The Phillies’ offense has plenty of issues right now, but Brandon Marsh has become the clearest warning sign.
Philadelphia is hanging around in the NL Wild Card race while the bullpen wears down, the rotation absorbs a major Jesus Luzardo injury, and the bats have cooled off. There’s blame to spread around, but Marsh has taken on a different kind of spotlight: the kind reserved for a player who has fallen off a cliff.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale said Marsh has been worse than anybody in the majors since the All-Star break, writing, "No one has had a worse second half than Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh," and adding, "He was voted to the All-Star team in July, but ever since he's been one of the worst hitters in the sport..."
That’s not just talk. The numbers back it up.
Since the break, Marsh has played 56 games and logged 168 at-bats. In that stretch, he has 30 hits, 39 strikeouts, 14 walks, two home runs, four doubles, 12 RBIs and 17 runs scored. His batting average sits at .179, and his OPS is a rough .474.
Before Saturday’s game, Marsh’s .490 OPS was the worst in baseball since the break among 155 qualified hitters, according to Nightengale.
The contrast with what Marsh did before the break is stark. In 92 games and 339 at-bats, he put together 102 hits, 52 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, 46 RBIs, 19 walks, eight stolen bases, a .301 batting average and an .829 OPS.
That first-half line looks like the work of a real middle-of-the-order bat. What’s followed has been the opposite - a long, ugly slide that has left Marsh as one of the biggest reasons the Phillies’ offense has stumbled in the second half.
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Phillies Suddenly Have A Big Jess Luzardo Decision Ahead
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What comes next may matter just as much as the comeback itself. The Phillies are weighing whether Luzardo should re-enter the mix as a starter or slide into a relief role when hes ready, a decision that could shape both the rotation and bullpen down the stretch. For a club trying to sort out every meaningful inning, the way they handle him could become one of the more quietly important calls of the second half. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger question now is less about whether Luzardo will pitch again and more about how Philadelphia uses him when he does. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported that his next stint could come in relief rather than as a starter, a wrinkle that could change how the Phillies map out their pitching plans in the days ahead. [Read more 🡒]