Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Max Kepler has been on a roll lately. Kepler has turned things around after a slow start at the plate. In 31 games this season, Kepler has a .262/.339/.467 line with five home runs and 11 RBI. This season, Kepler has a 122 wRC+ with a .350 wOBA and a .284 BABIP. Furthermore, Kepler has an 18.2% strikeout rate and a 9.9% walk rate in 2025. Kepler has a career-best 51.2% HardHit rate and an 11.6% barrel rate. So far this season, Kepler has a 12.8% soft contact rate compared to a 36.0% hard contact rate. Kepler has a 49.7% swing rate and a 79.2% contact rate, which are better than his 2024 numbers. Swinging at fewer pitches while making contact with more and hitting the ball harder have contributed to this early success.
Kepler had an excellent spring training leading into the season. In 17 spring training games, Kepler had a 1.175 OPS along with a 203 wRC+. During spring training, Kepler had an 18.0% strikeout rate and a 20.0% walk rate. In addition, Kepler recorded a .503 wOBA along with a .429 BABIP. Kepler had an outstanding 37.5% HR/FB rate in spring training. Across the board between spring training and the regular season, Kepler is performing better than he did in the 2024 regular season. Kepler had a .682 OPS and a 94 wRC+ in 105 games with the Minnesota Twins last season. The Twins opted not to re-sign Kepler this past offseason, leading to him signing with the Phillies. Kepler has not played more than 131 games in a season since 2019, when he played in 134 games.
Phillies Outfielder On A Roll In Recent Games
Hot Streak
At the time Kepler signed with the Phillies, it was a curious move because of the team’s lineup construction. Kepler has been a good addition to the team so far. In his last 13 games, Kepler has a .310/.375/.643 line with four home runs and seven RBI. Kepler has a 175 wRC+ with a .430 wOBA and a .281 BABIP in that span. During this span, Kepler had a 14.6% strikeout rate and an 8.3% walk rate. Kepler has a 19.0% HR/FB rate during this span that dates back to April 20. During this streak, Kepler had an 11.1% soft contact rate compared to a 36.1% hard contact rate. Kepler has 13 hits during this stretch, six of which have been extra-base hits. So far this month, Kepler has a 1.224 OPS and a 213 wRC+ with two home runs across four games.
Outlook Moving Forward
Weston Wilson returning from the injured list might lead to a change. This season, Kepler has a .606 OPS and a 61 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers. For comparison, Kepler has a .862 OPS and a 139 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers this season. During this run, Kepler has a 1.012 OPS and a 179 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers. During this stretch, Kepler has a 1.018 OPS and a 175 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers. However, this season Kepler has 24 at-bats versus left-handed pitchers compared to 83 at-bats against right-handed pitchers. Wilson has a 1.033 OPS and a 181 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers in his career. In addition, Wilson started over Kepler against a left-handed starter on May 4. Kepler should not be platooned for the time being.
Main Photo Credits: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
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