Early Season Awards for the Philadelphia Phillies
And what can they do to fix the problem in centerfield?
The Philadelphia Phillies 2021 season has kicked off unspectacularly.
After the last nine years, I’m certainly not poo-pooing a .500 start, but this team has too much capital and talent invested in ‘right now.’ I recently wrote about how great this team looked following their opening series against the Atlanta Braves, but the cracks are beginning to show.
Before I lay into my favorite team, I wanted to hand out some awards through the first couple of weeks of the season.
Award Season Came Early!
The Biggest Surprise has been the emergence of Connor Brogdon in the exponentially improved Phillies bullpen. Wins are a silly stat, but he’s got three of them through five appearances, and he’s legitimately been stranding runners. Not to mention, 16.5% of his pitches result in a swinging strike. Wahoowah.
The Best Free Agent Signing has obviously been JT Realmuto, but you could make a case for the return of Didi Gregorious. He’s leading the team with nine RBIs and has a BABIP (batting average on balls in play) of .367. When he connects, he’s getting on base.
Most Trendable Moment goes to Alec Bohm. Atlanta Braves fans absolutely lost their minds when Bohm seemingly missed home plate to score the game-winning run. Well, it couldn't have happened at a better time: Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. You judge for yourself.
The Most Likely to Need A Nap would, of course, be starting pitcher Zach Wheeler. Through three starts, he has averaged 97 pitches while throwing his fastball around 97 MPH. His latest start saw him toss the ball 108 times. I’d say he needs some time to cool down.
It's Not All About Average Award goes to Andrew McCutchen, who’s drawing a walk in 16.3% of all plate appearances but hitting just .139. You must walk before you run.
The Continue to Be Patient With Me Even Though I’m Making $25MM Award belongs to Bryce Harper. Harper’s been frustrating, sure, but he owns a Hard Hit Rate of 55.6%, and it doesn’t get much better than that in the MLB. He’s also walking even more than McCutchen (18.4% of all plate appearances). The numbers say he’s just about to turn things around, but of course, the numbers don’t account for the shift.
Alright, now it's time to tear the Phillies apart.
What’s wrong in centerfield, and who are the Phillies’ options?
The centerfield combination of Roman Quinn and Adam Haseley has just five hits and fourteen strikeouts through 41 at-bats. That’s good for a batting average of .121. In case you’re wondering, that’s also zero RBIs.
I’m emphatically over the Quinn experiment, but I understand how enticing his other-worldly speed must be for the organization. Ultimately, the small sample size of his career has netted an OBP of just .301. He’s 27-years-old, and this might be the finished product. Next.
I’m a bit more optimistic about Haseley. Still, even after a relatively productive 2020 (.278/.348/.690), I’m not sure how excited you can get about a below-average fielding, doubles power, former first-rounder sitting in centerfield.
He hasn’t played well enough to differentiate himself from the handful of options the Phillies have in Lehigh Valley. Seamless transition, y’all.
Former first-overall pick Mickey Moniak will join the Phillies following the announcement that Haseley has been placed on the restricted list.
Moniak had a sterling Spring Training, which resulted in speculation that he would join the Opening Day roster. He showed some power and finished with an OPS of 1.112 through 21 at-bats.
He’s going to get a shot at improving the back third of this Phils lineup over the next couple of weeks.
It’s telling that Odubel Herrera will remain in Lehigh for the time being. He’s another option, but this organization seems to have little patience for the player and off-the-field legal issues. Moniak would need to flop before we see the former All-Star rejoin the big league club.
Tommy Orme is a former contributing writer to 247Sports, Fanduel, and more living in New York City working in National Media Investment.
For any professional inquires, please email at tg.orme@gmail.com or DM @t_orm3 on Twitter.
