It’s MLB Players’ Weekend, but Phillies fans were treated on Friday night with extra innings and a walk-off win.
Alec Bohm, who entered Friday’s game with a .288 batting average with runners on base, hit a walk-off two-run triple in the bottom of the 10th to extend the Phillies’ longest win streak of the season with a 7-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Their seventh straight win is the most since a nine-game streak in May 2025. It was the Phillies’ 11th extra-inning game this season.
The last time the Phillies lost, it was to the Cardinals after dropping two of three in St. Louis between Aug. 10-12. They now trail the first-place Braves by four games in the National League East.
With runners at first and third, interim manager Don Mattingly said he felt pretty confident in Bohm at the plate.
“The way he’s going, yeah, fairly confident when he’s up there,” Mattingly said “I mean, obviously, right now he’s going good, and he’s a collector, he collects those RBIs.”
Bohm, who has 74 RBIs this season, has felt a similar confidence at the plate lately. Bohm’s batting average jumped from .226 in July to .351 in August.
“I mean it’s definitely easier to just be a little more relaxed in there and just not try to do too much and just be a little more disciplined and a little more patient,” Bohm said. “All those things I think come a little bit easier when you’ve seen some success recently and you’re not chasing results and all those things.”
In St. Louis, the Phillies’ only win that series came against Hunter Dobbins, who was on the mound for the Cardinals on Friday. He exited the game in the fifth inning with right forearm tightness.
Also keeping a streak alive was Bryce Harper, who walked in his first plate appearance to extend his on-base streak to 24 games. But Harper finished the game hitless.
For the first time since June 5, Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo allowed more than two runs and surrendered multiple home runs. Luzardo struggled with a 25-pitch second inning, before inducing a fly ball from JJ Wetherholt to get out of a jam. He retired the next nine batters from the third through fifth inning. Then he gave up three hits and two runs in the sixth inning.
Mattingly said he thought Luzardo seemed “amped up” early in the game. Luzardo said he felt more “out of whack” than amped, stating that he felt he was throwing his best fastball and changeup of the season, but his sweeper was lacking.
Jesús Luzardo allowed more than two runs in an outing for the first time since June 5.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Home Run Derby champion Jordan Walker upset Phillies fans with a single swing in that inning. Walker hit a two-run home run to retake the lead 4-3. Luzardo allowed another hit before being pulled for Tim Mayza after 5⅔ innings.
Still, with the offense behind him, the Phillies were ready to be “in a dogfight” which has been a theme since they got their “second wind” coming off a slow start after the All-Star break.
“Whether we strike first or they do, I think we’re never really out of it,” Luzardo said. “Having faith in our ability too, whether it’s hold on until we can fight back or scratch an early lead.”
After Orion Kerkering gave up another Cardinals run in the eighth inning, Jhoan Duran came in the ninth to try and hold the game even for his fifth appearance in seventh games. Duran, who didn’t appear in the Phillies’ previous series against the Cardinals, only gave up a single to Walker.
Nestor Cortes might be part of the Phillies’ organization, but his role with the pitching staff is still to be determined.
The veteran pitcher signed with the team on Wednesday and was optioned to single-A Clearwater, where he will continue his rehab.
It’s been almost a year since his last MLB appearance on Sept. 3, 2025, and he had surgery to repair a torn left biceps in October. Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said Cortes has been throwing extended bullpen sessions and believes he threw a live bullpen on Friday.
Cortes “says he’s ready to roll,” Mattingly said on Friday.
Ahead of the signing becoming official on Wednesday, Mattingly discussed the possibility of a six-man rotation, but wasn’t sold on the idea of it while the Phillies are in a playoff race.
Instead, Mattingly alluded to the possibility of Cortes pitching out of the bullpen as he continues his rehab, especially with the long road that comes with the buildup required of a starter’s workload. And with 34 games remaining ahead of Friday’s series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals, there isn’t much time.
“I’m not sure the plan is trying to get built to be a starter,” Mattingly said. “That’s kind of a long build. That’s throwing, getting to 75 to 90 pitches, four days in between every one of those. So I think it’s getting going, build him up, at least to a bulk grow, go from there.”
It wouldn’t be Cortes’ first stint in the bullpen since becoming a starter for the Yankees midway through the 2021 season. The 2022 All-Star made a bullpen appearance for New York against the Chicago Cubs in 2024, after which he told reporters he was “upset” about. He also came out of the bullpen in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series and allowed the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history, off the bat of Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman.
The role isn’t set in stone, however, and Mattingly said it will depend on his status when he arrives in Philly and can be assessed in person.
“We got to see what we got, right?” Mattingly said. “I think guys throwing bullpens out there, coming back from injuries and things like that and throwing lives, you always want to get him in the organization, get your hands on him, see where he’s at with kind of everything. Got to get him going and see what we got.”
The 31-year-old has a career 3.94 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP but had a 6.29 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in eight appearances split between the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres last season.
Turns out Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber isn’t just good with a bat.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Extra bases
The Phillies kicked off Players Weekend with their tradition of hitting golf balls to determine their fantasy football draft order. Whoever hit the ball closest to the pin — a trash can in center field — would pick first.
Kyle Schwarber won for the second year in a row, Trea Turner confirmed. When the ritual started with Rhys Hoskins in 2023, Bryson Stott secured the first pick, and J.T. Realmuto earned it the second year.
The Phillies are currently hitting golfballs from the 300 level into a makeshift hole (trash can) in center field for their annual fantasy football draft order. pic.twitter.com/BM7WcP5PUX
When the idea began with Hoskins, however, the golf balls were hit from home plate. This year, the Phillies took turns teeing off from the upper deck, mimicking the Upper Deck Golf event that has come through Citizens Bank Park every November since 2023, the year the tradition began.
Mattingly, who witnessed the 4-year-old tradition for the first time on Friday gave it his seal of approval.
Three big questions for the Phillies as they look to do to the Cardinals what they just did to the Marlins …
Zack Wheeler is going to be OK, right?
Only once in Wheeler’s seven years with the Phillies had he gone more than two consecutive starts without pitching at least 5⅔ innings. Never had he gone more than three. His current streak now stands at five, a career-high and by far the most important subplot of the Phillies’ stretch run.
The top-line key performance indicators suggest something more than bad luck is responsible. Wheeler’s ground ball ratio over his last five starts is half of what it was in the first two-plus months of this season. His soft contact percentage is down, while his hard contact percentage is up. His 10 walks over his last three starts are his most in a three-start span since 2019, his last season with the Mets. His strike percentage on Tuesday was his second lowest of the season.
The Phillies don’t sound too concerned. Wheeler’s pitch-level metrics don’t set off any health alarm bells.
His fastball velocity remains in line with his overall season average: 95.5 mph on the four-seamer and 95 on the sinker in his most recent start, per Statcast. Both are marginally above their season-long baseline. Wheeler’s spin rates haven’t changed much at all. He is simply struggling to locate.
Can Bryson Stott keep this up?
The Phillies don’t need Stott to be Albert Pujols, but it’s always a good thing when a player does something that nobody since Pujols had done. In Stott’s case, that something was walking 21 times with just four strikeouts in a 19-game on-base streak that ended earlier this week with an 0-for-4 outing against the Marlins.
The Phillies’ formula for a late-season surge has always required somebody in the bottom-third of the lineup to get hot. They are a completely different team when somebody at the bottom of the order is reaching base consistently. Few hitters have been hotter than Stott in recent weeks. Less than a month ago, his OPS was .692. As of Thursday, it was .755. That’s a remarkable jump this late in the season. The encouraging thing is what preceded it.
In his last 81 games, Bryson Stott is hitting .284 with a .375 OBP and a .429 slugging percentageYong Kim / Staff Photographer
Stott has been a well-above average big league hitter for half of a season now. In his last 81 games, he is hitting .284 with a .375 OBP and a .429 slugging percentage. That’s an .804 OPS, with 52 strikeouts and 41 walks in 326 plate appearances.
If Stott continues at this pace for the rest of the season, there is a conceivable world where Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber both get hot at the same time and the Phillies score runs with enough consistency to rattle off the kind of winning streak that can pressure the Braves.
Can the Phillies avoid overworking Jonathan Bowlan?
This is one of those questions that would have sounded like a foreign language at the start of the season. Not only has Bowlan worked his way to the back of the bullpen, the Phillies might not be able to survive without him. It’s worth noting, then, that the 29-year-old right-hander threw a combined 62 pitches in his last two outings with one day of rest between them.
Bowlan fits the profile of a guy who can handle the rigor of intensive bullpen action. With the Royals last season, he threw 63 pitches in a three-day stretch and 96 over four days and showed no ill effects. He was optioned to the minors but continued pitching regularly and returned to the big leagues later in the month, posting a 2.55 ERA in 17⅔ innings from late August through the end of last season.
