Trea Turner (PHI): 4-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.

Time Flies, Trea Runs

The Phillies had lost five of their last seven games heading into their series against Detroit this week. The team has consistently fallen victim to inconsistencies in its pitching and offense. Over the last several weeks, they have followed up five straight wins with five consecutive losses and a series win against Atlanta with getting swept by the Mets. Kyle Schwarber has taken a step back at the plate, but Bryce Harper came back sooner than expected and Nick Castellanos has returned to his 2021 level of hitting. Perhaps weighing down the Phillies has been Trea Turner. After signing a monster contract over the offseason and going off in the World Baseball Classic, Turner has fallen short in the first couple of months of 2023 in every category other than sprint speed. Entering Monday, the 29-year-old was slashing .232/.276/.366.

On Monday, Turner flipped a switch and reverted back into the Turner of the last six years and of the WBC. Assisted by a no-hitter that Aaron Nola took into the ninth, Turner took the Phillies on his back with a four-hit game. The shortstop slugged a pair of homers, knocking in three runs, and scoring three runs. All five of Turner’s at-bats ended in hard-hit batted balls. His first home run left his bat at 105.4 mph and his second left the bat at 106.8 mph. This game is the best sign for Turner in a long time. While there is little doubt about Turner long-term, many players take time to adjust to a new home after signing a big deal. Monday, however, put a dent in whatever limited worry there was about Turner.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:

 

Jake Meyers (HOU): 4-5, HR, R, 2 RBI.

Houston’s lineup gathered 19 hits on Monday against Toronto’s pitching, and Jake Meyers was responsible for four of them. The outfielder’s home run off of Anthony Bass left the bat at 100.2 mph and was his sixth on the year, tying his career high in a season. Additionally, all three of his singles were hard hit and they raised his OBP to .331.

Corey Julks (HOU): 1-5, HR, R, 4 RBI.

Alek Monoah was knocked out of Monday night’s game before a half-inning could be completed, and Corey Julks‘ grand slam was the final nail in the starter’s abysmal outing. The grand slam left Julk’s bat at 103.1 mph and was his fifth long ball of the year.

Nick Maton (DET): 1-2, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB.

Offense was sparse on the Tigers’ side of things on Monday night. The only major dent in Phillies’ pitching was a seventh-inning three-run home run off of the bat of Nick Maton. It came against Nola and left Maton’s bat traveling 104.9 mph. If he can consistently put it together hitting-wise, combined with his walk rate Maton could develop a stellar on-base percentage.

Bryan De La Cruz (MIA): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.

Miami currently sits five games above .500, in second place in the NL East, and in the third NL wild card spot. Bryan De La Cruz has been a significant part of the Marlins remaining in contention to this point in the season. His sixth-inning two-run home run off of Josh Staumont raised his OPS on the year to .815 and was his eighth home run of the year. Still at just 57% ownership in Yahoo leagues, De La Cruz is sure to be available in some of your leagues and is worth a pick-up.

Nick Pratto (KC): 2-5, HR, 2 R, RBI.

Monday’s game makes it six of his last seven games in which Nick Pratto has hit safely. Pratto’s third-inning home run off of Braxton Garrett traveled 407 feet to right field. In his albeit limited MLB exposure this year, Pratto has managed to sustain numbers that are far greater than he exhibited in 2022. He is now slashing .298/.393/.463.

Luis Arraez (MIA): 3-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI.

After another multi-hit night, Luis Arraez’s batting average now sits at .399. Aside from an even higher batting average than last year, Araez has also seen more doubles production which has in turn handed the infielder an OPS of .945. With the decline of batting average, it makes it all the more exciting that there is even one player that can sustain such a batting average, even if it is just for a few months.

Daulton Varsho (TOR): 2-4, HR, R, RBI.

Daulton Varsho is off to a hot start in June. Monday marked his fifth straight game with a hit and he does not have a game in June without a hit. Varsho also has a pair of home runs in the mix. His eighth-inning home run off Seth Martinez left his bat at 98.1 mph and his fourth single left his bat at 105.6 mph.

Yainer Diaz (HOU): 4-5, 2 2B, R.

With his second consecutive multi-hit game, Yainer Diaz now has seven hits in June, three of which went for extra bases. That has all come in just three games played for the backup catcher this month. Diaz’s ninth-inning double was the second hardest hit ball of the game by an Astro on Monday and his first-inning single left his bat at 102.1 mph. Diaz can evidently hit to some extent at the major league level, the question is how much playing time he might be allowed to take away from Martín Maldonado.

Jon Berti (MIA): 2-4, 3B, R, 2 RBI.

Jon Berti utilized his strengths at the plate to the fullest on Monday night between his single and triple. He is no power threat, but he has a decent chance to make contact and use the whole field. The shortstop is now slashing .272/.321/.349 on the season.

Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)