Philadelphia Phillies: When Chase Utley Returns, What Will Galvis’ Role Be?

With an injury depleted team, the Philadelphia Phillies have had one very pleasant surprise early this season, rookie Freddy Galvis. When Galvis was moved to second base following Chase Utley‘s injury, many criticized the move.

His defense has been spectacular, but that was never the main question. He was said to be a quadruple-A player: too developed for the minors but not ready for major league pitching.

Some of the concerns with Galvis such as his plate discipline have shown. He is hitting .236 with only six walks. What has been unexpected is the “pop” in his bat. Galvis leads the Phillies in doubles with 13, and is fourth on the team with 23 RBI.

Now, when Chase Utley returns from the DL, where does Galvis fit into the Phillies lineup?

Just by looking at the early season stats, it would be easy to say Galvis should start at shortstop over Jimmy Rollins.

However, there are 33 million reasons why that won’t happen.

Galvis leads Rollins in every hitting category besides walks, hits and OBP. Jimmy’s stats may also be deceiving because of his 192 AB to Galvis’ 165.

Galvis’ defense and recently discovered power is too valuable to the Phillies lineup to keep him on the bench. Rollins will be the starting shortstop, but with his age he cannot play everyday. His range decreases with age, as Galvis’ will only increase as he matures.

Charlie Manuel has no choice but to keep him in the lineup consistently, especially with the love he has endured from the Philly Phaithful. It takes many years for some players to win over the hard-nosed Philadelphia fans. Galvis has managed to become a fan favorite in just a quarter of a season. Alongside the usual “Chooch” chants, “Freddy” has became a very popular chant at Citizens Bank Park.

Galvis will be an essential backup, spelling both Utley and Rollins, both of whom are not fit for playing everyday. As the season progresses, Galvis will mature as a player and continue to see the field.

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Philadelphia Phillies: What Can Brown Do for Them in 2012?

With the NFL closing in on the end of the season, and pitchers and catchers reporting next month, the MLB will soon be back in the spotlight.

This offseason, the five-time reigning NL East champions have taken a back seat in the division to the Marlins and Nationals who both made huge free-agent signings.

However, the Phillies did address issues of need and have improved their team to try to make another World Series run.

Being eliminated in the NLDS in 2011 was a huge disappointment for a team with World Series aspirations, but re-signing Jimmy Rollins and adding star closer Jonathan Papelbon to an already impressive bullpen gives the Phillies stability this season.

But, the biggest question this season is what to do with top prospect Domonic Brown.

Brown was in a platoon role in right field with Ben Francisco until the Phillies acquired All-Star Hunter Pence at the trade deadline. Since then, Brown has been switched to left field and is still learning the position.

The Phillies organization have handled all matters regarding Brown terribly, but he has not performed the way they wanted him to. He has struggled at the major league level, and right now, is considered a Quadruple-A player.

Brown has great career numbers in Triple-A including a .298 AVG and a .453 SLG, including a monster 2010 year with a .327 AVG, 20 HR and 68 RBI. Not only can Brown hit, but he has a rocket arm and great speed. He needs to improve upon his judgement and positioning in the outfield, especially since switching to left field.

The only way those attributes will improve is from playing everyday.

 

During Brown’s best year in 2010, the Phillies made a mistake calling him up to the majors before September. He was used in a bench role when he could’ve been playing everyday in Triple-A. Brown lost valuable playing time going into a season where he would be expected to play a role at the MLB level with the expected departure of Jaysen Werth.

Brown’s numbers in limited MLB action have not been as pretty. His AVG is an abysmal .236 and has seven home runs.

There has been flashes of greatness, showing Brown’s high ceiling, including an upper-deck bomb against the Giants in his shortened 2010 season.

However, Brown does not have a place on the current Phillies roster. With the signing of Laynce Nix, who’s a solid left fielder off the bench and the return of  last year’s breakout player John Mayberry Jr., Domonic will most likely start the season in Triple-A.

He may be stuck there the whole season. If Brown heats up in Triple-A, and the Phillies need outfield help, he may see some time in the majors. Also, if Nix or Mayberry cannot stay healthy, Brown will likely be their replacement.

There’s a slight chance Brown will start the season as part of the major league roster, because of Ryan Howard’s injury. Mayberry and Jim Thome will split the duties at first while Howard is on the disabled list. That leaves Nix to get significant playing time in left field for the Phillies to start the season.