All that said, the Phillies will need to exert some willpower with Bowlan, who has emerged as the most dependable arm in the bullpen this side of Jhoan Duran. He has walked just seven batters in 19⅓ innings since moving into a high-leverage seventh- or eighth-inning role on July 7. He has a 2.33 ERA during that stretch, even after allowing a couple of runs to the Marlins on Monday. Bowlan’s has been the kind of unforeseen emergence that a team needs to get where the Phillies want to go. Interim manager Don Mattingly and his athletic training staff are going to need to walk the perilous line that always exists when a manager trusts one reliever above all others.
Luis Arraez opened the door and revealed the secret to winning three batting titles.
Not even Tony Gwynn Jr. could believe it.
“Listen,” said the son of the late Hall of Famer, “my dad was as much of a worker as possible. Never once did he have a tee and a net in his hotel room. I walked into the room and watched this man go to work. It was mind-blowing.”
In fact, since 2021, the new Phillies second baseman has traveled with a portable tee, a fold-up net, a short bat, and a small weight that fit neatly into his backpack. He sets it all up in his room, takes full or partial swings (without a ball) to perfect his compact stroke, and often sends the video to his personal hitting coach in Miami.
“Just a short move, point A to point B, and that’s all he was working on the whole time,” Gwynn said on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “And at that point I was like, ‘OK, this gentleman is a little bit different.’”
In 2026, he’s actually one of a kind.
Arraez, 29, ranks in the lowest percentile among major league batters in bat speed, hard-hit rate, and barrel percentage, which measures how frequently a hitter makes contact with the optimal combination of exit velocity and launch angle. And these days, baseball is obsessed with exit velocities and launch angles.
Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez has won three batting titles.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Here’s the thing, though: Arraez has more hits than any player since 2022. He has won batting titles in both leagues: 2022 with the Twins (.316), 2023 with the Marlins (.354), and 2024 with the Marlins and Padres (.314).
Oh, and did we mention he hardly ever strikes out?
Entering the weekend, Arraez made contact on 92.2% of his swings. The major league average was 76.4%. His career strikeout rate was 5.9%, including 4.5% this season. In the last 50 years, three players struck out less than 6% of the time while maintaining a .300 batting average: Arraez, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly, and the late Tony Gwynn, a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
“The skills that he has, they are so different that I think players in a lot of ways consider it a novelty,” said former Marlins general manager Kim Ng, who traded for Arraez before the 2023 season. “It doesn’t have to be just shooting for pull-side fly balls in hopes they’ll go over the fence.”
Yet the industry no longer values a contact-hitting savant. Arraez has been traded three times in the last 3½ years. And he went unsigned as a free agent last winter until a few days before spring training when the Giants gave him a one-year, $12 million contract.
On Aug. 3, the Phillies made a deadline trade for Arraez, a lefty-hitting second baseman, because their search for a righty-hitting outfielder lacked appealing options. And they were able to fit him in only because Bryce Harper consented to move back to right field for the balance of the season, part of a realignment in which they displaced three-fourths of the infield.
But now that Arraez is here, his one-of-one skill set will be on display for a new audience. The Phillies will form their opinion about his value, especially to a lineup that tends to strike out frequently and struggles at times to score without hitting home runs.
Maybe they will try to re-sign Arraez in the offseason. Maybe he will pack up his travel batting cage and shuffle to his sixth major-league team in a nomadic career. Whatever the case, the Phillies will have baseball’s most unique hitter for the playoff push.
Luis Arraez had his best season with the Marlins in 2023.Marta Lavandier
‘Infectious’ style
The Phillies aren’t the first team to move chess pieces around the field to accommodate a trade for Arraez.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was an All-Star second baseman for the Marlins in 2022. But after a 93-loss season, they swapped righty Pablo López and two minor leaguers to the Twins for Arraez and moved Chisholm to center field.
“We were just lacking bats,” Ng said by phone last week. “Jazz was really good at second, but we also felt like he could be put in the outfield. We felt like he would really grow into the position, and then, you’d have two premium bats in the middle of the field.”
Arraez held up his end. He mimicked Ted Williams for almost half the 2023 season, carrying a .401 average into the final week of June. He finished with 203 hits, a career-high, and won his second batting title.
But Ng recalled Arraez’s impact beyond the knocks.
“I think our players were in awe of him,” said Ng, the commissioner of the 2-year-old Athletes Unlimited Softball League. “He’d walk up to the plate and size up the field and take note of where players were positioned, and he’d just put it where they weren’t. And I think the players were just so awe-struck by him and this uncanny ability that he has, and we were hoping that that would rub off in some ways on others.
“And I’m not saying it was a direct correlation, but if you look at our one-run record in 2022 vs. our one-run record in ’23, vastly different. Is it all because of Luis? No. We tried to change the way we thought about the game across the board. But Luis was a huge instrument to that change.”
Indeed, the Marlins went from 69 wins to 84 and made the playoffs largely due to a 33-14 record in one-run games. Arraez finished eighth in the NL MVP voting.
Ng said teammates became aware of Arraez’s work habits, including hitting for 15 to 20 minutes each morning in a batting cage at his house, similar to his exercises in road hotels. Seven-time All-Star outfielder Nelson Cruz introduced him to the daily ritual when they were teammates with the Twins.
“I do my routine every day,” Arraez said. “I’ll bring my short bat and my regular bat and a little heavy weight to do my routine and then to prepare my body and especially my mind.
“It’s helped a lot. You can tell. I feel really good when I do my routine every day.”
And when Arraez got to the ballpark, the young Marlins would either pick his brain about his approach at the plate or absorb it like a sponge by watching.
“His personality and the effect that he had on the team, it really was infectious,” Ng said. “And I do think that he was one of the core pillars of that team.”
The Phillies are seeing similar benefits. Mattingly batted him cleanup to utilize his contact skills in front of Harper. And even as Arraez cooled after going 5-for-13 with four RBIs in his first three games, the Phillies’ collective strikeout rate plummeted from 23.6% before he arrived to 15.9% through his first 11 games.
Coincidence? Maybe.
Then again …
“I mean, I’ve definitely learned a lot from watching him,” Alec Bohm said. “It’s the modern-day Tony Gwynn. Like, it’s one of the best bat-to-ball [hitters] that any of us have ever seen. So, yeah, I think obviously bringing a guy like that in not only makes the lineup better, but it’s also just hitters watching other good hitters. I think there’s something to be said for that.”
Luis Arraez went 5-for-13 in his first three games with the Phillies.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
‘Know thyself’
Ng left the Marlins amid a reorganization of the front office after the 2023 season. In May 2024, Arraez got traded to the Padres.
Upon arriving in San Diego, he visited the 9½-foot tall statue of Tony Gwynn — titled “Mr. Padre” — outside Petco Park.
And he asked Gwynn’s son to accompany him.
“I was like, ‘Of course,’” said Gwynn Jr., an eight-year major-league outfielder and now a Padres radio broadcaster. “Because I had seen Luis play, and it was very apparent his style of hitting was different than everybody else in Major League Baseball and had some resemblance to my father.”
Arraez seems to appreciate baseball history, maybe because it often feels like he’s from a bygone era. With the Twins, he became close with Rod Carew, the Hall of Famer who mentored him about using the field and being satisfied with line drives and ground balls instead of trying to pull everything in the air to right field.
Even before the trade to San Diego, Arraez heard the comparisons to Gwynn. His nickname: “La Regadera” — “The Sprinkler,” in Spanish — because he sprays the ball around the field.
If he played 35 years ago, he would’ve fit right in alongside Gwynn, Carew, and Wade Boggs. As Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long said, Arraez “would’ve been elite.”
But the 21st century launch-angle craze has changed not only hitting styles but also how players are paid. In 1991, when hitting for average still mattered, 29 players batted at least .300. Last season, there were seven; Trea Turner was the only .300 hitter in the National League.
“When there’s economics involved, players aren’t dumb,” Gwynn said. “They’re going to shoot for the moon in terms of paydays.”
And it’s moonshot homers, not singles up the middle that pay the most. Arraez, signed by the Twins as a teenager out of Venezuela for $40,000, has never had a multiyear contract. His highest annual salary: $14 million in 2025, hardly a pittance but tied for only 63rd among position players last season.
But his approach at the plate hasn’t changed to amplify his bank account.
“I can’t change,” Arraez said. “If I change, I’ll be in my house watching the guys play baseball.”
Said Gwynn: “There is certainly space in this game, if you’re going to be as skilled as him, to make money that can set you up for the rest of your life. Maybe not in the 30s and 35 million [per year], but you can get in that 10- to 20-[million] range and do pretty well for yourself.
“And I think Luis is unique in that self-awareness. My dad used to say this all the time — and it was part joke but part serious — and that’s ‘know thyself.’ And Luis knows himself very well, and he has chosen to maximize the skill set that God has given him.”
So, Arraez packs up his backpack and moves right along, from hotel room to hotel room, playing the hits like they used to do.
