Philadelphia Phillies midseason report card: Grading the offense
By David Esser
Concluding my three-part series where I handed out midseason report card grades to the Philadelphia Phillies roster, it’s now time to talk about the team’s offense. An area of this roster that many expected to rank towards the top of baseball, the Phillies offense has largely been an inconsistent one.
Into the grades!
Handing out midseason grades for the Philadelphia Phillies offense:
J.T. Realmuto: B
If you remove the injury and the odd cold stretch that J.T. Realmuto experienced during late June, Realmuto had a pretty strong first half of the season. He hit .268 with an OPS north of .800, and a 124 OPS+ that actually ranked higher than what he produced in 2019 – a year where essentially no-one questioned his status as the “Best Catcher in Baseball.”
The Phillies would like to see some more power from Realmuto moving forward, and less strikeouts, but ultimately speaking it was an above average first half of the season for the 3x All-Star catcher.
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Rhys Hoskins: C
A “C” grade might feel low for a player with 20 home runs and 55 RBIs at the midseason mark, but some of Rhys Hoskins’ more analytic based statistics do tell the story of a player who’s largely been average for the Philadelphia Phillies this season. Hoskins currently ranks 13th in fWAR and 13th in wRC+ when compared to starting first baseman around the league, and he’s been one of the worst defenders in baseball this year as well.
Hoskins’ current .797 OPS would also be a career-low if the regular season were to finish today.
The ability to drive in runs at a high rate when presented with the opportunity to do so is obviously very important, but the Phillies are going to need far greater consistency from Hoskins moving forward if they want to crack the postseason.