MLB Power Rankings Roundup: Did the Phillies Rise Following a 5-2 Week?
The Phillies have lost five of the first seven series of the 2022 season, yet still sit only one game below .500 at 11-12 following a strong week in which they went 5-2.
The Phillies opened up the week by sweeping the Colorado Rockies in a four game series and ended it only a slightly down note by losing a series to the streaking New York Mets that included a combined no-hitter.
Suddenly, there are rumblings that Phillies manager Joe Girardi, who is in the last year of his contract, could be on the hot-seat after he failed to defend this players on Sunday night.
Where do the Phillies stand in the latest MLB Power Rankings from the national media?
| NL East Standings | W-L | GB | L10 | Playoff Odds (FanGraphs.com) |
| New York Mets | 16-7 | – | 7-3 | 86.4% |
| Miami Marlins | 12-9 | 3 | 8-2 | 31.0% |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 11-12 | 5 | 6-4 | 39.8% |
| Atlanta Braves | 10-13 | 6 | 4-6 | 70.9% |
| Washington Nationals | 8-16 | 8.5 | 2-8 | 0.2% |
MLB Power Rankings Roundup:
| Website | Phillies Rankings | Last Week +/- | Other NL Teams |
| TheAthletic.com | 16 | +2 (18) | Mets (3), Braves (14), Marlins (15), Nationals (28) |
| MLB.com | 19 | -1 (18) | Mets (2), Braves (11), Marlins (13), Nationals (28) |
| CBSSports.com | 15 | +5 (21) | Mets (1), Marlins (12), Braves (17), Nationals (29) |
| SportsIlustrated.com | 15 | +4 (19) | Mets (2), Marlins (14), Braves (16), |
| USAToday.com | 16 | +3 (19) | Mets (3), Braves (13), Marlins (15), Nationals (28) |
Sports Illustrated | Nick Selbe
Seven of Kyle Schwarber’s 15 hits this season have gone for home runs, and three have been doubles. That’s how you get a ludicrously funny slash line of .200/.318/.520 through 21 games.
TLL’s Take: Nothing to worry about here as Schwarber is a notorious slow starter and once he does watch out for this Phillies offense. Despite sporting a lackluster slash line, Schwarber’s 7 HR and 16 RBI are both good for the team lead and he has attributed for 0.6 WAR.
Philadelphia won Ranger Suárez’s first four starts.
TLL’s Take: Yes, the Phillies are undefeated in 2022 when Suarez toes the rubber although he hasn’t been nearly as good as when he posted a 1.36 ERA over 106 innings in 2021. His ERA now sits at a pedestrian 4.42 and his BB/9 has increased from 2.8 to 3.9. Locating pitches is Suarez’s bread-and-butter as he lacks the velocity to simply blow away batters.
Grant Bisbee & Levi Weaver | TheAthletic.com
Combined no-hitters are the ultimate indignity. This is a baseball truism that will only get more obvious in the future. With a standard no-hitter, you can chalk it up to sheer dominance from the other guy. With a combined no-hitter, the story shifts to a team that simply couldn’t get a hit, regardless of the look that’s thrown at them.
The Phillies will move on, as all teams do, because a shift in momentum is always a game away in this silly sport, and the roster should hit. It’s also worth noting that the defense has been average, according to the numbers. Not apocalyptic, and not even bad. Perfectly average.
If the defense can be average, and if Zack Wheeler can rediscover his superior command, there might be something here.
A couple hits every so often would help, though. That is my professional baseball analysis.
TLL’s Take: Yes, the no-hitter was a punch to the gut, especially because it the hands of the Mets. The Phillies lineup is full of veteran hitters, who I have no doubt quickly put the game behind them. I would also assume this isn’t the first time some of the members of the Phillies have been no-hit in their career.
The Phillies are 6th in Runs and sit around the top-ten in most other offensive categories. I don’t think is any reason to worry about the clear strength of this ball club.
Bisbee and Weaver are absolutely correct about the team defense and staff ace Zack Wheeler. All the defense has to do is be around league average for this team to reach the playoffs and as for Wheeler, he looked much more like himself in his last start after struggling to begin the season.
TLL’s Take: Im tiring of complaining about Major League Baseball and their apparent apathy toward promoting and highlighting the game they make billions on every year. MLB.com is the laziest outlet out there, even non-Philadelphia sports blogs do a better job of covering the league.
Paul Casella doesn’t write each and every weekly power rankings for MLB.com, but I have yet to hear a response when I tweet at them while writing this article.
That’s a great week, even with the series loss in Queens. They’ll get a home crack at the Mets this next weekend. Four games worth.
TLL’s Take: It would say it was a good week, not great for the Phillies. The series against the Mets was about more than simply making up ground in the standings. The Mets will come back to earth with all the attention coming their way, they always do.
On the other hand, letting the Mets know that you are formidable competition and a threat to win the NL Easy is an important trend to set early in the season. After six games against the rats from Queens they are 2-4. Thats not going to cut it.