No matter where he is on the infield, Bryson Stott is only thinking about one thing.
It could be second base, where he started the season, or third, where he’s been playing since the trade deadline. But even back in college and the minor leagues, when Stott was primarily a shortstop, he was only focused on catching and throwing.
“Still an infielder, still on the dirt,” Stott said. “So, just catching and throwing it.”
Maybe that’s what made his transition to the other side of the diamond so seamless after the arrival of Luis Arraez. There was no mindset shift. He didn’t even change gloves. And in 41 attempts at third base, Stott has a 85% success rate, which is 7% higher than the expected success rate on those plays.
“He’s the best,” Arraez said. “He can do everything. He’s one of the best gloves we have.”
He has recorded plus-3 defensive runs saved and plus-3 outs above average at the position.
If fielders could earn a save, Stott would have shared some of the credit alongside Brooks Raley on Tuesday against the Marlins. With the lefty on the mound in the ninth with closer Jhoan Duran unavailable, Stott made two diving plays to bookend the inning.
Stops like those weren’t exactly unusual to see from Stott when he played second, but the longer throw across the diamond after getting back to his feet made them all the more impressive.
Bryson Stott “can do everything. He’s one of the best gloves we have,” said Luis Arraez.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“If it worked like that, yeah,” said Alec Bohm said of Stott getting a save. “But he’s doing great over there. It’s been fun to watch.”
There were a lot of initial questions surrounding the Phillies’ post-deadline defensive shuffle. It was certainly a risk to ask three-quarters of the infield to change positions on the fly, especially when they collectively ranked near the bottom of the league in many defensive categories already.
But interim manager Don Mattingly thinks the current defensive alignment with Bohm at first, Arraez at second, Trea Turner at short, Stott at third, and Bryce Harper moving to right, is the strongest one they’ve had all season.
“I felt like that right away, and I know there was a lot of talk about it, but I felt right away that we were going to be probably better defensively,” Mattingly said. “And we’re a lot more versatile from what we can do during the course of the game.
“Again, I know it’s a lot of moving pieces, and people question what guys can do, but like I think we knew that Bryson had played third. Bohmer, I’ve seen him enough at first. Bryce has played the outfield. I feel like we’re better like this.”
To be clear, it was a low bar. For the first four months of the season before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, Phillies defenders had a minus-13 fielding run value, a StatCast metric that attempts to measure how many runs a team has been cost or saved due to its defense.
Shortstop Trea Turner (left) says communication has been key to adjusting to a new double play partner in second baseman Luis Arraez (right).Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
But since Aug. 3, they have a plus-four FRV.
There are a lot of contributing factors to their success. Bohm made a handful of early errors at first base soon after the switch. But in general, Mattingly — who knows a thing or two about playing first — thinks that the larger target Bohm provides with his 6-foot-4 frame helps the rest of the infield when they’re throwing to him.
Arraez has continued the defensive resurgence that he began in San Francisco earlier this season. In previous stops, defense had never really been his calling card. With the Padres from 2024-25, he was moved to first base and designated hitter.
Part of the reason Arraez signed with the Giants in the first place last winter was because they gave him an opportunity to return to second base. And after working with the Giants’ highly-regarded infield coach Ron Washington, Arraez has posted a plus-9 FRV at second this year.
He has taken to working with Phillies infield coach Bobby Dickerson just as well. Arraez heard glowing reports of Dickerson’s work from both Washington and his former San Diego teammate Manny Machado, who has known Dickerson since he was 16.
“Really good energy, beautiful energy that he brings,” Arraez said through team interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “And we’re lucky to have him.”
The 6-foot-4 Alec Bohm (right) provides a bigger target to throw to at first base than Bryce Harper, who has moved to right field. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Turner, who has been the Phillies’ worst fielder this season with 18 errors at shortstop, has also shown improvement. None of those errors have come since the rest of the infield was rearranged around him, and in that span he has also posted a plus-2 FRV.
He’s been making his own adjustments, from working on not setting up too early on grounders to recently trying out a longer glove that he actually borrowed from Stott. But underpinning it all is Stott himself. His range at the position helps cover some balls in the six-hole that Bohm might have ceded to Turner.
“Stott plays a little bit different third base than Bohmer,” Turner said. “And I feel like in the last like week, Stott’s gotten a couple balls where I thought I was getting them, and you know maybe Bohmer would have let me get them, and then Stott’s made the play.”
Communication has been key with it all, Turner said, both with those plays and with Arraez, now that he has a new double play partner. He learned quickly that Arraez’s feeds to second are a little harder than Stott’s, and has adjusted to that.
“We do enough ground balls that I feel like we got them pretty fast,” Turner said.
This rearrangement is intended to be temporary. Arraez was brought in as a rental on an expiring deal, and Bohm is also a pending free agent. Harper expects to return to first base next season, and when he does, the rest of the infield could look completely different once again.
Shortstop Trea Turner (right) says the range at third base of Bryson Stott (left) has been a change from Alec Bohm.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Stott, who will be 29 in October, is under club control through 2027, and the versatility he’s showing now could give the Phillies flexibility when they shape next year’s infield. When Arraez arrived, Stott said it didn’t matter to him where he’s playing, he just goes where he’s told.
“I wasn’t really worried about him at all,” Mattingly said, “but he’s been really, really good. I’d say he’s probably better than anyone should expect, for a guy that hadn’t been over there that much.”
Because no matter what position he’s playing, this year or in the future, Stott is just going to be worried about one thing: catching the ball and throwing it.
Extra bases
The Phillies claimed right-handed pitcher Andrew Hoffmann off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks and optioned him to triple-A Lehigh Valley. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, Felix Reyes was recalled and placed on the 60-day injured list with a right wrist fracture. In eight major league games this season as a reliever, Hoffmann, 26, had a 7.71 ERA.
These are the Philly area’s best athletes under 25 years old.
By
Inquirer Sports Staff
Published
The Philadelphia area's sports scene is on the rise — and we're not talking about the addition of LeBron James to the city's professional ranks.
The region's professional sports franchises are only part of the picture. There also are athletes enrolled in the area's many colleges and universities, a wealth of talent at the high school and amateur levels, and others who dominate individual sports like boxing or figure skating. We decided it was about time to spotlight some of the best.
Welcome to The Inquirer's first 25 Under 25 list, highlighting the region's best athletes under the age of 25.
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The criteria is simple. To qualify for our list, an athlete must:
Be under 25 as of July 1, 2026, and
Currently reside in or train in the Philadelphia area (the city, collar counties, or South Jersey) and/or play for one of the area's colleges or professional teams (including their minor league affiliates).
That second rule means that high school students from the Class of 2026 are ineligible, since many have already arrived on their respective college campuses across the country. A few of them can be found on our list of the best players fromhere, which includes Philly athletes playing elsewhere. However, there is one exception this year, which we'll explain when we get there.
With those qualifications in mind, we went searching for the best of the best. And after much debate among our sports editors, we came away with 25 athletes who truly show the region's depth of talent at every level across a variety of sports. Here they are, presented in alphabetical order.
Jasmine Bascoe
Age: 20
Jasmine Bascoe was an all-conference selection for Villanova as a freshman in 2024-25 after leading the Wildcats with 16.2 points and 4.3 assists per game in 34 games.
Bascoe, who’s from the Toronto area, followed a stellar freshman season with an even better sophomore campaign, again leading the team in points (18.9) and assists (4.8) per game. She was the Big East’s leading scorer last season, beating UConn stars Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd. Bascoe led Denise Dillon’s Wildcats back to the 2026 NCAA Tournament after a two-season drought, and the Wildcats retained Bascoe for a third season. If Bascoe takes another step forward, Villanova could be a team to watch in March.
“Denise, she trusts me, and I have all my trust in her, so I’ll do whatever she needs me to do,” Bascoe said ahead of her sophomore season. “I love it in Philly — nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Bascoe’s Villanova inspiration
Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe is having an impressive freshman season. She draws inspiration from a Wildcats legend.
She watched Jalen Brunson from home in Canada and hopes to shape her game around his. So far, it's paying off for her and the Wildcats.
Justin Crawford
Age: 22
Justin Crawford, one of the Phillies’ top five prospects entering the year, made his big league debut on opening day and has appeared in all but 10 games so far this season. Heading into play Wednesday, Crawford is slashing .270/.316/.361 as a rookie, and, after an early adjustment period at the plate, has hit .305 since June 1. The center fielder's defense also has steadily improved.
As for his struggles against left-handed pitching, which relegated him to a platoon role earlier in the season, Crawford hopes to pick the brain of new teammate Luis Arraez, a three-time batting champ and two-time Silver Slugger. And like Crawford, Arraez is a lefty who hits for average. Since Arraez’s arrival earlier this month, Crawford has been even better, slashing .342/.381/.500.
Commentary from David Murphy
Justin Crawford delights his dad Carl and showed the Phillies the weapon they might have in the nine-hole
Crawford didn’t just perform as advertised on opening day. He showed the value of what was advertised.
