Phan Phavorites - August Update

New approval ratings for every player on the Phillies' active roster.

Aug 25, 2023

On August 24 I polled Phillies twitter to get a fan approval rating for every player on the 26-man roster. A voter could “approve” or “disapprove” of each player’s performance, with no options in between.

Here are the results, sorted from lowest approval rating to highest. The numbers in parentheses are the ratings the player received on July 17 and June 20.

Dylan Covey - 13% (10% in July, 6% in June)

At this rate, Covey only needs another year or so to hit 50%!

Our guy has a 5.00 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. On the other hand, he has allowed an earned run in just five of 16 relief appearances, and he has a 3.80 ERA since a disastrous outing as a starter on May 28.

Rodolfo Castro - 14% (not on active roster for July or June polls)

The Phils sent Bailey Falter to Pittsburgh for Castro at the trade deadline. So far, getting rid of Falter is all that Castro has accomplished with the Phillies. In eight games and 17 at-bats, he’s hitting .118.

Aaron Nola - 22% (24% in July, 26% in June)

Nola continues to struggle, sporting a 4.49 ERA as we near the end of August. All will be forgiven if he stops serving up home run balls and rounds into form down the stretch. But right now, he’s the most disappointing player on the team. It’s getting hard to picture the Phillies trusting him with the ball in the second game of a playoff series.

JT Realmuto - 36% (57% in July, 95% in June)

The timing of the polls hurt Realmuto this month. Voters were asked about him just one day after he struck out swinging at a ball 10 feet outside of the strike zone, stranding a runner on 3rd after a memorable Bryce Harper 9th-inning home run. (The Phillies lost the game in extras.)

Without that one unfortunate at-bat, JT was probably about to get a polling bump. He’s hitting .288/.323/.492 (.814 OPS) in August.

Seranthony Dominguez - 39% (not on active roster for July or June polls)

Fans were harsh with Seranthony in his first poll of the season. Expectations for him were high after he served as the team’s primary right-handed reliever during the 2022 playoff run. But he has a 4.00 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP in an injury-plagued 2023.

Hopefully Dominguez turned a corner this month. His August stats: 9 G, 7.2 IP, 1.17 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 6 BB, 5 K.

Andrew Bellatti - 56% (62% in July, not on active roster for June poll)

The slight drop is surprising for Bellatti. Since returning from a stint in the minors on July 14, he has allowed just one run in six appearances.

Kyle Schwarber - 67% (77% in July, 78% in June)

Schwarber is up to 34 home runs on the season. But a .184 batting average is embarrassing, even for a career .226 hitter. He’s on pace to strike out 210 times this season. And he continues to struggle defensively.

Nothing a few postseason moonshots can’t fix, though. We shall see.

Gregory Soto - 70% (66% in July, 86% in June)

Soto’s ERA for the season is 4.72. But ERA isn’t always a good barometer for a relief pitcher’s performance. Soto had a few disastrous outings, but he’s held the opposition scoreless in 40 of 54 appearances. He also has a solid 1.22 WHIP.

Jake Cave - 75% (not on active roster for July or June polls)

In five years with Minnesota, Cave slashed .235/.297/.411. This year with the Phils, he’s hitting .246/.291/.423. He’s doing his job.

Trea Turner - 80% (48% in July, 64% in June)

In 107 games before the ovation: .235/.290/.368 (.657 OPS)

In 20 games since the ovation: .343/.385/.630 (1.015 OPS)

Phillies fans fixed Trea Turner. What else is there to say???

Jeff Hoffman - 82% (89% in July, 70% in June)

We all need to start putting some respect on Jeff Hoffman’s name. The man came out of nowhere to give us a 2.84 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP this season. His career numbers indicate that he won’t be able to maintain those stats. But right now, it’s hard to see how 18% of fans disapprove of his performance.

Garrett Stubbs - 83% (92% in July, 92% in June)

Stubbs’ approval rating is starting to slip. But it’s still remarkably high for a guy hitting .210/.289/.272 with no home runs in 31 games.

