Top 10 Phillies players of 2025

Is Zack Wheeler or Bryce Harper the best player on the Phillies? Is another starting pitcher just behind these two? Do we believe in a Bryson Stott bounce back year? Is J.T. Realmuto still one of the best players on the team?

These are just some of the questions we asked ourselves when devising the second annual Top Ten Philadelphia Phillies players of 2025 list.

This year, Phillies Nation invited our friends from On Pattison to participate in the discussion.

The 2025 list was voted on by Destiny Lugardo, Ty Daubert, Nathan Ackerman and Bailey Digh of Phillies Nation, along with Tim Kelly, Anthony SanFilippo and John Foley of On Pattison. We asked each voter to create their own list of the 10 Phillies who they think will have the best 2025 season, while also considering track record.

Here was our list heading into the 2024 season:

1. Zack Wheeler
2. Bryce Harper
3. Aaron Nola
4. Trea Turner
5. J.T. Realmuto
6. Kyle Schwarber
7. Bryson Stott
8. José Alvarado
9. Ranger Suárez
10. Brandon Marsh

With all of the votes in, here is what we came up with.

No. 10 – J.T. Realmuto 

• Highest Ranking: 7th
•  Lowest Ranking: N/R

Best catcher in baseball? Not anymore, but Realmuto is still pretty damn good. Despite all of the talk about him playing fewer games so that the offensive numbers look a little better in the end, expect him to eclipse 125 –- maybe 135 -– games played if he stays off the injured list. The small meniscus tear in his right knee that cost him a month was the result of an awkward landing while trying to leg out a triple on a rainy day, not wear and tear. The knee issue did severely impact his ability to run: He stole only two bases in 2024 after stealing 50 combined over the previous three seasons. He doesn’t quite excel at everything like he did when he was younger, but he’s still an excellent all-around catcher that should land another sizable pay day in free agency next offseason. If the Phillies do not re-sign, the team – and its fanbase – will feel the impact of his departure. Destiny Lugardo, Phillies Nation

No. 9 – Bryson Stott 

• Highest Ranking: 5th
• Lowest Ranking: N/R

Maybe I’m just a little more bullish on Stott than my colleagues are (I had him ranked fifth), but I’m drinking the Kool-Aid that Stott’s struggles in 2024 were predominantly the result of battling through an elbow injury. I had someone from the organization who I trust tell me that the injury was very impactful on his swing and not an excuse. As such, I’m willing to believe that a healthy Stott will be more like the 2023 version of himself, where he was a borderline All-Star second baseman, and less of what we saw a year ago. He’s looked good this spring, with an on-base percentage hovering around .500 the entire month. He finished fourth in the league in walks with 13. If he can control the strike zone like that in the regular season and hit like he did in 2023 (.280), he may finally become what everyone hoped he would — a top of the lineup catalyst that would allow the Phillies to lengthen their lineup even more. I, for one, believe he’s going to work his way up to that part of that lineup at some point this season.  Anthony SanFilippo, On Pattison

No. 8 – Jesús Luzardo 

• Highest Ranking: 6th
• Lowest Ranking: N/R

Jesús Luzardo is a bit overlooked heading into 2025. It’s not surprising. The Phillies rotation is filled with talent. It consists of four arms that have helped the club reach and succeed in the postseason each of the last three years. But Luzardo should be receiving more attention. While the left-hander is coming off an injury-plagued year, he has All-Star potential. Luzardo started 32 games for the Marlins in 2023, posting a 3.58 ERA in 178 2/3 innings. The year prior, he made 18 starts and finished with a 3.32 ERA. Last year wasn’t the first time the 27-year-old has dealt with health issues. His health is a question mark. But the Phillies have a track record of keeping pitchers healthy. And right now, Luzardo looks 100%. This spring, he’s easily reached the high 90s with his fastball. His other stuff looks sharp. He’s added a sweeping slider to his arsenal. The Phillies may take it easy with the southpaw, but Luzardo has a real shot at making a major impact if he stays healthy. Bailey Digh, Phillies Nation

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No. 7 – José Alvarado 

• Highest Ranking: 5th 
• Lowest Ranking: N/R

José Alvarado simply wasn’t the player we have come to expect in 2024. His ERA ballooned to 4.09 last season from 1.74 in 2023. Even more troubling was his lack of strikeouts: Alvarado went from 14.3 K/9 in 2022 to 13.9 K/9 in 2023 to just 9.2 K/9 in 2024, his lowest strikeout rate since his rookie season (2017). But the big lefty showed up to spring training in incredible shape, his velocity is as high as it’s ever been, and he struck out 20 batters in nine Grapefruit League innings. His ERA in those nine innings was a perfect 0.00 and his WHIP was a sparkling 0.67. Regardless of whether he’s tapped to close out games, Alvarado needs to be a force in high-leverage situations for the Phillies’ bullpen to be successful. John Foley, On Pattison