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Reese D’Ariano
Age: 17
The youngest member of the current United States field hockey team, Reese D’Ariano has plenty of international experience at just 17 years old. Before the field hockey World Cup in Belgium, D’Ariano won two gold medals with USA field hockey, including at the 2024 Indoor Pan American Cup in Calgary, Canada, where she was named tournament MVP. D’Ariano, who is a rising senior at Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School and committed to the University of North Carolina, is one of the top prospects in her class.
Before she began training with WC Eagles, her field hockey club, D’Ariano would train at a multipurpose field with her mother while her brother had swim practice. “Obviously, the progression was slow if you saw it day to day,” D’Ariano said. “But as the weeks and months went on, it was a pretty drastic change in how I progressed.”
Climbing the ranks
Reese D’Ariano embraces role as youngest player on USA field hockey’s World Cup roster
The 17-year-old, West Chester native was 9 the last time the U.S. women’s national team qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup. This will mark her biggest stage, and she's looking to contribute.
Riley Davis
Age: 16
Entering her senior year at Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, Riley Davis is the top-ranked lacrosse player in the Class of 2027, according to Inside Lacrosse. The five-star recruit and Penn State commit is a two-way midfielder for the Irish and also plays on the school’s varsity basketball team.
Riley’s father, Ben, played seven years in the MLB as a catcher. Her mother, Megan, was a two-sport athlete at Rutgers. Her brother, Tague, set Louisville’s freshman home run record (18) last year and led the nation in home runs (34) as a sophomore. Her older sister, Finley, is entering her freshman year at Furman, where she will play lacrosse after playing with Riley at Notre Dame.
Despite all that competition, Riley is considered the most athletic in a family of high-level athletes. “Riley is the best athlete in the family,” Ben told The Inquirer in April.
A family of stars
Former MLB catcher Ben Davis’ family is full of athletes. His daughter, Riley, might be the best.
Riley Davis is ranked as the No. 1 lacrosse player in the class of 2027. Her mother, Megan, and older sister, Finley, are “the anchor and the force” that guided her success.
Cooper DeJean
Age: 23
Securing your first career pick-six in the Super Bowl on your birthday is the kind of story dreams are made of. But that’s Cooper DeJean’s real life. DeJean, however, is much more than just that moment. He earned first-team All-Pro honors as the league’s best slot cornerback in 2025. He’s also one heck of a basketball player.
Now, he is taking on a new role as a safety in Vic Fangio’s base defense. He’ll still see the majority of his snaps in the slot, but his growing positional versatility is a testament to his skill as he becomes one of the Eagles’ most important players.
“Playing nickel in this defense is kind of like playing safety in a lot of ways,” DeJean said. “A lot of the techniques are pretty similar.”
DeJean’s making moves
How Cooper DeJean’s ‘first love’ of basketball helped set him on a path to the Eagles
Growing up in small-town Iowa, playing multiple sports was the norm. But DeJean stood out, especially on the basketball court, and he has the highlight reel to prove it.
Audrey Derivaux
Age: 17
A four-time world junior swimming champion, Haddonfield’s Audrey Derivaux was the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2027. But Derivaux recently reclassified to the Class of 2026 to start her collegiate swimming journey at Texas a year earlier than expected. Derivaux shared the news on her social media with an Instagram post captioned, “See you in August, Austin! Can’t wait to rep the Longhorns next season!”
(Editor’s note: Derivaux reclassified to 2026 after our list was complete.)
Derivaux, who turned 17 earlier this month, in 2024 was the youngest swimmer to reach the finals of an Olympic trial since 2012 when she was 14 years old. She competed in the women's 400 individual medley, but fell short of earning a spot in Paris. In July, she competed in the USA Swimming national championship, finished with the second-best time in the 100-meter butterfly, and won a trio of under-18 events (the women’s 100- and 200-meter butterfly and the women’s 400-meter individual medley).
Derivaux on the rise
Meet Haddonfield’s Audrey Derivaux, the 14-year-old who’s swimming’s next rising star
The rising sophomore at Haddonfield Memorial High School became the youngest swimmer to reach the finals of an Olympic trial since 2012. Could the 2028 Olympics be next?
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Natalie Dove
Age: 24
Since her professional debut in 2023, Natalie Dove is undefeated in nine fights — with two knockouts and five unanimous decisions. Dove, a super flyweight, remained undefeated in her most recent bout, an eight-round slugfest against Maria Micheo Santizo in April that ended with a split decision.
“No Love” Dove initially was exposed to the sport as a self-defense method and started sparring in Philadelphia at 14. She fought in amateur tournaments and trained as a hopeful for the 2020 Olympics before turning pro. Since May 2025, Dove has fought for Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. She credits her toughness in the ring to her upbringing in Philly gyms and learning to hold her own “in a gym full of grown men that … talk [trash] the entire time.”
“I really don’t care what anyone says,” Dove said last year. “If anything, I’m probably the biggest bully in the gym. I think it just made me tougher and it made boxing fun for me.”
When Doves fly
How Philly’s Natalie Dove went from shadow boxing in her sleep to fighting with Jake Paul’s promotion
The 23-year-old Philly native had Olympic dreams. Now, she's preparing to face Randee Lynn Morales on Saturday for Jake Paul's MVP.
VJ Edgecombe
Age: 21
By the end of his first professional game, VJ Edgecombe already had flashed his star potential. The No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft finished third in NBA Rookie of the Year voting and is set to start alongside Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and LeBron James. But don’t let him slip under the radar behind those huge names.
Edgecombe averaged 16 points per game last season and performed even better in the critical stretch in which Maxey, Embiid, and Paul George were sidelined. Brown, whose Celtics were eliminated in seven games by the Sixers, praised Edgecombe as a difference-maker in that first-round series. His teammates agree.
“He’s the guy,” Embiid said after the Sixers’ season ended. “I’m telling you guys, that guy is something different, and this was only Year 1. Year 2 is going to be better.”
Sixers’ future is now
‘I want us to go down in history’: Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe’s bond will shape the Sixers’ future
Maxey and Edgecombe have served as the life source of this Sixers season. The franchise will likely will go as far as they can take them — now and in the years to come.
Tyson Foerster
Age: 24
Before an upper-body injury sidelined Tyson Foerster for 49 games, the winger was on pace for career-best numbers with 13 goals in 29 games thanks to a shot head coach Rick Tocchet called “really elite.” The Flyers signed Foerster to an eight-year extension this offseason, so, barring a trade, the winger will be in Philadelphia for years to come. He couldn’t be happier.
“For me, I love Philadelphia, and I love playing with these guys,” he said. “They asked me if I would look to extend this year, and it was a no-brainer for me. I mean, I don’t play hockey for the money, so it’s all fun, and just happy to be here, hopefully, for the next nine years.”
Foerster’s big payday
Tyson Foerster talks lucrative extension with the Flyers: ‘It was a no-brainer for me’
Foerster missed 49 games because of injury a season ago, but cited his love of the Flyers and his teammates for why he inked an extension perhaps ahead of schedule.
Colton Hiller
Age: 16
Colton Hiller, the No. 2 player in the Class of 2028, is a 6-foot-7 small forward for Coatesville. In his sophomore season, he averaged 25 points, six rebounds, three assists, and 1.8 steals. Ahead of his junior year, Hiller is uncommitted but holds offers from more than 15 schools, including Villanova and Penn State. Last summer, he was part of the gold-medal winning Team USA at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup, where he averaged 13 points in six games.
In his two seasons with the Red Raiders, the five-star recruit has already surpassed 1,000 career points. He plays travel basketball in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, representing the 17-and-under PSA Cardinals, based in New York.
Despite having ‘a lot of eyes on me,’ hoops star Colton Hiller plans to stay at Coatesville
The 15-year-old, who’s nationally ranked, just wrapped up a stellar sophomore season. With the spotlight only getting bigger, Hiller has remained committed to developing in his hometown.
Maxwell Hiller
Age: 17
Maxwell Hiller — yes, he’s Colton’s older brother — also is a five-star recruit, but not in basketball. The Coatesville offensive lineman is entering his senior year and is the top-ranked interior O-lineman in the nation and No. 2 player overall for the Class of 2027, according to 247Sports. With more than 40 college offers, Hiller received his first college offer in eighth grade from Penn State. In April, the 6-foot-5 lineman committed to Florida.
“I don’t even watch the play, I just watch [Max],” Colton said of his brother. “I definitely like when he gets people on the ground, just pancakes, and that’s probably my favorite part.”
Max also played basketball, using it as a way to stay in shape, and even received an offer to play college hoops at La Salle.
Two Hillers are better than one
Meet Coatesville High’s Maxwell and Colton Hiller, who are rising stars in different sports
Max is a rising junior and ranked as one of the best offensive tackles in the country. Colton, who recently turned 15, is a 6-foot-6 shooting guard ranked No. 4 in his class.
