3 Phillies who could make or break the team’s World Series chance this year

1. The Phillies could use a career-year from Taijuan Walker

There are several other candidates for this third spot. At least one pitcher had to make it. As important as Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler are, it’s Taijuan Walker whose presence as the third or fourth starter is imperative to the team’s success and World Series chance.

The Phillies suffered in the postseason from not having enough reliable starting pitcher options. Ranger Suarez wasn’t quite what they needed. Their only other options were to hope Noah Syndergaard could get them through a couple of frames or cross their fingers with Bailey Falter on the mound in what was essentially a bullpen game.

Walker is getting paid a lot of money to be more than a back-of-the-rotation arm. The Phillies have enough belief in him to put together a potential career-year. It’s understandable why. They saw Wheeler finally do it with them. Can Walker follow suit?

Nola and Wheeler should be able to give the Phillies more of the same in 2023, however, it’s Walker who could surprise. Heading into his age-30 campaign, he looked very good with the New York Mets last season, finishing 12-5 with a 3.49 ERA in 29 starts.

It’s the postseason when Walker can become a Philadelphia star. He can help remove the question of “who starts the next day?” if he’s anything close to what he was last year in the regular season.