Philadelphia Phillies: Midseason Fantasy Baseball Report
Back in March, I took a look at the Philadelphia Phillies in a two-part series to discuss where you might want to draft their pitchers and hitters in your fantasy league and what kind of return you might expect from said players. Now, with the MLB regular season at its midpoint, it’s time to look back at what kind of return on investment you’ve gotten for drafting and rostering various Phillies so far in 2021.
Bryce Harper
As the first Phillies player to be selected in nearly every format your league might play under, suffice to say that you’ve really been disappointed by Bryce Harper‘s output so far if he’s on your team. While it’d be hard to blame Bryce for the various ailments he’s faced this year (although it’s worth being concerned since there’s still a decade left on his contract), fantasy baseball is based on results. At the moment, it looks like Harper will be hard-pressed to reach even 30 homers or 80 RBI. If you spent a second-round pick on that…ouch. Grade: C-
Aaron Nola
Aaron Nola was ranked rather highly by a number of outfits, but I didn’t think he was worthy of being considered a top-10 starting pitcher. Turns out, I shouldn’t have stopped there, as Nola is barely within the top 100 among starters across the league this year. His record-tying performance against the Mets aside, it’s been a real down season for Nola. He’s racking up the strikeouts, but his 4.44 ERA is downright ghastly. For the Phillies’ sake, he needs to be way better in the second half. If you took him as your “ace,” your team isn’t anywhere near the top of the standings. Grade: D
Zack Wheeler
On the other hand…wow. Zack Wheeler was very good in his first season with the Phillies, but we were all eager to see how he’d perform under a normal workload and if he could bring his strikeout rate back in line with his career averages. Well, color us all impressed. Wheeler currently leads the majors in innings pitched and strikeouts, and he’d likely be a strong contender for the NL Cy Young if not for the pesky existence of Jacob deGrom. If you were smart enough to take him as your second or third starter (like I did with pick #99 in one league), you’re likely sitting pretty. Let’s hope this train doesn’t slow down over the next few months: Grade: A+