Salman Khalil
Age: 21
Cairo-born Salman Khalil has been a standout in squash for Penn since he joined the Quakers in 2023. He was the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Year in 2023-24 and was the conference’s Player of the Year as a sophomore. Khalil, a rising senior, has been a standout for Penn as it has claimed its first two Potter Cups as the collegiate squash national champion in his first two seasons.
As a sophomore, Khalil became the first Quaker to claim the individual national championship (Pool Trophy) and the Potter Cup in the same season — and he did it while fasting for Ramadan. In addition to his career at Penn, Khalil is No. 52 in the squash world rankings. He holds a 42-16 record in noncollegiate events.
Khalil’s big win for Penn
Penn captured another national squash title even as three players fasted for Ramadan
Salman Khalil clinched the Potter Cup national team championship by beating Yale's Tad Carney. Khalil, Marwan Abdelsalam, and Omar Hafez of the Quakers were fasting during the final.
Makai Lemon
Age: 22
Makai Lemon, the Eagles’ first-round pick in 2026, hasn’t played a snap in the NFL yet. But with A.J. Brown gone, the rookie has big shoes to fill and a big opportunity in front of him. At Southern Cal, he averaged 14.6 yards per catch and racked up 1,156 receiving yards in 12 games in his final season. Lemon is known for his elite ball skills, despite being just 5-foot-11, on the smaller side for a receiver. He suffered an injury that sidelined him during minicamp and has been dealing with a hamstring injury during training camp. But when it’s time for him to take the field, Eagles fans will be “getting a dawg,” Lemon told the crowd on draft night.
“You drafted the guy that’s going to match the city’s intensity when it comes to pro football,” said Ray Fenton, Lemon’s former coach at Los Alamitos High School, located outside Los Angeles.
What Lemon brings
What the film says about Eagles first-round draft pick Makai Lemon
What does the newest Eagles wideout do well, and how does it fit in the new-look scheme?
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Isabeau Levito
Age: 19
Isabeau Levito became a household name this winter as one of the “Blade Angels,” the women’s figure skaters representing the U.S. at the Milan Cortina Olympics. She missed out on the podium, but she still got to bask in the experience of being an Olympian.
“It was just so cool with all these athletes from different sports all in one place,” Levito said. “It was very magical, and it was a dream come true.”
The South Jersey native also skated to a fourth-place finish at the 2026 World Championships in March. Levito has eight podium finishes at major events in her career, including silver at the 2024 World Championships and gold at the 2023 U.S. Championship. And she’s already started teasing her next routine.
What’s next for Isabeau?
South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito reached the peak this year with the Olympics. She wants more.
The Olympics were "very magical and a dream come true," Levito said. But she also wished she pushed herself more and is eager to get back to training and up her content for next season.
Porter Martone
Age: 19
Porter Martone, who got his start blasting holes in the wall of his parents’ basement before starring at Michigan State, made an immediate impact following his NHL debut, with 10 points in his nine regular-season games. After the Flyers’ season ended in the second round against Carolina, Martone joined Team Canada at World Championships and got ice time on the top line with Macklin Celebrini and Sidney Crosby, scoring one goal and four assists in 10 games.
“He wants to be out there when the game’s on the line,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “He’s unflappable.”
Martone’s origin story
Flyers rookie Porter Martone blasted holes in his parents’ basement before becoming an NHL phenom
The teenager has taken the NHL by storm in the playoffs. He honed his scoring touch growing up in Ontario, firing slap shots in the basement and beating "Jeff" the goalie in his backyard.
Matvei Michkov
Age: 21
Matvei Michkov’s sophomore NHL season was a bit turbulent, but the 21-year-old’s potential is sky-high, if his post-Olympic break stretch leading the team in points is any indication. At his best, the winger is a game-breaker and an elite talent the Flyers desperately need.
“He knows he needs to improve off the ice in his training — and that’s not a secret — he’s admitted that himself. … So, the big thing for Matvei is adapting," general manager Danny Brière said.
Coming to America
Matvei Michkov is 5,100 miles away from his home in Russia. But in Philly, ‘life has become easier.’
The 21-year-old's adjustment to North American culture, the English language, and the NHL is ongoing. But the Flyers winger is starting to feel more comfortable on and off the ice.
Quinyon Mitchell
Age: 25
Quinyon Mitchell is the oldest player on our list and the only one who has already turned 25 — he beat our cutoff date by about two weeks — but the Eagles cornerback is more than deserving. He won the Super Bowl and was runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024 and has just kept improving.
Mitchell was named first-team All-Pro in his second season and was ranked 47th on the NFL’s top 100 Players of 2026 by his peers, and there’s still room for him to grow. Mitchell’s lockdown coverage makes him a ball repellent. He was targeted just 85 times last year and gave up 36 catches for 451 yards and one touchdown. But in two NFL seasons, Mitchell still hasn’t picked off a pass in the regular season. He’s hoping to change that in 2026.
“I’ve been working with the staff on catching and eye placement and stuff like that, so I just need to get better,” Mitchell said.
Commentary from Marcus Hayes
Quinyon Mitchell looked like an All-Pro vs. the Lions. His Florida family and friends were there to see it.
The Eagles cornerback allowed zero catches against Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jared Goff, and the highest-scoring offense in the NFC.
Andrew Painter
Age: 23
After years of anticipation, Andrew Painter got his first crack at the Phillies’ rotation this year, and it didn’t go as many hoped. The 23-year-old had a 7.06 ERA in 14 appearances, including 12 starts, before being demoted to triple A. His first game back in the majors showed promise. After giving up a double and a home run early, he settled in for six strong innings and only allowed one hit after that.
“When he’s done some things with his delivery, which is going more directly to the plate rather than spinning off, he’s had more life,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowskisaid.
His three starts since — including one that was cut short by hamstring tightness — have been trending in the wrong direction. But at his best, Painter still represents a ton of potential.
Commentary from David Murphy
Andrew Painter has reached his Roy Halladay moment. It is on him to seize it.
Failing is easy. The hard work is what comes next with his demotion to triple A. It's an endeavor upon which Painter must embark, much like Halladay did at his age.
Jordyn Palmer
Age: 17
Westtown School star Jordyn Palmer is a 6-foot-2 rising senior guard/forward who is No. 9 in her class, according to ESPN. Palmer, a three-time Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year, averaged 23.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 3.3 steals, and 2.5 blocks as a junior, helping lead the Westtown School (28-2) to the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association championship game. She has 1,746 career points and 894 career rebounds.
She has offers from more than 20 colleges, including South Carolina and LSU. In June, she was named Miss Pennsylvania Basketball, awarded to the best female high school basketball player in the state, voted on by fans, coaches, and media.
Best is yet to come
Westtown’s Jordyn Palmer — a basketball phenom and highly sought-after recruit — has untapped potential
The 6-foot-2 junior, who is ranked No. 6 in the nation, has had constant attention on her since she was 14. She has taken her game to a new level, but the best of her talents has yet to be displayed.
Labaron Philon Jr.
Age: 20
Labaron Philon Jr. is one of a few professional players on this list who have yet to make their debut, but there are high hopes and plenty of hype surrounding the former Alabama point guard who fell to the Sixers as the 22nd overall pick in this summer’s draft.
Of course, the expectations have eased in recent weeks as the Sixers added Jaylen Brown and LeBron James. But the 20-year-old brings shooting (48.2% for the Crimson Tide in two seasons) and a spark off the bench behind Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Philon’s Sixers career already got off to a good start at NBA Summer League, and he’s got a plan for his transition into the league.
“Having the same ‘dawg’ mentality that I had at Alabama and being the same person,” Philon said after his Sixers debut. “Being me, really.”
Philon’s ready for Philly
Labaron Philon Jr. is ready for his rookie season with ‘a lot at stake’ after Sixers added LeBron James, Jaylen Brown
"Being a rookie and being able to be around all those guys is a privilege for me," Philon said after the Sixers added James and Brown this offseason.
Lavar Scott
Age: 22
South Jersey’s Lavar Scott comes from a racing family, so it’s no surprise that he was able to climb the ranks of stock car racing to become one of three active Black drivers in NASCAR. In two full seasons in the ARCA Menards Series, Scott finished in the top five 22 times for Rev Racing, including four second place finishes.
He earned a full-time spot in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2026, making 22 starts in Alpha Prime Racing’s No. 45 Chevrolet. Scott has earned five top-20 finishes in 22 starts this season. Still looking for his first NASCAR win, Scott is chasing a feeling that he first learned racing go-karts at five years old.
“It’s a feeling that when I go to bed, I think about, [when I] wake up, [I] think about, [when I] sleep, [I am] thinking about. It’s just the feeling of standing on top of your car after a win and [celebrating] with your friends and family and knowing you did your job really well that day,” Scott said in June.
