#994: Kyle Schwarber Is A For Real MVP Candidate

Hittin' Season: A Philadelphia Phillies podcast

WHYY

News, Sports News, Baseball, Sports, Philadelphia, Phillies

4.4 • 730 Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On Episode 994 of Hittin' Season, powered by WHYY, John Stolnis of SB Nation's The Good Phight, Justin Klugh from Baseball Prospectus and SABR's Liz Roscher discuss the Phillies' series win over Detroit and their Monday night 13-3 blowout of the Baltimore Orioles, highlighting key players like Kyle Schwarber and Christopher Sanchez. They delve into the MVP candidacy of Schwarber, compare his stats with Shohei Ohtani, and analyze the outfield situation, particularly the struggles of Max Kepler. The conversation also touches on Zack Wheeler's recent performance and injury updates for the Phils. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Game Overview 02:46 - Phillies' Performance and Player Highlights 05:27 - Kyle Schwarber's MVP Candidacy 08:37 - Comparing Stats: Schwarber vs. Ohtani 11:34 - Contract Talks and Future Considerations 14:30 - Outfield Dynamics and Player Decisions 21:09 - Max Kepler's Struggles and Stats 23:31 - Outfield Decisions and Roster Moves 25:56 - Power Surge: Phillies' Offense in the Second Half 29:29 - The Importance of Comeback Wins 33:42 - The Jhoan Duran Effect: A New Closer's Impact 39:26 - Christopher Sanchez: Rising Star in the Rotation 47:13 - Concerns About Zach Wheeler 54:28 - Injury Updates and Final Thoughts

Transcript

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0:00.0	Breaking ball and a call, strike three, third strikeout for Zach.
0:05.3	He's going to just watch it go.
0:07.5	A grand slam for Bryson Stott.
0:10.5	And there's a high fly ball.
0:13.1	Deep right field.
0:14.7	Harper watches it fly.
0:20.7	From W. H.Y.Y, it is hitting season.
0:25.2	Hey there, podcast, pals.
0:26.5	I'm John Stolness from The Good Fight.
0:28.6	You can follow me on X and Blue Sky at John Stolness.
0:32.0	Coming up.
0:32.9	Phillies take a weekend series from the Detroit Tigers,
0:35.8	and that's not at all as we're recording here on Monday night.
0:39.1	The Phillies absolutely spanking the woful Baltimore Orioles at Citizens Bank Park.
0:44.9	It is a party in Philadelphia right now.
0:47.3	The vibes suddenly pretty good here in Philadelphia.
0:51.3	And so joining me to talk about this game against the Orioles game one of this three game series, as well as the weekend that was in Philadelphia against the Tigers.
1:00.2	Justin Clue and Liz Rocher here for the roundtable. Liz Rocher, of course, you know as the editor of the Baseball Research Journal for Sabre. You can follow her on X and Blue Sky at Liz Rocher.
1:12.1	Liz, who boy, we've had some fun baseball these last four nights.
1:16.7	We certainly have. And I mean, and tonight, Monday night is absolutely no exception.
1:22.6	Lots of, lots of runs being scored, lots of things happening. But it was a fun weekend to watch baseball for the most part.
1:30.1	Yeah, a crackling electricity at Citizens Bank Park with the Detroit Tigers in town.
	...

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