turner, Taijuan Walker, and a ton of quality bullpen arms. And yet, here we are again. It is June, and the Phillies are not a playoff team. They aren’t even on the bubble right now. They are 6th in the Wild Card race. It is a problem. They are not pitching well. Nor are they hitting well. We knew the fielding would suck. The base running being a mess is a problem too.

Now once again, they are going to need to dig themselves out of a hole. It took Joe Girardi being fired inspired them to turn it around last year. It’s unlikely they will fire the manager this year. So the players are just going to need to figure it out.

With that said, who is doing their job so far? Which players are most to blame for these issues? Two months into the season seems like a fair time to start judging their performances. We will start with the hitters. From Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner, to all of the guys off the bench. Spoiler alert, there are a lot of guys in danger of failing. But there are some guys actually doing their part.

Let’s grade out each player, and how they have done to this point in the season.

  • Bryce Harper

    Harper missed the first month of the season as he recovered from Tommy John’s surgery. And you can’t really blame him for that. In the 24 games he did play though, he has looked really good. Especially for someone who had no spring training or a rehab assignment. He is slashing .315/.410/.483/.893. That includes 3 HRs and 6 doubles. Considering everything, he passes with flying colors. Harper is not the reason this team is struggling.

    Grade- A

  • Kyle Schwarber

    The 13 HRs are great. It is his .163 AVg though that is unacceptable. He is notorious for slow starts. Were he hitting .220, you could maybe accept that in these first two months given that the power is still there. But just 18 hits apart from his HRs will not cut it. it is June now, which is when he usually starts to heat up. And if he does turn it around, gets to 40+ homers, and gets his avg back in line, people will forgive him. There is no denying his struggles a are big reason why the team is struggling though. It does not help he is also a disaster in the field.

    Grade- D

  • Trea Turner

    The best free agent signing of the off-season they said. An MVP candidate? Are we sure they signed the right Trea Turner. Because the guy who showed up in Philadelphia has been very bad. Apart from a hot start the first week, he has not done much at all for them. A slash line of .236/.280/.371/.651 is not going to cut it. That would be bad for a bench player. Turner is failing here. His talent makes you think he will eventually turn it around. But we have seen no signs of that so far. And he hasn’t really even played good defense to make up for it. We aren’t even seeing him make an impact with his speed. He is giving them nothing of value so far this season.

    Grade- F

  • JT Realmuto

    JT Realmuto is also creating a reputation for slow starts. He was OK in April. But he was awful in May. Lately, he can’t hit to save his life. Over the last 15 days, he is hitting just .122. His OBP on the season is barely over .300. He has just 20 extra-base hits. He is still doing a good job behind the plate. Running on him is still inadvisable. But when he is at the plate he is killing the Phillies.

    Grade- C

  • Alec Bohm

    Hopes were high for Alec Bohm coming into the year. We were told he added a lot of muscle, and would finally unlock his power. Turns out he is still the same exact hitter. His slugging % is just .403. It’s finally time to say he just has no power. How does a 6ft 5 guy have no pop? Great question. But we have seen enough of him to acknowledge it might never come. He has some skill as a pure hitter. But the .265 batting average is not good enough to make up for him not hitting many HRs. If you take away the one game he played in March, his batting average is under .260 and his Slg is under .400. Bohm to this point in his career is no better than the average replacement player.

    Grade- D

    Alec Bohm #28 of the Philadelphia Phillies rounds bases and reacts after hitting a three run home run during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on April 10, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

    Alec Bohm #28 of the Philadelphia Phillies rounds bases and reacts after hitting a three run home run during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on April 10, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

  • Nick Castellanos

    Nick Castellanos was bad last year. But credit to him, this year he has been one of the lone bright spots. He has not been great. But his .290/.338/.453/.701 slash line makes for a solid season. And it’s a lot better than what most of his teammates are doing. The fielding mostly sucks. We knew that about Nick. But he looks like a much better hitter this season. He has avoided prolonged cold streaks and is showing a bit more patience at the plate. Nick still isn’t the guy they thought they were getting. But he is having a quality season.

    Grade- B

  • Bryson Stott

    Stott, like Castellanos, has been solid. Is he a Super Star? No. He may never be that type of guy. But he is a professional hitter, on a team full of guys who can’t seem to even put the ball in play let alone get a hit. Through two months he is hitting .290. Not many of those have gone for more than a single. But over a full season, he is on track for 15 HRs and 30 doubles. For a guy that hits .290. plays solid defense, and has some speed, which is not too bad. If Turner, Schwarber, and Realmuto were doing their parts, and Stott was the 7th or 8th best hitter on the team, we’d be ecstatic about his production.

