Philadelphia Phillies: 1 most pleasant surprise so far this season

During the preseason, the Philadelphia Phillies had some unexpectedly awesome performances from some young kids. Mickey Moniak played his way onto the Opening Day roster and possibly even into a starting center field gig. If not for an injury, he would be with the team right now playing regularly. Bryson Stott also leaped forward onto the 28-man roster to begin the year. While he hasn’t performed all that well, we can still hope these are some rookie growing pains getting out of the way.

The Phillies, for the most part, have been disappointing through the early stretch of the season. The year is young, though. And while some players are letting us down regularly, one has been a pleasant surprise.

Veteran infielder Johan Camargo has not only given the club some depth, but he’s also fighting his way into a more permanent spot at third base with the way he is hitting.

Johan Camargo has been the most pleasant Philadelphia Phillies surprise of the season so far.

Camargo joined the Phillies with a lifetime slash line of .257/.315/.423 in 1,173 trips to the plate all with the Atlanta Braves. He was a promising player at the start of his career. In particular, his 2018 stood out. He batted .272/.349/.457 for the Braves while smacking 27 doubles and another 19 home runs.

His numbers diminished the next season and continued to decline. The arrival of Austin Riley to Atlanta moved Camargo to Triple-A for almost the entire 2021 season. He performed great there and seems to have learned a few things he has carried with him to the Phillies in 2022.

After 11 games with the Phillies, Camargo is hitting .382/.417/.529. He hit his first home run of the season on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies, too. A steady defender at third base, he gives the Phillies something they don’t have much else around the diamond: trust in making even the routine plays.

The third base situation for the Phillies is an unusually cruel one. Alec Bohm is the young kid whose defense is limiting his playing time. Also off to a fine start at the plate with an even greater slash line of .476/.483/.714, his struggles with the glove are what has opened up this opportunity for Camargo to play more regularly. Joe Girardi managed to fit them both into the same lineup on Thursday with Bohm at third base and Camargo at shortstop during a routine day off for Didi Gregorius. Each went yard, too.

The Phillies have already used Camargo at first base and shortstop as well. Third base, however, has been the primary position throughout his career. Because of Stott’s struggles on offense, the third base competition is now a two-man battle between Bohm and Camargo. If each continues to hit, it’s one of those good problems for the team to have.

An issue at the start of the season with the Phillies was a lack of good depth. It’s still a little questionable. However, with Camargo playing like he belongs in the starting lineup, it should give the team a good player on the bench on a daily basis.

If only there was a simple answer for the Philadelphia Phillies. They are secure enough if someone goes down with an injury. They’ll have no choice but to move one of the guys from the bench into a starting role each game. Nobody wants to hope for that. Instead, let the war at third base rage on! It seems to have lit an offensive fire under both of them.