Brandon Marsh has struggled to make adjustments, and it’s broken his breakout season
Since July 1, when he was batting .319, Marsh has hit .176 with a .470 OPS. Teams “have made an adjustment to him, and then we’ve got to make it back,” interim manager Don Mattingly said.
WASHINGTON — Two months ago, Brandon Marsh was the starting right fielder for the National League in the All-Star Game.
Really. That happened.
Since then, Marsh has been among the worst hitters in the league. Benched against left-handed pitchers, the long-haired, bushy-bearded Phillies’ outfielder batted eighth here Wednesday night after playing every day and hitting cleanup for much of June and early July.
“I just think [teams] have made an adjustment to him, and then we’ve got to make it back,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “And we haven’t been able to do that.”
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It has broken Marsh’s breakout season.
Consider this: After a two-hit game July 1 against the Pirates, Marsh was batting .319 with an .881 OPS. He dragged a .176 average and .470 OPS since then into the series finale against Nationals lefty opener Jared Simpson.
Marsh’s success has always been rooted in his batting average on balls in play. Among all players with at least 2,000 career plate appearances, Marsh ranks sixth all-time with a .360 average on balls in play. Three of the top five are Hall of Famers (Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, and Billy Hamilton); a fourth in Joe Jackson.
But as Marsh’s profile rose, teams began attacking him differently. In particular, Mattingly noted that Marsh has seen fewer pitches in the strike zone in the second half, especially early in counts.
Not coincidentally, his batting average on balls in play plummeted from .396 through July 1 to .221 since then.
“Marsh is sitting back there at some point, and they’re probably not doing a ton of homework on him,” Mattingly said. “They’re attacking him. Whatever. He starts being aggressive early. He’s doing damage. He’s getting his hits. All of a sudden, he’s hitting .330 and he’s on the All-Star team, and it’s like, ‘Maybe we ought to do a little more work on this guy.’ Right?
“At some point, he’s aggressive, [so] they’re going to be less likely to throw you strikes and get you to chase a little more. And then we’ve got to make the adjustment to back down maybe the aggression. Be aggressive when you swing, but it doesn’t mean you’re swinging at everything.
“You see adjustments all the time, and I think that’s what’s happened basically.”
In any case, after assisting Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber in carrying the offense for much of the first half, Marsh’s production has all but disappeared at a time when the Phillies need it.
Where’s the depth?
Rather than recalling triple-A starter Alan Rangel to fill the rotation vacancy created by Jesús Luzardo’s sore left shoulder, the Phillies will opt for a bullpen game Friday (or maybe Saturday) in New York and then likely again next week at home.
“It’s nice to have, say, a bulk guy, which probably is 45 to 60 pitches,” Mattingly said. “If you’re able to do that, you’re not using one guy to get [each of] those innings for you instead of three [pitchers total], which leaves you in a better shape the next day. I’m not sure.”
In that case, why not call up Rangel, effectively the No. 6 starter?
“I’m sure we’re probably more comfortable with the guys that we have,” Mattingly said.
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Rangel, who started Wednesday night in triple A, was 0-3 with a 5.88 ERA in seven games (three starts) earlier this season. He had a 10.23 ERA in his last five triple-A starts.
Andrew Painter threw a between-starts bullpen session and likely will start Saturday with an extra day of rest. But if the Phillies need to use several relievers Thursday night, Painter could start Friday on regular rest.
Mattingly noted that the Phillies have 10 relievers in the bullpen because of expanded rosters. So, although they lack a true bulk reliever, they can piece together a game.
When the Phillies scratched Luzardo last Saturday night in Atlanta, lefty Tim Mayza completed three innings in only 31 pitches. He could be the choice to start against the Mets.
Mattingly seemed to rule out veteran left-hander Nestor Cortes, who gave up two runs on three hits and struck out three batters on 32 pitches in 1⅔ innings Tuesday night in triple A. Cortes, 32, signed with the Phillies last month after biceps tendon surgery after last season.
“Everything is a possibility, right?” Mattingly said. “But he’s not really built at this point.”
Extra bases
Reading won 21-4 (you read that right) in the opener of the double-A Eastern League semifinal, with the best-of-three series moving to Hartford on Thursday night. Top prospect Aidan Miller made his first career start at third base and went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts; 22-year-old shortstop Bryan Rincon finished with two hits and five RBIs. ... Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.69 ERA) is slated to start at 7:15 p.m. Thursday in New York against Mets righty Nolan McLean (11-9, 3.24).
The Phillies and Braves are set to square off again this weekend in Atlanta, so it's the perfect time to check in with Jeff Francoeur, who played for both teams and calls Braves games on TV and radio. Francoeur joined Phillies Extra to help break down the race for NL East supremacy. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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