2023 MLB Futures: Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Futures Bets

The 2023 MLB season begins on March 29 and BetQL is your one-stop shop for daily best bets, expert picks, public data, written analysis, and more from the first pitch to the last. Before the season begins, I’m going through all 30 teams, detailing futures to target for every club and touching on some of the most intriguing storylines from around the league.

Three major rule changes will come into play this year, as a pitch timer, shift restrictions and bigger bases will be introduced. The pitch timer helped reduce game length by 25 minutes in the minors last year, shift restrictions increased batting average and decreased strikeouts, and bigger bases not only improved player safety but resulted in more steals and a better product. These changes can and most likely will have major on-field impacts, which makes predicting outcomes even more difficult in 2023.

Let’s take a look at the 2023 Phillies.

Philadelphia Phillies Roster

Coming off an NL Pennant, expectations are now higher than ever for this Phillies team, with a roster full of talent and experience. This offseason proved their commitment to winning a championship, as the team added another big bat to their lineup, agreeing to terms on an eleven-year, $300 million contract with free agent shortstop Trea Turner. Adding him makes an already loaded Phillies offense that much better, and you better believe that anything less than winning it all will be considered a disappointment. Let's take a look at this roster and project who will be in the starting lineup and rotation.

Turner will obviously be the starting shortstop, and I project him to bat either leadoff or second in the lineup. Kyle Schwarber will be in left field and bat towards the top, as a usually does. J.T. Realmuto will be the man behind the plate as he has been for years now, and also bat in the heart of the lineup. Bryce Harper will be the DH, so he can focus most of his attention on offense. He's the star of the team, and needs to stay healthy once he returns from his current injury. Nicholas Castellanos will look to bounce back after what would be considered a down year for him, batting just .263. Manning the hot corner will be Alec Bohm, who hit .280 last season and had some great moments. Longtime first baseman Rhys Hoskins still has a place in the heart of the order as well. Rounding out the lineup will be center fielder Brandon Marsh and most likely second baseman Bryson Stott.

The pitching rotation adds some new faces, but brings back some old ones as well. Zack Wheeler will be the ace without much question once again this season. He was dominant as usual last season, going 12-7 with a 2.82 ERA in 26 starts. Aaron Nola will once again likely be behind Wheeler in the rotation, and he was great as well. Nola was just 11-13, but had a 3.25 ERA in 32 starts. Ranger Suarez is back, and he performed admirably in 2022. He finished with a 10-7 record and 3.25 ERA in 29 starts. Taijuan Walker joins the squad this season from the Mets. Walker was 12-5 with a 3.49 ERA in 29 starts last season. Rounding us out is most likely Bailey Falter, but rookie Andrew Painter and Cristopher Sanchez will both vie for a spot if injury or performance become an issue.

The bullpen will be manned by the following: Seranthony Dominguez, Gregory Soto, Craig Kimbrel, Jose Alvarado, Matt Strahm, Andrew Bellatti, Connor Brogdon, Nick Nelson and Erich Uelmen.

Philadelphia Phillies Best Bets

Over 88.5 regular season wins (-110, DraftKings) is the best bet if you ask me here. This is a team that is absolutely all-in on the World Series right now. By adding guys like Turner, Walker and Soto to the team, they showed their hand that they are all in for 2023, and nothing less but a title is acceptable. They went 87-75 last season, and that was before they went on a crazy run in the postseason. With the new additions, I fully expect Philadelphia to have a lot of success this season, and go over their regular-season win total from last season.

I also would take a look at Turner for NL MVP at +1500 on PointsBet. His upside is huge, and he will stand out a bit more on this team than he did on the loaded Dodgers roster. Plus, with Harper expected to miss possibly the first half of the season with surgery rehab, he will have to be the star of the show on offense.