June 05, 2023
Despite a spirited run to the World Series that captured the imagination of the Delaware Valley, not every Phillie was thriving during the heat of the 2022 season. Nick Castellanos, fresh off inking a contract worth $100 million and becoming a meme to way-too-online sports fans, was supposed to be the right-handed outfield power bat the franchise hadn't had in seemingly forever.
He wasn't. He was a disaster.
Castellanos posted a woeful .696 OPS and hit just 13 home runs. That was coming off an All-Star campaign with the Reds in 2021 where he bashed 34 homers, won a Silver Slugger Award and finished ninth in National League MVP voting. That sure as hell wasn't the guy the Phillies were getting at the plate.
While inconsistency has plagued the Phillies' big-name players during their 28-32 start this year, Castellanos has been the steadiest of them all. He's hitting .316 through 59 games so far, the highest mark of his career, with an OPS of .858, which is way more true to his talent level.
In another installment of my "Who Won the Week in Philly Sports" feature here at PhillyVoice where I give props to the best in the city, I'm giving the nod to Castlleanos.
Castellanos hit another level during the Phillies' series win in Washington over the Nationals this weekend, homering twice on Friday night, driving in five runs and recording four total hits.
Here's some oppo-boppo action from Castellanos:
Casty go boom pt. Idk pic.twitter.com/wjRQsGuTUM
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 3, 2023
He followed that homer up with a deep drive into left-centerfield...
Another one for this guy #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/nAErb1rDB1
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 3, 2023
This is the guy who the Phillies thought they were getting during their 2022 free agency spree!
Over the last week overall in six games, Castellanos hit .458 with an on-base percentage of .458 and a slugging percentage of .750. He struck out just three times, which is big for a guy who whiffed 130 times at the plate in 2022.
Given that every MLB team gets at least one All-Star representative and a lot of the Phillies star players are slumping, could the Phillies be sending Castellanos to Seattle next month? His OPS of .858 is eighth among qualified National League outfielders. His batting average of .316 is second. He's scored 37 runs, which is the fifth most. Perhaps Bryce Harper is just voted in as the National League's starting DH and that's it, but Castellanos might have a shot of making the squad too if he keeps up his current pace.
Who won the week runner-up: Nick Nurse
Who Won the Week 2023 Tally:
Joel Embiid: 5
James Harden: 3
Nick Castellanos: 1
Phillies bench: 1
Howie Roseman: 1
Tobias Harris: 1
Bryson Stott: 1
Mac McClung: 1
Haason Reddick: 1
Kenny Gainwell: 1
DeVonta Smith: 1
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