Darick Hall breaks out of slump at Triple-A

Darick Hall is currently at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. (Cheryl Pursell)

Struggling since his return to Lehigh Valley, “Long Ball” Hall tapped back into his power over the weekend.

Darick Hall, optioned to Triple-A on July 21, hadn’t homered in his first 12 games back with the IronPigs — making it 20 straight games without a home run between the majors and minors. But the left-handed-hitting slugger snapped the streak on Saturday at Coca-Cola Park before adding another bomb on Sunday. The 28-year-old went 1-for-4 with a solo homer on Saturday, then went 2-for-4 with the home run and three RBIs on Sunday.

Hall, a boom-or-bust power threat, was given some playing opportunities at first base with the Phillies for a large portion of July, but failed to produce. He hit only one home run in his 12 games as the lack of power only highlighted his weaknesses. Hall struck out 16 times in his 37 plate appearances in July, posting a .139/.162/.222 slash line. He also made three errors at first base in his last week in the bigs.

With Hall not hitting and Bryce Harper beginning to play first base defensively, the Phillies sent Hall down to Lehigh Valley. And for a while, the power was still nowhere to be found. In his first 12 games back for the IronPigs, he went 11-for-44 — good for a .250 batting average — but recorded no extra-base hits. For a hitter who can mash the ball as hard and far as anyone, just hitting singles isn’t enough to make a meaningful impact.

But if his last two games are any indicator, Hall might be back to himself. On Saturday and Sunday, he homered on back-to-back days for the first time in 2023, a feat he hadn’t accomplished since homering on two straight days in September of last year with Lehigh Valley.

Of course, Hall will have to prove the power has returned on a consistent basis to earn another shot in the majors. Last year, he showed that his bat can help a club on a part-time or fill-in basis when he had an .804 OPS in 41 games with the Phillies as they were in need of some thump in their lineup. And if he can maintain this power stroke, there’s reason to believe he can contribute again at some point.