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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