TAAU Phils are Hot!

When we last visited our TAAU Phillies, they were struggling with a record of 4-8. Since then, they've turned it around in a big way and sit at 23-19, which finds them in third place in the NL East, 5 games behind first-place Washington. The Braves are a game behind the Nationals and the Mets, bless their pointed little heads, are in fourth place, 5.5 games behind the Phils.

The Phils will have a chance to gain ground on Washington at the end of May, as the two teams have yet to face each other. The Phils are 12-5 in the last 17 games, and had a four-game outburst where they outscored the Braves and Pirates 54-21. They scored 12 runs in the bottom of the 8th in a 20-5 win over the Braves on May 6. Yes, this league is playing in the future. Why not?

Statistically, Jean Segura and Bryce Harper are your offensive forces, with both guys posting and OPS above 1.000. We have four players with more than 10 home runs - Harper and Rhys Hoskins both with 12, and Segura and JT Realmuto each with 10. But despite the power, Hoskins and Realmuto are still struggling, hitting .210 and .219 respectively.

Aaron Nola leads the starters with a 6-2 record and 3.64 ERA. Zack Wheeler has pitched well, but the team hasn't scored enough runs for him. Wheeler is 2-5 in 9 starts with a 3.74 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 55.1 innings.

Adam Morgan has been fantastic in relief, notching a 1.15 ERA in 17 appearances. In fact, most of the bullpen mainstays have ERA below 3 (Tommy Hunter, 2.57; Jose Alvarez, 2.65; Hector Neris, 2.85).

The defense has been pretty solid, with just 17 errors in 42 games and have a run differential of +27. They're just 9-9 at Citizens Bank Park, and the traditionally poor road team has gone 14-10 away from Philadelphia. You can find all of the team stats right here.

Around the rest of MLB, your division leaders are Washington, St. Louis, Arizona, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Oakland. Charlie Blackmon leads the NL in hitting at .369, with Segura second at .351. Mike Moustakas has the most NL home runs with 15.

In the AL, Vladimir Gurerro Jr. is the top hitter at .367 and Houston's George Springer leads all AL hitters with 19 homers. Zach Plesac leads AL pitchers with a 7-1 record, while new Yankee Gerrit is 4-2 in 9 starts with 91 strikeouts in 55 innings. Yikes.

(Photo of Jean Segura courtesy of The Athletic)