Brandon Marsh Change in Mentality Has Led to Phillies Breakout

The 2026 MLB regular season has been an outstanding one for Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh.

He is playing at an incredibly high level, putting himself in the mix for a spot on the National League All-Star team. It has never been an issue of talent with Marsh, a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels in the 2016 MLB Draft.

Instead, it was figuring out the mental side of the game. Previously in his career, small things would get to him, easily throwing him off his routine. Even if it was batting practice hours before the game, if something didn’t go according to plan, it would stick with him once the game started, and his results would suffer.

Marsh has credited his experience as a reason he has broken out this year. It has helped him produce more consistently at the plate, but experience gained also means learning not to sweat the small things and an adjustment in his mentality to approaching the game.

Brandon Marsh has improved mental aspect of his game

Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh (16) hits a single during the fourth inning. — Jun 4, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh (16) hits a single during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

“I feel like I’ve always been a perfectionist with everything I’ve done,” said Marsh, via Charlotte Varnes and Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required). “It’s helped for sure, but also hurts you at the same time. Just having to teeter with that feeling of being too hard on yourself and trying to be too perfect because this game’s so hard. You’re going to fail. You’re going to fail 70 percent (of the time) and make the Hall of Fame.”

He would often see his teammates laughing at themselves for mistakes that were made, something that Marsh is trying to do now as well. Another lesson he has learned is that not everything in the batting cage carries over to the game.

A bad swing or two during warm-ups doesn’t mean he will automatically have a bad game. The situations and settings are vastly different; a poor batting cage swing doesn’t mean he won’t get the job done when it counts.

Marsh credits hitting coach Kevin Long for helping him not only adjust his mentality but also improve his process and routine. It has helped him dial things in physically, while also getting on track mentally.

Brandon Marsh has been a revelation for the @Phillies in 2026! 🔥

DeRo breaks down his unique swing and how it results in him being able to spray the ball to all fields. pic.twitter.com/sRPpjBAHeL
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 11, 2026

The mental side of the game is where outfield coach Paco Figueroa also focused on helping Marsh. “You have all the talent in the world,” he would say to his pupil. “But it’s what’s between the ears.”

Now in his sixth MLB season, Marsh is putting it all together with the help of his teammates and coaches. They never lost faith in him, and now his confidence is starting to match the level of his immense talent.

It could culminate in making the All-Star team for the first time. There is incredible competition in the National League, but Marsh is doing everything he can to put himself in the mix with a .326/.361/.504 slash line through his first 241 plate appearances with a 134 OPS+ and 2.0 bWAR.

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