No. 6 – Aaron Nola 

• Highest Ranking: 4th
• Lowest Ranking: 9th 

Aaron Nola’s presence as a workhorse helps make the Phillies’ dominant starting rotation function as designed, and the veteran right-hander will be needed for volume again in 2025. With their best five starters — and top prospect Andrew Painter on the way — the Phillies have an elite unit, but the depth after that is shaky. If Nola can hover around 200 innings once again — he hit 199 1/3 last year — Philadelphia’s rotation should be in pretty good shape, as long as most things go to plan. Nola isn’t perfect, but he’s largely dependable. That should be more than enough for the Phillies this season. Ty Daubert, Phillies Nation

No. 5 – Kyle Schwarber 

• Highest Ranking: 4th
• Lowest Ranking: 7th 

Based on Kyle Schwarber’s first three years in red pinstripes, the biggest question surrounding the slugger in 2025 is not if he’ll hit, but rather where he’ll hit. Schwarber has primarily served as a leadoff batter and a power-first spark plug in Philadelphia so far. This season, manager Rob Thomson may want to switch things up. But Schwarber, with an .832 OPS and 131 home runs as a Phillie, will be a threat at the top or in the middle of the lineup as the designated hitter — with the potential for some more occasional defensive action in left field and at first base. Ty Daubert, Phillies Nation

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No. 4 – Trea Turner 

• Highest Ranking: 3rd 
• Lowest Ranking: 8th 

Trea Turner is still at shortstop, despite posting 40 errors, -26 defensive runs saved and -8 outs above average over his first two seasons with the Phillies. It seems unlikely he’ll dramatically improve defensively in his age-32 season, but there might be some more meat on the bone offensively. He hit .295 last season, which is very good. But in the three seasons prior to joining the Phillies, Turner hit .316. If he can get anywhere near that in 2025, it would be a dramatic development for the Phillies. Tim Kelly, On Pattison

No. 3 – Cristopher Sánchez 

• Highest Ranking: 2nd
• Lowest Ranking: 5th

Cristopher Sánchez is a hugely popular breakout pick this year. It’s not happening. He broke out last year. A 3.32 ERA in over 180 innings. An All-Star nod and 10th place in Cy Young voting. And there’s a good chance he’ll be even better this year. Perhaps this routine is tiring, but all of the reports from Clearwater say he bulked up quite a bit over the offseason, and he’s been up to 98.4 mph in spring training with, still, one of the best changeups in baseball. He could plausibly be the Phillies’ best starter this year. There’s a world in which he wins Cy Young. Nathan Ackerman, Phillies Nation

No. 2 – Bryce Harper 

• Highest Ranking: 1st 
• Lowest Ranking: 3rd 

Harper has an .898 OPS in three seasons since winning the 2021 NL MVP. He’s coming off of a campaign where he hit 30 home runs, being selected to his eighth All-Star Game and winning his fourth Silver Slugger Award. It’s understandable that Wheeler claimed the top spot, but Harper has been worth every cent and then some across the first six years of his 13-year/$330 million deal. Depending on how the remainder of his contract goes, he’s got a chance to go down as the best Phillies position player ever outside of Mike Schmidt. Tim Kelly, On Pattison

No. 1 – Zack Wheeler 

• Highest Ranking: 1st
• Lowest Ranking: 2nd

The man who was the runner up for last year’s National League Cy Young Award is the best player on the Phillies, according to six of our seven voters. He reached 200 innings for the second time in his career while posting a 2.57 ERA in 2024. Through five seasons with the Phillies, Wheeler has a 2.94 ERA in 829 1/3 innings; Cliff Lee had a 2.94 ERA in 827 1/3 innings with Philadelphia. He could become the first Phillies pitcher since Jim Bunning to throw over 1,000 innings with the club and have an ERA under three with another Wheeler-esque season. Every year that goes by without a World Series championship is another year of Wheeler’s prime wasted. Roy Halladay not winning a ring still stings, and if you’re the Phillies, there has to be some urgency to win it all with Wheeler under contract for three more years. Destiny Lugardo, Phillies Nation

Other Players to Receive Votes: Alec Bohm, Orion Kerkering, Brandon Marsh and Ranger Suárez.

Bonus: We asked voters to name a player they will regret leaving off of their preseason list when the season is over: 

• Anthony: Andrew Painter
• Bailey: Jesús Luzardo
• Destiny: Ranger Suárez
• John: Jordan Romano
• Nathan: Max Kepler
• Tim: Andrew Painter
• Ty: Max Kepler