Why the Phillies should terrify the rest of the NL despite a 29-27 start

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Why the Phillies should terrify the rest of the NL despite a 29-27 start originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Philadelphia Phillies are fresh off a sweep of the San Diego Padres (in San Diego), and improved to 29-27 this week.

Remember when the Phillies were riding a 10+-game losing streak in April and then fired manager Rob Thomson? Yeah, things have changed since, and the Phillies are starting to look like a threat in the National League thanks to Christopher Sanchez, who should be the NL Cy Young frontrunner, and the surrounding cast of All-Stars (Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Zack Wheeler) all starting to return to form. The turnaround for this Phillies team can really be traced back to Wheeler's return to the rotation.

Are the Phillies better than their record shows?​

According to FanSided.com writer Chris Landers, the Phillies are one of four MLB teams that are 'much better' than their record indicates:

"I'm willing to bet on this core one more time, though, at least to be better than a .500 product by the time the year is through. Bryce Harper is proving that reports of his decline were greatly exaggerated, and if Trea Turner can ever start hitting up to his contract, there's still potential in this lineup. (Bryson Stott has quietly been very good in the month of May!) And while there's essentially zero depth behind this starting five, Jesus Luzardo and Aaron Nola have been two of the hardest-luck pitchers in baseball to start this season."

Look, due to the Atlanta Braves' dominance to start the season, it's hard to make the claim that the Phillies will surge enough to overtake Atlanta for the NL East crown (Philadelphia is currently 8.0 games back), but a Wild Card berth is more than plausible for this team with World Series aspirations. Yeah, the last time the Phillies advanced to the World Series, they were a Wild Card team.

With the supporting cast of players getting hot (Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm, Luzardo, Brandon Marsh), this Phillies team is A. A lot better than their record shows, and B. A potential threat in the National League.

The Phillies will have a big test this weekend when they head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers.

More MLB News:​

• Are the Los Angeles Dodgers actually better than their record indicates?​

• Orioles predicted to trade 2X MLB All-Star to Pirates in recent mock​

• How much did Travis Kelce buy the Guardians for? What to know about Chiefs star's stake in Cleveland's MLB team​

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