The upper-deck home runs and the celebrations that followed captured the majority of the attention and headlines in the Phillies' impressive season-opening sweep of the Atlanta Braves.
It was the discipline that the team showed at the plate, however, that should have fans leaving the series feeling this offense is here to stay and the Phillies are serious contenders in the National League.
The Phillies were one of the top teams in the league last season in taking walks, averaging 3.59 walks per game, good for fourth best in the majors. What they didn't have was power. The Phillies hit just 186 home runs last season, which was good for 15th overall.
This offseason they appear to have added the power they needed while improving their plate discipline, something that is not easy to do.
As the team the Phillies collected 20 walks in 83 plate appearances, excluding pitchers. The result has been plenty of chances to knock in runs. The team's clean up hitter, Rhys Hoskins, has already gone to the plate with the bases loaded twice in just three games.
Throughout the lineup, the Phillies are doing a great job taking pitches and not swinging at bad ones:
Andrew McCutchen:
65 pitches seen, 45 taken, 20 swung at
71% of the pitches taken were called for a ball
Jean Segura:
45 pitches seen, 25 taken, 20 swung at
64% of the pitches taken were called for a ball
Bryce Harper:
50 pitches, 30 taken, 20 swung at
73% of the pitches taken were called for a ball
Rhys Hoskins:
64 pitches, 45 taken, 19 swung at
76% of the pitches taken were called for a ball
J.T. Realmuto:
43 pitches, 27 taken, 16 swung at
74% of the pitches taken were called for a ball
Odubel Herrara:
52 pitches, 28 taken, 24 swung at
71% of the pitches taken were called for a ball
Cesear Hernandez:
49 pitches, 27 taken, 22 swung at
74% of the pitches taken were called for a ball
Makiel Franco:
44 pitches, 26 taken, 18 swung at
69% of the pitches taken were called for a ball
While it is still early, Realmuto, McCutchen, Segura, Hoskins and Herrara are doing a better job this season taking pitches that aren't strikes. The result is the Phillies, as a team, are taking an average of 4.40 pitches per plate appearance, best in the majors so far.
The power will be there for the Phillies this season. That much is obvious. What will make this team continue to average a whopping 7.6 runs per game, however, is their ability to remain disciplined at the plate — and so far, the signs are very promising.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
