Phillies

Brandon Marsh’s 15-Month Journey Makes All-Star Start Even More Special

By Luke Arcaini

Published: Jul 14th, 2026 · 8:00 AM EDT

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450 days ago, Brandon Marsh was placed on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain after going 0 for 29.

That was April, 2025, and the first two months of that season were a nightmare. He had nothing at the plate. He struck out 16 times in his first 42 at-bats.

15 months later, Marsh sat out in Ashburn Alley at Citizens Bank Park and answered questions from the media about his upcoming start in the All-Star Game. He had one of the most crowded individual tables of the day. It speaks to Marsh’s hard work, which has helped things come full circle for the 28-year-old Phillies outfielder.

“Just going back to last April. If you guys said that I’d be here in this moment, I would have thought you were crazy,” Marsh said to reporters on Monday afternoon. “So, definitely have all the belief in the world and myself in the most humble way possible. But yeah, very proud, and I’m thankful for everyone around me that’s helped me get here. All these guys to my right, all the fans here, family, my loved ones, it’s been it’s been nothing short of amazing.

When Marsh was down in Triple-A last April, Garrett Stubbs was one of the IronPigs catchers. It was a weird year for Stubbs, who spent most of his time over the last few seasons with the big-league club. Stubbs, one of the most extroverted, outgoing athletes in Philadelphia, has been praised for years by multiple Phillies as not only a good teammate, but somebody that they can look up to.

Marsh leaned on Stubbs throughout one of the toughest moments of his career.

“I went down to Lehigh to rehab the body up, and fix the mind up a little bit, to be honest with you. But it’s guys like Stubby that every team needs,” Marsh said. “You know, just a glue guy, a guy that holds people accountable, loves you to death. Not scared to step up and talk to you when you’re out of line. We have multiple guys like that, but Stubby complements that perfectly, man. And he’s he helped me out tremendously. Just telling me ‘hey man, you got to keep showing up. It’s not going to get worse. You’re hitting no 90, man. So go out there and have some fun and play the game the way you always have because you’re here for a reason.'”

Stubbs was, in-fact, right. Marsh, one of the best hitters in the National League this year, is hitting .301/.339/.490 with 15 home runs, 46 RBIs, and a 1.8 WAR through 92 total games. He’s cemented himself as an everyday corner outfielder for the Phillies.

It wasn’t always like this.

Marsh, along with Bryson Stott, were in more platoon roles under former manager Rob Thomson. Since Thomson’s firing, both players have gotten more run, no matter the opposing starting pitcher.

The Phillies have always had a special clubhouse, especially since the magical 2022 run to the World Series. It’s a tight-knit group. They get rounds of golf in on the occasional off days. They get together in the offseason. You don’t always see that around the league.

I asked Jesus Luzardo about that Phillies clubhouse, and how it played into Marsh’s swift rise to one of baseball’s best outfielders. Luzardo went back to a moment that he had in Miami, where he let up “a boatload of runs.” The first guy he talked to after that game years back? Don Mattingly. Everything, as Luzardo pointed out, comes full circle.

“I think we (Phillies) really do have such a good clubhouse. Just having each other’s backs in moments of, you know, sometimes you’re at an all-time high, and sometimes you’re at an all-time low,” said Luzardo on Monday.”And I feel like we all treat each other the same. You know, doesn’t matter how good or how bad you’re going. At the end of the day, we’re all, you know, in in the fight together. It’s a long season, it’s a marathon, and we all know how hard this game really can be and all the ups and downs that it brings. So there’s a lot of noise around. Obviously, Philadelphia is very, you know, they want to win and they expect winning out of you, which we all love, but when you feel like the world’s kind of crashing down on you, I feel like we have each other’s backs.

The All-Star Game is a “soak it in” moment. No matter how many you play in, it’ll always make you remember the journey to that moment. Marsh, for now, is going to cherish this one for a while.

“It’s been a crazy ride, it’s been a great ride, and it’s been a bumpy ride. I’m kind of at a loss for words, man. I’m going to enjoy it. I’m loving every bit of it.”