Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and first baseman Bryce Harper celebrate after Schwarber's home run against the Detroit Tigers at Citizens Bank Park on August 3, 2025. (Grace Del Pizzo/On Pattison)
5 Phillies appear on ESPN's latest countdown of the top 50 players in baseball, a list that's sure to lead to plenty of debate among fans.
The list included both position players and pitchers, with two-time AL MVP Aaron Judge — on track to make that three-time — edging out Shohei Ohtani and Tarik Skubal for the No. 1 spot on the countdown.
Zack Wheeler is the highest-ranked Phillie, coming in at No. 9. Ohtani is in his own category, but the only two full-time starting pitchers above Wheeler are Skubal (No. 3) and Paul Skenes (No. 6), the front runners for the AL and NL Cy Young Awards, respectively. Considering there's still some uncertainty about Wheeler's shoulder, this feels like a fair ranking for him, particularly since he's a spot ahead of the excellent Garrett Crochet.
Kyle Schwarber checks in at No. 14, which coming into the season would have been a great development. But considering Schwarber leads the National League in both home runs (42) and RBIs (97), it's fair to wonder if the three names above him — Kyle Tucker, Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. — are more valuable right now. Tucker and Tatis are more well-rounded players, but Schwarber is homering at such an insane clip that you could reasonably argue 14 is too low.
Cristopher Sánchez is 19th, the highest-ranked pitcher after Crochet at No. 10. Sánchez currently leads all starters in Baseball Reference's calculation of WAR at 6.0. He has a 2.36 ERA, 2.77 FIP and 0.6 HR/9 across 144 2/3 innings pitched. With uncertainty about Wheeler's health, Sánchez might actually be the biggest threat to Skenes in the NL Cy Young Award race. He should probably be higher on the list, but he is starting to get national recognition.
The final two Phillies on the countdown are Trea Turner at No. 32 and Bryce Harper at No. 33.
By design, Turner has focused more on contact this year, rather than hitting the ball out of the park. So while the 12 home runs he's hit might feel a bit underwhelming relative to what he's done in recent seasons, he's made up for it with 135 hits. Turner needs a strong finish at the plate after a disappointing July, but has generally been a strong table-setter for Rob Thomson's squad this year.
It can be debated exactly how much Turner has improved defensively this year, but he certainly has to some extent. After posting minus-three outs above average in 2024, Turner has 14 OAA in 2025, which are tied for seventh among all defenders. His one defensive run saved is more modest, though still a drastic improvement from the minus-14 he finished last season with.
Harper is probably appropriately ranked considering he missed nearly a month earlier this season with right wrist inflammation and has seen his batting average dip to .260 with an underwhelming start to August. However, the two-time NL MVP hit six home runs with a 1.005 OPS in July, so his potential to shoot up this list still exists.
While you can quibble with the individual rankings of these Phillies, having five of the top 50 is a pretty good place to start. What's made the Phillies such a dangerous team in the month of August is that they haven't been as top-heavy as they appeared to be for much of the first four months of the season. Brandon Marsh, Bryson Stott and J.T. Realmuto have been real contributors, lengthening this lineup and making the Phillies look like a World Series favorite. The contributions of those not on this list might ultimately be what decides whether or not the Phillies have a parade in early November.