The National League Silver Slugger finalists were announced Wednesday and a pair of Phillies players have a real chance to add to their trophy cabinets.
Shortstop Trea Turner and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber are among the three nominees at their respective positions to be nominated for a Silver Slugger. The nominees and award winners are voted on by National League managers and coaches. Each NL club gets four total votes, and they are based on offensive statistics and the voters’ impressions of each player’s offensive value.
Both players have won the award before, in 2022. Schwarber won in his first season with the Phillies and Turner won his with the Dodgers.
Turner won the NL batting title with a .304 average; the first Phillies player to lead his league in hitting since Richie Ashburn did so 67 years ago. He surged to the top of the rankings by hitting .412 over his final 32 games. This was his second batting title, also winning in 2021. He also finished second in hits (179), and fifth in offensive bWAR (5.3), all while missing 18 games with a hamstring injury.
Looking at the competition, Turner faces an uphill climb to win the award. Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo and Francisco Lindor of the Mets are the other nominees. Both have higher bWAR. Perdomo hit 20 homers and knocked in 100 runs; Lindor had 31 and 86, Turner just 15 and 53.
Schwarber had a career-best season in a host of offensive categories. His 56 home runs and 132 RBI both led all NL players. He also finished second in slugging percentage (.563), OPS (.928), and extra-base hits (81).
The main obstacle in his path to winning the award is the same man standing in the way of NL MVP: Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. The 5-time All-Star finished one behind Schwarber in homers, but ahead in slugging % (.622), OPS (1.014), and XBH (89). He also led the NL in runs scored (146) and OPS+ (179).
The winners will be announced Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. ET on The Baseball Insiders stream on YouTube.