Philadelphia Phillies DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola looked to be in midseason form in his Grapefruit League debut on Sunday when he threw two perfect innings with three strikeouts against the New York Yankees. Nola had a 4.62 ERA in his first 30 starts last year before recording a 2.27 ERA in his final six starts down the stretch. His first spring start was notable because he's never been very good in spring training, carrying a career 5.34 ERA (73 earned runs in 122 2/3 innings). His late-season mechanical adjustments and comfort with MLB's new rules have many believing he'll be much better in 2024. Nola freely admits he struggled in 2023 with the introduction of the pitch timer. But when he started to look at the timer to his left, everything changed. The 30-year-old has a pretty safe fantasy floor as a low-end ace.

Los Angeles Angels skipper Ron Washington confirmed that right-hander Carlos Estevez is the team's closer to open the season. "Right now, we've got him as a closer," Washington said. "So we don't need to talk about that." The 31-year-old is coming off a season that saw him register a 3.90 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings. He was a first-time All-Star and saved a career-high 31 games in 35 tries. However, he was much better in the first half, posting a 1.80 ERA in 35 innings before having a 6.59 ERA in 27 1/3 innings in the second half. Estevez said that when he struggled, it was more mental than physical, so he's not too worried. However, if Estevez struggles like he did in the second half in 2023, Robert Stephenson could be an option to replace him in the team's closer role.

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder/designated hitter Kyle Schwarber has appeared in just one spring training game early on, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout on Sunday. The 30-year-old is set to be the team's primary DH in 2024 after slashing .197/.343/.474 with 47 home runs, 108 runs scored, and 104 RBI in 720 plate appearances in 2023. Schwarber has never provided much in batting average with a career .227 BA. However, he offers elite power production and counting stats given the lineup he hits in. Fantasy managers willing to take the hit in average should be rewarded with power. Perhaps he can get off to a strong start this spring and pull his BA closer to his career average.

Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson said that both catcher J.T. Realmuto and first baseman Bryce Harper will make their Grapefruit League debuts on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves. After coming off of a 2022 season in which the backstop won a Silver Slugger award, Realmuto had somewhat of a disappointing 2023. The 3x All-Star tallied a .252-20-63-70-16 line with a .324 WOBA and 102 wRC+. The HR, RBI, and R totals were still top-6 or better at the position, however, these numbers were all down year-over-year. Realmuto will enter the season at age 33 so we'll see how his numbers -- especially the stolen base totals -- can hold up. The former third-round pick still had a strong Barrel% of 11.2% last season so managers should still be able to count on the power being there in 2024.

Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson said that third baseman Alec Bohm (neck) is expected to make his Grapefruit League debut on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves. Bohm has had a neck issue in camp the last few days, but he's good to go now and will start playing in spring games this week. The Phillies were being cautious with the 27-year-old when they held him out of games this past weekend. He will be ready for Opening Day at the end of March, barring any sort of setback once he begins playing in games. Bohm hit .274/.327/.437 with a career-high 20 home runs, 97 RBI and four stolen bases in 145 games in 2023 in his fourth year in the big leagues. He was a solid run producer for the Phils and fantasy managers, but it's fair to wonder how much more Bohm can actually improve, especially if he hits near the bottom of the batting order.