Two more disastrous Taijuan Walker starts aside, the Phillies have made significant progress toward getting back on track in the last week. Their starting pitching outside of Walker has been outstanding, and their offense is coming to life. Beginning Thursday, they will host the Atlanta Braves for four critical games in hopes of extending their lead in the National League East.

All year, the team's outfield has been a weakness. The Phillies added Austin Hays last month in hopes of solidifying it, but the results continue to be shaky.

In a new Phillies confidence meter, let's rank each of the team's five current outfielders from least to most trustworthy:

No. 5: Austin Hays

The Phillies parted with struggling reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache to acquire Hays, and they had high hopes: the team claimed that Hays, who at that point had been effective against left-handed pitchers in 2024 but brutal against right-handers, was capable of manning left field every day. He was more than just a platoon partner for Brandon Marsh, they argued.

A stint on the Injured List interrupted Hays' integration into the lineup, but with 15 games now under his belt in a Phillies uniform, the veteran outfielder has not been nearly as productive as the team seemed to expect. Hays is slashing a mediocre .268/.281/.393 since the trade and looks like a below average left fielder. 

Hays absolutely deserves to be in left field against southpaws moving forward; his .342/.398/.526 slash line against them is quite impressive. Suddenly, though, Hays does not seem to be someone who should be in Phillies manager Rob Thomson's lineup on a daily basis -- especially as two other players have forced their way into consideration with improved play. 

No. 4: Johan Rojas

Johan Rojas will never be in the lineup because of his bat. His 59-game audition as the Phillies' center fielder in 2023 gave him ample opportunity to flash all-world defense. His performance in the grass was a bit underwhelming early in the season, but over the last few months has settled in and once again looks fantastic. His magnificent defense at what is arguably the most important position is a legitimate weapon that will be utilized in October, whether he starts or not. 

On Monday night, Rojas came into the game in the 10th inning and made a game-saving catch to prevent a run from scoring. Moments later, Bryce Harper walked off the Houston Astros:

However, Rojas' bat is beginning to come around -- he is not going to become a slugger, but if he can even be the prototypical below-average bat rather than a walking strikeout, his center field defense makes him an everyday-caliber player. 

In 27 games since the All-Star break, Rojas is slashing .300/.354/.350 with only 14 strikeouts. Because of his elite speed, Rojas' improvement when it comes to putting the ball in play has led to frequent infield hits. As Hays continues to struggle and Rojas surges, it is fair to wonder if Rojas will return to an everyday role by the time October arrives.

No. 3: Brandon Marsh

That Brandon Marsh is not even in the top two most-trusted Phillies outfielders right now is a bit stunning -- and a testament to how brutal his at-bats have been for quite some time. Marsh will always be a player who strikes out quite a bit, but it has gotten outrageous over the last few months. 

In 62 games over the last three months, Marsh has struck out in 38.2 percent of his plate appearances. Only two players with at least 100 plate appearances since May 28 have a higher strikeout percentage than Marsh during that time. He has had some strong swings in the last handful of days, but for multiple months has had uncompetitive at-bats that end with him carrying his bat back to the dugout.

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Marsh is an excellent defender in left field and a competent one in center. He has gone from very bad to mostly unplayable against left-handed pitching, severely clouding his long-term outlook. A young, strong-side platoon outfielder with positional versatility is a valuable asset, but if that player can only face right-handed pitching they cannot afford to strike out nearly four out of every 10 times they come to the plate.

The recent surge has catapulted Marsh's season-long OPS against right-handers to .775, a solid but not outstanding figure (in 2023, Marsh posted an .864 OPS against right-handed pitching). His ability to play anywhere in the outfield will make it easier for Thomson to navigate the decisions about who his third outfielder should be against right-handed pitchers, though, and he provides some power that Hays and Rojas do not offer.   

No. 2: Weston Wilson

What a journey the last year and a half has become for Weston Wilson. Since signing with the Phillies as a minor-league free agent before the 2023 season, Wilson has made his major-league debut more than eight years after being drafted, slugged a home run in his first major-league plate appearance (on a night that Michael Lorenzen tossed a no-hitter), made an MLB Postseason roster, hit for the cycle, and, on Wednesday, threw a scoreless inning of relief just hours after being activated off the paternity list.

Wilson's story is beautiful, but he is not just a good story, he is a good baseball player. Capable of playing five different positions, Wilson's ability to obliterate left-handed pitching has made him a must-play for Thomson whenever the Phillies are facing a left-hander. His at-bats have been so consistently excellent that he is now earning occasional chances to face right-handed starters. 

The sample size is extremely small, but Wilson's season numbers against southpaws -- Wilson is 12-25 against left-handers with an .880 slugging percentage and 1.361 OPS in 2024 -- are jaw-dropping enough that they have captured everybody's attention.

Now that Hays is back, it will not be as easy for Thomson to slot Wilson into the lineup against lefty arms without demoting the team's lone offensive trade deadline acquisition. But Wilson's defensive versatility makes him a massive asset: Wilson can play left field and right field, but is a natural infielder with extensive experience at second base and the ability to man first base and third base if needed.

No. 1: Nick Castellanos

Three months ago, I published a story about Nick Castellanos having one of the worst seasons of any major-league player in 2024. And while Castellanos' season-long stats still lag behind what one would hope from a $100 million slugger, he has been one of the Phillies' best hitters over the last three months.

The shift in Castellanos' offensive production has been staggering:

Castellanos is who he is -- for weeks at a time he will look like one of the best hitters on the planet, he will follow it up with an equally long (or longer) stretch of looking clueless. The 2023 Postseason will always be emblematic of this; Castellanos' home run in his first at-bat of Game 1 of the NLCS was his fifth homer in three games. It was also the only hit he would collect in the entire seven-game series that was filled with nonsensical swing decisions.

Castellanos' defense in right field is considered significantly below-average by most grading systems, and the eye test backs that up. His defense is one of the biggest reasons that he ranks 131st out of 136 qualified players in FanGraphs' Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) metric.

However, Castellanos has been considerably better than any other Phillies outfielder at the plate for multiple months, and for that reason it would be impossible to justify not ranking him first on this list right now. I would also not argue whatsoever with anybody who says they will never believe in Castellanos sustaining this sort of production for an entire season and October run. Even when he is at his best, he has silly swings at breaking pitches -- most often ones that are located down and away -- that make you scratch your head.

I suppose part of the beauty of Castellanos when he is performing well is that it doesn't entirely make sense. His two home runs against Atlanta Braves flamethrower Spencer Strider in Game 4 of last year's NLDS remain outrageous to look back on. The Phillies certainly hope he has more epic October swings in store.

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