Philadelphia Phillies DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Ranger Suarez made his 2025 season debut on Sunday at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks and got hit around quite a bit in this contest. Suarez only lasted 3 2/3 innings after giving up seven hits, seven earned runs on two walks, and six strikeouts. The encouraging sign here is that he did throw the 82 pitches, meaning he is fully stretched out for a starter workload. Still, the Diamondbacks' offense welcomed Suarez back to the MLB, and it was difficult for fantasy managers to see this level of production in his first start back from a back issue that was delaying his start to the 2025 campaign. The Phillies' offense got Suarez off the hook for the loss, as the game was back and forth all afternoon with the Diamondbacks holding on to win 11-9 in extra innings. Next up for Suarez is a road battle against the Cleveland Guardians over the weekend.

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto went 2-for-4 at the plate in Saturday's 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks, smacking a double and a three-run home run in the game. It was the second home run in the last three games for the veteran and third of the year. Despite a declinein power and stolen base production over the last coupleof years, the 3x All-Star can still be relevant for fantasy at a position starved for offense, with his modest .240-3-11-11-4 stat line puttinghim within the top 12 scoring options at the position. The 34-year-old's 79.9 percent contact rate is the highest mark since 2017, so he can still put the bat on the ball even though 20-home run seasons may be a thing of the past.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola allowed four hits and no runs over six innings pitched in his team's 7-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He walked one and struck out eight while picking up his first win of the season (1-5). Nola let up six hard-hit balls on Saturday, but he was able to keep the D-Backs off balance, allowing just one extra-base hit (double). The veteran right-hander has rebounded nicely over his last two starts after affording the Giants and Mets ten combined runs over the two starts prior. During the previous 13 innings, he's surrendered just seven hits and one earned run with a 14:2 K:BB ratio and back-to-back quality starts. He'll attempt to keep the good times rolling in his next appearance, which should come on the road against the Cleveland Guardians next weekend.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Taijuan Walker is moving from the starting rotation into the bullpen, according to manager Rob Thompson. This was expected with left-hander Ranger Suarez (back) returning from the injured list this weekend. Walker was the odd man out, but Thompson did say the Phillies could go to a six-man rotation at some point. In six starts, Walker posted a 2.54 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 22/13 K/BB ratio this season. The 32-year-old picked up a little stream on the waiver wire recently, but that will basically all be lost with the move to the bullpen.

The Philadelphia Phillies have activated outfielder Brandon Marsh (hamstring) off the 10-day injured list prior to their contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday evening. In a corresponding move, the Phillies are sending Cal Stevenson to Triple-A. Marsh has been held out of action with a strained right hamstring since April 20. Before his injury, Marsh posted a .095/.220/.167 slash line with just four total hits (one home run). During this slow start, Marsh held a 16:7 K:BB and tallied just five RBI. Under the hood, he generated a low .259 xwOBA with a .159 xBA. Fantasy managers should expect Marsh to have close to an everyday role in center field. However, given his slow start, he should only be targeted in deeper 15+ team formats.