Phillies Fall in Latest Power Rankings

The Philadelphia Phillies (69-49) have had a rough go of it to start the second half of the season. After finishing the first half with a 62-34 record, the best in MLB, they have limped out of the gate to a 7-15 record so far in the second half.

MLB.com released their latest team power rankings on Monday. After being ranked first for the majority of the season, the Phillies now find themselves down in second place. Here is what Will Leitch had to say about the struggling Phillies:

"The Phillies just finished up a miserable West Coast trip and are now 7-15 since the All-Star break, though there really isn’t much reason to fret: They are still eight games up in the NL East and still are tied for the best record in the National League. They also have a nice little homestand with the Marlins and Nationals this week. They had plenty of rope to play with, and they really haven’t used all that much of it."

The Phillies do have room to breathe in the divisional race, a luxury that their strong first half afforded them.

The biggest concern is that it is not just one aspect of the Phillies team that has struggled, it has been all of it at once.

In the first half, the offense combined for a .259/.331/.424 line with 118 home runs across 3,677 plate appearances. Through 855 plate appearances this half, they have managed just a .241/.306/.405 line with 27 home runs. The home runs are coming just as often, but there are not as many runners on base when they do come.

In the first half, the starting pitchers held a 3.22 ERA across 555 2/3 innings in 96 starts. That equates to just under six innings per start. In the second half, they have pitched to a 4.63 ERA across 118 2/3 innings in 22 starts for just over five innings per start.

The bullpen in the first half held a 3.79 ERA across 306 1/3 innings in the 96 games, just over three innings a game, one of the least utilized bullpens in MLB over that stretch. This half, however, they have a 5.79 ERA across 74 2/3 innings in 22 games, for just under four innings a game.

While they have shown flashes of brilliance in the second half, by winning via shutout four times and taking 2-of-3 from the Los Angeles Dodgers (70-49), they have yet to put it all together for an extended period.

The homestand over the next week will be very telling of where this Phillies team is headed. With two series against divisional opponents, even weaker ones as they are, at home, the Phillies will need to show signs of life on both sides of the ball to keep their playoff chances alive.