After losing on Thursday night and dropping two out of three games to the division-rival Atlanta Braves, the Phillies are 8-4 and tied for the National League East lead. While many players have performed well to start the season, here are three players who have been major contributors in the past but have begun the 2025 season in a slump.
Alec Bohm - Third Baseman
Alec Bohm has been terrible to start the season. Through the Phillies' first 12 games, Bohm has had 50 at-bats and only eight hits for a .160 batting average and has more strikeouts (ten) than hits. These are not statistics you want to see in a $7.7 million starting third baseman.
Ever since he began playing full-time for the Phils, starting in 2022, Bohm has averaged 157 hits per season with a .278 batting average, to go along with 16 home runs. He has also been a lock to drive in 88 RBIs a season.
Granted, we are only 12 games into the 162-game MLB regular season. But if the Phillies are to get back to their winning ways, starting with the team’s next three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Alec Bohm needs to get back to his typical level of production at the plate. Hopefully, as the weather heats up, so will his bat.
Brandon Marsh - Center Fielder
While Alec Bohm has been terrible to start the season, Brandon Marsh has been even worse. Marsh has played in 11 games for the Phils and in those games has had 30 at-bats and only four hits, one of which was a home run.
If Marsh’s last two seasons with the Phillies are an indication, then he should be able to turn his performance around. During that period, he averaged 14 home runs and 60 runs batted in with a .263 batting average. Again, we are only 11 games into the season, and Brandon Marsh has time to turn things around. But if he doesn’t do so soon, the team may have to play John Rosas more or bring in competition from outside the organization.
Aaron Nola - Starting Pitcher
Coming into the season, Aaron Nola had signed a seven-year, $172 million contract extension and was projected to be the 1B to Zach Wheeler’s 1A at the top of the Phillies rotation. Now, 11 games into the season and two times through the starting rotation, Nola has begun the season as a shell of himself. Nola has started two games and pitched 11.1 innings and has given up 13 hits and eight runs for a 6.35 ERA while striking out ten batters.
Entering his 11th year with the Phillies, Nola has been a model of consistency. Aside from the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Nola has pitched at least 27 games a season since 2017, with at least 180 innings pitched with 200 plus strikeouts a season.
Out of all three players, Nola should turn his performance around the quickest. He has a decade-plus of big-league experience with the Phils and has excelled. Once he does turn it around, the Phillies will once again have one of the best 1-2 punches in the league at the top of their strong starting rotation.