Philadelphia Phillies: Five emerging keys to the 2020 season

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 27: Philadelphia Phillies players mob Jean Segura #2 at home plate after he hit a three-run game winning walk-off home run in the ninth inning during a game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on June 27, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 6-3. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

The first two keys are the most important and most likely to work out in the Philadelphia Phillies favor, barring significant injury – that is, any injury that keeps either of the following players out for more than two weeks running:

Bryce Harper: What, you didn’t expect Harper to “emerge” as a factor this season? While observers in the Washington-Baltimore area may find this amusing, there’s no reason to believe Harper won’t equal or improve on his 35 home runs, 114 RBI, and .882 OPS from ’19.

It’s clear he’s energized by playing for the Phillies, and this is particularly borne out by his assists figure from last year – 13 – tied for the best mark in the NL and only one behind the MLB leader.

J.T. Realmuto: All right, perhaps Realmuto won’t win both the catcher’s Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards two years running, but if he does, will anyone be truly surprised? It’s also reasonable to expect him to be MLB’s caught-stealing leader again by a dozen or so baserunners.

The Philadelphia Phillies backstop is one of the most level-headed guys in baseball. So, no, don’t expect his arbitration outcome and coming contract negotiations to screw any of this up.

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