Subscribe
Follow Us
September has become an exciting month in the City of Brotherly Love in recent years as the Philadelphia Phillies emerge as perennial pennant contenders. A third consecutive playoff berth is on the line for the Phils this September and it finally looks like they're getting back to winning consistently at the right time.
The second half has mostly been a disaster for Philadelphia. The Phillies are 16-21 since the All-Star break and are teetering on .500 in August with three games left in the month. They've won nine of their last 14 games to get back on track before a pivotal series with the Atlanta Braves this weekend.
Few MLB rosters have as much talent as the Phillies' but their stars haven’t always stood out this year. Any championship contender needs contributions from all 26 players on the roster and then some. Breakout seasons from Ranger Suarez, Alec Bohm and several Phillies relievers helped them get to first place in the NL East. Similar improvements from others down the stretch will make Philly more formidable in October.
Unsung heroes make for great stories and perhaps no sport better exudes that than baseball. One big swing or strikeout late in the season can be the defining moment for a player's year and provide a spark for a team fighting for playoff seeding. The Phillies have multiple players who could improve their stock in September and become household names before the postseason.
$115 million player finding his groove
It's weird to consider a three-time MLB All-Star a breakout candidate, but it's all finally starting to click for J.T. Realmuto five months into the season. A midseason knee injury that required surgery might have been a blessing in disguise for the Phillies catcher as Realmuto is unlocking his power stroke since returning.
After going 8-for-45 in his first 12 games back, Realmuto has been one of Philadelphia's best hitters over the past three weeks. He has seven doubles and three home runs since Aug. 8, most of them coming in the last week. Realmuto's reached base safely in 13 consecutive games and is hitting .288 this month.
The highlight of this recent stretch was a seven-RBI game for Realmuto this past weekend in Kansas City. The veteran backstop launched a pair of homers in an 11-2 Phillies win as part of five straight games with an extra-base hit. He carries that streak into Thursday.
There were concerns that Realmuto's production was declining for good, but he's seemed to have put those to rest with this recent surge. He averaged 26 doubles, 20 home runs and 73 RBIs a season from 2021-2023. With his bat heating up, his numbers for the 2024 season are on pace with his previous statlines.
What has never been lost is Realmuto's defensive ability. He remains among the best all-around catchers in the league and his June surgery might have added an extra spring of athleticism for the 33-year-old.
The Phillies have enough star power in the lineup that they don’t need J.T. Realmuto to be the guy. They're in much better shape when he's hitting like an All-Star though and if they want to be a legitimate threat for a championship, they'll need his very best.
First-year Phillie earning trust out of bullpen
The Phillies long had one of the worst bullpens in baseball but the group turned a corner last year and has played an important role during the 2024 season. Getting positive contributions from multiple relievers simultaneously is sometimes impossible, but the Phillies have unlocked the very best out of several bullpen arms this season, including Jose Ruiz.
You could often hear groans from Philadelphia anytime Ruiz entered a game in the first half. A promising start led to a 5.08 ERA and more questions than solutions entering the All-Star break. Ruiz has been a different pitcher since and is slowly moving up the pecking order in the Phillies bullpen.
The right-hander has allowed only two runs in 14 appearances in the second half for a 1.42 ERA. Opponents are hitting .156 off Ruiz compared to a .301 average in the first half. He has seven appearances with multiple strikeouts in that span, the same amount he had in 27 games before the break.
What's perhaps most impressive about this stretch for Ruiz is the competition he's done it against. Over the past month, he recorded shutdown innings against the Yankees, Astros, Diamondbacks and Braves, three of which are in the top 10 in the league in OPS.
If everything works the way the Phillies want for the remainder of the season, Jose Ruiz will not be pitching in high-leverage situations. Regardless, he needs to continue to trend in the right direction with the playoffs approaching. Philadelphia's bullpen decisions played a role in their downfall last October. Getting the best out of Ruiz and other secondary options will help prevent that from happening again.
Trade deadline acquisition eyes significant role
While the Phillies didn’t make a blockbuster move before this year's trade deadline, they added several players who could make an impact in the playoffs. An under-the-radar acquisition the Phils made saw them add left-handed reliever Tanner Banks from the Chicago White Sox.
It hasn’t been in high-leverage moments, but Banks has pitched well since joining Philadelphia on the final day of July. He has a 2.84 ERA in 11 games with the Phils. He's kept opponents' batting average under .200 and improved his WHIP from 1.29 with Chicago to 1.03 in his first month in Philly.
Southpaw options out of the bullpen usually come at a premium. The Phillies typically turn to Matt Strahm and Jose Alvarado as their go-to lefties in relief, but Banks could push his way into the fold for several reasons.
His recent performances are enough to warrant a discussion, but Alvarado left the team earlier this week due to personal reasons. Alvarado wasn’t pitching well leading up to his departure, but his indefinite absence will undoubtedly shake up Philadelphia's bullpen plans in September.
Tanner Banks is potentially set for a bigger role during the final month of the regular season. It's uncharted territory for the third-year reliever, but you don’t go from the worst team in the league to one of the best without facing some new challenges. If it comes to it, the Phillies hope Banks can answer the bell when it matters most.
