There will never be a player that receives more scorn while wearing the red pinstripes in Philadelphia than Nick Castellanos. “Divisive” is too kind a word to use when describing how Castellanos makes the fanbase feel. Throw a poll up about what people think about his time in town and I’ll venture a guess that the needle will more assuredly point to something negative.

Should it be?

If his story within Philadelphia were a book, we’re in the middle chapters. So far, we’ve had a disappointing opening, a redemptive middle and…..

What’s the next chapter in the Castellanos story here with the Phillies?d

2024 stats: 162 G, .254/.311/.431, 23 HR, 86 RBI, 6.2 BB%, 21.1 K%, 105 wRC+, 0.4 fWAR

What went right

After the game the Phillies played on May 28, Castellanos was struggling. His season line was at .199/.264/.308. Ugly numbers to be sure, but there were some encouraging things about that stretch. He wasn’t striking out at a crazy clip (22.9%), there was an argument to be made that there was some bad luck involved (.235 BABIP) and he was walking at a slightly better rate than his career average (7.4% vs. 6.3%). Still, that kind of line that is prominently displayed on the scoreboard isn’t going to bring many people over to your side.

After that day, something clicked with Castellanos. From May 29 through the end of the season, he was quite good at the plate, hitting .284/.336/.496 with 17 home runs and 64 RBI. His strikeout rate actually dropped during this time (but so did his walk rate) and he turned into one of the more productive hitters in the game during this stretch, reflected by his 129 wRC+ that was 34th in baseball out of 143 qualified hitters.

He also produced perhaps the best moments the team had in an October that ultimately led to disappointment.