4 Biggest Surprises for Philadelphia Phillies During Up-and-Down Start To Season

The Philadelphia Phillies came into the 2025 MLB regular season with some incredibly high expectations.

Many analysts believe they had the best chance to knock off the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, given their star-laden roster. After winning 95 games last season and taking home the National League East, the Phillies brought back virtually the same core.

The results on the field, however, have not been replicated.

Philadelphia is 17-13 entering May, in second place behind the 21-10 New York Mets. They are right in the thick of the playoff picture still, but there are some developing concerns along with incredible breakouts occurring.

What have been the biggest surprises over the first month of the season? Here are the four biggest for the Phillies.

Taijuan Walker

Arguably, the biggest need for Philadelphia over the winter was finding a No. 5 starter. They were looking to replace Walker, who was a disaster in 2024, his second season with the franchise.

He had a 7.10 ERA across 83.2 innings and the team had no plans of using him in the starting rotation. But, he was pressed into duty with Ranger Suarez dealing with an injury and he has looked like a totally different pitcher.

Walker has made five starts, throwing 22.2 effective innings with a 2.78 ERA and 20 strikeouts. His biggest success has been keeping the ball in the park, surrendering only two home runs for a HR/9 ratio of 0.8 after recording an ugly 2.6 with 24 long balls allowed last year.

He has done everything the team could have hoped as an emergency No. 5 option, and it will be interesting to see what manager Rob Thomson does once everyone is healthy.

Alec Bohm

An All-Star in 2024, the talented third baseman saw his production fall off a cliff in the second half of the year. Unfortunately, those struggles have followed him into 2025, where he has been one of the most disappointing players in the league.

His -1.0 WAR is the worst amongst positional players on the team, struggling to provide anything positive with the bat or the glove.

Bohm has a .221/.252/.274 slash line through 119 plate appearances and is still looking for his first home run. He has produced a measly 47 OPS+, with third base becoming arguably their biggest void to fill.

Center fielder Brandon Marsh could have easily been named here as well, off to a brutal start before landing on the injured list.

Bullpen Struggles

The Phillies knew they had some major holes to fill when Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez hit the market and agreed to free agent deals with the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals.

Somewhat surprisingly, they didn’t jump into the top of the relief pitcher market to replace them. Instead, they signed Jordan Romano and Joe Ross, planning to elevate Orion Kerkering internally.

It has been the wrong decision thus far.

Romano has been a disaster with a -1.0 WAR and 12.19 ERA across 10.1 innings. Ross has a 5.02 ERA across 14.1 innings. Kerkering isn’t anywhere near as effective as he was last season in a breakout campaign.

This is going to have to be addressed if Philadelphia wants to seriously contend in 2025.

Jesus Luzardo

Acquired in a trade from the Miami Marlins to take over as the No. 5 starter, Luzardo has blown away all expectations.

He has been dominant, realizing the immense potential he always possessed but had trouble tapping into because of injuries. Now healthy and with some help from the coaching staff, his production has skyrocketed.

Luzardo has the best WAR amongst NL pitchers with a 1.6. He is 3-0 through six starts, throwing 36.1 innings with 41 strikeouts, an ERA of 1.73 and an ERA+ of 241.

His performance has helped make up for the slow start from Aaron Nola, backing ace Zack Wheeler in what is a true breakout campaign for the uber-talented lefty.

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