The play of the Philadelphia Phillies’ youthful players had a significant role in their team’s ability to return to their second consecutive National League Championship Series in 2023.
The Phillies need individuals to step up that would keep them afloat after Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper suffered injuries, and after Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber had early slumps.
Bryson Stott was the team member who most likely rose to the occasion.
After being a below-average hitter in his rookie season, the player in his second year started to slash.280/.329/.419 in 2023, with 62 RBI, 15 home runs, and an OPS+ of 104. In addition, he played excellent second base defense, which helped him get to the Gold Glove finals.
With MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki picking Stott as his breakout player in 2024, the budding star going into his third year is expected to have even higher expectations now.
“Stott wins because he is just one strong start away from being selected to his first NL All-Star squad. With 4.3 WAR at the end, he shared the team lead with Zack Wheeler. Although most baseball fans are aware of Stott, they don’t truly know him. They will if he has a successful April, May, and June,” he writes.
Nothing would please Philadelphia more than to have their 2019 first-round pick appear in an All-Star game. That would be a fantastic beginning to his career, and it also suggests that the Phillies are probably off to a far stronger start than they were in 2022 and 2023.
They would like to stay out of the playoffs and contend for a division title, but they were able to overcome their bad starts in both seasons to go deep into the tournament.
Having Stott emerge as a star player would undoubtedly aid with that.
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