Grades for all the Philadelphia Phillies who mattered in 2023

The 2023 Philadelphia Phillies post-mortems are done; once again, the South Philly 9 didn't go home with the big trophy befitting a $257 million team. As in '22, "good pitching beat good hitting."

The corollary to this is: The pitchers don’t have to be generally good, experienced, or even impressive. They just have to be good when it counts. Two rookie pitchers for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Brandon Pfaadt and Andrew Saalfrank, shoved large tree branches into the Phillies’ playoff bike spokes, for example.

It’s time to grade the important Philadelphia Phillies on this past season’s team.

Let’s look at the starting ten first. The players’ base and adjusted salaries are given in parentheses, if there is any difference. Otherwise, just what was paid is given, and yes, the salaries do affect the grades.

Bryce Harper ($26M/$27.5M+):  B+. And I can hear the howls already, so all right, this would probably be an A- if he had played the whole year, and yeah, an injury’s an injury, but grades paid to at least the top three moneymakers on the team must reflect whether a full season is played. In Harper’s case, it wasn’t.

There’s no denying Bryce Harper is the “heart and soul” of the current Phillies team. Many times this season, he produced significantly when it was needed. He did not produce significantly in the NLCS, going 5-for-29 (.172) with 3 RBI. He’s still making good progress in playing first base.

Trea Turner ($27.2M+):  B-. Really, a C+ is probably justifiable, considering Turner’s team base-high salary, and his .236 batting average at the end of May and that .242 figure at the end of July. But then, of course, after some warm feelies sent his way from Philly fans at Citizens Bank Park, as has been too thoroughly documented, he hit .333 in August and .299 in September. He drove in over a third of his regular season’s 76 RBI (26) in August alone. He also contributed 30 stolen bases without being caught.

But Turner had a dreadful season in the field, posting a fielding percentage 14 points below the league average of .974. He committed a career-high 23 errors sprinkled among 568 chances and some spectacularly great plays.

He hit .261 in the postseason, but made four errors.

Zack Wheeler ($24.5M):  A. Wheeler is the team’s undisputed ace, and he pitched like one this year. The regular pitcher metrics may not bespeak indisputable glory (13-6, 3.61 ERA), but the starter threw 192.1 innings and posted a career best K/BB ratio of 5.44/1, with a career low of 1.8 walks per nine innings.

Then there was his playoff performance, when he was unbeatable, even in the seventh game of the NLCS, when his team was clearly doomed by the time he took the ball. In that game, Wheeler threw 1.2 hitless, scoreless innings beginning in the seventh inning.

These three players ate up very, very nearly a full third of the salary dollars the Phillies spent this year.

On to the players who filled out the rest of the starting lineup at the end of the season…

Aaron Nola ($16M):  B. Aaron Nola represents the Phillies hardest offseason decision as his contract is expiring. The right-hander had neither his best nor worst season until the end, when he dialed up some great performances beginning September 15 against the Cardinals. Unfortunately, that came to a screeching halt in his last appearance against the Diamondbacks in Game 6 of the NLCS when he gave up four earned runs in 4.1 innings.

Still, Nola is one of baseball’s most durable starters, throwing more than 180 innings in five of his nine years thus far, and posting a winning record by 19 games with Phillies teams that were mediocre or worse in his first seven years. His career WHIP is 1.129, and he has finished in the top seven for Cy Young voting three times. A tough decision, indeed.

Ranger Suarez ($2.9M+):  B-. Arbitration eligible in ’24, Suarez represents another sticky matter for Phillies management. A winning and generally effective left-handed starter, he wasn’t actually ready to start a game until May 13 this season. He eventually started 22 games, but won only four. A six-earned-run mess on September 27 against the Pirates pushed his ERA for the season over 4.00. In the NLCS, he might have been 1-0, or 2-0, instead of 1-1, if the Phillies had managed to score three or four runs, respectively, before the he was removed in the fifth inning of Game 7.

Taijuan Walker ($18M):  C+. Walker had something of a fluke season, posting a 4.38 ERA in 31 starts, but benefiting from the Phillies offense. He won 15, lost six, but wasn’t trusted enough by the team to even appear in postseason games. Although 15 wins are evidence of at least some toughness, Philly seems to have overpaid for him.

Cristopher Sanchez ($725K/$510.6K+):  B. Sanchez is on the other side of a coin with Walker, going 3-5 despite a very respectable 3.44 ERA and 1.047 WHIP. He started 18 of his 19 games, but the Phillies didn’t seem to trust the left-hander as they might have if Walker weren’t so expensive. Or maybe he was handled perfectly since his FIP was 55 points higher than his ERA.

