Do not sleep on the Philadelphia Phillies this season
The Philadelphia Phillies pitching staff has the chance to be sneaky good.
Shifting the focus to the other half of the Philadelphia Phillies roster, the pitching staff has the chance to be pretty darn good as well.
Armed with one of the best 1-2 punches in the National League with Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler at the top of the rotation, it could be number 3 starter Zach Eflin who really transforms things for Philadelphia this season. We have been waiting and waiting for Eflin to take his game to another level. After finishing 2019 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA over his final seven starts, the big right-hander carried that momentum into 2020 as he pitched to a 4-2 record and a 3.90 ERA in 11 games (10 starts), and was probably the team’s most reliable arm down the stretch.
The back-end of the rotation is deeper this year, with the additions of Matt Moore and Chase Anderson to be the 4th and 5th options, giving the team two legit back-end of the rotation arms; something that was nonexistent in 2020.
We all know the story of the 2020 Philadelphia Phillies bullpen. An ERA over 7.00 which is the worst in the modern era of Major League Baseball, more blown saves than saves, and a plethora of guys who should be bagging groceries for a living instead of throwing a baseball. You could argue the Phils would have pushed for around 34 wins if they had at least a middle of the road bullpen last year.
Luckily, 2021 appears to be a different story for the franchise, as the front office was sure to prioritize upgrading their weakest link. The additions of Jose Alvarado, Brandon Kintzler, and Archie Bradley; along with a full season from Connor Brogdon has many people around baseball thinking this bullpen could end up being pretty darn good.
Throw all these things together, and you have yourself a competitive baseball team. Seventy-six wins is just a ridiculous prediction. That would have to be considered a nightmare scenario for the Phillies, and you would have to imagine some big changes would be coming if that is how this season played out.
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I would hammer the Over/Under for this team which currently sits at 80.5 wins, as I believe the Phils could push for 88-90 wins and have an actual chance to play meaningful baseball in the month of October. Buckle up, this season is going to be fun.