Phillies Nation

Ruiz set career-highs in 2012 in eight offensive categories. Did Adderall aid that?

Once the season ends, or perhaps even at the July 31 trade deadline, the Phillies will be forced to deal with harsh realities. Several players who were integral parts of the teams’ run to the 2008 World Series could be on the move. It’s not out of the question to think the 2014 Phillies could be without Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Carlos Ruiz.

Let’s focus on Ruiz. He’s was slowly working his way back to normalcy after a rough start following a 25-game suspension to begin the year. Then, he blew a tire going first-to-third in a game against the Reds last weekend and is now on the DL for 3-to-4 weeks.

The use of Adderall, for which he was suspended, tells me one thing; that he’s slowing down.  And inevitably, when a catcher slows down, it usually isn’t pretty. Ruiz was looking for an advantage and felt he could get one with the use of this banned substance. Without that aid, what does the future hold for Chooch?

For one, he’ll be 35 when next season rolls around. His .325 average last season appears to be an aberration, but we’ll know more about that after the year is complete. With 16 games and 51 at-bats under his belt this year, Ruiz is hitting .235. One thing Chooch has been known for is his ability to get on base and not strike out. His .361 career OBP is fantastic and would be sorely missed in a lineup that struggles with that idea. Even if his bat slows a bit, he still has shown to have a solid grasp of the strike zone.

Continue reading To Chooch or Not to Chooch

Things can’t get much worse for Ben Revere at the plate right now. Photo: AP

On December 6 of last year, the Phillies traded Vance Worley and top-prospect Trevor May to the Minnesota Twins for an exciting, young, free-swinging centerfield with a proclivity for putting the ball in play, finding ways to get on base and, once on, creating havoc with his blazing speed.

As of this post, that player has yet to arrive in Philadelphia. Instead, the player the Phillies acquired has been a nightmare at the plate.

To say it has been a poor start for Ben Revere in Philadelphia would be putting it extremely mildly. Ask any Phillies fan how Revere has played through his first month in red pinstripes, and you’d be certain to hear a much more colorful description of his play.

Rightfully so. There are not enough negative superlatives in the English language to adequately describe Revere’s offensive output. Sure, he’s displayed his fantastic speed. The only problem is, he never gets to show it off because he is never on base.

His .245 OBP currently ranks 24th among the 26 qualifying centerfielders in baseball, and is nearly 100 points lower than the .333 mark he posted last season. His .471 OPS ranks 25th. So far this year, Revere has combined a complete lack of power with a complete inability to get on base. It’s a rare and costly combination.

Continue reading Exploring Revere’s Rocky Start

Borbon, 27, is young and talented enough to get calls from several teams. The Phils should be one of those teams calling. Photo: ESPN

Every once in a while, a team becomes so deep at a particular position that they simply run out of room for a talented player. Last year, the Phillies felt they had enough depth to let Brandon Moss pursue other opportunities and the A’s had the ability to scoop him up and let him simmer in Triple-A until an opening arose. Once called up, Moss hit 21 HR with a triple-slash line of .291/.358/.596, providing more value than any first baseman or outfielder the Phillies had on the roster last season.

This year, the Texas Rangers have seemingly given up on Julio Borbon, a key contributor to their 2010 run to the World Series and they designated him for assignment yesterday. In 746 MLB PA with the Rangers, Borbon has hit .283/.324/.358 with 7 HR and 40 SBs. Just 27 years old, Borbon is a talented outfielder who has plus skills in most tools and would be an upgrade over Ezequiel Carrera and Laynce Nix as a left-handed half of a right field platoon. Borbon has hit .293/.333/.370 v. righties where as Carrera has hit just .254/.297/.367 and Nix .253/.297/.447.

Borbon’s designation comes as a relative surprise as all four outfielders kept on the Rangers’ roster not named Borbon have lower career MLB batting averages and Borbon has comparable OBP to the center fielders who are replacing him (Craig Gentry and Leonys Martin). Borbon fielded center field well, meaning a transition to right could improve his value and he was a plus-base runner in his time in Texas.

