Philadelphia Phillies: Phil Gosselin is the hottest hitter on the planet

Phil Gosselin absolutely tore it up for the Philadelphia Phillies during Saturday’s win over the Marlins.

If I told you prior to the 2020 MLB season kicking off that Phil Gosselin of all people would be leading the Philadelphia Phillies in OPS through two games, you’d probably think I was crazy. However, following his superstar performance against the Miami Marlins on Saturday, the Pennsylvania native currently sits atop the Phils’ roster in terms of production.

Gosselin currently has a perfect batting average, has hit two homers, knocked in three RBIs, and has an OPS of 4.000. Yes, you read that correctly, 4.000.

To make things even crazier than that, Gosselin is batting .923 over his last 13 at bats (including regular season and Summer Camp). That’s some seriously hot hitting.

After absolutely lighting it up during both Spring Training and “Summer Camp”, Gosselin was awarded with a roster spot on Joe Girardi’s new-look Phillies team. In fact, he was actually the last player to be added to the 30-man roster, as the Phillies had to do a bit of maneuvering to get him on the team.

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The 31 year old infielder did not make an appearance during the team’s opening day loss, but did get the start as the designated hitter during the Phillies rematch with Miami on Saturday. He got up to bat three times, and made sure to capitalize on each and every opportunity.

Following a single during his first plate appearance, Gosselin proved to be the difference maker in the sixth inning of a game that was locked at 1-1. With two outs and a man on first, Gosselin pulled a ball deep into right field. This two-run shot not only opened up the game at the time, but proved to be the winning runs for Zack Wheeler in his magnificent Phillies debut.

With the lead pushed all the way out to five at this point (thanks to a JT Realmuto three-run bomb in the seventh inning), Gosselin decided to issue the closing blow in the bottom of the eighth. Facing off against Marlins pitcher Stephen Tarpley, Gosselin blasted his second homer of the afternoon.

“Goose” Gosselin has long been a favorite in the city of Philadelphia, and fans were thrilled to see him succeed at such a high level on Saturday. More importantly, this reflected extremely well on Girardi deciding to “reward” his players for good performances during Summer Camp. Following his first career win as Phillies manager, Girardi had this to say about Gosselin:

“He made me look very smart today, for which I am thankful.”

With the inclusion of the new NL designated hitter rule in 2020, having a deep bench will prove to be extremely important. As of right now, it looks like the Phillies have found at least one solid option to turn to for the foreseeable future.