But, the right move for the organization would be to let Brown get comfortable and improve in the minors. There’s no reason to keep him in the majors until Howard returns to play a bench role, when he can be gaining valuable experience in left field in Lehigh Valley. He can then contribute along with Mayberry Jr. in the future for the Phillies.

Brown needs to regain his confidence and get his swing back, which was altered by Phillies coaches in the spring of 2011. Even though his swing is very awkward, the Phillies coaches realized they needed to stop trying to fix his swing and let him swing how he’s comfortable.

With practice and repetition in the minors, Brown can move on to have a very successful career in the majors.

He is just not ready to do so this season.

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Philadelphia Phillies: The Rise of John Mayberry, Jr.

During today’s game against the Atlanta Braves, in an interview, Philadelphia Phillies hitting coach Greg Gross was asked if he saw “this” coming from John Mayberry Jr.

His answer was, “I wish I could say I did.”

Before this season, John Mayberry Jr. was considered a quadruple-A player; too advanced for the minors but not talented enough to succeed in the majors.

He was known throughout the organization by his father, John Mayberry Sr., who played 15 MLB seasons and was a two-time All-Star.

The past few seasons John Jr. has been called up, but had not shown he could be a starter in the future for the Phillies.

Now, John’s name is almost expected to be on the lineup card every night, taking time in left field away from Raul Ibanez. 

In only 84 games, Mayberry is hitting .262 with 13 HR and 44 RBI. To put these numbers in perspective, in 132 games Jayson Werth only has 18 HR and 52 RBI. 

Mayberry has proven he deserves to be the starting left fielder over Ibanez with his recent success. Unlike Raul, he has shown he can consistently hit left-handed pitchers, which  has earned John most of his playing time.

Mayberry has hit .286 with over half his HR (7) and has recorded 17 RBI against lefties. Ibanez hits only .198 against lefties. 

It will be interesting to see how Charlie Manuel handles the Mayberry/Ibanez situation towards the end of the season and the playoffs, but recently he has seemed to favor Mayberry.

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Chase Utley, Offense Heating Up: Philadelphia Phillies Turn in 7-Game Win Streak

The Phillies have been fun to watch during this seven-game winning streak. The have scored a total of 43 runs, about six per game.

How can this team be stopped when the offense is hitting to their potential? The answer is simple: They can’t. 

Phillies fans have been waiting for the offense to break out, and they finally have.

Not only has the offense found its stroke, but its most important piece, Chase Utley, has too. 

Over this seven-game winning streak, Utley has turned in a .391 AVG (9-for-25) with two home runs and eight RBI. Finally, he looks like the old Chase Utley.

The big man at first base, Ryan Howard, has also started to produce like his old self. Over this seven-game winning streak, he has hit .363 (8-for-22) has two home runs, nine RBI and seven BB. 

When Howard walks seven times in seven games, it is a sign he is heating up. Teams become afraid of him and start to walk him. 

Another great sign for Howard is both of his home runs during this winning streak have been to left field. When he is hitting the ball the other way, the shift will start to decrease, and he can hit more singles to right field.

Also, we can’t forget about prospect Domonic Brown. In an increased role, he has contributed three home runs and four RBI during the winning steak.

All in all, with the offense producing and the dominant pitching, this team is unstoppable.

Oh, and on a side note, pitcher Cliff Lee is eight for his last 20 at the plate and has four RBI on the season. The guy is just a pure athlete.

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MLB Power Rankings: The Top 5 Teams

We are now over a third of the way through the MLB season, and there have been many surprises so far this year. First, it was the Red Sox starting off 2-10, and the Indians starting off as the best team in baseball. 

Also, many predictions had the Cardinals outright winning the NL Central, but the Brewers have surprised many.

Now, the Red Sox have heated up to grab to AL East lead, and the Indians have cooled off.

Here are the power rankings for the season so far:

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Philadelphia Phillies: Why Domonic Brown Should Be the Everyday Right Fielder

After watching the weekend series with the Mets, it is clear who should start in right field for the Phillies.

According to ESPN’s Keith Law, Domonic Brown is the fourth best prospect in all of baseball. 

Finally, he is starting to show his true talent.

Everybody who has watched the Phillies this season has seen Ben Francisco struggle. He started off hitting the ball decently, but his average has plummeted to .224.

Nobody should be surprised by this. Francisco is a career bench player, who is a very reliable pinch-hitter. By no means is he an everyday outfielder. 

