The Phillies’ first half has been defined by a stunning turnaround, and the players at the center of it have carried the club from a 9-19 start to a place no team has ever reached before.
Philadelphia became the first team ever to be 10 games under .500 in April and then get at least 10 games over .500 before the calendar flipped to July. That kind of climb does not happen without impact players showing up in a big way, and a handful of Phillies have separated themselves from the pack.
At the top of the list sits Cristopher Sanchez, who has been the easiest call of the bunch. He set franchise history with a scoreless innings streak of 50.2 innings, did not allow a run in May, and has been reliable from the first day of the season onward.
Sanchez has made 17 starts and logged 110 innings. His line is as strong as it gets: 9-3 with a 2.13 ERA, 209 ERA+, 2.36 FIP and 127 strikeouts. His 1.7 BB/9 leads the National League, while his 5.2 bWAR, one complete game shutout and 6.05 SO/BB ratio are all best in MLB.
Zack Wheeler would have made this race a lot tighter if he had not opened the year on the injured list. Even in just 12 starts, he has piled up 3.9 bWAR.
On the offensive side, Brandon Marsh has been the steadiest bat in a lineup that has not been nearly as consistent as expected. The star names are there every day, but Marsh has been the one producing the most regular damage.
A shift in his mental approach has clearly changed the way he’s playing, and now he is in the mix to start for the NL All-Star Team. He has earned that spot with a .322/.354/.529 slash line, 14 home runs, 15 doubles, two triples, 44 RBI and eight stolen bases.
Those numbers are all career highs, and they have arrived at exactly the right time.
In the bullpen, Jhoan Duran has given Philadelphia the late-inning jolt it was looking for after the club acquired him from the Minnesota Twins ahead of the 2025 trade deadline. The Phillies needed help at the back end, and Duran has delivered it.
He owns a 1.57 ERA and an NL-best 21 saves, along with 2.0 bWAR in 28.2 innings. He has struck out 44 hitters against only six walks, and his 285 ERA+ and 1.11 FIP put him among the most dominant closers in baseball.
Then there is Kyle Schwarber, who is chasing history while leading the majors in home runs with 30. His power surge has put a couple of franchise marks in play, including Babe Ruth’s record for homers in the first five seasons with a new team and Ryan Howard’s single-season record.
Schwarber got off to a painfully slow start, but the power has come roaring back. Even with the strikeouts piling up - he leads MLB in that category too - he has more than made up for it with the kind of home-run pace that changes the shape of a season.
In Other News...
Phillies Could Revisit A Familiar Fix For Their Center Field Problem
The Phillies search for stability in center field has not exactly gone away, even with the season moving into the stretch run. Justin Crawford still has not broken through, and Derek Hill has done enough to keep the job in play, but not enough to make the issue feel settled. That makes any familiar option worth monitoring, especially when a player who fit well here last year becomes part of the broader trade-deadline conversation.
Harrison Bader is one of those names because he already showed what he can bring in Philadelphia after arriving midseason last year. Since then, his time with San Francisco has been a lot rougher, with injuries and performance problems dragging him down as the Giants drift toward seller territory. If they do start moving pieces, the Phillies could at least be tempted to revisit a player they know can help, even if nothing is close to concrete yet. [Read more 🡒]
Former Dodgers Reliever Is Back In The News For A Tough Reason
The Phillies turned to a familiar arm in the bullpen shuffle Monday, optioning right-hander Chase Shugart to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and bringing Lou Trivino back onto the active roster. Trivino, a 34-year-old veteran with stops around the majors, had already logged time with Philadelphia earlier this season, giving the staff a known option as it looks to steady the relief group.
For now, the plan points toward a modest role, with Trivino expected to work in low-leverage spots and help absorb innings when games start to get away. It is a practical call for a club trying to cover ground on the back end of its pitching staff, and it puts another experienced bullpen piece back in the mix just as the Phillies need one. [Read more 🡒]
Andrew Painter Just Put Phillies Fans In A Tough Spot
Andrew Painters path back to Philadelphia has already taken more detours than anyone around the organization wanted, and the latest stop was always going to be a test of patience. The 23-year-old right-hander was sent back to Triple-A after a difficult stretch in the majors, where the results never matched the hype, and the Phillies have kept the focus on rebuilding him carefully after Tommy John surgery and the long layoff that came with it.
In his first outing after the reset, there were signs of progress, especially with the fastball, but the broader picture still looks messy enough to keep everyone in limbo. Painter lasted four innings, allowed one earned run and showed flashes of cleaner stuff, yet the control issues that have followed him through this part of his comeback were still there, leaving the Phillies to balance the appeal of his talent against the reality that he is not quite ready to erase the questions around him. [Read more 🡒]