September 29, 2025
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber were just two of the Phillies' many standouts this season.
The 2025 regular season is in the books. We're going to be spending much of this week looking ahead at the Phillies' path to a World Series, and you probably will too. They'll host Game 1 of the NLDS this coming Saturday.
But let's take a second to look at the individual performances of the 26 (or so) players we expect to be on the postseason roster. Obviously, for a team that went 96-66, there are more than a few passing grades.
Here's our final season report card (with the players in descending order of how they've been graded):
Cristopher Sánchez, SP
Who finished with the highest WAR on the Phillies' roster? Likely Cy Young runner-up Sánchez, who picked up the slack for Philly after Zack Wheeler's season-ending injury. The lefty finished the year with a 2.57 ERA, third best in the NL. He has the highest WAR (8.0) of any National League pitcher and his 1.064 WHIP is also a top-five number. Tallying the second-most innings in the league, Sánchez will be the Phillies' no-doubt Game 1 starter in the postseason.
Trea Turner, SS
Who finished with the second-highest WAR on the Phillies roster? Not 56-home run man Kyle Schwarber, but Turner, who won the NL batting title with a .304 average this season. Add to that 15 homers, 36 stolen bases and vastly improved defense and you have a player who actually might get a few MVP votes.
Kyle Schwarber, DH
We're all about transitions today. From one MVP hopeful to another, Schwarber is likely to finish second to Shohei Ohtani. Schwarber led the entire sport with his 132 RBI and hit the most homers in the NL. An iron man this season, he played all 162 games and has the second-best OPS to Ohtani. Perfect marks for Schwarber.
Harrison Bader, OF
Something shifted when the Phillies traded for Bader this summer:
| Twins | Phillies |
| .258/.339/.439 | .305/.361/.463 |
Bader is another legitimate offensive weapon and can play the entire outfield.
Zack Wheeler, SP
Wheeler was on pace to win a Cy Young award this season and a blood clot in his shoulder ended that dream. He had successful surgery last week and is hopeful to be back in 2026, but his 24 starts in 2025 are worth commemorating. He had a 2.71 ERA and a ridiculous 195 strikeouts in 149.1 innings. For context, Jesús Luzardo had 19 more of them and led the National League – with eight more starts.
Bryce Harper, 1B
Injuries and illness forced Harper out of 31 games this season but he still hit 27 homers and 75 RBI. He had great plate discipline, fielded a good first base and is the de facto leader of the World Series favorite.
J.T. Realmuto, C
A total of 40 catchers caught at least 500 innings this season. Only two are older than Realmuto. The 34-year-old caught 1,151.1 innings this season to lead the majors. He threw out 30 base runners, the second most in baseball, and slashed a solid .257/.315/.384.
Ranger Suárez, SP
After a late start to his season, Suárez started in 26 games with a 3.20 ERA. He was a solid bet to keep the Phillies winning every fifth day.
Jesús Luzardo, SP
If you take out his other-worldly bad May 31 and June 5 starts, Luzardo was spectacular this season. He led the NL with 216 strikeouts. Great trade by Dave Dombrowski.
Edmundo Sosa, INF
He's everything you could want from a utilityman. He hit .276 this season and played five defensive positions well.
Matt Strahm, RP
The top reliever in our grades is Strahm, who led a mostly mediocre bullpen this season with a 2.74 ERA.
Jhoan Duran, CP
The monster trade deadline acquisition also gets a B. He had three blown saves but was otherwise dazzling. He had a 2.18 ERA in 23 appearances.
Tanner Banks, RP
Banks was a master with runners on base and was one of the few bullpen arms to make it the entire season on the roster. He led the pen with 66.1 innings.
Alec Bohm
Many forget that Bohm entered this season amid a whirlwind of trade rumors and fans begging for him to be flipped for an upgrade. While he did struggle at times and fought off a few injuries, the results speak for themselves. He slashed .287/.332/.411 in 119 games with 32 extra base hits.
Taijuan Walker, SP/RP
After a brutal year in 2024, many were expecting the worst from Walker, who embraced every role he was given in 2025 and shined in most of them.
Bryson Stott, 2B
Stott was fine, hitting .256 and playing a solid second base. He emerged as a spark at the 9-hole in the batting order, where he'll probably stay for the postseason.
Brandon Marsh, OF
Marsh is a true platooner. He hit .300 with 35 extra base hits against righties, and .197 with just three against lefties.
Orion Kerkering, RP
He's still just 24 and has a ton of potential, but his ERA, WHIP and walk rate all went up this year while his strikeout rate went down.
Lou Trivino, RP
This grade is borderline incomplete, but since Trivino is likely to be on the postseason roster, we'll give him a C+ for his 1.04 ERA over 8.2 innings.
Walker Buehler, RP/SP
A shot in the dark could wind up being a real contributor this postseason. He's 3-0 in his three appearances.
David Robertson, RP
Though he hasn't been lights out, Robertson's been serviceable and an important veteran locker room presence since his mid-summer signing.
Max Kepler, OF
The Phillies really tried to make things work with Kepler, who struggled against lefties and righties, and struggled in the first and second half of the season. He had some pop, 18 home runs, and he also had a few clutch hits in key games.
Aaron Nola, SP
Nola missed the lion's share of 2025 with a rib injury and was not very good for many of his starts after an August return to the rotation. He did, however, finish strong with eight innings of one-run, two-hit ball against the Twins this past weekend. Perhaps that will get him going.
Rafael Marchán, C
Back-up catchers have it rough, particularly when you back up the innings leader in Realmuto. Marchán was okay in the 41 games he played this year.
Otto Kemp, INF
Kemp was a rare rookie call up for the Phillies this season and he was needed in stints to start at different spots in the infield. He was solid but not remarkable, hitting .236 with eight homers in the 61 games he was called on.
Nick Castellanos, OF
It's hard to quantify Castellanos' season. His numbers at the plate were fine, he hit .252 with 17 home runs and was third on the team with 71 RBI. But he was a liability in the outfield, as he's rated among the worst in the majors in most advanced analytical defensive categories. He also did not take his demotion to a part-time player very well, stirring some drama in the Phillies clubhouse. It will be interesting to see how much he plays in the postseason, where he's come up extremely clutch more than once.
Weston Wilson, UTIL
Wilson never really found his footing at the plate this season, hitting at the Mendoza Line in 123 plate appearances.
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