2020 Philadelphia Phillies Preview – MLB Preview & Prediction
The Philadelphia Phillies are one team that has really looked impressive for long stretches and that is definitely going to be a challenge for the Phillies. Now, the Phillies are looking to come into 2020 with a positive outlook. The Phillies do have some good news in the fact that the team is coming in looking fairly healthy and hoping that their pitching staff is able to come into the season and playing great like they were expecting last season.
Philadelphia Phillies Starters
The Phillies definitely have a good range of starting rotation that actually has quite a bit of depth to it. The only real question mark that would be in place for the Phillies would be the 5th spot in the rotation. The fifth spot in the rotation, though, should be able to do well enough for the Phillies to get through that potential hole in the rotation. The staff ace for the Phillies is Aaron Nola. Nola will be followed up in the rotation by Zack Wheeler, Jake Arrieta, Zach Eflin, and Spencer Howard is in the fifth spot. Nola last year started in 34 games and threw a total of 202.1 innings on the year while striking out 229 batters. Nola did end up posting a 12-7 record and a 3.87 ERA on the season.
Philadelphia Phillies Relievers
When it comes to the bullpen the Phillies will be hoping that the starters are able to go deeper into the game. The relievers for Philadelphia have been able to throw decent, but the Phillies also have some question marks in the bullpen as well. The Phillies are heading into the year with Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Alvarez, Victor Arano, Adam Morgan and Anthony Swarzak. The closer for the Phillies is projected to be Hector Neris. Last season Neris pitched in 68 games and threw a total of 67.2 innings while striking out 89 batters. Neris ended up getting a total of 28 saves while blowing 6 saves and ended up posting a 3-6 record total.
Philadelphia Phillies Catchers
The catching position for the Phillies is actually lined up fairly decent with J.T. Realmuto behind the plate as the projected starter. The backup for Realmuto could be questionable at times with Andrew Knapp taking the spot behind the plate. Last season Realmuto ended up playing in a total of 145 games last year. Realmuto managed to hit at a clip of .275 and cranked out 25 homers while driving in 83 runners. When it comes to playing defense Realmuto ended up throwing out 46.7% of the runners who tried to steal against him.
Philadelphia Phillies Corners
With the corners the Phillies definitely look set fairly well with Rhys Hoskins at first and Jean Segura at third. The Phillies do have a decent, but questionable backup at first in Jay Bruce, but also Scott Kingery is the backup for third base. Last year for Hoskins last year seen him play in 160 games while hitting at a clip of .226 with 29 homers and 85 runners brought home. When it comes to Jean Segura, he managed to play in a total of 144 games while hitting at a clip of .280 with 12 homers and 60 runners brought home.
Philadelphia Phillies Middle Infield
For the Phillies, the team has Scott Kingery playing at second base and Didi Gregorius is projected to start at short. When it comes to the backups Jean Segura is the first player on the depth chart which could leave the Phillies short on the corners. When it comes to last season Kingery managed to play in 126 games, but only hit at a clip of .258 with 19 homers and brought home 55 runners. The shortstop, Gregorius, ended up playing in 82 games while hitting at a clip of only .238 with 16 homers and bringing home 61 runners.
Philadelphia Phillies Outfield
The outfield is projected to be playing decent on the year so far and have quite a few good projections on the season as well. The Phillies are looking to have Andrew McCutchen starting in left field, Adam Haseley is projected to start in center, and in rightfield, Bryce Harper is projected to start. When it comes to backing up Jay Bruce backs in left, Scott Kingery backs up in center, and Roman Quinn backs up in rightfield. Last year McCutchen ended up playing in only 59 games while hitting at a clip of .256 with 10 homers and 29 runners brought home. Adam Haseley has played in a total of 67 games last year while hitting at a clip of .266 with 5 homers and 26 runners brought home. Harper has looked impressive at times in his 157games he played last year. Harper ended up hitting at a clip of .260 with 35 homers and 114 runners brought home.
Philadelphia Phillies Prediction
The Phillies are one team that have looked good on the year in the past, but for some reason the Phillies seem to fall behind in the way the team has been playing towards the end of the year. Look for that to come in and give the Phillies some problems this season as well. The Phillies do good for part of the year, but end up slacking off towards the end of the season to fall back.
