Phillies Stars Claim Seven Spots On Top 10 Right Now List

The Philadelphia Phillies have a ton of talent and that was clear at the conclusion of MLB.com and MLB Network’s Top 10 Right Now series.

The series, which has been going on for the past several days, concluded with seven Phillies players in the rankings, including five position players and two pitchers. Few teams had as many, or more players, ranked as the Phillies.

Bryce Harper loomed large over the rankings at first base, his new position. Even though Harper has never played first base consistently over a full season, he was ranked No. 2 at the position, with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman the only player in front of him.

Harper started at first base after last season’s All-Star Break due to his recovery from Tommy John surgery and the Phillies named him their 2024 starter in December. Rhys Hoskins, who played the position before he tore his ACL in 2023, signed with Milwaukee.

Elsewhere in the infield, Trea Turner, who made his debut with the Phillies last season, was ranked No. 5 after being No. 1 overall last season. Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers assumed the No. 1 spot.

Plus, catcher J.T. Realmuto was ranked No. 4. Realmuto had been the No. 1 catcher in each of the last three rankings, but he was overtaken by Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Will Smith and Atlanta’s Sean Murphy.

In the outfield, Brandon Marsh was ranked No. 10 in center field, a position led by the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge at No. 1 and Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez at No. 2. Kyle Schwarber also ranked No. 10 in left field, even though Schwarber logged more time as a designated hitter in 2023. The same went for the No. 1 player at the position, which was Houston’s Yordan Alvarez.

Zack Wheeler was ranked No. 6 among starting pitchers. The Phillies hope to engage Wheeler in extension talks to keep him in Philadelphia beyond the final season of his contract. Reigning AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole was ranked No. 1. Wheeler was ranked No. 8 last season.

José Alvarado earned a spot in the relief pitcher rankings at No. 10 after he was not ranked last year. He had a quality season setting up closer Craig Kimbrel and with the veteran now in Baltimore, Alvarado has a chance to become the team’s full-time closer.

The rankings were based on data collected by the MLB Network research team. The rankings were based on past player performance, a number of offensive and defensive metrics, both advanced data and traditional numbers.