Will This Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher be a "Secret Weapon" for Team in NLDS?

As the Philadelphia Phillies are set to begin the NLDS on Saturday against the New York Mets, this All-Star pitcher could be the deciding factor of moving on to the next round.

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The Philadelphia Phillies are finally back in action on Saturday for the first game of the National League Division Series (NLDS). 

The team received a ‘bye’ after finishing as the NL East champions for the first time since 2011 and with the second-best record in the National League. They will begin with Game One on Saturday against the New York Mets. 

As Philadlephia awaited the Mets' defeat of the Milwaukee Brewers in three games to advance to the next round, the team rested and anxiously waited to begin play as they looked to make it back to the World Series for the second time in three years. 

Although the team is loaded with superstar talent, the best-of-five series with New York may come down to some close plays or picking up some big outs in order to move on. On Friday, the writers at MLB.com listed who they believe could be each team’s “secret weapon” for the division series. For the Phillies, the team went with one of the squad's eight All-Stars in reliever Jeff Hoffman. 

They selected Hoffman because of the versatility he has shown out of the bullpen for the Phillies this season, especially in the second half of the season. Once the team acquired Carlos Estevez to be the team’s closer at the MLB Trade Deadline, Hoffman moved into a diverse role that has helped them win ball games no matter the inning. 

 “Since Estevez became the closer, Hoffman has been deployed anywhere from the sixth through the ninth innings, depending on the situation. Hoffman can start an inning or handle a “dirty” inning, as Phillies manager Rob Thomson likes to call it.” Said Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, and he is not wrong. Having someone like the 31-year-old at your disposal for any situation following one of your starters is a great problem to have. 

He appeared in five games for the Phillies last season, helping them return to the NLCS for the second straight year. Over that span, he pitched six scoreless innings and struck out eight. He allowed only four hits against 21 batters he faced. 

Hoffman has excellent numbers against the current Mets roster as well, which could definitely come in clutch when deciding when to utilize him in this series. He has held Mets All-Star Pete Alonso to only two hits in 13 career at-bats. He has also left superstar Francisco Lindor hitless with three strikeouts over the only four times they have matched up against each other. 

It was reported on Wednesday that the All-Star reliever was dealing with a “stiff neck” to begin the week heading into the NLDS, but manager Rob Thomson stated “he’ll be fine” if his name is called in Game One of the series. 

The first pitch for the beginning of the NLDS with the New York Mets is scheduled for 4:08 pm ET on Saturday. The game will be available nationally on FOX.