In 48 games, Francisco only has 25 RBI. In only five starts in right field, Brown already has three RBI. Not to mention over the past four games, he has had seven hits in 11 at-bats. Over the current road trip, he has five hits in seven at-bats. 

Brown is slugging .529 and is hitting .368 in 34 AB, while Francisco is only slugging .385 in 158 AB.

In spring training Brown struggled. But, after recovering from a broken hamate bone in his right hand, Brown has finally found his swing in the majors.

It took him a few games, but he is moving in the right direction. At 23 years young, he has a lot of time to develop and being on a veteran team like the Phillies will help him immensely.

This spring during Brown’s struggles, the Phillies coaches tried to alter his swing and batting stance. Yes, his swing and stance are very awkward, but if it works for him, why does it matter?

The coaches stopped altering his swing and Brown proceeded back to hitting the ball like he did in the minors.

Brown is a five-tool player who can contribute to the Phillies team in the field, at the plate and on the base paths. He possesses great speed and a rocket arm.

Ben Francisco, on the other hand, can be a great pinch hitter for the team, but nothing more.

Playing Brown in right field everyday will help him learn, grow and hopefully succeed to be the star outfielder of the future for the Phillies.

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Philadelphia Phillies: With Lineup Slumping, Rotation Lives Up to Hype

On the eve of a four game sweep of the Padres, the Phillies rotation have shown fans why there has been so much buzz around them.

In this series, they held the Padres to a total of three runs—yes, three runs in four games.

Roy “Doc” Halladay doesn’t even amaze me anymore, tying a career high 14 strikeouts in 8.2 innings. Cole Hamels threw eight scoreless innings and also struck out eight batters, and even Big Joe Blanton stepped up only allowing two runs in seven innings.

On the other hand, with the rotation shining, what is going on with the Phillies lineup?

Over the last nine games, the Phillies have scored an average of less than three runs per game. Luckily, the Phillies have won six of those nine games solely because of their pitching. Coming into the season, a point Phillies fans and analysts stressed was production from Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins with Chase Utley injured.

Howard is striking out less than expected, but has only hit three HR and and drove in 13 runs. He is hitting .284, which is better than expected.

However, Jimmy Rollins has underproduced. Charlie Manuel moved Rollins third in the lineup, and he has not performed like a three-hole hitter. He has hit .256 with no HR and two RBI. From a former MVP and three-hole hitter, more RBI are expected.

In order for the Phillies to succeed, these two players need to produce more.

What most people don’t realize is that the Phillies are in a tough position. Their star second basemen, Chase Utley, is injured. With bench players like Wilson Valdez, Pete Orr and Michael Martinez platooning at second base, it is hard to get the production they would out of an all-star like Utley. Also, the injury forces Rollins to the three spot in the lineup, where he is not comfortable.

Look to see the Phillies lineup start to produce more when Utley comes back.

All season, the Phillies will have to deal with an inconsistent lineup. They will win games like today’s, 3-1, all season long. Pitching duels where one of the “Phantastic Phour” goes eight plus innings.

The bottom line is the rotation will continue to carry this team that lacks offense. 

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Philadelphia Phillies: Why the Team Has Shown Us Not To Doubt Its Lineup

“They can’t hit.” “They’re too old.” “They’re all injured.” These phrases were all uttered toward the Phillies lineup leading up to the 2011 MLB season. Now, eleven games into the season, the Phillies have been proving these critics wrong. The Phillies are 8-3 and they have scored 66 runs. Also, they have hit a remarkable .318 AVG, and have a tremendous .386 OBP which leads the MLB. They are third in the MLB and second in the NL with 64 RBI.   

So, what have the Phillies been doing so well to silence these critics? Here are the reasons why the offense has gotten production like this out of a lineup that was expected to be mediocre at best.

1) Stars Producing

With Utley injured, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins knew they had to step up. They did just that. Howard has hit .333 with three HR and 13 RBI. Howard is striking out less than his usual total, with nine strikeouts through eleven games, and has an unbelievable .643 SLG. Jimmy Rollins does not have an RBI yet this season, but he is seeing the ball great. He has 15 hits, hitting .326. Not to mention, Jimmy has stolen a team high three bases. These two veterans need to continue there great play in order for the Phillies to succeed this season.

