Philadelphia Phillies: Odubel Herrera is outslugging Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber
By Tim Boyle
There are two possibilities when Odubel Herrera is outslugging his Philadelphia Phillies teammates Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber. Either Herrera is having an unbelievably brilliant year or the pair of sluggers the team signed this offseason are slumping.
Unfortunately, it’s the latter.
Herrera has not been overly bad for the Phillies. His .271/.300/.494 slash line through 90 plate appearances is about what the team could have expected. Unexpected is how Castellanos and Schwarber have performed. Castellanos is hitting .258/.318/.410 and Schwarber has been a much worse .185/.304/.407 hitter. The big takeaway is that Herrera’s slugging percentage is significantly higher than both of these guys paid to swat home runs.
The Philadelphia Phillies have a problem when Odubel Herrera is outslugging most of the roster.
Herrera has fewer home runs than both Castellanos and Schwarber but with 8 early doubles, he has two more than Schwarber and only four fewer than Castellanos. He isn’t about to insert himself into the middle of the lineup yet the numbers he carries with him into Memorial Day showcase just how poorly other Phillies have performed.
It’s no secret Castellanos and Schwarber are struggling. Both are coming off of arguably the best seasons of their career so perhaps the Phillies reached too far by signing either one. There’s no debate they made the mistake of adding both defensively-limited players to a roster that could have used a better-rounded player instead.
The Phillies were supposed to hit home runs in abundance this year. They have gotten their share of them but it doesn’t look like any records will be set. Not all of the blame falls on Castellanos and Schwarber—who each, by the way, have slugging percentages lower than the .417 posted by the team’s lighter-hitting second baseman Jean Segura. Segura even has one more home run than Castellanos this year in far fewer opportunities.
Next. 3 moves to fix the Phillies' defense next year. dark
Slugging percentage is just one statistic showcasing the downfall of the 2022 Phillies. Without it, what are they other than a below-average team with the occasional long ball?