HOUSTON — When the PhilliesFirst traded Brandon MarshFrom the AngelsOne statistic stood out for his new hitting coach more than any other.
Kevin Long saw Marsh’s swing. There are many moving parts. It makes sense that he is the leader in all of baseball with a 36.2 percent strikeout rate. But, no that wasn’t the number that popped out to Long.
“He was always late. He was never on time,” Long said. “So I looked up what he did against fastballs. He hadn’t pulled a right-handed fastball all year. It just didn’t make sense to me. Like, this guy hadn’t pulled a right-handed fastball?”
That may very well be an indictment on the Angels for not making corrective measures to Marsh’s then-problematic swing. Marsh was traded regardless of who was responsible. The Phillies were able to trade their catching prospect. Logan O’HoppeOne-for-one deals at the deadline
Marsh is thrilled with the move. Marsh was a popular player among Anaheim’s fans, but his fame has been huge with the Phillies who are in the World Series against him. Astros.
He was a bad offensive player for an Angels team that was, quite frankly, terrible. Now, he’s the starting center fielder on the Phillies and having quite a moment. He’s a folk hero for being a huge NLDS homer. He was also known for his untidy hair.
Marsh seems to have made improvements with a simplified swing. His OPS was.637 with the Angels. This improved to.773 with the Phillies in 41 games. His hard-hitting rate increased by 5.3 percentage. His line-drive rate increased by 10.3 percent. His ball pull rate was 9.2 percent higher than that of the Angels. His strikeouts dropped 6.5 percent.
“I like where stuff’s trending for me personally,” Marsh said. “I know it’s a game of a lot of ups and downs. It is about building a solid foundation. Knowing what routine I’m going to do, it’s been a lot of fun.”
His swing is what has made all the difference. He seems to have eliminated the extra toe tap, which has allowed his to time up pitches with greater regularity.
“I just tried to simplify it all,” Marsh said. “Take a lot of the distractions, a lot of the excess stuff out of it. It’s really about putting the ball on the plate. It’s taking a lot out of the moving parts. I like the change.”
Marsh was not able to make it in the NLCS. Marsh was 0-for-13 and had seven strikeouts. Marsh and Long both mentioned possible injuries as a reason for those numbers. Marsh could have meant that the Phillies might not be playing anymore, however.
He hit a three run homer in Game 4 to start the series. Philadelphia will never forget this moment, and it will only get more memorable if they win the World Series.
THE BRANDON MARSH MINUTE#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/7CTHsKRjeJ
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 15, 2022
“Not a lot of much has sunk in to be honest, just being over here,” Marsh said. “It’s been going super, super fast. So after the year, I’ll kind of sit back, talk with some people, reflect on the good or bad times throughout the whole year.”
Marsh was the Angels’ former top prospect. He was called up in July 2021. His performance was quite good. His defense was elite — so good that he’s actually an Angels Gold Glove finalist this year, despite finishing the season with a different team.
The Angels made an interesting trade for Marsh. They got an elite catcher prospect in O’Hoppe, who made his debut in Anaheim late this season. It’s a trade that has win-win potential.
Marsh said that he was not surprised to have been dealt. Two of the Angels’ hitting coaches are no longer with the club. The team announced that John Mallee, assistant hitting coach, and Jeremy Reed, hitting coach, would not be returning. It’s hard to say if the Angels traded away a player who had a lot of potential that they just weren’t able to harness.
Marsh was determined to find a team that made tangible changes in his life. This is a small sample. But there’s reason to believe the success can become sustainable.
“I devised a game plan on what I was going to do with his swing,” Long said. “And the mechanics of his swing. I try to get guys closer to the hitting position, rather than farther away. So we spread him out. We managed to get him in his legs.
“It worked.”
Marsh said that after every postseason series, he’s gone and found one of his teammates just to share in a moment. Kind of like the Paul Rudd viral meme where he says, “Hey, look at us. Who would’ve thought? Not me.”
The teammate is Noah Syndergaard. The only person he’s played with the whole season. The Angels’ starting pitcher, who was also traded at the deadline.
They’re a part of this incredibly fun run. This year was full of ups and downs that ended in places that may have seemed impossible only a few months back.
“He’s a Top 5 favorite person that I’ve ever encountered,” Syndergaard said of Marsh. “Just an awesome human being. I think the sky’s the limit for him. He’s so young and so raw. I think he’s really going to blossom into something special. He’s got the best energy I’ve been around.”
(Photo: Bill Streicher / USA Today)
