Opposition research: Sal Stewart

Sal Stewart was drafted by the wrong team. He was taken by the Cincinnati Reds with the 32nd overall pick of the 2022 draft and has now graduated to become their starting first baseman

But this guy would have been an instant fan favorite in Philadelphia. First off, I have a feeling Phillies fan would love to root for a guy named Sal, even if he is of Cuban descent, and not Italian. If you recall, former backup catcher Sal Fasano had his own fan club and that was based on nothing more than his name and mustache:

And look at this guy:

There’s a face a lot of Phillies fans could get behind.

Prior to this season, he was rated as the 26th best prospect in baseball and got off to a strong start, with a .373 on-base percentage and nine home runs in April, earning him NL Rookie of the Month honors.

But May has been a different story. He’s batting .175 with just one home run so far this month. He seemed to break out of the slump a bit on Sunday with two hits, except he also helped kill a Reds rally by getting picked off second base.

Player development in baseball is rarely linear, but the Reds have to be hoping that Stewart’s line starts pointing upward again soon.

Pennant year song battle

It’s a Mistake by Men at Work wins yet another week, taking down You and I.

To celebrate the Phillies getting back to the right side of the .500 mark, this week’s contender is Right Round by Flo Rida from 2009.

Vote for the winner:

Additional thought about the series

The Reds are two games above .500, but that’s due to a blistering month of April in which they went 17-9. Since then, they’ve cooled off considerably and appear to be playing down to the level of talent on the roster.

Elly De La Cruz might have the easiest path to the All-Star Game of any player in baseball because he seems to be much better than every other offensive player on the team. JJ Bleday is hitting well after starting the season in the minor leagues, but on the other hand, it’s JJ Bleday. Maybe the former top prospect is finally putting it together, but two organizations have already given up on him.

Some Phillies fans wanted the team to sign Eugenio Suarez in the offseason, but he was underwhelming (.663 OPS) even before he went on the IL in late April.

The pitching staff has been a weakness, and the team ERA is second highest in baseball behind only the Rockies. Every starter save rookie Chase Burns has disappointed to some degree, and the bullpen has been bad. They had optimism about the relief corps headed into the season, but it’s been a complete disaster since closer Emilio Pagan went on the IL with a hamstring injury.

The Phillies took advantage of a bad Pirates bullpen in their last series, and if they find themselves down again, they should have an opportunity to make another comeback. (Although it would be preferable that they do not find themselves trailing by multiple runs to begin with.)