Jon Heyman thinks that the Mets and Astros are good fits for Borbon, but in reality, Borbon, at just 27, is a player who still has a lot of potential who could help a lot of teams. His 2012 was spent proving he could still play in Triple-A after a 2011 ankle injury. He would be a definite upgrade for the Phillies and would be worth a flier starting in right field against righties at the very least.

Last year, outfielder Zach Collier finally made the kind of impression the Phillies had long hoped for since they made him their supplemental 1st round draft choice (34th overall) in 2008. As a member of the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers, Collier put forth exceptional output and followed up the regular season with a tremendous campaign in the highly competitive Arizona Fall League, to display the type of skills that earned him high praise and a hefty professional signing bonus as a high school talent.

Following his 2011 season, it was announced that the 6-foot-2 185-pound Collier had tested positive for amphetamines and would have to serve a 50-game suspension to kick off the following season. That down time didn’t hold the Carson, CA native down, however. In the Florida State League last year, Collier, who once got a signing bonus of over $1 million from the Phillies, posted career highs in OBP (.333) and slugging percentage (.399). Despite missing time due to the suspension, Collier sported a .269 average with six home runs, 32 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 78 games for Clearwater.

In order to make up for some of that time missed, the Phillies sent Collier to play with Peoria in the Arizona Fall League, where he slapped four doubles, laced three triples and stroked four homers while placing in the league’s top five in batting average (.371) and OPS (.993).  Collier feels the time spent in the AFL was advantageous to him and he is grateful for the experience. Continue reading Prospect Nation 2013: #16 OF Zach Collier

The Phillies filled their centerfield void by acquiring Ben Revere, bolstered the bullpen with Mike Adams and shored up the rotation with the cost-effective and underrated John Lannan. While these moves likely represent the bulk of their offseason activity, the Phillies have been linked to a wide array of corner outfielders given the obvious uncertainties in those posts.

They went hard after Cody Ross but balked at his lofty demands. They supposedly offered Josh Hamilton a short-term deal with a high average annual value. They have previously been linked to either Jason Kubel or Gerardo Parra, and that link will only grow stronger with the Snakes’ recent signing of Ross. There were reportedly discussions between the Phils and Cubs regarding Alfonso Soriano earlier in the offseason as well.

Some of these players make more sense than others, but the available corner outfielder the Phillies should stay completely away from is Vernon Wells. Unfortunately, the Phillies have expressed interest in the former Blue Jays all-star, though the extent of their interest remains unknown. Let’s hope it is nothing more than executives tossing a name around while brainstorming, because Wells has been one of the worst players in the league over the last two seasons and is signed to the very worst contract in the sport.

Continue reading Steer Completely Clear of Vernon Wells

Sometimes, I am amazingly impressed by the Phillies Nation community with their knowledge. The one-off-references and jabs provided on here and on Twitter are shining examples of how Philadelphia has among the most dedicated fans in baseball. An off-handed Don Money comment on Twitter resulted in several responses. Money was the starting third baseman for the Phillies in 1972 that Mike Schmidt ended up replacing despite the fact that Money was a pretty decent hitter and excellent defender. There will be more on that one in the future.

Anyhow, in wading through old Phillies data on FanGraphs, I stumbled upon something that nobody has seemed to point out, something so big, so important, that I am now disappointed as a Phillies fan. No Phillies fan, to my knowledge, has yet made the joke that Michael Young is not the same Mike Young that played with the Phillies. I could be wrong, after all, the internet is a pretty big place, but I am genuinely disappointed at the lack of recall of Mike Young #1.

Continue reading Know Thy Phillies History: Mike Young

Michael Young hit .277/.312/.370 last season for the Rangers.

Apparently so, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.

