Sports and Rants with Brett and Pants : The Phillies?

There is no doubt the Philadelphia Phillies are an enigma. They aren't a bad team in reality, but they haven't shown anything to peak my interest. They are basically sitting at average, they don't have any superstars and those guys that are supposed to be the future are either in the Minor Leagues or not playing well currently. The question that comes to mind is can/does this team have potential? My answer is at this moment at time I would have to say no. Now I know I'll hear from several people saying that the Phillies are still in playoff contention this season, that they have a great young pitching staff, blah, blah, blah. To be frank the Phillies potential stars have not proven anything, and this team is not in playoff contention.

When you think of the Phillies currently and their hitters three names come to mind immediately: Franco, Herrera, and Joseph. Those three players have played well and have shown glimmers of potential. However, they are not the superstars fans and management are trying to make them into. Starting with Herrera he is in my mind a .300 hitter who can steal bases and hit doubles. However, he is not a strong candidate for the leadoff spot. He has shown the most potential and skill of any of the others mentioned. However, the Phillies are using him wrong. Herrera likes to swing the bat, I see him more as a 2nd or 7th guy in the lineup. Someone who is given the ability to swing the bat and try to move guys over. He is not the type of player to take pitches and wait out a pitcher.

Joseph is another guy that has taken the league and the Phillies fans by storm. Their is no doubt in any fans mind that what Joseph was able to do in his first few weeks in the big leagues was amazing. The guy was truly a hitting machine with a great story. Tommy Joseph is a hitting machine in the sense that he makes strong contact with the ball and doesn't strikeout often. However, he is not a star or your 3 or 4 hitter. Joseph is the type of player that gets on base and does not like to have pressure on him. I think of Joseph as a Joey Votto type player, one that can do his job when needed but won't hit a bunch of home runs. Do I think Joseph could hit 30hrs in a season? Yes, but I do not think it is necessary for him to do that to be a success in the MLB.

There is no player with more pressure than Maikel Franco. Franco came up and was supposed to be the Phillies savior and future star. Though he has put up great numbers I don't think he is the power threat everyone wants him to be. From what I have seen is Franco is a guy that could hit a bunch of home runs 35+, but he would also hit .235 in doing that. I think Franco is a guy that is a gold glove 3rd baseman who should focus on hitting .280 with 25+ home runs. The homers will come for Franco due to his style of hitting. When he makes strong contact those balls will find themselves over the fence. But, this comes down to a player who is facing too much unneeded pressure. Franco needs to relax.

I agree with many of the fans and experts who say the Phillies have a good young pitching staff. Guys like Morgan, Nola, and Eickhoff have impressed me. However, they have a lot of work still to do. These guys are young and their stuff will develop with age. I only see the pitching staff getting better as the years go on. One thing I will state in regards to the strong Minor League players is that this does not mean they will succeed in the MLB. I believe that guys like Rhys Hoskins and Dylan Cozens have proven themselves worthy of a call up. I believe that they deserve a chance to play no matter what the position, or we will have another Ryan Howard situation of a great player stuck in the Minors. All this being said Ben Davis of the Phillies said it best when talking about J.P. Crawford, "He may never make it to the Major Leagues." The future can be bright for the Phillies, but it is a waiting game at this point.

-Brett