Four Surprising Overreactions Following Impressive Start From Phillies

Here are four surprising overreactions from the Philadelphia Phillies' hot start this year.

Apr 3, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) throws a pitch against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are off to a great start this season, but the campaign is still early and there have been some overreactions thus far. 

After a disappointing early exit from the postseason, it’s great to see the Phillies off to a strong start. Philadelphia is first in the National League East and has hit and pitched well to begin the year.

Expectations and pressure are always high for the Phillies, but for the most part, the team handles it well. 

While the first week of the campaign was great, they have a massive weekend series coming up against the Los Angeles Dodgers. This will be a true early test for Philadelphia against arguably the best team in baseball. 

However, when looking back, here are four overreactions so far for the Phillies. 

Signing Jordan Romano Was a Mistake 

One of the team's most significant additions this winter was the signing of former two-time All-Star closer Jordan Romano. Philadelphia made the decision to let both Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez walk in favor of Romano, who missed most of 2024 with the Toronto Blue Jays due to injuries. 

So far, the right-hander is off to a bit of a slow start for the Phillies with a 6.00 ERA, but patience must be practiced at this point in the season, especially with a player coming back from injury.

Taijuan Walker is Back 

Due to Ranger Suarez's back injury, Taijuan Walker once again found himself in the rotation for Philadelphia after being replaced by Jesus Luzardo this offseason.

The right-hander struggled during the spring but dominated the Colorado Rockies in his season debut with six shutout innings, earning his first win in almost a year. The Rockies are terrible, however, so let's see him pitch well against a halfway decent team before declaring him fully back.

Aaron Nola is Washed 

Even though it wasn’t a great start to the campaign (five runs in 5.1 innings), Aaron Nola is still the second-best pitcher on the team after Zack Wheeler until proven otherwise.

While Christopher Sanchez might be able to claim that spot at some point in the near future, by no means is the 31-year-old right-hander washed up. Based on his impressive track record, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Phillies Will Run Away With NL East 

Even though things are off to a good start for the Phillies in the NL East, it’s unlikely that they will be able to run away with the division. While the Atlanta Braves are really struggling, they'll be getting healthy soon and have far too much talent to play as poorly as they have. 

Furthermore, the New York Mets will also be right in the mix. They're also dealing with injuries but have found ways to win despite that. 

The Braves and Mets are both dangerous, so don't be surprised if they make a run and challenge Philadelphia in the standings soon.