After a slow start, Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner is heating up at the dish. Turner has a .310/.365/.443 line with five home runs and 23 RBI this season in 51 games. Additionally, Turner has a 127 wRC+ with a .366 BABIP this season. Turner has 14 stolen bases as well. To add, Turner has an 18.3% strikeout rate and a 7.4% walk rate. This year, Turner has a 48.0% swing rate and a 77.4% contact rate. Both of those are improvements relative to last season. This is a common trend across the Phillies lineup of swinging less and making contact more often this season. Turner has improved his chase rate from 33.9% last season to 28.6% this season. This is a welcome development for Turner and the team as a whole. The Phillies needed to improve their chase rate after the last two postseasons.
Turner has spent time in the leadoff spot and second in the order this season. Bryson Stott currently bats leadoff against right-handed starting pitchers. Meanwhile, Turner bats leadoff against left-handed starting pitchers. Turner has a .865 OPS and a 139 wRC+ in 14 games in the leadoff spot this season. When batting second this season, Turner has a .777 OPS and a 120 wRC+ in 36 games. Turner has a .962 OPS and a 167 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers. Turner has a .737 OPS and a 109 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers. There is somewhat of a correlation between the splits, which is interesting. Turner still has Bryce Harper hitting behind him in the order, even with the lineup adjustments. The change is who hits in front of Turner.
Phillies Shortstop Heating Up
Slow Start To The Season
Turner missed a few games in March due to injury. This almost tested the Phillies shortstop depth early on. Turner had a .292/.364/.368 line with one home run and 11 RBI in 26 games in April. Additionally, Turner had a 110 wRC+ and a .366 BABIP in April. Turner also had a 19.5% strikeout rate and an 8.5% walk rate in April. While those numbers are not bad, they are not spectacular either. An OPS of .732 in April resulted from 25 out of 31 single hits in the month. Turner led the Phillies in hits in April, though. However, in April, Turner struck out the second-most times of any Phillies player. Turner had a .717 OPS and a 106 wRC+ in 28 games between March and April.
May Turnaround
After that start the Phillies shortstop is heating up in May. Turner has a .340/.368/.540 line with four home runs and 12 RBI in 23 games. Furthermore, Turner has a .908 OPS and a 150 wRC+ in May. Turner recorded a 1.275 OPS and a 240 wRC+ in the Phillies ‘ seven-game road trip from May 19 to May 26. To add, Turner has a .380 BABIP in May. Turner has a 17.0% strikeout rate and a 4.7% walk rate in May. Turner has improved from a .368 SLG in April to a .540 SLG in May. Kyle Schwarber is the lone Phillies player with a better SLG in May than Turner. Additionally, Turner has decreased his strikeout rate compared to April. Turner leads the team in hits in May as well.
Main Photo Credits: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
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