    Grade- A

  • Brandon Marsh

    There were not many hitters better than Brandon Marsh in April. But there were also not many worse than him in May. He went from hitting .321 in April, to .208 in the last month. His overall numbers still look good. But he has dropped off like crazy. He is still walking a lot, which helps smooth things over. But they need Marsh to find a middle ground. As great as the first season was, asking him to keep that up may be unrealistic. Can he hit over .260 though and still provide some pop? With that said, he still grades out fairly well, because he helped keep them afloat while Harper was out.

    Grade- C

  • Edmundo Sosa

    Sosa has been… fine. He is what he is. A quality utility guy. Unfortunately, they have needed him to play pretty much every day because of injuries. But if you took his level of play, and were asking him to just be a guy off the bench like they planned, you would happily take it. His fielding has at times been questionable. But he is not a natural 3rd baseman. His hitting is up and down. But again, he is not supposed to be an everyday player. We are grading on a curve here. If one of the starters were playing like this, it would be a bad grade. Since it’s a guy who is filling in, we can be a bit more understanding.

    Grade- C

  • Kody Clemens

    Everything we said for Sosa, goes for Clemens too. He has not had as much playing time as Sosa to this point. But the injuries at first base have led to him starting more than you would want him to. The injury to Alec Bohm might have him playing every day. That part is not good. But for Clemens’ part, he is handling himself well considering. Hitting .268 with 4 HRs in 28 games is good for a bench player. He should not be playing as much as he is. Ideally, he would be a AAA guy who comes up when needed. But all the injuries forced him into a role he is not probably good enough to fill. But he has done a good enough job with the bad position he is in.

    Grade- B

     

  • Josh Harrison

    Josh Harrison was supposed to be one of the guys off the bench for them. he has been solid MLB player for a while. So what has happened this year. Harrison is hitting just 1.86 with a .254 SLG. He is near unplayable. Even for a bench player, he is not getting it done. It is possible the 35-year-old is just over the hill. But the Phillies were hoping for a lot more from him. He did get the honor of being the first position player to pitch this season though. So that is something.

    Grade- F

     

  • Christian Pache

    When Pache first got here, he looked lost at the plate. His swing was as ugly as I have seen. But, he actually got into a grove before getting hurt. In 18 games he had a slash line of .360/.360/.600/.960. Small sample size, but promising. He should eventually be back. And Harpoer will eventually move to 1st. That would open up DH for Kyle Scwarber, and the LF job could be Pache’s if he continues hitting. His glove would be a huge upgrade over Kyle’s.

    Grade- A

  • Jake Cave

    Jack Cabe is the classic AAAA player. Too good to play in AAA. Not quite good enough for the Majors. He did not do much at all when on the Phillies. But has been ripping the cover off the ball with the Ironpigs. he may eventually get another chance up here. The lefty bat is what is keeping him down there now because two of the Phillies 3 OF starters are already lefties. But given he hit .222 when up here last time, and that is about what his career average in the majors is, don’t expect too much if he does come back up.

    Grade- D

  • Garrett Stubbs

    Stubbs is what he is. A solid backup catcher. You are not giving up at-bats when you put him in. He is solid behind the plate. A good clubhouse presence. There is not much more you can ask for from a backup catcher. After years of dealing with Andrew Knapp, Garrett Stubbs is a breathe of fresh air.

    Grade- B

  • Dalton Guthrie

    it is starting to feel like Guthrie is not an MLB player. They are forced to keep him on the roster, because they have no one else who can play CF, or any other rightie bats in the OF. But in 15 games he is hitting .118. Even for a backup, that is terrible. They are just keeping him around until Pache returns and they have another Center Fielder.

    Grade- F

  • Darick Hall

    There was a lot of hope for Darick Hall. People thought he could be the future at 1st when Hoskins went down. He showed real pop from the left side. Sadly, he never even got a chance to live up to it. In the 2nd series he hurt his finger foolishly trying to stretch a single into a double. Now he might have lost his job because the Phillies plan to eventually play Harper at 1st. So when Hall is ready to return, it might be back to AAA for him. There is a decent chance he ends up as trade bait at the deadline.

    Grade- N/A

 

Tyrone Johnson is the host of “The Best Show Ever” on 97.5 The Fanatic. He has been with the station for the past 8 years. Before working at the Fanatic, Tyrone produced political radio, did financial reports, and was assistant chief engineer of another radio station. As a content creator for 97.5 The Fanatic, Tyrone writes articles on the Sixers, Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers.

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