Brandon Marsh Could be the Philadelphia Phillies' Next Breakout Bat

The Philadelphia Phillies held high expectations upon acquiring Brandon Marsh, and thus far, he's lived up to them.

The Philadelphia Phillies took a bit of a risk when they decided to trade one of their top prospects to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Brandon Marsh prior to the August trade deadline.

That top prospect, catcher Logan O'Hoppe, is set to make his major league debut with the Halos on Wednesday. Things are going exceedingly well for him since joining the Angels organization.

That said, things aren't going too poorly for Marsh either.

Prior to joining the Phillies, Marsh slashed a pitiful .226/.284/.353 in an Angels uniform. His glove, as always, kept him afloat at the MLB level, but the Angels soured on him quickly. Mind you, this was the same player who a year prior was held back from being included in a one-for-one trade for high-profile players and prospects, like the Miami Marlins' Max Meyer.

The 24-year-old arrived in Philadelphia with an abundance of concern surrounding his offensive profile. His strikeout-prone nature and incomplete swing were targeted flaws that the Phillies deemed their development staff could fix. Thus far, he's looked like a different player in red pinstripes.

While, yes, Marsh continues to be a swing-happy as ever with the Phillies, the former Top 100 prospect has made significant, discernable changes to both his stance and swing, which have yielded major steps forward in his quality of contact.

The first thing Marsh adjusted was his approach:

Something has been on my mind watching Brandon Marsh since his arrival to Philly. He's not whiffing horribly and seems to be on decent time to the ball in the SSS. So I wondered if he made any changes already mechanically/mentally/timing. Sure enough, he did.

— Jeff Israel (@JeffIsrael90) August 9, 2022

The Phillies had determined that Marsh had too much movement going on in his swing. A double toe-tap and shifty stature were quickly ditched for a square body and a single toe-tap upon his arrival in Philly. Those may not seem like major adjustments, but there has been constant emphasis of simplification surrounding Phillies hitters this season. Take for example: Bryce Harper's new-and-improved two-strike approach, Bryson Stott's no-stride hot streak, the list goes on.

Marsh saw success with his newly simplified swing, and thus went to work on his stance:

Noticed that Brandon Marsh came set with a significantly deeper squat in his stance on that RBI double: turns out that is definitely the case.

On the left is his Phillies debut. The right is him tonight in that at-bat.

Always a fan of hitters using their lower bodies more. pic.twitter.com/sRE5sW15sJ

— Alex Carr (@AlexCarrMLB) September 10, 2022

There is a clear difference between Marsh's two stances in the above images. On the right, Marsh's squat is far deeper, his back is further arched, his bat is held higher, and his stance is wider. These changes aid the hitter in using more of their lower body, a skill which Marsh should boast in spades considering how strong his legs are.

Since the above tweet (Sept. 10), Marsh has gone on a tear, hitting .372/.386/.558 with five extra-base hits. Overall in a Phillies uniform, Marsh has managed a .288/.308/.443 slash. It's no coincidence, these changes have boosted Marsh to the next level. 

This said, there are still areas of Marsh's game that could use some work. He continues to strikeout far too often, though he has improved in his move to the Phillies. In 93 games with the Angels this season, Marsh logged a whopping 36.2% strikeout rate. In 33 contests with the Phillies, that rate has dropped to a better, but still-lofty 29.9%. 

Rome wasn't built in a single day, just as plate discipline isn't built in a single season.

Marsh has also failed to utilize his speed in his time with the Phillies. He's 50/50 on stolen base attempts, having successfully stolen twice, but has also been caught twice. That is something the Phillies will surely nip in the bud, they've been among the most successful clubs in stealing bags this season.

Still, these are minor gripes in what has begun as an extremely successful Phillies career for Brandon Marsh. His new-and-improved swing and stance, combined with a plus-glove and good speed could launch the big-bearded, charismatic center fielder into a breakout season in 2023. He has almost certainly locked up the starting position at this point, and will have an entire offseason to build on the changes the Phillies have led him to.

Sure, Logan O'Hoppe may develop into something of significance for the Angels, but if Marsh's progress can grow at anywhere near the rate that his hair does, the Phillies are going to be happy campers indeed.

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