A trio of sources tell Grant that the teams are in “advanced talks” on a deal that would send a young, major-league reliever and a low-level prospect to Texas for the 36-year-old Young.

Grant reports that Texas would likely pick up “more than half” of Young’s $16 million salary for 2013 in the deal. They better pick up more than “more than half” … Young was 125th out of 143 qualifying players last year with a measly .682 OPS.

This would “solve” the third base problem, but who knows how much Young actually has left. He played 2012 in an extreme hitter’s park surrounded by offensive talent and didn’t produce a lick. The Rangers batted him everywhere — 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th — and nothing. He had 27 doubles and 26 GIDPs. He had a .291 OBP against righties.

Then again, if all the Phillies would be giving up is a non-prospect and an expendable reliever, it’s probably worth it to see if Young can recapture a morsel of what he had in 2011, when he hit .338/.380/.474. Or even what he had the eight prior seasons, when he hit .308 with a .814 OPS.

Young has complete no-trade rights because he’s a 10-year veteran who has spent at least the last five seasons with one team. But that shouldn’t be an issue … his playing time is sure to decrease in Texas as Jurickson Profar and Mike Olt get closer to everyday duty.

Stay tuned, we’ll have more in the morning…

Morrison is wild, talented, and is my pick to bring to Philly. Photo: AP

This week, you have seen Eric, Pat, and Corey unveil their offseason plans for the Phillies, which have included Nick Swisher, Peter Bourjos, Denard Span, and others. I’m a little bit of a Wild Card compared to the rest of the gang – somewhere in between “Vice President Biden with a live microphone” and “Jeffrey Loria with a baseball franchise” Wild Card. I’m the guy who told Phillies fans to “Get Excited About Chad Qualls” and wrote thousands of words about the possible contributions of guys like Joel Pineiro, Scott Podsednik, and David Purcey. While I got some wrong, I did successfully nab Juan Pierre as not only a starter but a big time contributor and nailed a few roster moves. Being the Wild Card doesn’t mean you have to be the Joker all of the time and it has helped me view the Phils a little differently.

Keeping with the theme, Wild Card should be the name of the game for this team. As is, this team, as constructed, can compete for and win the first or second Wild Card with a dash of health and luck. These additions, with health and realistic luck expectations, should push them to the NL East crown again.

Outfield: Sign Torii Hunter Trade for Logan Morrison

Many fans know that LoMo is one of the most entertaining and outspoken players on Twitter. When Morrison was called up in 2010, he hit, and hit, and didn’t stop hitting. In his first full season in 2011, his plate discipline decreased but his power increased.His OBP dipped 60 points while slugging quietly increased 21 points. Morrison played only 93 games last year, fighting injuries, and presents a perfect buy-low opportunity for the house-cleaning Marlins. Morrison has four more years of team control, becoming arbitration eligible for the first time in 2014, making his services even more desirable.

Morrison is projected to have a bounce-back type year by Bill James (23 HR, .256/.347/.460) and I believe he will as well. Miami was a particularly unstable place to play last season and a focused, but fun locker room may help the soon-to-be 25 year old outfielder remain on track. Perhaps offering the Marlins a young reliever or two who are still cost controllable, preferably Josh Lindblom, would get the deal done. Including a player like Lindblom, who similarly has four more years of team control, may sweeten the pot enough for the Marlins to bite.

My original plan for filling an outfield spot was Torii Hunter, but he was snatched up by the Tigers on Wednesday.

Continue reading Phillies Offseason Plan: Ian’s Version

Span would be a nice fit in Philly. (NBC Sports)

Yesterday, Eric Seidman unveiled his offseason plan for the Phillies, which included Nick Swisher, Peter Bourjos and others. Today, it’s my turn. Tomorrow, Corey will let us know what moves he wants the Phillies to make.

Here is my offseason plan.

