So much has gone wrong Philadelphia Phillies It’s hard to forget what they’ve accomplished over the last two months, as they were on a record winning pace in the last week of May. By the last week of August, Phillies still hold a six-game lead They are atop the National League East but have lost ground in the NL. They are putting themselves in an unexpected battle not only for the division, but for the top seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The struggles lie primarily within the offense and the bullpen. Philadelphia’s daunting lineup has blown hot and cold for the better part of 10 weeks, while the bullpen’s ERA has skyrocketed. The Phils’ rotation has held its own, but at this rate it can’t be expected to carry the team until October.
Philadelphia’s team currently has 26 players who are yet to be selected as a team. way to get the ship on the right trackUp top, the Phillies front office is deciding what moves it can make over the next six weeks to ensure the team is in the best position to win a championship.
The trade deadline has passed, Phils need to look internally To plug any holes (barring a surprise waiver pickup). Until recently they had one of the worst farm systems in baseball. President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski and his staff have done a fantastic job building Philadelphia’s prospect pool since taking over in December 2020.
The Phillies don’t need a miracle to get back on track, nor do they need to rush one of their top prospects to make an immediate impact in 2024. They have the opportunity to choose wisely with the two additional players they called up in September. Here’s where they could look.
Trade deadline acquisitions jump-start the Phillies
The Phillies were busy leading up to the MLB trade deadline this year, most notably acquiring outfielder Austin Hayes and closer Carlos Estevez. One move that flew under the radar was Philadelphia’s trade with the Baltimore Orioles, which sent reliever Gregory Soto to Baltimore in exchange for two prospects.
One of those players is right-hander Seth Johnson. The 25-year-old’s professional career hasn’t been great since he was selected 40th in 2019. A UCL injury and subsequent Tommy John surgery limited him to just 12 starts in 2022 and 2023. He has performed exceptionally well this year in 21 starts, 16 innings shy of his career-high in a season.
Johnson ranks 15th on the Phillies this season thanks to a 2.55 ERA, according to MLB Pipeline. He’s not pitching deep in outings — only three of his 21 starts were longer than four innings and none were longer than five innings — but Johnson’s numbers since July put him in position to earn a surprise call-up in September.
In that span, Johnson’s ERA is 2.12, he has pitched at least four innings in six of his seven starts. He has given up more than four hits in only one of them and more than one run in two. His opponents hit .203 in July and are hitting .191 in August. Perhaps most importantly, Johnson’s walk rate has dropped significantly after issuing 16 free passes in 16 1/3 innings in June. He has walked a total of six batters since then.
Johnson earned his first promotion to Triple-A last week, then pitched five scoreless innings Friday, allowing one hit and three walks while striking out four. That was after he struck out six batters and gave up three hits in four scoreless innings on Aug. 10.
The Phillies probably want to see Seth Johnson do this a few more times before bringing him to the majors. However, they might be forced to move on if that happens Taijuan Walker and the Bullpen The decline will continue till September.
Undrafted infielder gets chance in the big leagues
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While undrafted free agent success stories are frequent in the NFL and NBA, they are quite rare in baseball. Until 2020 the MLB draft consisted of 40 rounds, making it difficult for an undrafted player to crack a minor league roster, let alone make it to the big leagues.
The Phillies have a very intriguing player who is currently performing well in Double-A, but he has yet to be drafted. Infielder Otto Kemp is trying to make his mark within the organization and his performance this season has certainly caught the attention of the front office.
Kemp began the year in Low-A and quickly earned a promotion to High-A. After getting a .973 OPS in 41 games, the Phillies sent him to Double-A, where he continues to hit. In 51 games with the Reading Fightin Phils, Kemp has a .278/.380/.513 slash line with 10 doubles, 10 home runs, 32 RBIs, and 32 runs.
Notably, Kemp has not played consecutive games without reaching base safely throughout the season. He currently has a 19-game on-base streak and is hitting .327 in 15 games in August. He is also a talented and selective base runner, having stolen 40 runs in 54 attempts in his 223 career games in the Minors.
Kemp made his way onto Philadelphia’s top 30 prospect list in MLB Pipeline’s latest update, ranking 28th. His breakout season would become even more of a dream if he gets called up to the bigs for one of MLB’s best teams. The Phillies could opt to retain Cal Stevenson once The Return of Austin Hayes Otto Kemp has been removed from the injured player list, but if they want to get the most out of their full 28-man roster next month, they should consider bringing him up.