Categories: 2020 Season Preview

Phillies Nation 2020 Season Preview: Roman Quinn

The 2020 regular season is scheduled to begin in late July, which means it’s finally time to talk some baseball! To prepare you for the season, Phillies Nation will be taking an in-depth look at all of your favorite players. Here’s a review of Roman Quinn’s 2019 season as well as what to expect from the Phillies center fielder in 2020.

Roman Quinn will have an opportunity to show he can contribute in a reserve role for the Phillies. (Cheryl Pursell)

Since being drafted in the second round back in 2011, Roman Quinn’s speed has always been tantalizing. His ability to cover ground in the field and on the base paths was nothing short of impressive. Quinn’s swiped 123 bases in his first four professional seasons in the Phillies system. After slashing .274/.344/.389 with Triple-A Lehigh Valley back in 2016, Quinn was promoted and his quickness was immediately recognized. Even with a lot of valuable tools that can be extremely useful at the big league level, Quinn has struggled to stay on the field.

Right when it seems like things are looking good for Roman Quinn, injury strikes. The 27-year-old switch-hitter has dealt with hamstring strains, groin strains, finger sprains and concussions. He hasn’t played more than 88 games in a season, and that hasn’t been since 2014. Appearing in just 134 games total since 2018, Quinn enters the shortened 60-game 2020 season looking to prove that he can stay healthy.

44 G, 122 PA’s, 4 HR, 11 RBIs, .213/.298/.370, 72 OPS+, 0.1 fWAR

2019 Season in Review

Heading into the 2019 season, Quinn looked to be in line for a bench role with Odubel Herrera, Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper filling the starting outfield spots for the Phillies. Unfortunately, Quinn suffered an oblique strain during 2019 spring training and was unable to re-join the team until mid-April. He got an opportunity to start due to Odubel Herrera coming down with a hamstring injury but struggled to get much of anything going at the plate. After just seven games though, Quinn tweaked his groin and was out of commission until he began rehab assignments in June.

When he returned to the Phils after a 47-game absence, Quinn got the majority of the starts in center field. August was his best month by far. He started on a five-game hitting streak, going 8-for-16 at the plate with two homers, three runs scored and two steals. Between August 13-16, he went 6-for-13 with a double, a homer, six runs scored and three RBIs. Right when things were looking up, and Quinn had pushed his average above the Mendoza line, history struck again. The speedy outfielder re-aggravated his groin injury from earlier in the season and did not appear in another game.

August gave us a peak at the potential we’ve seen in Quinn he was drafted. He slashed .368/.455/.684 with a double, triple, two homers, seven RBIs, nine runs scored and four steals.

2020 Preview

Quinn, Jay Bruce, Kyle Garlick, Mikie Mahtook and Nick Williams are all in the Phillies player pool ahead of the 2020 season. Bruce will almost definitely be a regular as the designated hitter, but after that, the Phils have some intriguing choices for reserve outfielders. Quinn has the best speed of the group mentioned, but less pop. Nick Williams fell out of favor with Gabe Kapler last season while Kyle Garlick and Mikie Mahtook each bring a small amount of big league experience to the table.

The best-case scenario with regard to a role for Quinn in 2020 is pinch-runner and spot starter if there’s an injury or a day of needed from one of the regulars. Adam Haseley looks to be the guy for the Phils in center heading into the season, but if he struggles at the plate, Joe Girardi could experiment with different players in that spot. Andrew McCutchen is healthy but could be eased into an everyday role, which could also give Quinn some opportunities.

Where Quinn might be most valuable is in extra innings. Major League Baseball will implement the runner on second base rule in extra innings this season. Once the 10th inning begins, each team will start with a runner on second base. With Quinn’s speed, he should undoubtedly be the guy that goes in that spot more often than not.

Check out our previous 2020 Season Previews