The Philadelphia Phillies are back in the playoffs better than ever, poised to go on another huge run. Last season, the Phillies made a surprising run that no one saw coming. As a matter of fact, they almost became the first NL wildcard team to win the World Series since the Washington Nationals accomplished it back in 2019.
5 Reasons Why The Phillies Could Win It All This Year
Team Experience
The Phillies have a bunch of players on the team that have a lot of experience when it comes to playing in the postseason. Players like Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto all have playoff experience. And that is something that’s going to play a factor as the Phillies play other teams throughout the playoffs. When it comes to the postseason, it’s a very different animal, so expect this Phillies team to play every game with toughness. They have the team to bring the trophy back to Philadelphia if they can bring their A-game as they did last year.
Strength of the Bullpen
The bullpen, for the most part of the season, has been one of the reasons why the Phillies are in the playoffs. Their stuff in their relievers has been far more superior this year than it was last year. Lots of swing-and-miss whiffs. This season, their win probability added of 5.01 was just ranked eighth best in baseball and only the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and Milwaukee Brewers were ranked better in the National League.
Meanwhile, they have finished with the third-best fWar, the fifth-best FIP (3.88), the sixth-best ERA (3.56), and the sixth-best K/9 rate (9.77) in the league. If the bullpen can continue to be lights out, then watch out for the Phillies to make another deep run in the playoffs this year.
Quality Pitching
If the Phillies want to make another deep run into the postseason, they’re also going to have to rely on their starting rotation. They have the pitchers to get it done. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are both noteworthy aces that would play a factor in how far the Phillies will go this year in the postseason.
Wheeler is coming off a 13-win season while posting a 3.62 ERA in 192 innings and 32 starts. Nola, on the other hand, did not pitch well despite notching 12 wins. There are also honorable arms that play a factor in the Phillies postseason run such as Michael Lorenzen, Taijuan Walker, and Ranger Suarez all of whom are solid.
Motivation
If there’s one team that’s motivated for the 2023 playoffs it’s the Philadelphia Phillies. Now, they’re coming off a World Series loss which seems to hurt a lot. They have not won the World Series since 2008 in which they have defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in just five games. It also marked their second world championship since 1980. While the obstacle still lies ahead of them, it should not stop them from being motivated when entering this year’s playoffs.
Stacked Lineup
There are no easy outs in this Phillies lineup which makes it harder to contain. During the offseason, the Phillies were able to add Trea Turner to their already deadly lineup. To be clear, we haven’t seen a lineup this deadly since the ’08 Phillies. That lineup featured Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth. This team may cause other teams to fear them because of how hungry and poised they are to get back to the World Series where they belong. It’s going to be interesting to watch.