2) Ben Francisco

Jayson Werth who? Ben Francisco has been one of the, if not the, best Phillies hitter this season so far. Ben is hitting .279 with 2 HR and 8 RBI. Not to mention he had two potential home run balls pulled back by the wind at Citizens Bank Park. He has also produced four BB, and a .354 OBP. These numbers are coming from a lifetime bench player, who has not had more than 15 HR in his career. Look to see Ben francisco have a huge season for the Phillies.

3) Production in place of Chase Utley

Whether is has been Wilson Valdez or Michael Martinez, the Phillies have gotten great production out of their fill-in second basemen, in the field and at the plate. Valdez is hitting .353 with five RBI, and Martinez even though he only has nine AB had been described as the most upbeat player on the team by Charlie Manuel. Valdez has been great in the field, turning four double pays and not committing one error this season.

4) Bench Production

John Mayberry Jr. and Pete Orr are two names nobody outside the Phillies fan base would even recognize. However, Mayberry leads the MLB in pinch hits with four, and Orr is right behind with three. Mayberry had a walk-off RBI single in the first game of the season, and Pete Orr has appeared in four games this season. Also, Brian Schneider is a very reliable backup catcher. He has one HR and two RBI this season in two games. 

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Philadelphia Phillies: Why Ben Francisco Will Be the 2011 Team MVP

With the conclusion of the first weekend, Phillies fans have already learned a lot about the upcoming season. Already the rotation was known to be a sure thing. 19 innings were pitched by Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt while only allowing a collective 14 hits, six runs, one walk and 23 strikeouts.

Also, production needed from fill-in players on this team was taken away from this weekend. The production of Wilson Valdez, who provided two RBI this weekend in the absence of Chase Utley, will be vital to this team. John Mayberry, who contributed the game-winning RBI single in the first game this season, will be a very important bench player to this team.

But the most important player on the Phillies this season is not Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino or any other star on this team. It is the quiet right fielder who has been a bench player his whole career, Ben Francisco. Francisco is filling some big shoes, of Jayson Werth who was lost to the Nationals in free agency this offseason. In the first three games this season, Francisco had 13 AB, hitting .462 with 1 HR and 4 RBI.

In spring training, Francisco blew away Charlie Manuel and the rest of the Phillies organization with a huge performance. He hit .361 with 5 HR and 14 RBI this spring, and had an astounding .667 slugging percentage.  In order to be successful, the Phillies need to give their star pitchers run support. Francisco can contribute valuable RBI and HR hitting behind Ryan Howard against lefties. 

With this being said, Ben Francisco has a very good chance of putting up great numbers this season. Many experts have predicted a 20-25 HR and 75-80 RBI season for Francisco. He has decent speed, good power, and is good in the field. But most importantly Francisco has the right attitude needed for a Philadelphia sports player. The Phantastic phour, Fab Four, or whatever the Phillies starters are called have gotten all the media attention along with Howard, Rollins and Utley. But it is Ben Francisco who will have the biggest impact on the team this season.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Whom Do They Turn to in the Absence of Chase Utley?

With the injury to Chase Utley, a hole is left in the Phillies infield. How the Phillies will fill this hole is still unknown. In fact, the significance of Utley’s injury is not yet known either.

Wilson Valdez, who filled in for the injured Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins last season, can be a quick fix for the Phillies. Valdez did a great job filling in for these two key players and did a great job as a bench player as well, hitting .258 over the entire 2010 season.

Valdez is also a great fielder. Last season, he only committed two errors and assisted on 35 double plays.

However, if Utley’s injury is severe, it is likely the Phillies will try to sign an infielder. With the tight budget and lack of prospects, Ruben Amaro has already stated no trade will be made for an infielder. 

Who else is available for the Phillies to play second base? Michael Martinez, the rule 5 draft pick from the Nationals, could play some games at second. He is a utility player who can play both outfield and infield. But, like Valdez, if Utley’s injury is serious, Martinez is a long term fix. Martinez will be a great bench player, but cannot play everyday. 

So who can fill in for Chase Utley everyday?

With the Mets releasing Luis Castillo, there may be an answer to that question. Castillo has failed to fulfill expectations with the Mets, but still is a talent the Phillies could use with he absence of Utley. Castillo is a good fielder, only committing two errors last season and assisting on 38 double plays. He also still has above average speed, stealing eight bases and only being caught three times.

Most importantly, he’d be seeing good pitches hitting at the bottom of a Phillies lineup with Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino all hitting ahead of him. Castillo can be a great asset to the Phillies until Utley returns and also can be a great bench player later in the season. Look to see the Phillies sign Castillo in the near future. 

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