The Phillies are relevant again early in the season, even if their 15-11 start isn’t mathematically sustainable with the way the offense has performed. As last night’s 10-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals showed, the Phils could potentially come back to earth at any moment.
Until that happens, though, let’s try to keep it positive. Here is some of of the national love that the Phils have received for their strong April:
Phillies' youth movement already yielding results: Jerry Crasnick, ESPN
One of the benefits of the strong start is that, even if you don’t believe this 2016 success will continue, the future looks much brighter. Here is what an AL scout told Crasnick about the Phils:
"The personalities really stand out. They look like a more experienced team than they are because of their confidence and in-game makeup. They seem up for the challenge of winning tight games, which a lot of teams without postseason experience aren't very good at doing. Put that together with what's coming up in the minor leagues, and you can really start to dream on what that lineup will look like. It's a pretty impressive two- or three-year outlook once you start looking at it through that lens."
The Phillies Have Had an Almost Perfect Start: Jeff Sullivan, FanGraphs
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Contending in 2017 is doable, says Sullivan:
Over the first month or so, the Phillies have won a surprising number of games. More importantly, it’s looking like Odubel Herrera is good. It’s looking like Vince Velasquez, Jerad Eickhoff, and Aaron Nola are good. There are other positive signs, too, and J.P. Crawford is on the way. The Phillies themselves aren’t yet good, but they’re so much closer than they were a season ago. More than a season’s worth closer, I’d say, if that makes sense. I can’t in good conscience buy the Phillies as a contender in 2016. That, I don’t see. But next season? It should be surprisingly achievable. Phillies fans can embrace this rebuild, because this rebuild is approaching completion.
Phillies odds to win the World Series double! John Stolnis, The Good Phight
The bookmakers are taking notice, as well:
That's right, the Phillies odds to win the World Series have DOUBLED after their surprising April. Of course, they're still pretty long, at 75-1, with 23 teams in front of them. Baby steps to the Fall Classic, guys.
These Phillies aren’t as bad as we thought — and might even be good pretty soon: Barry Svrluga, Washington Post
The Nats are 2-4 against the Phillies, and 16-3 against everyone else. Washington likes what it sees from the young Phils:
Perhaps sooner than expected, the Phillies are seeing bits of that foundation. In a three-game sweep of the Nationals in Washington, Philadelphia’s starters — Vincent Velasquez, Jeremy Hellickson and Nola — tossed 20 innings, allowed nine hits, three runs, seven walks and struck out 19 batters. Again, the narrow view is that the Phillies have tossed aside an 0-4 start to impressively claw their way to 12-10. The wide view: Think about these guys in a few years.
The Phillies are baseball's biggest surprise so far, can they keep it up? Dayn Perry, CBS Sports
Probably not, but the future…
There's of course another mid- to long-range consideration about this team. That is, more help is on the way. Already in place are those young starters and core position players like Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera. On the way -- almost certainly at some point this season -- are top prospects like J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Mark Appel, Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp, among others. (Let's also not forget that the Phillies have the top overall pick in the June draft.)
For Phillies, surprising hot start raises hopes for even better future: Jay Jaffe, Sports Illustrated
Contention is probably a longshot, but don’t forget that the Phillies still have the Braves on the schedule for 19 more games:
With regression expected sooner or later, they should still be in competition for a high pick in 2017, if not another No. 1. To date, the Phillies have gone 5–2 against the Padres and Brewers, though they were swept by the Reds in the season-opening series. Where they really stand to pile up some wins is against the Braves, who are off to an MLB-worst 6–18 start and still have all 19 games against their division rivals ahead.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann