2022 Phillies Recap: Starting Outfielders
After breaking a postseason playoff drought of 10 years back at the beginning of October, the Phillies’ season came to an end just over two weeks ago down in Houston, Texas.
With the offseason now in full force, rumors have already begun to fly regarding the Phillies’ interest and pursuit of one of the four major shortstops…Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and Dansby Swanson.
Trea Turner seemed like the #1 option for the Fightins since the season ended, but one rumor from Jon Heyman suggested that the Phils may turn their eyes to Xander Bogaerts due to his past connection with Phillies POBO Dave Dombrowski.
The offseason should really start to get interesting tonight, with the Rule 5 Draft signings forced to happen before 6:00 EST. The Phillies have four players that will be eligible for the draft if not added to the 40-man roster, so expect a potential cut or trade before tonight’s deadline.
We’ve already recapped the 2022 Infielders here at The Liberty Line, and today we’re going to look back at an extremely successful season for the outfield tandem of Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, and Matt Vierling.
Bryce Harper
Final 2022 Stats: .286/.364/.514, 18 HRs, 65 RBIs, 106 H, 28 2B, 63 R, 2.5 WAR
The former MVP came into the 2022 season with one goal…break the Phillies’ playoff drought and win the World Series. Bryce Harper had a career year once again to start his 2022 outing, but a 97mph fastball from Blake Snell that hit Harper’s hand would end a dominating run and potential back-to-back MVP run.
Bryce Harper slashed .347/.394/.684 in May with 7 HRs, 18 RBIs, 33 hits, and an OPS of 1.078. He then proceeded to hit .359/.455/.641 in 64 ABs in June but wouldn’t sniff the field until late August.
Harper was slow at the plate when he got back, hitting just .205 in 88 September ABs. The Phillies punched their ticket to the playoffs, got the weight off of their shoulders, and Harper went absolutely nuclear after that.
Bryce hit .349 in 17 playoff games, racking up an OBP of .414 and a .746 slugging percentage. He hit 6 HRs, 13 RBIs, 22 hits, scored 12 runs, and logged seven doubles in that time. One of those HRs was the “Swing of His Life,” which would send the Phillies back to the World Series for the first time since 2009. Although the Phillies came up just short in the end, Bryce Harper had one of the most amazing postseason runs baseball has ever seen.
“The Swing of His Life”
Kyle Schwarber
Final 2022 Stats: .218/.323/.504, 46 HRs, 94 RBIs, 126 H, 21 2B, 100 R, 2.2 WAR
Kyle Schwarber signed a 4-year, $79 million contract back on March 20th, and it couldn’t have been more of a steal for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Schwarber’s slugfest started right off the jump, cracking his first at-bat in a Phillies uniform into the right field stands. Schwarber would finish his regular season with a whopping 46 home runs, which lead the National League and trailed only Aaron Judge across all of baseball.
Kyle spent most of his time in the leadoff spot this season, and although he was crushing the ball out of the park, the decision to have him in the 1-hole still had people angry. Schwarber did strike out a lot, which had people wondering why he was there. But when you have a guy hitting HRs at the rate of Schwarber, there is no reason to change a single thing.
Schwarber had many big swings for the Phillies in the playoffs, as he hit 6 HRs and 10 RBIs in 17 playoff games. His stellar regular season and start to the playoffs sparked “Schwarberfest,” an experience and joke that Phillies fans will remember forever. Schwarber slugged .545 in the playoffs and maybe hit the longest baseball I’ve ever seen into the second deck of Petco Park.
Nick Castellanos
Final 2022 Stats: .263/.305/.389, 13 HRs, 62 RBIs, 138 H, 27 2B, 56 R
The signing of Nick Castellanos was the major move of the offseason alongside Kyle Schwarber, and although his 2022 season didn’t pan out to be what people expected, there’s no reason to panic for the future.
Nick Castellanos got off to a steaming hot start, hitting .300/.374/.475 in April with 3 HRs and 12 RBIs. Castellanos slumped heavily throughout the juice of the season, hitting below .240 in May and June. Castellanos was hit on the wrist on May 5th, and although it didn’t seem like anything serious at the time, it’s hard not to believe that the injury had something to do with the outfielder losing his power.
As the bat of Castellanos took a step back, the glove took a step forward, specifically in the playoffs. Castellanos had three big catches for the Phillies in their run to the World Series, all three giving the Phillies some major momentum or even saving the game.
Castellanos’ season at the plate wasn’t his best, there’s nobody denying that. But he still gave you 130+ hits. The power is going to come back in 2023, and the MVP-caliber player that we saw in Cincinnati is bound to return for the Phillies.
Brandon Marsh
Final 2022 Stats (PHL): .288/.319/.455, 3 HRs, 15 RBIs, 38 H, 15 R, 9 2B
The Phillies started their season with a centerfield platoon of Matt Vierling, Odubel Herrera, and Simon Muzziotti. The original plan was Mickey Moniak, but after a wrist injury just two days before the regular season, those plans were ripped up and thrown in the trash.
Matt Vierling had his good games in center for the Phillies and was a piece that wasn’t great but was enough at the time for the Phillies. The team knew they needed to find their centerfielder of the future, and they did just that at the trade deadline, trading Logan O’Hoppe to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Brandon Marsh.
Marsh had an immediate impact in the outfield when he got here and was a quick bat that the Phillies threw in at the end of their lineup. The big question mark surrounding Marsh in LA was his swing, but after he got to work with Kevin Long, who is now signed through 2025, Marsh turned it up a notch over the last few months of the season.
Marsh hit .288 as a Phillie, crushing nine doubles and 38 hits in that time. His OPS raised over 140 points compared to his time in Los Angeles, and his glove was one that was needed in a below-average defensive outfield for the Phillies. In a market that isn’t always the best, the Phillies now have their centerfielder of the future in Brandon Marsh.
Matt Vierling
Final 2022 Stats: .246/.297/.351, 6 HRs, 32 RBIs, 80 H, 41 R, 12 2B
Matt Vierling was asked to do a lot for the Phillies in 2022, and although the stats don’t show it, I don’t know how far the Phillies would have gone without Vierling’s versatility off the bench throughout the entire season.
Vierling played the following positions in 2022…
- LF
- CF
- RF
- 1B
- 2B
- 3B
Matt Vierling is that typical utility guy that every good team always has. The numbers aren’t always there, but the talent is enough. to keep him in the position. Vierling had a great month of June, hitting .313/.365/.542 with 3 HRs and 5 RBIs in 48 ABs.
Vierling’s biggest moment of the season came late in September, when he logged his first career 5-hit game, capping the night off with a crucial walk-off single up the middle vs. the Toronto Blue Jays.
More Phillies
- Joe Davis recycles Bryce Harper “Swing of His Life” call
- Phillies interested in Xander Bogaerts
- Kevin Long extended through 2025
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