Brandon Marsh reveals which Phillies fan favorite player helped spark the turnaround

Matt Sullivan

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Brandon Marsh reveals which Phillies fan favorite player helped spark the turnaround image

One of the overarching storylines from the 2025 Philadelphia Phillies season so far has been the offensive turnaround of a couple of players like Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and most prominently, Brandon Marsh.

He began his year off terribly and was sent down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to rehab from an injury, which happened to break his season into two parts. Before the injury in April, when he struggled, and the months since his return, when he became a much better player.

Marsh, via 2008philz on Twitter, was asked after the Phillies' win over the Miami Marlins, who had given him advice to help shift the course of his 2025 season. Marsh's answer revealed that a Phillies fan favorite, who's also been viewed negatively by some, was a huge reason for his turnaround after his return from Lehigh Valley.

Brandon Marsh Credits a Fan Favorite Player With Helping to Get His Season Back on Track

"I know everyone talks about this guy, and not in good ways, but Stubby man," Marsh said. "When I went down to Lehigh for those rehab games, he really just got my head back in the game. He leveled me out. That's what guys like that do. He's an incredible asset to this team, and he helps out more than anyone knows. So yeah, shoutout to Stubby."

Garrett Stubbs, the Phillies' backup catcher from the last couple of seasons who became renowned for his postgame celebrations, was a huge reason for Marsh turning his season around. While his stint in Triple-A helped reset the season, Stubbs also helped stabilize a free-falling Marsh.

Before the injury and trip to Triple-A, Marsh had been one of baseball's worst hitters. From March 27th until April 16th, Marsh played in 17 games and across 42 at-bats, notching just four hits. He hit .095 with a .387 OPS.

It was by far the worst start to the year among the Phillies hitters, and he needed to come out of the lineup and reset in some capacity. After a trip to the minor leagues, and got the advice of Stubbs, who was the starting catcher at Lehigh Valley. It worked.

Since Marsh returned on May 3rd, across 281 at-bats, Marsh has 84 hits, 45 runs scored, 18 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 28 RBIs, five stolen bases, 26 walks, 77 strikeouts, a .299 batting average, and an .810 OPS.

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It's a dramatic increase in production and further proof that Marsh's stint in Triple-A helped turn his season around. Those season-long statistics don't include his 2-4 days in Miami with one run scored, further increasing his season-long numbers

The 27-year-old has shown flashes of being an elite player at times in his Phillies career, and this season, it's all coming together. Along with great defense in the outfield, the Phillies' outfield is having a great year.

While he won't catch his 2023 and 2024 season WAR totals of 3.4 and 3.1, respectively, his production since returning from Triple-A has been a huge boon for the Phillies. Combined with Harrison Bader's acquisition and Max Kepler turning things around recently, the Phillies' new-look outfield has been great since August began.

For Marsh, a huge reason for his turnaround this season is thanks to Garrett Stubbs, who spent the majority of his season at Triple-A before getting called back up to the Majors in September amid expanded rosters.

This has been a great second half from Marsh, and it's thanks in part to the advice and support of Stubbs.

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Matt Sullivan

Matt Sullivan is a freelance writer for The Sporting News, predominantly covering MLB. Matt is a native of Pennsylvania and has worked with Athlon Sports, Last Word on Sports, and other outlets.