Matt Strahm ($7.5M):  A. This versatile starter/reliever started 10 of his 56 game appearances this season, and for his cost, which will be the same next season, he’ll end up as one of Dave Dombrowski’s best decisions if he can duplicate his ’23 numbers (9-5, 3.29 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 1.015 WHIP) in his age-32 campaign.

Michael Lorenzen ($8.5M/$2.7M+):  C+. What do you say about trade acquisition who throws a no-hitter in his second game, then gives up six, four, three, six, four, and four earned runs in his next six appearances (five starts)? “Only in Philadelphia”? Sounds about right.

On to the relievers and backup players…

Craig Kimbrel ($10M):  C+. A de facto closer with this grade, for this much money, is not what you need in a playoff run, but that’s what the Phillies had, and it didn’t work out. His numbers were reasonable, although he blew 17.9 percent of his save situations during the regular season, and worst of all, gave up three earned runs in the pivotal Game 4 loss in the NLCS. It’s just not what the Phillies expected from a guy with 400-plus saves who still throws a 95-mph fastball.

Jose Alvarado ($3.4M+):  A. Although the big left-handed fire-baller still has a few games that cause concern about wildness, it’s hard to argue with a 1.74 ERA, 1.161 WHIP, and 10 saves in the 12 games he finished. He also appeared in over a quarter of the games the Phillies played.

Seranthony Dominguez ($2.5M):  B-. Seranthony somehow posted a 3.78 ERA in 57 appearances, but appeared to be battling wildness all season long. He was trusted to save only two games in the regular season, but straightened out for a 0.00 ERA in the postseason in six brief appearances (four holds).

Jeff Hoffman ($1.3M/$1.6M):  A-. Signed as a free agent after the Twins signed him as a free agent, then released him in a month, Hoffman was another pleasant surprise, winning five games, losing two, and posting a 2.41 ERA and 0.917 WHIP. He appeared in 54 games and was one of the trusted relievers in the playoffs, going 1-1 (2.57 ERA).

Gregory Soto ($3.9M+):  C+. Soto throws hard, and appeared in 69 games, improving his WHIP to 1.144 from last year’s 1.376 with Detroit, but somehow, with a 4.62 ERA (3.59 FIP), only inspired the Phillies to use him for three total innings spread out over five appearances in the postseason. His ERA then was 6.00.

Junior Marte ($725K+):  D+. Marte was signed for his age-28 season, well, because somebody saw something, and he appeared in 40 games. His numbers were not good (e.g., 1.627 WHIP). He did save two games. He is not without promise in terms of an eye test, I guess.

Garrett Stubbs ($741K):  B-. As the backup to one of baseball’s best catchers, Stubbs doesn’t get to play often, but he is one of the best bunters in baseball, and like the guy who kept him out of all but 41 games, a good baserunner, who happens to be faster to first base than Cedric Mullins and Steven Kwan.

Oh, and his batting average was seven points higher than Kyle Schwarber’s.

Edmundo Sosa ($950K):  B. As an infielder who can play center field in a pinch, Sosa played in 104 games and hit .251, driving in 30, a career high. He is a very solid infielder.

Jake Cave ($950K):  C. Although he is a capable defensive outfielder, Cave hit only .212, driving in 21.

Cristian Pache ($720K):  B-. Pache, a lifetime .173 hitter at the end of the season, but a flashy backup outfielder, seems to have benefitted from some time with hitting coach Kevin Long. He hit .238 in 84 at-bats.

There are 27 players graded here, including one below this graf. The Phillies in 2023 included 15 other players who were paid for MLB contracts, but some have been excluded as marginal, and others for health reasons, such as Rhys Hoskins (knee surgery recovery, $12M) and Connor Brogdon (three weeks with COVID, halting his MLB appearances for the season in early June).

However, we must not forget one of the inspiring Phillies stories in an ultimately unsatisfying season for a very good team…

Orion Kerkering ($720K/$34.8K+):  A. Young Orion Kerkering played for five teams in the Philadelphia Phillies organization this season, touching every possible level except Single-A-Rookie. He started with the Single-A Clearwater Threshers and rode a killer slider all the way to The Show. There he appeared in three regular season games and seven postseason contests. He pitched three regular season innings and gave up one earned run. In the postseason, he pitched 5.1 innings, booking a 3.38 ERA with a 3.07 FIP.

Only in Philadelphia.