From South Jersey to NASCAR
South Jersey’s Lavar Scott, one of NASCAR’s three Black drivers, is chasing greatness and not looking back: ‘There was no Plan B’
Go behind the scenes at Pocono Raceway with 22-year-old South Jersey native Lavar Scott and the family that helped him become one of three active Black drivers in NASCAR.
Luigi Suigo
Age: 19
Standing at 7-foot-3, Italian-born center Luigi Suigo was the marquee addition for Kevin Willard this summer as he tries to lead Villanova back to the NCAA Tournament. Suigo, born in northern Italy, has played professionally in Europe since 2023. He averaged 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 26 games during 2025-26 for KK Mega Basket of Serbia. Suigo entered the 2026 NBA draft and was projected as a late first-round, early second-round selection before he withdrew and decided to play college basketball at Villanova.
“He wants to make sure when he gets drafted, he’s going to play,” Willard said of Suigo in June. “The big thing is I think he needs to get Americanized a little bit, to American basketball. I think that’s why college will be really good for him.”
Even better for the Italian big man, Suigo will begin his college career with a game in Rome, where the Wildcats will play Notre Dame on Nov. 1.
From Italy to the Main Line
Big man Luigi Suigo has arrived at Villanova. His journey to the 2027 NBA draft is underway.
Suigo is expected to join the short list of Villanova players who are on campus for one season before being selected in the NBA draft. But his temporary stop at Villanova is a critical one.
Cavan Sullivan
Age: 16
Cavan Sullivan, the youngest professional on this list, has a chance to be the most internationally recognized real athlete to come from Philadelphia — apologies to Rocky. The attacking midfielder has a deal in place that will send him to English giant Manchester City once he turns 18, but for now, he’s tearing up the pitch for the Union. He netted his first MLS goal in May, and his role for the team has continued to grow.
“It’s a big year for me,” Sullivan said in January. “It’s exciting, but I’m not going to get ahead of myself. I know there’s still work to do and stuff to prove.”
Look out for Sullivan in stars and stripes, too. He’s still waiting on his first senior team call-up, but he’s received numerous call-ups to U.S. youth national teams and scored twice at the 2025 FIFA under-17 World Cup in Qatar.
A Philly soccer story
Why Cavan Sullivan, hyped as the world’s best 14-year-old soccer player, chose to turn pro with the Union
In a few years, Sullivan will play for English superpower Manchester City. But for now he has chosen to start with his hometown team. Here's the inside story of why he picked the Union.
Quinn Sullivan
Age: 22
While his younger brother has Europe’s attention, Quinn Sullivan has developed into an integral piece for his hometown club. Before an ACL tear ended his 2025 season, Sullivan scored three goals and logged eight assists in 31 appearances across all competitions as the Union claimed the MLS Supporters’ Shield.
Sullivan also has experience with the U.S. men’s national team and made one start during the 2025 Gold Cup.
Sullivan returned from his ACL injury in July 2026, and now that he’s fully healthy, he’s back in the Union’s starting lineup. Quinn isn’t making a move to Europe yet, but the Bridesburg native is happy to represent his hometown club for now.
“I’d love to be the face of this team,” Sullivan said in January. “I mean, I grew up supporting this team. I love this team; I love this city. I feel like I embody what Philadelphia means.”
Holding down the homefront
Quinn Sullivan ‘would love to be the face’ of the Union. When he returns from a torn ACL, he just might be.
Though the 21-year-old from Bridesburg likely won't be back on the field until July, he's in good spirits. He appreciates all the support he's gotten from fans, the Union, and the national team.
Gage Wood
Age: 22
Gage Wood, the Phillies’ first-round pick in 2025, made his first start at Citizens Bank Park in July — as part of the MLB All-Star Futures Game.
But the right-hander, who was promoted to double-A Reading earlier this season, is progressing quickly through the system. Wood’s elite fastball helped get him to No. 33 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects, but there are questions about whether Wood is a starter or a reliever long-term.
“Obviously, I want to go back to the Bank as fast as I can,” Wood said. “I just keep working every day and try to get there as fast as possible.”
Patience paying off
Phillies prospect Gage Wood may have to take a longer road to the majors — and he’s OK with that
After the Phillies drafted the 22-year-old pitcher out of Arkansas, they plan to develop Wood as a starter. Fans caught a glimpse of the first-round pick in the Spring Breakout game on Saturday.
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That completes the first installment of The Inquirer’s 25 Under 25 athlete list. Naturally we couldn’t include every great athlete from the area, so be sure to check out our list of those who just missed the cut. We also have a list of the best under-25 athletes that are from the region but no longer play here. And, of course, we want to know who you think should’ve made the cut but didn’t, so email us at sports.daily@inquirer.com with anyone we might have missed.
Staff Contributors
Design and Development: Julia Duarte
Reporting: Gabriela Carroll, Owen Hewitt, Mia Messina
Editing: Matt Mullin
Illustration: Vivi John
List Curation: Inquirer Sports Editors
Digital Editing: Matt Mullin
Copy Editing: Maria McIlwain
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Steve Ontiveros was for once healthy, and had not yet joined the Phillies, when he and Tommy John became teammates, pitchers on the Oakland Athletics in 1985. Ontiveros was 24 years old, a right-hander having a terrific rookie season: a 1.93 earned run average, eight saves. John was already 42, still the same soft-throwing lefty he’d always been, more than a decade removed from undergoing the revolutionary surgical procedure that still bears his name. They did not know then the physiological connection they would come to share.
Over the 11 games that he pitched for the Phillies in 1989 and 1990, in an era full of forgettable baseball here, Ontiveros managed to complete a remarkable story — and to introduce Philadelphia to the future of sports medicine. He was the first Phillies pitcher to have Tommy John surgery and return to pitch for the team.
— Philly Sports By Number (@philly_number) March 12, 2026
After starting 2-0 and allowing just two earned runs in his first 20 innings in ‘89, after offering a glimpse of greatness to an awful Phillies team, Ontiveros needed some magical science and the steady hands of surgeon Frank Jobe just to take the mound in the majors again. When he caught the news reports that John had died at 83 late last Saturday night, Ontiveros couldn’t help but recall John’s daring and desperate decision back in 1974 — his willingness to have Jobe try replacing a torn ligament in John’s left elbow with a fresh tendon from somewhere on John’s body.
The procedure saved John’s career. It has saved hundreds of pitchers’ careers since. Steve Ontiveros’ star-crossed stretch in Major League Baseball was one of them.
“He was fantastic,” Ontiveros, 65, said by speakerphone as he and his wife, Cindy, drove near their Scottsdale, Ariz., home Tuesday morning. “Think about it: No one in the history of the game had had that done. It was so off the wall, out of outer space, to even think about that type of surgery. But when that’s your livelihood, you’ll do anything. You’ll take any chance because you want to play. You want to compete.”
He and John — who appeared in 760 games, won 288, threw 46 shutouts, and should have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame long ago — were different people, different pitchers, and at different stages of their lives when they met. The A’s picked Ontiveros in the second round of the 1982 draft. A standout at the University of Michigan, a fierce black goatee rimming his mouth, he had five pitches, each of which he could throw with exquisite control. “When I was healthy,” he said, “I got people out.”
John, with his granddad-bod physique and his slow-slower-slowest stuff, seemed a being from another time, another world. Ontiveros, for instance, would be baffled watching him slide himself into a scalding hot whirlpool before every start. The Centers for Disease Control recommends keeping the water in a Jacuzzi under 104 degrees Fahrenheit, but John would crank the temperature to 115 and spend 10 minutes practically poaching himself. When Ontiveros asked him about the strange ritual, John explained that the soak had been part of his pre-start preparation for years. It saps my energy, he told Ontiveros. When I come in, if I’m throwing 85, I get killed. But if I’m throwing 82, they can’t touch me.
John was in the midst of his 25th and next-to-last season in the majors, winning nine games and pitching 176⅔ innings for the Yankees in 1988, when Ontiveros first experienced the arm trouble that would dog him thereafter. The prospective third starter on an Oakland team that starred Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Dennis Eckersley, and Dave “Smoke” Stewart and would win the American League pennant, Ontiveros had pain flare up in his elbow during spring training. The A’s pushed him back in the rotation, to the No. 5 spot, to give him more rest, but it didn’t help.
Before Ontiveros’s June 6 start in Kansas City against the Royals, the A’s training staff tried to stabilize his elbow by wrapping it in tape as if it were an injured knee. Twenty pitches into his warmups, the tape fell off, and though Ontiveros allowed just one earned run in seven innings that night, he knew something was wrong.
Tommy John crossed paths with Steve Ontiveros on the A’s in 1985.
“I’m in the seventh inning, and I throw a pitch, get the ball from the catcher, and I’d have to walk around the mound until the pain went away,” he said. “When I’d climb back on the mound, I’d make another pitch. I did that through the entire inning. I said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’”
He didn’t appear in another game for the A’s that season after early August, and in the offseason he underwent elbow surgery that wasn’t as radical as John’s but was close. A ligament in Ontiveros’ elbow had stretched so far that, he said, “it wasn’t performing as a ligament anymore.” So orthopedist Lewis Yocum shortened it, folding it over onto itself and suturing it.
