Phillies July in Review: Playoffs? The Hunt for Red October continues into August

The Philadelphia Phillies finished the month of July with a record of 15-10. They are now 55-47 on the season, 10 games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets and 6.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in second.

The Phillies currently hold the third and final NL Wild Card spot with a game advantage over the St. Louis Cardinals heading into the month of August. Before we look at the road ahead, let’s take a look at last month and see why the Fightins enter a new month primed to break a decade-long playoff drought.

Hittin’ Season: July Numbers for the Phillies at the Plate

Alec Bohm: Hotter Than the Weather

Alec Bohm is arguably the hottest hitter in baseball right now, after slashing .434/.457/.336 with a 1.089 OPS in the month of July with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, and 8 RBI over 20 games. 

The last Philadelphia Phillie with more hits in July than Alec Bohm was Jimmy Rollins:

Bohm (2022) — 33 Hits in 20 Games
Rollins (2011) — 34 Hits in 25 Games pic.twitter.com/XCF9dFOQgE

— Phillies Muse (@Phillies_Muse) August 1, 2022

Unfortunately, Bohm most likely won’t win NL Player of the Month, with Austin Riley of the Atlanta Braves going absolutely nuclear over the last 30 days. But after a tough start to the year for Bohm, the kid has finally put his head down at the plate, and it seems like nobody is getting in his way anytime soon.

The JT Realmuto Resurgence

JT Realmuto has been “solid” this year, batting .264 with 10 home runs, but has really come alive over the past month. He has reached base in 13 straight games since July 10th and has gone 19-for-46 from the plate (.413) during that time frame, with 4 doubles, 3 home runs, and seven walks. Realmuto slashed .358/.423/.642 in July, with 5 HRs and 17 RBIs, while tallying 24 hits, his most in one month this season.

JT Realmuto drives in Bohm with a double of his own!

Originally tweeted by Brodes Media (@BrodesMedia) on July 31, 2022.

Nick Castellanos…Back?

Over the last 7 games, Nick Castellanos has slashed .400/.419/.467 with 12 hits, 3 RBI, and 4 runs scored in 30 at-bats. Over the last 15 games, Castellanos is slashing .290/.313/.355 with 18 hits, 4 RBI, and 5 runs scored in 62 at-bats. Over the last 30 games, Castellanos is slashing .290/.302/.355 with 36 hits, one home run, 13 RBI, and 10 runs scored in 124 at-bats. 

In the month of July, Castellanos played 27 games, slashing .282/.295/.330 with a .625 OPS. He notched 29 hits in 103 at-bats with 9 RBI and 9 runs scored. 

On the season, Castellanos is now averaging .257 at the plate with a .673 OPS. He leads the Phillies in doubles (22) and is second in hits behind Alec Bohm (102). Castellanos’ home run numbers are definitely down, but he currently sits in second on the team in RBIs. 

Phillies Season RBI Leaders 

• Kyle Schwarber: 66 RBI
• Nick Castellanos: 49 RBI
• Rhys Hoskins: 48 RBI
• Bryce Harper: 48 RBI 
• JT Realmuto: 46 RBI
• Alec Bohm: 41 RBI

Other Notes from the Plate

Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber struggled in the month of July, following his nuclear month of June where he hit 12 HRs and 27 RBIs, with a slash line of .272/.385/.680. In July, Kyle hit just .168/.206/.475 with 10 HRs and 16 RBIs. Schwarber is now up to 33 HRs on the year, which is good for best in the NL and second in the MLB, behind Aaron Judge with 42.

Rhys Hoskins

Rhys had a so-so month of July, slashing .253/.327/.463 in 95 total at-bats. He tallied 24 hits, 12 runs scored, 5 doubles, 5 HRs, and 9 RBIs, including a huge 2-run shot against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.

Although Hoskins’ month wasn’t amazing, his series against the Pirates certainly was. The 1st baseman slashed .421/.450/.632 in 19 at-bats vs Pittsburgh, crushing 8 hits, 3 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.082.

Bryson Stott

The Phillies shortstop of the future had a decent month of July and continues to show promise. Post All-Star break, Stott is slashing .257/.333/.377 with a .672 OPS. In 35 at-bats, Stott has 9 hits, 2 doubles, a home run and 6 RBI. 

Phillies Pitching

Zack Wheeler

Wheeler went 3-1 in the month of July posting a 2.35 ERA over 5 starts with a 0.86 WHIP. 

Aaron Nola

Aaron Nola went 2-3 with a 3.60 ERA over 5 starts in July. 

Ranger Suarez

Ranger Suarez went 1-0 in the month of July, throwing 16 innings and allowing 11 hits, and 3 runs (all unearned) while striking out 16 batters. He held opponents to a .190 average, with a squeaky clean 0.00 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP. 

Kyle Gibson

Kyle Gibson was 2-1 with a 4.94 ERA over 5 starts in July. 

Bailey Falter

Falter has been in the 5th spot of the Phillies rotation due to Zach Eflin being injured. The Phillies could definitely use another starting pitcher with the MLB Trade Deadline approaching at 6PM tonight and have been linked to a few pitchers already. In July, Falter went 0-1 with a 5.21 ERA over four starts. 

The Bullpen

• Jose Alvarado – 3.60 ERA
• Connor Brogdon – 2.08 ERA
• Brad Hand – 1.08 ERA
• Corey Knebel – 0.00 ERA
• Andrew Bellati – 1.86 ERA
• Seranthony Dominguez – 1.80 ERA

For the love of God, PLEASE DFA Jeurys Familia

August Games by Opponent for the Phillies

• Braves – 2 Games
• Nationals – 4 Games
• Marlins – 3 Games
• Mets – 7 Games
• Reds – 7 Games
• Pirates – 3 Games
• D-Backs – 3 Games

Red October…Playoffs?!

That’s a pretty easy month for the Phillies in August outside of the nine total games against their division rivals in the Braves (2) and Mets (7). Still, with key pieces in the lineup starting to heat up and the return of both Jean Segura and Bryce Harper over the coming weeks, it’s not crazy to think that the Phillies could enter September 14 games over the .500 mark after going 18-11 in August.

If that happens, not only will the Phillies make the playoffs, but they’ll likely overtake the San Diego Padres for the second NL Wild Card spot with one last month until Red October.

No team in all of baseball wants to face a healthy Phillies lineup in the playoffs with Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola slated to start the first two games of a series. I promise you.

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