The Phillies Becoming Relevant?

With summer slowly coming to an end, it has come apparent that the Phillies are finally moving on from their past tribulations. The Phillies have been playing much better baseball.  The recent trade of Hamels and Utley no longer a starter for the team, shows that they are finally moving past 2008. The trades that the Phillies have made this past deadline have brought some promising prospects into the organization. Now that the Phillies have new talent in their farm-system paired with their existing talent, it looks as though the Phillies may have a future after all.

Young pitching like Aaron Nola, Kenny Giles and Adam Morgan has shown that these guys are worthy of sticking around with the Phillies for a long time in the future. Nola has shown that he can live up to the hype and get major league hitters out. Giles has proven time after time this season that he can close and that he will be around for a long time as this team’s closer. Adam Morgan has shown that he can pitch his way out of trouble. Though he has had some bad outings, I can tell that he has potential and can be a big league starter.

On the hitting side Franco has been the only young guy that has truly proven himself. Franco has made adjustments throughout the season whenever he is in trouble or struggling. He has shown that he can play in the big leagues, and that he is the guy to build the team around. Though Herrera is young and has shown us flashes of brilliance, I am not sold on him yet. I will need to see Herrera have a better approach at the plate to make me believe that he can stick around for a long time.

The Phillies are beginning to move in the right direction. The team is playing much better recently and that is because of the youth making their presence felt. These young guys have proven that they can compete in the MLB, and Pete Mackanin has proven he can get the talent out of them. This has now become a waiting game. It will likely still take a few years until this team can compete. It will not take long for the Phillies to become relevant again in this town if they continue their recent success.

-Brett

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How will Maikel Franco work out?

Franco is one of the most highly touted prospects to come out of the Phillies minor leagues as a 3^rd baseman in several years. He batted .257 with 16 homeruns in Lehigh Valley. Before being called Franco was tearing up the Minors hitting for the cycle, multi homerun games, as well as hitting a grand slam. The problem with Franco is that showed up to Spring Training unprepared and did not look comfortable, that is why Asche won the job out of Spring Training. However, when you think about it did Asche really win the position over?  Asche has not done anything that productive to seal his fate as the future 3^rd baseman for the Phillies. Cody hasn’t done anything for the Phillies, being productive is very tough at this position, but he hasn’t be spectacular. To play in this city you have to do something to win not just the coaches over, but the fans too.

Maikel Franco is only 22 years old so as fans we must take this into account, before judging  his performance in Philadelphia. Asche is also young being only 24, though those two years could be a big advantage for someone like Franco who many are saying is Major League ready.  It is apparent that the Phillies are out of the Playoff race, this means we will be seeing more of Maikel Franco, now the question is, where will he be playing?

With several different players filling spots the question is how will the Phillies manage to get everyone that needs playing time into games. Let’s be realistic now, Dom Brown’s time in Philadelphia is over, so this will open up a space in leftfield. However, there is a problem will this position be played by Darin Ruf or Grady Sizemore the veteran. Both of these guys have something to prove. Now many will say, why not just place Ruf at first and play Sizemore in the Outfield. Well, there’s the other problem Franco, Howard, and Ruf all play first. As, fans we want to see the youth play, but we can’t just throw away a veteran like Ryan Howard who is on his way to 100 RBIs. Will we see a team with Ruf in left next season Franco at first and Asche at 3^rd? This provides the best opportunity for Franco to get the most playing time and opens the largest hole for him.

In reality Franco will play, depending whether or not he performs. As well as how he compares to the other players that he will be taking time from.  In my opinion this is going to be a true question mark and we will have to watch how this plays out with this team. There could be a bright future for Franco, he is a guy that has a ton of potential and raw talent. Now we have to ask ourselves is he a Dom Brown or a Ryan Howard. I think Franco is a guy that we can trust, he seems to have a great understanding of the game and I look forward to seeing him in the lineup in the future.