The A’s released Ontiveros in December ‘88, and the Phillies signed him as a free agent in February ‘89. Pitchers like him were the Phillies’ currency back then: injured or aging long shots who had once been promising prospects or accomplished big-leaguers. Danny Cox, Dave LaPoint, David Palmer, later Fernando Valenzuela and Sid Fernandez: Each of them tried to complete a semi-miraculous comeback.
Despite being a nonroster invitee to spring training, Ontiveros cracked the rotation, then dominated the Cubs — eight innings, one earned run — on April 6 before throwing seven shutout innings to beat the Montreal Expos at Veterans Stadium five days later. The Phillies were 5-2 and in first place in the National League East. “This qualifies as a pleasant surprise in my book,” manager Nick Leyva said after the game.
But after his brilliant start against the Expos, Ontiveros felt the same twinge of pain that he had the season before. He lasted five innings, giving up just one run, in a loss to the New York Mets on April 19 before the Phillies put him on the injured list, with a “strained ligament,” for nearly two months. “I went down, and we lost two other pitchers,” he said. “We instantly sucked after that.” He returned in June and was hammered: three starts, 10⅔ innings, 19 hits, 11 earned runs.
“I wasn’t able to separate the pain from the pitch,” Ontiveros said. “It starts accumulating in your head, the pain that’s going to be coming. It takes away your focus from getting a hitter out. You focus on, ‘What am I feeling right now? Is my arm going to fall off on the next pitch?’ I could not overcome that amount of pain mentally. There may be some people who could. I was not one of them. I was so distracted by the amount of pain I was feeling and the amount of pain that was to come if I kept throwing.”
There was no avoiding the knife now, but the Phillies had little experience with Tommy John surgery. Larry Christenson was their first pitcher to have it, in 1983, in a last-ditch effort to end his lengthy succession of elbow injuries. He never pitched for them or anyone else again. The good news for Ontiveros and the Phillies was that Jobe himself would handle the operation. The bad news was that, even 15 years after John’s pioneering procedure, only so many advancements and improvements to it and a pitcher’s rehabilitation process had been made.
Before Jobe and his team performed the surgery, on July 20, 1989, they asked Ontiveros if he wanted them to take the healthy ligament from his right arm or his left. The left, of course, Ontiveros told them. Why weaken and damage his right arm further? Except the doctors screwed up, instead removing a six-inch tendon from Ontiveros’s right wrist and grafting it onto his elbow.
The mistake prolonged Ontiveros’ rehab, which was hardly the kind of comprehensive, reliable course of action that would reassure an elite athlete whose livelihood was hanging in the balance. Working with the Phillies’ medical and training staff and with Steve Kush, a trainer based in Arizona, Ontiveros tried to improve his right arm’s range of motion before strengthening the muscles around his elbow joint. But no one was completely certain what exercises he ought to be doing or how often he ought to be doing them. When he visited Jobe for a postsurgery consultation, Ontiveros asked the doctor for some direction.
“He literally handed me a copy of what they did with Tommy John,” Ontiveros said. “It was 10 pages of nothing. There was no structure to any of it. I gave it to Steve, and we just kind of winged it.”
Having read that another pitcher, John Tudor, had recovered from Tommy John surgery in just eight months, Ontiveros pushed himself to match that ambitious timeline. “I went out in the offseason, and I threw outside,” he said, “and it was cold, and I felt a little tug. I went, ‘Uh, oh.’ I pushed it too fast, and it set me back months.” Still, the makeshift rehab went well enough that in August 1990, he made a start for the Phillies’ single-A affiliate in Clearwater. He lasted one inning. His arm, he said afterward, felt like he had stuck his finger into an electrical socket, and he was certain his career was finished. It did not have to be. There was some inflammation in his elbow, but rest would heal it. He talked with Cindy. They decided he would not give up.
When he pitched again in the majors, for the Phillies, at Wrigley Field against the Cubs on Sept. 13, 1990, throwing two shutout innings in relief, his senses seemed sharper: the smell of the grass on the infield and the ivy on the outfield walls, the tingle of Lake Michigan’s breeze.
“I went through so much [stuff] with the Phillies, and I loved playing for them,” said Ontiveros, who after retiring ran a baseball academy for 20 years that produced 13 major-league players. “I absolutely loved the fan base. Yeah, they’re brutal, but they’re also amazing. You do well, and they’ll let you know about it. Just being able to know a fan base has passion — I played four years in Oakland before that, and you’d see them come in by the third inning and leave by the seventh inning, and these were World Series-caliber players on a World Series-caliber team. You went to Philly, and it was intense, and I loved that.”
Steve Ontiveros pitched in 11 games for the Phillies over the 1989 and 1990 seasons.Daily News staff
Through a second Tommy John surgery, he somehow kept pitching, returning to the A’s, going 6-4 and leading the American League in ERA (2.65) in 1994, earning a spot on the AL All-Star Team in 1995, appearing in three games for the Boston Red Sox in 2000 when he was 39. When he was as close as he would get to being Tommy John himself, to having something else in common with the man whose name now lives forever.
“It gave me longevity,” he said. “That was good. That wouldn’t have happened otherwise. I’d have been done. It gave me an opportunity to continue my career. It’s just unfortunate that there weren’t that many people ahead of me.”
True, but there have been so many after him who could keep pitching, who could keep playing the game they loved. That legacy is Steve Ontiveros’, too, and as they continued on their morning drive, perhaps because she could hear the wistfulness and what-might-have-been in his voice, Cindy Ontiveros asked her husband a question.
Whether it’s Kobe Bryant mirroring Michael Jordan or Joel Embiid mastering Kobe’s footwork, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery (which actually is the case for that aphorism, since Oscar Wilde borrowed it from Charles Caleb Cotton).
The Phillies aren’t exactly mimicking deadline light-hitting addition Luis Arraez, but his arrival on Aug. 3 has meant everything to a team that had the most disappointing offense in baseball through two-thirds of the season.
The Phillies’ on-base percentage on Aug. 3 was .305, which was third-worst in baseball. The Phillies’ on-base percentage since Aug. 3, entering Wednesday night’s game, was .367, which was the best in baseball.
This makes sense — right? — since Arraez won league batting titles in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and he led the National League entering Wednesday, at .317.
However, since his arrival, Arraez has generally slumped. He was hitting .274 with a .292 on-base percentage since arriving from San Francisco. This might be because he’s batting fourth in the order after spending almost all of his career batting first or second. At any rate, it’s OK.
Because this has less to do with Arraez’s production than with Arraez’s presence and how it has affected the hitters around him.
Bryce Harper, the No. 3 batter in front of Arraez, was hitting .255 with an .862 OPS on Aug. 3. Since then, he’s hit .295 with a .939 OPS, fueled largely by his .530 on-base percentage, which includes 22 walks in 14 games.
Alec Bohm, hitting fifth behind Arraez, was hitting .226 on Aug. 3. Since then, he’s hit .396 with a 1.038 OPS and 11 RBIs in 14 games.
Bryson Stott, who bats sixth, was hitting .253 on Aug. 3. Since then, he’s hit .367, has a 10-game hitting streak, and, like Harper, his on-base percentage of .508 has as much to do with his eye as with his hands: Stott has 14 walks in those 14 games.
Harper has begged for protection for two seasons.
“I think it’s a huge impact in the 4 spot. It doesn’t matter if it’s me or Kyle. Because if Schwarbs is hitting there, the same thing is going to happen. So I think 4 spot is a huge impact. I think the numbers in the 4 spot weren’t very good last year, for our whole team. Whoever… pic.twitter.com/Gs1fPp5u7k
“As a lineup, any time you’re able to add somebody like that, obviously, it’s going to be really good for the team,” Harper said. “You know he’s [going] to put the bat on the ball.”
There might be other factors.
The Phillies held a hitters’ meeting just before Arraez arrived, and they talked a lot about being selective-aggressive, as hitting coach Kevin Long has preached since his arrival in 2022.
Long’s a superb hitting coach, but Long doesn’t hit. Long doesn’t set an example. Arraez does both, and his presence seems to have more obviously impacted production.
Between the meeting and Arraez’s arrival, the Phillies’ on-base percentage rose two points.
Between Arraez’s arrival and Wednesday night, the Phillies’ on-base percentage rose 62 points.
It’s not as if Arraez sets an example of selectivity. In fact, he’s seeing just 3.74 pitches per plate appearance this season, well below the big-league average of 4.13. And Arraez doesn’t walk much: he’s averaged 37.2 walks in his five full seasons, and he has 27 this season.
Luis Arraez doesn’t walk much, but he strikes out even less.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
So, has he really affected the middle of the lineup?
