Rob Thomson responded quickly when asked what would keep David Dahl, a former first-round draft pick and NL All-Star who has since been demoted to the minors, in the lineup after going deep in his Philadelphia Phillies debut.
“If he keeps hitting home runs,” remarked Thomson, the third-year manager.
In his first at-bat in Game 2 of his Phillies career, Dahl hit one high and deep that was barely over the top of the left field wall, forcing him to settle for a stand-up double on Tuesday.
Dahl wowed in his first game Monday with a single and his first big league home run since April 3, 2023, as the Phillies defeated the Milwaukee Brewers. Dahl started in left field for the second straight game Tuesday, replacing Brandon Marsh, who is on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.
“He can hit, no doubt about it,” Thomson added.
Dahl, a 6-foot-1 left-handed hitter, appeared to be a no-brainer talent when Colorado selected him with the 10th overall pick in the 2012 draft.
He never had much of an effect with the Rockies, except for a strong first half in 2019 for a 91-loss team that earned him an All-Star selection. He played only 100 games in 2019, and Colorado released him after 2020, making him practically a career journeyman. Dahl’s career was sidetracked by injury, and he made brief stops with five other organizations (playing in only 67 major league games) until signing a minor level contract with the Phillies in February.
Dahl’s early start in Philadelphia allowed him to continue where he left off in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he led the team in batting average (.340), hits (50), and home runs (12).
“I was just trying to be where my feet were there and just try to play hard and play the right way and hopefully an opportunity would work itself out,” Dahl said at his locker before Tuesday’s game.
Marsh, who is batting.265 with six home runs and 26 RBIs in 52 games, was hurt while racing the bases Sunday night.
Dahl arrived at the ballpark on Monday, a few hours before the start of his first major league game since April 4, 2023, with San Diego. He drove a full-count fastball from Bryse Wilson into the right-field seats for a solo homer to make it 3-1, his first multi-hit game in the majors since July 25, 2021, with Texas.
“A lot of people were excited to see me back,” Dahl stated. “It took a while to fall asleep. “Just got up and watched the homer a few times.”
There is no guarantee he will remain in the lineup whenever Marsh returns; the Phillies informed Dahl when he was demoted at the end of spring training to be prepared in case an opportunity arose. With Marsh, Nick Castellanos, Johan Rojas, Cristian Pache, and Whit Merrifield, the Phillies have plenty of outfield depth as they seek their first World Series championship since 2008.
However, another season in the minors for an outfielder who hit 31 home runs in 2018 and 2019 was difficult to swallow, even with no other viable alternative for a return to the majors.
“It’s quite hard. He said, “Really hard.” “Just tried to show up every day and play hard.”
He shared a room with Phillies teammate Jeff Hoffman in the Rockies organization, and it was the reliever who persuaded Dahl to sign with Philadelphia this offseason.
“Just talked about how it’s a family here and how well they treat us,” Dahl stated. “He was raving about the Phillies.”
Over two evenings in Philadelphia, fans had plenty of reasons to enthuse about David Dahl.
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