There's either a pitcher that's secretly terrified of facing Max Kepler, or someone is trolling us.
The Athletic recently released a series of anonymous polls that they conducted from late February to early May of this year asking players to respond to a variety of questions. Predictably, Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani topped the list when pitchers were asked "What hitter would you least want to pitch against in Game 7 of the World Series?" Bryce Harper also appeared on the list, but wasn't the most notable Phillie to garner at least one vote.
If you look at the fine print, it reveals some of the players who got at least one vote from their peers. Ronald Acuña Jr., Rafael Devers, Manny Machado and Kyle Tucker getting at least one vote isn't surprising. Max Kepler getting one, well, is:
Who voted for Max Kepler??? pic.twitter.com/Hsb9636YLH
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) June 12, 2025
It's possible that someone who is or has been a teammate of Kepler is throwing him a bone. It's not that Kepler hasn't had moments in his career where he's been a very effective hitter — he's coming off of a strong series against the Chicago Cubs — but he's currently hitting .210 with a .676 OPS.
What seems more likely is that a pitcher who Kepler has hit well was one of the anonymous players polled. The pitcher that Kepler has homered most against is Trevor Bauer, but he's not currently in the league. Kepler, though, has homered three times against Dylan Cease, Mike Clevinger and Lucas Giolito. He's hit .353 against Eduardo Rodríguez. There's a good chance that he's proven to be a tough look against one pitcher who would prefer to see anyone but him on the sport's highest stage.
