Which Phillie will have a big second half?

The Phillies will have an optional workout at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday night before embarking on the second half of the 2025 regular season on Friday.

To repeat as NL East champions — and make it back to the World Series — the Phillies are going to need big performances from their stars. Who is most likely to step up? One name was a popular choice in our latest Phillies Nation roundtable.

Ty Daubert — Editorial Director — Bryce Harper

Sometimes the most obvious answer is still the right one. Bryce Harper had a slow first half for his standards, with an .825 OPS and only 10 home runs. He was limited to 68 games due to injury and didn’t always look his best. But Harper is still a star with a long history of power production and getting on base. His track record makes him the best bet for a strong second-half performance.

Destiny Lugardo — Site Director — J.T. Realmuto

J.T. Realmuto is to August what Kyle Schwarber is to June. Sort of. The catcher is batting .289 with an .897 in the month of August during his Phillies career. His lowest OPS in an individual August is .813. He was one of the Phillies’ hottest hitters heading into the break; his 1.000 OPS in July is best among Phillies hitters. He has gone 38 games without hitting a home run, the longest streak of his career. That is bound to end soon. But the gap power is already back, as Realmuto has five doubles over his last 35 plate appearances. It’s been a disappointing first half of the season, but a much more productive second half from Realmuto is a safe bet to make.

Nathan Ackerman — Staff Writer — Bryce Harper (and two relievers)

This shouldn’t really count, but Harper had shown enough shakiness in his first few weeks off the injured list that there were causes for concern. Plus, you know, 32, nagging injuries, etc. But Harper pushed that cold stretch aside Wednesday in San Francisco, and I don’t see him looking back. He’s acutely aware of the urgency this year and his place in it, and he meets the moment. (It’s not like he’s totally done.) Don’t count on 20 homers from here on out, but I’ll go with a .909 OPS. To go out on a longer limb: Seth Johnson and Daniel Robert, who stay important to a bullpen that trades cannot alone repair.

Dakota Eastman — Intern — Jesús Luzardo

Luzardo’s first season in Philadelphia has been filled with inconsistencies, posting a 2.15 ERA in his first 11 starts before his ERA ballooned to 7.72 in his next eight starts. Cause for optimism can be found in his most recent outing against San Francisco as the lefty threw seven shutout innings and looked much like the Luzardo of April and May. The other thing that makes me bullish on a big second half is that I expect him and Caleb Cotham, known around the league as one of the top pitching coaches, to dig into what has plagued him recently and develop a plan to thrive for the remainder of the season.

Bailey Digh — Staff Writer — Bryce Harper

When in doubt, choose the two-time NL MVP. Harper sounded confident after his 4-for-6 performance last week in San Francisco, where he homered and doubled thrice. He followed it up with a 3-for-10 weekend in San Diego with a pair of doubles, scoring the Phillies’ only two runs in their series finale win to conclude the first half. It’s hard to say a hitter with an adjusted OPS 27 percent better than league average hasn’t truly found his stroke at the plate.

But it feels like Harper hasn’t, at least for an extended period. Before getting hit by a Spencer Strider fastball in late May and missing three weeks with an unrelated wrist issue soon thereafter, Harper was heating up. He slashed .308/.381/.484 in the season’s second month. Upon his return from the injured list, Harper wasn’t fully in rhythm. Maybe his performance during the last four games of the first half is the beginning of him doing so.

Sarah Shockey — Intern — Zack Wheeler

Wheeler has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the first half of 2025. Wheeler currently has 154 strikeouts through 19 starts. That’s second in all of MLB behind Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, who has 160. Wheeler’s 4.8 bWAR leads all pitchers. Wheeler was also just one pitch away from a perfect game against the Cincinnati Reds. There is no sign of Wheeler slowing down in the second half of the season. He should without a doubt be crowned the National League Cy Young winner at the end of the 2025 season.