“Yeah, for sure,” Stott said. “When you’re the guy behind him, you see him, when he swings the bat, it just feels like he’s going to get a hit.”
Bohm spoke after Tuesday’s win over the Marlins, in which the Phillies collected 10 hits. Nine of them were singles, but, really, Bohm’s double was a single, too, but the Marlins threw to the wrong man, so he stretched it into a double.
The core of the Phillies’ order is swinging at fewer tough strikes, waiting for their pitch, making balanced, controlled swings, keeping the bat in the strike zone longer, and not trying to hit home runs. Harper, Stott, and Bohm struck out just 17 times combined in the last 14 games.
On Tuesday, the Phillies scored at least six runs in a fifth straight game, the first time they’ve done that this season. They scored six on Monday, too, with 10 singles and a double.
They’ve become a fun team to watch by adding a fun player.
“He’s one of those infectious energy guys,” Bohm said. “And you see the ways he plays, the way he takes his at-bats, watching his at-bats — you spend time around good hitters, good hitters can make other hitters better.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s series finale against the Marlins, interim manager Don Mattingly said he would be happy with five innings from starter Aaron Nola.
“That’s really what you’re asking from really any of our guys,” he said. “Keep us in the game, through the middle of the game.”
After a rocky start to the season, Nola has been reliably doing just that. But he surpassed those expectations Wednesday, delivering seven innings of one-run ball in the 4-1 win over Miami.
It was just the second time Nola has finished seven innings this season. He kept the Marlins off balance with his knuckle curve on the way to the Phillies’ series sweep and sixth straight win. He recorded seven of his eight strikeouts and 12 total whiffs on the pitch. Nola did not walk a batter.
“He’s been good here a long time,” Mattingly said afterward, “and he’s actually been pretty good this year, for a long time now. So it was good.”
Nola surrendered a solo homer to Javier Sanoja in the sixth — marking his eighth straight start allowing a home run — but that was one of just five hits he allowed. Homers have continued to be an issue for Nola, who is averaging a career-high 2.04 home runs per nine innings, but that can be manageable when he limits them to solo shots.
Nola kept his composure, even as the Marlins threatened with back-to-back singles. After a mound visit from pitching coach Caleb Cotham, he rebounded to strike out Griffin Conine and Heriberto Hernández on curveballs.
“Breaking ball was really good tonight, but still the mix is good with him,” Mattingly said. “He’s always mixing, and not really ever giving in to the middle of the plate.”
Although Nola had escaped a jam in the sixth inning, Mattingly was confident enough in how he had been throwing the ball to send him back out for the seventh. Nola pitched a 1-2-3 inning, capping it with his eighth strikeout on his 100th pitch of the night.
He exited to a standing ovation.
“It was good. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the seventh,” Nola said.
In four starts in the month of August, Nola has a 2.74 ERA. His ERA across the first four months of the season was 5.61. He can’t pinpoint one single adjustment that has spurred his turnaround, but Nola said that all his pitches have felt sharper recently.
“Lately I’ve been feeling pretty good. Body and arm, arsenal’s been feeling pretty good, and I just want to keep it up and keep having good work weeks,” he said.
The Phillies didn’t homer in their first two wins against the Marlins this series, but on Wednesday, they finally found the seats. And it was from the unlikeliest suspect.
Luis Arraez hit a two-run shot off his former Miami teammate Sandy Alcantara in the third inning, just his sixth homer of the season and second in a Phillies uniform since the Aug. 3 trade.
“I just tried to find a barrel, and thank God I hit it out,” Arraez said. “And I mean, I think that ball in San Francisco is a double, but here it’s a homer.”
According to StatCast data, Arraez was right. The long line drive would not have cleared the wall in 11 other major league ballparks, including his former haunt of Oracle Park.
Luis Arraez hit his second home run with the Phillies in the third inning.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
But since it happened at Citizens Bank Park, Arraez drove in Bryce Harper, who extended his on-base streak to 23 games and his walk streak to 10 games by working a seven-pitch walk from Alcantara.
Also an unusual sight was Kyle Schwarber scoring from first on a double from Trea Turner in the seventh. The relay from the outfield beat Schwarber to the plate, but he managed to swim around the tag for an insurance run. He was initially called out, but it was overturned after replay review.
“Schwarber hit him with the hesi. That was pretty cool,” said Brandon Marsh. “Big insurance run that we needed. Big hit out of Trea, and yeah, that was that was a big run for us.”
Marsh had some highlight-reel plays of his own in left field. He made a sliding grab on a line drive in the seventh inning to help out Nola, and then climbed the wall in the corner to snag a foul ball over the outstretched gloves and hats of the fans in that section in the eighth.
“I got to thank the guy standing over there for kind of pulling away at the last second because I think he had first dibs on it before me, I feel like,” Marsh said. “So he moved over a little bit and helped me have the room to catch it.”
The Phillies scored a run in the second inning on three consecutive two-out singles. With the bases loaded, catcher Garrett Stubbs sent a soft grounder to shortstop and managed to beat out Otto Lopez’s throw to first for an infield hit. Stubbs had another single in the seventh.
Nola passed the baton to Jonathan Bowlan and Jhoan Duran for a scoreless eighth and ninth inning, respectively. Duran recorded his 28th save of the season.
After being swept out of South Florida by the Marlins last month, the Phillies have now returned the favor.
“It was big for us,” Marsh said. “Just not been the second half that we’ve really wanted, but we’re still in it, and love where we’re at. It’s a good team over there. They pitched well, so it was really big for us to take three, especially here at home.”
The Phillies have added a veteran reinforcement to their shallow pitching depth.
The club signed Nestor Cortes to a major league deal Wednesday, the Phillies announced. Cortes was optioned to single-A Clearwater. To clear a spot for him on the 40-man roster, right-hander Brian Keller was designated for assignment.
Cortes, a 31-year-old left-hander, last pitched on Sept. 3, 2025, before he was sidelined with a biceps tear that required surgery. Prior to the injury, he had a 6.29 ERA in eight starts with the Brewers and Padres. In his eight-year career, five of which Cortes spent with the Yankees, he has a 3.94 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP. He was an All-Star in 2022.
Cortes lacks elite velocity, with his average fastball clocking 90.1 mph in 2025. He relies on deception and misdirection in his windup, often varying his timing and even pausing in the middle of his windup to throw off hitters. He has a four-pitch mix of four-seam, cutter, changeup, and sweeper.
Cortes posted a video on X on Tuesday throwing for scouts.
The lefty has playoff experience with the Yankees in 2022 and 2024. He surrendered a walk-off grand slam to Freddie Freeman in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the 2024 World Series, which the Dodgers went on to win in five games.
Interim manager Don Mattingly said he wasn’t sure yet what role Cortes will play for the team.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Nestor pitch, besides a few pitches on TV and things like that. Never seen him in person, so we’ll see,” Mattingly said. “I think it’s depth. It’s another guy that’s got experience. And obviously when the signing, I think he’s throwing the ball pretty good.”
The Phillies’ starting pitching depth has been thin all season. They released Taijuan Walker in April after extended struggles. Rookie Andrew Painter was optioned to triple-A in June to work on his fastball, and while he was with the IronPigs, the Phillies relied on Alan Rangel and bullpen games to cover the No. 5 spot in the rotation.
Painter was recalled on July 31 and has shown improvement in the four starts since, and the Phillies opted not to add a starting pitcher at the trade deadline. Instead, they brought in second baseman Luis Arraez along with relievers Caleb Kilian and Brooks Raley. Kilian hit the injured list with an oblique strain after just four appearances with the Phillies.
Last September, the Phillies signed Walker Buehler as a depth starter ahead of their 2025 playoff push. To take stress off the Phillies’ starting pitching staff, they moved to a six-man rotation down the stretch.
Nestor Cortes was an All-Star in 2022 when he posted a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts with the Yankees.Lindsey Wasson
But a team using a six-man rotation can in turn tax their bullpen, because it means one fewer relief arm. The Phillies have already had issues with an overburdened relief corps this season, like last week in St. Louis when their only arm available for the ninth was Jonathan Bowlan. If that game went to extras, Mattingly was planning on putting backup catcher Garrett Stubbs on the mound, essentially conceding the game to the Cardinals.
Mattingly said “in theory” the Phillies could go to a six-man rotation, but it’s also a risk for a team without a secure playoff position. The Phillies entered Thursday’s off day with the second wild-card spot in the National League, but the Padres and Diamondbacks are right on their heels, trailing by two and three games, respectively.
“Depends where you’re at in the race and all that,” Mattingly said. “I guess in theory, I think teams that do it are probably more comfortable where they’re at in the race. But you never know.”
Extra bases
Tanner Banks (left forearm strain) threw a live batting practice session on Tuesday and is scheduled for another tentatively on Friday. … Jesús Luzardo (11-5, 3.23 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday’s series opener against St. Louis. The Cardinals have not announced their starter yet.