Outfield: Trade for Denard Span

-I would love for the Phillies to grab this guy. He quietly contributes in Minnesota and would be a nice leadoff hitter here. Span got on base at a .342 clip last year, will steal 20 bases, and doesn’t strikeout much. Perhaps the Phillies throw some pitching prospects and one of their highly rated catchers at the Twins to get a deal done. Span is well worth it.

Span’s contract is friendly, as it pays him $4.75 million in 2013, $6.5 million in 2014, and he has a $9 million in a club option for 2015. It’s the type of contract that doesn’t tie you to a guy on the wrong side of 30, but gives you the option to re-up him, should he be deserving.

The 28-year old centerfielder is also one of the best defensive players at his position. Among CF’s with at least 2,000 innings since 2010, Span ranks fourth in UZR according to Fangraphs, just behind Bourjos, Chris Young, and Michael Bourn. Pretty good company.

Outfield: Sign Cody Ross (3 years, $23 million)

This signing has more to do with the fact that I do not want the Phillies to spend $80 million-plus on B.J. Upton or Bourn, which is what seems to be the asking price. Instead, go for a cheaper corner outfielder in Ross, who can provide power in the middle of the order. It might take a three-year deal, but Ross is only 32, so it’s not as if he’s ready to fall apart.

Ross hits lefties very well. His numbers against southpaws over the last three years: .352 OBP, .530 slugging percentage in 401 plate appearance with a wRC+ of 135 (weighted runs created).

Continue reading Phillies Offseason Plan: Pat’s Version

Domonic Brown needs to step up.

With Hunter Pence now in San Francisco and no one stepping in to take the full-time left field job in 2012, the Phillies are now desperately in need of two corner outfielders. Add on top of that the fact that, through the last four seasons, Ruben Amaro Jr. has traded away a boatload of offensive talent, all while refusing to budge on Brown, and the pressure on the young outfielder to become the player he was projected to be as a prospect is building fast.

The Phillies really need him to come through. To that end, they gave him his first true shot in the big leagues in 2012 (in 2010 he got a short look while Shane Victorino was on the DL and again as a September call-up and in 2011 he only had a month to prove himself before the plug was pulled).

For Brown, the results were mixed. He showed flashes of being the player everyone thinks he can be, but he was also plagued by long stretches of ineffectiveness, which leave his final numbers looking very bleak. He finished with a triple slash line of .235/.316/.396, while striking out 34 times and walking 21 times. He had five home runs and 26 RBI. Even more disheartening: he not only didn’t register a stolen base, he didn’t even make an attempt.

One plus for Brown was, of his 44 hits, 18 of them were for extra bases. He did show a fair amount of power, despite the anemic triple slash. He also got on base at a high rate, as the .316 OBP to a .235 batting average indicates.

However, what needs to be remembered about these numbers at the plate  is that they came over a very small sample size (212 plate appearances). He was also riddled by poor luck, posting a .260 BABIP. With an average BABIP of .300 (the league mean over the course of an entire season), Brown would’ve hit .272. Poor luck is not something to be ignored in this case, especially because the sample size was so small. Those things tend to even out and there are signs Brown can be a better hitter than the surface numbers this season showed. In the end, his .309 wOBA wasn’t atrocious.

In the field, it was more of the same from Brown. He exhibited fantastic athleticism and an amazing throwing arm (seven outfield assists in 51 games is a ridiculous number). But he also showed an inability to routinely track fly balls, coming up with more than a few misplays.

All and all, it seems like too short a viewing to truly evaluate Brown. Alas, that is what I have been tasked to do, so evaluate I must.

GRADE: C.  This grade probably should be lower. But I’m giving Brown a pass here because of the poor luck and the small sample. I think it’s also important to remember that, even though he seems older, Brown is still a very young player (This past season was his age 24 season). Many guys don’t get it figured out on the big league level until their mid-20s, and there’s enough here to suggest Brown will also reach a higher plateau of performance as he ages. That said, time is running out for him to become the player everyone expected.