Phillies' Slugger Wisely Seen as Breakout Player This Season

Which slugger from the Philadelphia Phillies has been their breakout player?

Jun 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The glove and hat of Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford (2) in the dugout during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

With a series win on the road against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Philadelphia Phillies have been able to move to six games over the .500 mark and would be in the playoffs if they started today. 

The turnaround for the Phillies has been extremely impressive, and the team should be really happy with how they have done of late. It wasn’t too long ago that Philadelphia was (9-19), and things did not appear to be good. 

However, the ability to bounce back and get into playoff contention so fast has been great to see and the team will now be hoping to achieve their lofty goals of trying to win a World Series. 

As expected, with the team performing at a high level, there have been some great individual performances for Philadelphia. In the starting rotation, both Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sanchez are having fantastic campaigns. Furthermore, Jhoan Duran has been nearly perfect out of the bullpen for the team. While the lineup hasn’t been perfect, they have seen Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber have All-Star-caliber years. However, they aren’t the only players who have been really good in the batting order. 

Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report recently wrote about one player from each team that has had a breakout campaign so far. For the Phillies, it was outfielder Brandon Marsh. 

Marsh Wisely Seen as Breakout Player

Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

It has been a fantastic start to the season for Marsh, who is carrying over what he was doing in the second half of last year into this season. The 28-year-old has always been a good player for the Phillies, but he has been able to take his game to the next level this year. 

In 63 games, he is slashing .326/.361/.504 with eight home runs and 31 RBI. While Marsh has always been good against right-handed pitching, he is hitting lefties this year, and that has made all the difference. He is truly an everyday player now for the team and should be in consideration for being an All-Star. 

The play of Marsh has been really important for the Phillies, especially when looking at some of the struggles of other key players in the lineup. This is a group that the team will likely seek some help for before the trade deadline, but the talented trio of Harper, Marsh, and Schwarber has been excellent. Overall, Marsh has undoubtedly been their breakout performer this year.