His popularity is a testament to his role as the team’s Good Vibes Ambassador. Nick Castellanos named Stubbs when asked his favorite player on the Phils.

Matt Strahm - 84% (81% in July, 69% in June)

Strahm continues to be one of the team’s most reliable pitchers, with a 3.23 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He also has an active streak of seven appearances (9.2 IP) without allowing a run.

Edmundo Sosa - 86% (74% in July, 68% in June)

Sosa has rebounded nicely from some early-season struggles. He’s hitting .304 in August with a .994 OPS.

Jose Alvarado - 88% (not on active roster for July poll, 97% in June)

Alvarado has a 1.33 ERA, a 2.30 FIP, and a 1.15 WHIP this season. He’s striking out 13.7 batters per nine innings and walking 3.3 per nine. He’s making rally chickens. He’s giving his teammates friendship necklaces. He’s simply one of the best relievers in baseball.

I can only assume that 12% of Phillies fans are frustrated with the amount of time he missed this season due to injury.

Michael Lorenzen - 90% (not on active roster for July or June polls)

The Tigers dealt Lorenzen to the Phillies on August 1 in exchange for minor leaguer Hao-Yu Lee. In his first start for the Phils, he allowed two runs in eight innings. In his second start, Lorenzen threw the 14th no-hitter in franchise history.

In two starts since then, he has allowed 11 runs in nine innings.

What do we make of all this? How good is Lorenzen? I have no idea, but I do know that a no-hitter is going to make you a popular guy.

Craig Kimbrel - 91% (99% in July, 96% in June)

My good friend Craig Kimbrel took the loss in the last game before polls opened, so the drop in support reflects some recency bias. He still has a 3.33 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, and he’s 19 for 21 in save opportunities this season.

Cristopher Sanchez - 92% (84% in July, 82% in June)

Sanchez has been a real bright spot for the Phils this season. He has a 3.36 ERA and has allowed three runs or fewer in 11 of his 12 starts.

Zack Wheeler - 92% (77% in July, 96% in June)

Wheeler allowed four first-inning runs to the Nationals in his last start, but ended up lasting seven innings without giving up anything more. In general, he’s looking more and more like the 2020-2022 version of himself. He posted an ERA under 3.00 in each of those years.

Taijuan Walker - 94% (98% in July, 93% in June)

Walker hasn’t been dominant this season (4.02 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), but he has a 13-5 record and the Phillies are 18-7 when he starts. That’ll play.

Nick Castellanos - 94% (99% July, 99% in June)

Castellanos fell out of the 99% club this month and it’s tough to see why. He had a bad July, but in August he’s hitting .286 with an .851 OPS. He’s also up to 21 home runs.

Alec Bohm - 98% (93% in July, 94% in June)

Bohm continues to come through when it counts. His 77 RBI are second only to Schwarber’s 81 for the Phillies. And in 138 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, he’s hitting .369/.413/.484 (.897 OPS).

This is all while playing great defense at both third base and first base.

Johan Rojas - 98% (96% in June, not on active roster for June poll)

22-year-old Rojas continues to impress with his speed and glove, playing incredible defense in center field. And he’s holding his own at the plate as well, hitting .289/.337/.410 (.747 OPS).

We’re only 92 plate appearances into Rojas’ major league career, so let’s not build him a statue just yet. But the kid looks legit. And in 76 games with AA Reading this year, he hit .306/.361/.484 (.845 OPS), so it’s not like the bat came out of nowhere.

Bryce Harper - 98% (97% in July, 91% in June)

I’ll just say it: 2% of you are nuts. Like, Looney Tunes.

Harper rushed back from Tommy John surgery in record time. He learned a brand new defensive position to help the team. He’s hitting .299 with an .860 OPS this season, and in August he’s hitting .333 with a 1.127 OPS.

He plays his best when the lights are brightest. He has a home run in each of his last three games. He plays hard. He has done everything a human being can do to endear himself to the city of Philadelphia.

98%? C’mon now. Are you not entertained???

