According to advanced defensive metrics, Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh has been an above league-average defender in 2023. He’s played around 600 defensive innings so far this year with one defensive run saved and has recorded six outs above average.
Despite those solid numbers, the 25-year-old has been prone, at times, to misreads on fly balls and mistakes with his glove through the season’s first three-plus months. And he made one of those mistakes in the third inning of yesterday’s 5-4 loss to the Washington Nationals.
With one out in the top half of the third, Derek Hill flied a ball out towards left center field. Marsh seemingly had a read on the ball as left fielder Kyle Schwarber was also making his way to the spot of where the fly ball would land. Both players seemingly stopped in their tracks as they inched closer to one another and let the ball drop between them.
The play was ruled a single and an advancement by the runner to second base on a fielding error by Marsh — his fourth of the year. Four batters and two walks later, Stone Garrett hit a first-pitch grand slam off Ranger Suárez to give the Nats a 4-3 lead — a lead they would not relinquish.
After the game, the young outfielder took accountability for the ball dropping onto the outfield grass in the third inning when speaking with reporters. Marsh said, “That’s just a bad outfield play by me. I’ve got to be more assertive in that situation. I know it’s a ball more in the middle, but that’s my ball. I’ve got to speak up and get loud and let it be known that’s my ball. And I didn’t do that today.”
A few moments later he was asked about being the youngest of Philadelphia’s three main outfielders — veterans Nick Castellanos and Schwarber being the other two. Marsh said they don’t see it that way in the outfield, “[The] center fielder has priority and he’s got to be vocal and loud and be the leader of the outfield. And on that play I was not… it’s unacceptable and I’ve got to be better.”
As mentioned above, this wasn’t the first time Marsh has made a simple mistake in the outfield. In the series finale against the Chicago Cubs last Thursday, the center fielder tracked what seemed to be a routine fly ball down in the bottom of the sixth inning. He couldn’t squeeze it into his glove, though, as it dropped onto the outfield grass. Marsh was given an error on that play, too.
The former second-round pick’s play on Sunday wasn’t the final nail in the coffin, however, as the Phillies offense ended up squandering a number of opportunities throughout the remainder of the game. They were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position as a team. They also ended up grounding into rally-ending double plays in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Marsh hit into the third of those double plays.
Marsh understands he has to be better and that’s a good thing to hear from any young player. Now he just has to go out onto the field and prove he can learn from his mistakes.
Must-watch (or read) Phillies content
- Nick Castellanos is officially a two-time All-Star and Phillies Nation’s Destiny Lugardo detailed Castellanos’ reaction to the news that he’s heading to Seattle amid his bounce back season.
- Darick Hall was recalled to the big leagues prior to yesterday’s series finale against the Nationals. Our own Tim Kelly outlined the Phillies current plans for Hall and takes a look at how he fits into the roster once Bryce Harper is cleared to play first base.
- Here are the latest Phillies injury updates, including a big update on Andrew Painter.
Former Phillies Nation
- Mickey Moniak hit his ninth home run of the year for the Los Angeles Angels yesterday afternoon. The first overall pick by the Phillies in the 2016 draft has appeared in 33 games for LA so far this season and is hitting .307/.336/.658 with 21 extra-base hits:
Phillies Nation’s Destiny Lugardo contributed to this report.
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