Phillies Outfielder Catching Fire and Breaking Slump at the Perfect Time

The Philadelphia Phillies are finding a lot of success on the field recently, catapulting ahead of the New York Mets in the National League East standings.

They are taking full advantage of the Mets recent struggles, which the Phillies have contributed to, taking two of three games in their recent series against each other.

It has been impressive seeing Philadelphia get on track despite some concerning obstacles that needed to be overcome, such as their bullpen woes that were exacerbated by closer Jose Alvardo being suspended for 80 games.

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One of the reasons the team has been able to overcome that has been another underwhelming part of the team getting on track.

At a point early in the campaign, Phillies center fielders were on pace to have the least productive season at the position in franchise history.

Brandon Marsh was struggling in an everyday role as the center fielder and hit the injured list. His backup, Johan Rojas, wasn’t getting the job done either.

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Finding some help in the grass looked to be their most pressing need, but it is no longer a priority with Marsh finding his stride and playing at a high level.

Out of the gate, he struggled. Prior to going down with an injury on April 16, Marsh had a .095/.220/.167 slash line

Since returning from his stint on the injured list on May 3, he has played in 41 games. His numbers have improved a ton from a brutal start with a slash line of .321/.392/.453 with one home run, nine doubles and one triple, knocking in 11 runs.

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His re-emergence has provided a spark to the team, with Philadelphia going 26-15 since his return.

The power output still isn’t where the team had hoped it would be, but they have to be encouraged with the turnaround that he is in the midst of.

Marsh has slashed his strikeout rate from 32.4% last year to 24.6% this year, making more contact and producing accordingly.

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If this continues, it is one less thing manager Rob Thomson has to worry about with his lineup moving forward. Now, if he could just get his left field platoon to figure things out in the same fashion.

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