Brandon Marsh - 99% (97% in July, 84% in June)

Bryson Stott - 99% (99% in July, 99% in June)

We might as well discuss these two young gentlemen together, as they seem to be joined at the hip. And 99% is well-deserved for each of them.

Marsh is hitting .283/.372/.458 and Stott is hitting .297/.344/.441. Only Harper has a higher OPS than Marsh’s .830 among the Phillies regulars. Only Harper and Marsh have a higher OPS than Stott’s .785.

Stott has 12 home runs and a team-high 24 stolen bases. Marsh has fewer plate appearances but is averaging fairly similar HR/SB numbers on a per-PA basis.

Defensively, Marsh probably has room to improve, but covers a ton of ground. Stott is already one of the best second basemen in the league.

They’re both just 25 years old. They both have playoff experience from 2022. They keep everyone hydrated.

Together with 24-year-old Bohm and 22-year-old Rojas, Marsh and Stott form a nucleus that should keep the Phillies competitive even when the veterans on the team start to fade.

Exclusive new artwork from… oh no.

I didn’t get an artist lined up for this week’s free newsletter, so I turned to AI. The results were predictably terrifying.

The prompt here is: “Two Philadelphia Phillies players pour water on another Philadelphia Phillies player. Everyone is happy.”

If you’re an artist looking to share Phillies-related art, let’s talk business over email (foley.john@gmail.com) or twitter DM (@ 2008philz).

Free Phillies tickets.

One person who leaves a comment on this article will win two tix to Sunday’s Phillies game against the Cardinals. Section 136. Winner will be notified today (Friday, August 25) at 10:00pm.

Tell me whose approval rating is too low or too high this month:

Tweets of the week.

I’ve reached this point too:
https://twitter.com/FranzkeLA/status/1694466120638509442?s=20
Would have bet money that they averaged fewer than three runs/game the day after scoring ten or more:
https://twitter.com/tgpschmenk/status/1694366234869915985?s=20
Citizens Bank Park is the place to be again, even in the regular season. It’s been a while:
https://twitter.com/CodifyBaseball/status/1693688881915494569?s=20
Shout out to the Media, PA Little League team:
https://twitter.com/CrossingBroad/status/1692990443124822379?s=20
Smoother than Trea Turner, maybe:
https://twitter.com/ArcainiLuke/status/1693033341178478856?s=20

This week in 2008.

The 2008 Phils were 68-58 at the end of August 20, 1.5 games behind the Mets in the NL East.

On August 14, the Dodgers finished off a four-game sweep of the Phillies in LA. The Fightins were 64-57 after that game.

If asked to pinpoint the date that the team finally started to heat up, I’d probably say August 15. They beat the Padres 1-0 that night. Pat Burrell hit his 28th home run, Jamie Moyer threw seven strong innings to outduel Greg Maddux, and the Ryan Madson/JC Romero/Brad Lidge combo closed the game out. From that game through the end of the regular season, the Phils would go 28-13 (.683).

Kyle Kendrick got shelled the next day in an 8-3 loss. But on August 17 the Phillies won another close one, 2-1, to take the series. Cole Hamels threw eight innings and Lidge picked up his 30th save.

Returning home on August 19, the Phils came from behind to beat the Nationals 5-4. A Jayson Werth home run in the eighth inning—Werth’s 17th of the season—proved to be the game-winner. And the good guys beat the Nats again the next night as Brett Myers pitched a complete game shutout.

Phillie you forgot about.

Thomas Arthur Barry (1879-1946) played exactly one major league game in his life. One more than most of us.

On April 15, 1904, 25-year-old Barry started for the Phillies against the Boston Beaneaters in front of 2,383 fans at the Baker Bowl. He allowed five runs on six hits, walking one. He recorded just two outs (one via strikeout) before leaving the game, never to play in the majors again. The 2008philz research team has yet to uncover exactly what ended Barry’s career.

John Brackenridge, who would play in only seven career games himself, took over on the mound for Barry and finished the last 8.1 innings of the matchup. The Phillies lost, 6-0. They would go on to lose 100 games that season.

This is the section of the newsletter where I make you look at dogs.

Thank you for reading and GO PHILS!