Mature Phillies impressed Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman during successful first week | Bob Brookover

It is dangerous to put too much stock into what you see six games into a 162-game baseball season.

Here we go anyway.

For the Phillies, it was a particularly interesting start to the season because they came right out of the chute against the two teams the experts and oddsmakers do not think they can beat over the long haul.

First they swept the Atlanta Braves, the team that has won the National League East three straight seasons. Then they took two out of three against the New York Mets, the team whose new hotshot billionaire owner spent more money than any other in the offseason.

» READ MORE: The Phillies have been hindered by their road work in recent years

It was a great start, but Phillies manager Joe Girardi has been around long enough to know he’d be foolish to think it was anything more.

“I think it just says that we had a good homestand and we need to continue to play well,” Girardi said. “We had an off day and we got to rest some guys, which I think is really important, but it just said we had a good homestand and let’s go play well on the road.”

The marathon is in its first mile, but by playing the Braves and Mets at the start and then playing them again on the road, the Phillies at least have a chance to size up their most difficult competition within the division.

The first impression of the Braves and Mets is that they are good teams, but not great ones. It would be much more intimidating to be in the National League West and facing the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres each 19 times.

Lots of things can and likely will change between now and the end of September, but as presently constructed the Phillies match up just fine with the Braves and Mets in the all-important pitching department.

Let’s start by looking at the opening-day starters for each team. The Mets’ Jacob deGrom has established himself as the best pitcher in the game, but Aaron Nola has earned his ace status by posting the ninth best ERA among starters who have covered at least 500 innings since 2017. He has also logged the fifth most innings during that stretch.

Max Fried, Atlanta’s opening-day starter, is a nice pitcher, but he’s only 228 days younger than Nola and not nearly as accomplished.

Examine each team’s No. 2 starter and the advantage belongs to the Phillies. Zack Wheeler looked a lot like his old teammate deGrom while dominating the Braves in the second game of the season. Even though Atlanta’s Charlie Morton has become the Cabernet Sauvignon of 21st-century pitchers, a 30-year-old Wheeler is the more intimidating presence at this stage of their careers and the Braves’ Freddie Freeman noticed.

“He’s a lot more mature as a pitcher than he was a couple of years ago,” Freeman said. “Every pitch is starting to mean something and that’s just a testament to him. He has gotten so much better. I told him that the other day when he got on base. Every pitch has a purpose and that’s the biggest thing for pitchers. It’s like deGrom – every time you take a pitch he almost makes you want to swing at it and that’s what Zack did the other day.”

Wheeler, while dealing with a horrible performance by home-plate umpire Carlos Torres, was not nearly as sharp Friday night in his second straight start against the Braves during the Phillies’ 8-1 loss, but that does not change his status as one of the best No. 2 pitchers in the game.

Marcus Stroman, the Mets’ No. 2 starter, had a terrific outing against the Phillies in his debut and it will be interesting to see how he performs over the long haul after opting out of last season because of the COVID-19 virus.

Ian Anderson’s 10 fantastic starts for the Braves – six in the regular season and four in the postseason – and his age – 22 – make him the most compelling of the No. 3 starters among the three teams, but the Phillies have valid reasons to believe that Zach Eflin has also turned a corner and is headed for a successful season. David Peterson also gave the Mets hope the way he pitched as a rookie last season, but right now he ranks No. 3 among the No. 3s.

The Mets, however, have the best No. 4 starter in Taijuan Walker and the deepest pool of starters with the pending injury returns of Carlos Carrasco in May and Noah Syndergaard in June.

The Braves are counting on veteran lefty Drew Smyly in the No. 4 spot and their rotation will be significantly strengthened when Mike Soroka returns from the torn Achilles tendon injury that limited him to three starts last season. That also could happen as soon as May.

» READ MORE: The Phillies opened Veterans Stadium 50 years ago, but getting to South Philly was a long trip

The Phillies’ rotation wildcard – rookie Spencer Howard – is not nearly as accomplished as what the Mets and Braves have in waiting, so they really need veterans Matt Moore and Chase Anderson to pitch well.

If you’re still concerned about the Phillies’ bullpen even after its solid work in the first two series, Freeman might make you feel better.

“I think the biggest thing for the Phillies is their bullpen,” the 2020 National League MVP said. “Their bullpen is so much better than it was the last couple of years. When I got up to the plate to face (Jose) Alvarado, J.T. (Realmuto) says, ‘Do you like our new toy?’ Then he threw some 100-mph sinkers and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a good one.’ And then you have Archie Bradley coming out and he can get you big outs and you’ve got [Brandon] Kintzler who was great for the Marlins last year and he can get you double plays.”

The long season will tell if the Phillies’ bullpen is as good as the ones put together by the Braves and the Mets, but the fact that one of the best hitters in baseball thinks it is vastly improved is reassuring.

As for the lineups, all three teams have really good ones and figure to score plenty of runs.

“It’s a juggernaut of a division,” Freeman said. “Every single day it seems like you’re facing a No. 1 starter. It’s just never going to get easy.”

Maybe it’s too soon to declare the Phillies contenders, but the first-week eye test was impressive.