The Phillies Have Matured Into a More Patient, Disciplined Team

For the past 3 years, the ending to the Phillies story came to a similar ending. Teams start pitching around them, and they keep hacking. There are exceptions to that pattern. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper have usually done well drawing walks. But for the most part, the Phillies have been an impatient team, and it has been their doom.

But 9 games into the 2025 season, something is different. It is a small sample size, but the Phillies have so far avoided chasing pitches. In fact, they have the lowest chase rate in the league at just 24.2%. Their chase rate last season was the 6th worst in the league at 30.3%.

This played out vs the Dodgers, where the team drew 11 walks, including several in one inning that eventually set up the Nick Castellanos Grand Slam.

But is this just a blip on the radar, or is it something the Phillies have set out to do? John Clark joined The Best Show Ever on Monday, and he had some interesting insights into that very question.

“You’re seeing guys for the most part have good at bats. I was talking to Nick Castellanos about it yesterday, and Nick said something really interesting… Nick says ‘We’ve got a lot of personalities on this team, and we get excited to hit… but sometimes, it is not the spot to hit. You take pitches. If you get a walk, you get a walk.’ That was interesting to me because this is a free-swinging club… I think hopefully there is a little maturity there and growth with the guys saying it is okay to walk.”

It is especially notable that those words are coming from Nick Castellanos, who has often been the biggest culprit for swinging at pitches way out of the strike zone.

In 2024 his Chase Rate was 37.8% (Bottom 5% of the league), and his BB% was 6.2% (Bottom 25% of the league). Now his Chase Rate is down to 27.4%, and his BB% is up to 11.4%, Castellanos has never had a chase rate under 30%, or a BB% over 10%.

Trea Turner, another culprit of swinging at bad pitches and not walking enough, has also taken huge strides in the first 9 games. His chase rate is down from 33.9% to 26.2%, and his BB% is way up from 5% to 17.9%. Like Castellanos, Turner has always been a free swinger, and not one to draw many walks. But early on we have seen him be more patient.

Again, all of this is early. But the Castellanos comment shows it is at least something the Phillies are making an effort to do.

Will that effort last? We will find out as the season continues. But at least after several seasons of making the same mistake, they are finally making the effort to correct it. If they keep this up, the Phillies biggest flaw in the playoffs is now a strength.