Phan Phavorites - July Update
New approval ratings for every player on the Phillies' active roster.
On July 17 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 number in parentheses is the rating the player received on June 20.
Dylan Covey - 10% (up from 6% in June)
Aaaaayyyy! On the rise! Look who’s out here winning hearts and minds. Covey’s overall ERA is still 6.00, but he did string together four straight scoreless appearances before allowing two runs on July 14.
Darick Hall - 12% (not on the active roster for June poll)
A 12% approval rating is wild for a player who was universally beloved in 2022. But it’s hard to approve a .180/.212/.260 slash line (.472 OPS). Long Ball Hall is better than this.
Aaron Nola - 24% (down from 26% in June)
Nola continues to frustrate fans. He’s been much better lately, with a 3.13 ERA in his last five starts. But these are job approval ratings, and Nola’s job on this team is to dominate when he’s on the mound. It’s going to take a few more good starts for Nola’s rating to tick up.
Drew Ellis - 27% (not on the active roster for June poll)
I’m surprised that Ellis didn’t get more love. He has only played in a handful of games, but he has an .858 OPS in 29 plate appearances. His career OPS is .563, so I’m not sure how much we were expecting out of Ellis.
Trea Turner - 48% (down from 64% in June)
Pretty big drop for Turner. Fans are running out of patience. It feels like the shortstop is playing better lately (.260/.321/.400, 3 HR, 9 SB in 109 PAs since the last poll). But he’s here to put up more impressive numbers than that.
JT Realmuto - 57% (down from 95% in June)
Huge drop for Realmuto. He’s hitting just .208 in 21 games since the last poll, with a .663 OPS. But I’m still surprised at the drop. Realmuto still has a .766 OPS overall and we’ve seen him bounce back from a lot of cold streaks in the past.
Andrew Bellatti - 62% (not on the active roster for June poll)
Bellatti was probably hard for voters to assess. He had a 5.68 ERA in 15 appearances before the Phils sent him to AAA in late May. But he put in some work in Lehigh Valley and has two scoreless appearances since his return to the big leagues.
Yunior Marte - 63% (up from 50% in June)
Fans are fairly evenly split on Marte. Those who approved of his job performance likely considered his most recent eight appearances, over which he’s allowed two runs in eight innings with a 1.00 WHIP. Those who disapproved of his performance, meanwhile, likely considered a rough 10th-inning appearance against Atlanta on June 22 when Marte allowed five runs. Those five runs were unearned, however: you may remember a costly error by Kyle Schwarber in that game.
Gregory Soto - 66% (down from 86% in June)
Soto’s approval rating dropped 20 points from June 20. That’s not surprising, as Soto was charged with runs in three consecutive appearances just before the July 17 poll. For the season, he has a disappointing 4.79 ERA. But his WHIP (1.23) and FIP (3.47) indicate he’s been unlucky.
Andrew Vasquez - 69% (down from 84% in June)
Vasquez’s rating took a hit this month because polling was conducted just after a shaky outing on July 14 against the Padres. But 69% is too low. Vasquez’s stats for the season: 38.2 innings pitched, 2.09 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 4.05 FIP, 13 BB, 32 K.
Edmundo Sosa - 74% (up from 68% in June)
A few more bitches loved Sosa in July than June. Makes sense, because in 16 July at-bats he has a .375/.444/.563 slash line (1.007 OPS). But for the season, he’s still at .249/.271/.405 (.676 OPS). Sosa seems to perform best when used sparingly.
Kyle Schwarber - 77% (down from 78% in June)
Schwarber probably has the most stable approval rating on the team. Everyone has their mind made up. A fan either accepts his low batting average and brutal defense in exchange for power, or they do not. I like Schwarber because you know exactly what you’re getting. To me, the man does his job. (I’d like him more if the Phillies find a way to get him in the DH spot.)
Zack Wheeler - 77% (down from 96% in June)
Wheeler’s uneven season continues. He put up a 0.93 ERA in three starts from June 8 to June 18, striking out 19 in 19.1 innings pitched. It looked like he was finally rounding into form. But he has a 5.79 ERA in his last four starts.
In 19 starts overall, Wheeler has a 4.04 ERA, with 126 strikeouts and 22 walks in 111.1 innings pitched. Not terrible numbers, and his 2.98 FIP suggests he’s been unlucky. But if this Phillies team is going to make another deep postseason run, Wheeler and Nola will have to provide the 1-2 punch they gave us last year.
Matt Strahm - 81% (up from 69% in June)
Strahm has a 3.75 ERA and a 3.63 FIP this season, helping the Phillies as both a starter and a reliever. He’s doing his job.
Cristopher Sanchez - 84% (up from 82% in June)
The Phillies struggled all season to find their fifth starter, but it looks like Sanchez may be the answer going forward. He has a 3.26 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP this year.
Sanchez’s help at the back of the rotation may let the Phils focus on offense at the trade deadline.
Jeff Hoffman - 89% (up from 70% in June)
Hard to see what more the remaining 11% of the fan base was expecting from Hoff. He’s having a career year in his eighth major league season, with a 2.59 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 21 appearances. This is coming from a guy with a lifetime 5.48 ERA and 1.55 WHIP.
