Phillies Need More Consistency From Castellanos

If Nick Castellanos could be described in one word, this is the one: streaky.

The Philadelphia Phillies right fielder had a terrific bounce-back season with 29 home runs and 106 RBI in 157 games.

However, Castellanos was incredibly streaky with high OPS numbers in April, June and August and low ones in April and July.

At one point, manager Rob Thomson even dropped him to eighth in the batting order.

Then in the postseason, Castellanos started out red hot before cooling off with an 0-for-23 slump and 11 strikeouts as the Phillies were eliminated by the Arizona Diamondbacks in seven games in the National League Championship Series.

It was baffling how Castellanos could post multi-home run games in Games 3 and 4 against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS and then completely lose track of the strike zone in the NLCS.

Now it’s fair to point out that hitting a baseball is one of the most difficult tasks in professional sports.

And Castellanos has been one of the streakiest hitters in recent years.

There were rumblings in the offseason that Castellanos could be traded. If the Phillies were to do that, how do they replace him? Castellanos put up All-Star numbers in 2023 and certainly had his moments in the playoffs.

In ’22, Castellanos made several stellar defensive plays in right field. Last season, his defense was as improved as any outfielder in Major League Baseball.

Castellanos is an asset to any team. He’ll need to find more consistency which truly is the goal for any MLB player. Reducing his penchant for high volumes of strikeouts will help immensely.

If he can avoid those wild streaks, the Phillies will be that much more formidable