What Could Prevent the Philadelphia Phillies From Winning the World Series?

It has been a very good season for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2024.

After a tough loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in last year’s National League Championship Series, the Phillies are a contender once again.

Considering that Philadelphia has one of the best records in baseball, there aren’t a ton of things wrong with how the roster is constructed. The Phillies have arguably the best pitching rotation in baseball heading into October, with not only aces at the top, but talent behind them. 

As has been seen in recent years, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola aren’t afraid of the moment in the postseason. However, Philadelphia also has seen Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez have excellent years, as this rotation will be going four deep in the playoffs. 

In addition to their starters, the bullpen for the Phillies has also been very good.

Philadelphia utilizes four relievers when they have a lead, as Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, Carlos Estévez, and Orion Kerkering have all been lights out.

While there is a lot to like about the Phillies this season, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently spoke about the fatal flaw for the team. 

“But where things could get a bit hairy for the Phillies is with Johan Rojas’ offense as the center fielder and Nick Castellanos’ whack-a-mole offense and roundabout defense as the right fielder. At any rate, that combo was a colossal problem for the Phillies in last year’s NLCS, going a combined 4-for-46 with 17 strikeouts in that seven-game loss to the Diamondbacks.”

If there is a weakness for Philadelphia, it is certainly their outfield.

As of now, Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, and Johan Rojas are the normal starters, and while their numbers are alright, it is considered to be the weakness of the team. 

While the Phillies pretty much know what they are going to get from Marsh, the duo of Castellanos and Rojas are wild cards for them.

Castellanos has proved to be a very streaky hitter and is certainly not known for his ability to play defense on the field. On the flip side, Rojas doesn’t strike much fear in the lineup, as he has totaled just three home runs this season.

By no means does the weakness of the outfield mean that Philadelphia can’t win the World Series this year since there is a lot to like about this team, however, as was seen in 2023, the poor performance in the NLCS by Castellanos and Rojas made the lineup a lot shorter for the Phillies.