The Phillies’ Biggest Surprise And Disappointment of the First Half

The Philadelphia Phillies have clear-cut biggest surprise and disappointment from the first half.

Jul 11, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh (16) looks on after an at bat in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With the first half of the season complete, the Philadelphia Phillies are sitting in second place, just a few games behind the Atlanta Braves. They are currently in possession of the second NL Wild Card spot.

The Phillies have had some pleasant surprises as well as bigger disappointments this season. In my opinion, their most pleasant surprise is the emergence of Brandon Marsh.

Marsh is having a career year with Philadelphia in his fifth year with the squad. In the first half, he batted over .300, slashing .301/.339/.490 with 15 home runs, 15 doubles, two triples, 46 RBIs, 52 runs scored and an .829 OPS.

He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career after becoming a consistent force in the Phillies’ lineup and contributing big time to a team that had an overall successful first half after a slow start.

Brandon Marsh is easy choice as Phillies biggest surprise

Jul 11, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh (16) hits during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Marsh joined the league at the age of 23 with the Los Angeles Angels, and since then had never really panned out into an All-Star. This year, Marsh flipped the script and enjoyed success across the entire first half of the season.

Overall in his career, the 28-year-old Marsh has a .370 BABIP (batting average on balls in play), which ranks second all-time behind just Ty Cobb (.383) among players with a minimum of 500 games played since 1900.

This suggests that Marsh has always had the potential to be this type of player, a consistent .300 hitter, but is finally starting to tap into that potential as of late.

Marsh was a pleasant surprise for Philadelphia in the first half. Especially with the Phillies’ outfield struggling overall, this production from Marsh has been essential to where Philadelphia is right now.

Trea Turner has been most disappointing Phillies player

Jul 20, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) hits a three-run home run during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Personally, I would say Trea Turner has been the Phillies’ biggest disappointment of the first half of the season. Turner has enjoyed plenty of success over his career with the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers prior to coming to Philadelphia in 2023.

Based on past seasons and the success he’s had, Turner has a level of expectations that he has not lived up to so far this season. He entered this season having just won the National League Batting Title, leading the NL with a .304 batting average. This year, he is batting just .236 in 94 games.

In the first half, Turner slashed .236/.284/.355 with 10 home runs, 16 doubles, 33 RBIs, 62 runs and a .639 OPS.

His .639 OPS is the worst mark of his career since his .620 mark in 27 games in his first season, which didn’t even qualify for rookie status. The lowest OPS he’s had since was .760 with the Nationals in 2018.

Brandon Marsh hits home run No. 16! pic.twitter.com/QDf9AgFoi8

— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2026

In the month of May, Turner batted just .189 with a .222 OBP, contributing to those underwhelming numbers from the first half.

While he’s still on pace to score over 100 runs and steal over 27 bases, Turner’s performance in the first half was not where most of his career norms are and what you’d expect from the 33-year old veteran.

Marsh was a pleasant surprise with his performance during the first half, and Turner was one of, if not the biggest, disappointments thus far. There is still a lot of season to be played to see if Marsh can keep up his success and if Turner can turn things around for the Phillies as they look to catch up to the Braves in the division.

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