Garrett Stubbs - 92% (same as June)
Stubbs is bulletproof when it comes to these approval ratings. He hasn’t done much of interest in 57 plate appearances this season, with a slash line of .240/.321/.300 and no home runs. But his job is to give Realmuto a break here and there, and he’s fine in that role. The Phillies are 10-4 this season when Stubbs is the starting catcher.
Alec Bohm - 93% (down from 94% in June)
Bohm is hitting .285 this season with a .765 OPS. His approval rating is in the 90s because he continues to hit well with runners in scoring position: .351 with an .897 OPS in 108 plate appearances.
Bryce Harper - 93% (up from 91% in June)
On July 15, Harper hit his first home run since May 25. It’s a great sign for the superstar who rushed back from Tommy John surgery. Even without his usual power, Harper has been pretty good: .301/.396/.425 (.821 OPS). And if he successfully learns how to play first base, it’ll create some much-needed flexibility for the Phillies at the DH spot.
Ranger Suarez - 95% (down from 98% in June)
Suarez allowed 11 earned runs over 17 innings (5.82 ERA) in three starts just before the July poll, so I expected his approval rating to take a big hit. But it looks like fans are giving him the benefit of the doubt. He still has a 3.84 ERA overall this season.
Johan Rojas - 96% (not on the active roster for June poll)
Rojas, the first Phillies big-league player born in the 2000s, only made three career starts before polling was conducted. But he made a great first impression, going 3/4 in one of those games and playing outstanding defense.
Brandon Marsh - 97% (up from 84% in June)
Marsh just continues to impress, hitting .279 with an .812 OPS this year. He has seven home runs and is tied for the league lead in triples with five.
Taijuan Walker - 98% (up from 93% in June)
Walker is tied for the league lead in wins with an 11-3 record, and the Phillies are 14-5 overall in his starts. Walker earned the win in seven consecutive appearances dating back to June 6, and the streak is still alive.
Craig Kimbrel - 99% (up from 96% in June)
Kimbrel joined the highly exclusive 99% club this month, and it’s easy to see why. He’s perfect through 16 save opportunities and has a 0.96 ERA since May 3. Opponents are batting just .106 against Kimbrel during that span.
Nick Castellanos - 99% (same as June)
That’s 2023 All-Star Nick Castellanos to you.
He has cooled off in 13 July games (.185/.200/.389 with three home runs), but his season numbers are still stellar (.290/.332/.474 with 13 home runs).
Bryson Stott - 99% (same as June)
Our golden boy. Stott can simply do no wrong. He’s one of just four qualified batters hitting over .300 in the NL (.306), he has a .776 OPS, he has eight home runs, he has stolen 16 stolen bases, and he’s playing great defense. When polling was conducted, Stott maintained a 100% approval rating after over 1000 votes. It dropped to 99% before voting ended, but 1% of voters probably just hit the wrong button.
Exclusive new artwork from Ragnaroktopus Ink.
The Phillies are rolling lately…
Tweets of the week.
With the trade deadline coming up, this week I just flagged five of the most insane ideas I’ve seen on the bird app:
The King says we should trade Harper and Turner for Ohtani:
https://twitter.com/WIPMiddayShow/status/1681336133244841984?s=20
Or, just trade Turner and his 11-year contract for Soto:
https://twitter.com/SportsRadioWIP/status/1679884209626796038?s=20
Swing a trade to bring Mickey Moniak back. We need a centerfielder because we only have Marsh, Pache, and Rojas with Crawford in the pipeline:
https://twitter.com/drewmsmith/status/1681490516934901760?s=20
All “young talent” is off the table for Shohei Ohtani, probably the greatest baseball player to ever live:
https://twitter.com/kaneguyer/status/1681276618277306368?s=20
We get Ohtani, the Angels get Nola (about to be a free agent), Rhys Hoskins (about to be a free agent and he’s injured), Andrew Painter (injured), and someone named “Scwarber.” Who says no?
https://twitter.com/desurvivor/status/1678595283670671360?s=20
This week in 2008.
The 2008 Phils were 52-44 at the end of July 16, in first place by half a game.
On July 10, Ryan Howard hit two home runs as the Phillies beat the Cardinals, 4-1. Howard had 27 home runs and 83 RBIs at this point.
Howard hit his 28th home run the next night in a 6-5 win over Arizona. Shane Victorino tied the game late with a two-run triple, and Jayson Werth hit a walk-off single in the 12th inning.
Adam Eaton started for the Phillies against Arizona on July 12. Guess who won that one. (Hint: Eaton allowed eight earned runs and didn’t get out of the 4th inning.)
On July 13, the Phils played their last game before the 2008 All-Star Break. Cole Hamels threw seven strong innings, Pat Burrell hit his 23rd home run, and the Phillies beat Arizona 6-3. It was Flyin’ Hawaiian Figurine Day at the ballpark.
Phillie you forgot about.
Mack Wheat played two seasons for the Phils, in 1920 and 1921. He was a catcher and hit .222/.259/.335 for the Fightins’ in 273 plate appearances.
There’s not a lot to say about Mack Wheat, but I do want you to know he had a brother named Zack Wheat who ended up in the Hall of Fame. May have been the first example of the Phillies’ tendency to always get the wrong brother.
This is the section of the newsletter where I make you look at dogs.
Thank you for reading and go Phils!