The All Star Break is here, which means the 2016 MLB season is already half over. The Phillies were somewhat of a pleasant surprise during the first half, lets take a look back.
The Phillies enter the break with a 42-48 record, a lot better than most expected. The season started rocky when the Phillies got sweep by the Reds to start the season, and were 0-4 to start. The Phillies completed the month of April with a 13-10 record.
The Phillies stayed hot through the early parts of May, they held a 25-19 record on May 22nd. The Phils went 1-6 to end the month, and June was just as bad. On June 21st, the Phillies reached a season low of 30-42, after facing a stretch that included the Cubs, Nationals, Blue Jays, and Tigers.
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The Phillies finished the month of June with a sweep of the Dimondbacks, which has propelled the Phillies to a 7-3 start through the first half of July. Which brings the Phils to their 42-48 record which puts them on pace for around 72 wins, an improvement from last year’s 63 wins.
Lets take a long at how each unit of the team has preformed so far.
Pitching
The Phillies pitching carried them through April and early May, as they led the Majors in strikeouts and closer Jeanmar Gomez was a league leader in saves. At the break, the staff is 15th in the Majors in ERA at 4.35. They are also 5th in strikeouts, and 12th in WHIP.
Aaron Nola was leading the staff with his 2.86 ERA on May 25th, after five straight starts in which he couldn’t get out of the 4th inning, the 23 year old’s ERA has jumped to 4.69. Nola was in the all star conversation, but his major slumped took him out of that. Nola was skipped his last start, he’s scheduled to return the 18th. I give Nola a first half grade of C-.
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Veteran Jeremy Hellickson was traded for in the offseason to be a leader in a young roatation, and he’s done that. Hellickson is 6-6 with a 3.92 ERA, he’s also emerged as one of the top pitching trade candidates. I give him a first half grade of B+.
Unfortuantley, another guy brought over to bolster the rotation, Charlie Morton was lost for the year in April to an injury. His replacement, Adam Morgan, didn’t fill Morton’s shoes in the slightest. Morgan has a 1-7 reocord and a 6.65 ERA and was eventually replaced in the roataion. I give him a first half grade of D-.
The center piece of the Ken Giles trade was young pitcher Vince Velasquez, and he has shown to be worth it so far. On April 14th, Vince had the best start of any Phillie so far this year when he threw a complete game shut out of the Padres in which he struck out 16, walked none, and only allowed three hits. Not bad for his first game in Philly. Velasquez dealt with an injury in June, but on the season he’s 8-2 with a 3.32 ERA. He struggles to go deep into games, as his pitch counts have risen early in games, but he’s been very affective. He earns a first half grade of B.
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A part of the Hamels trade, Jerad Eickhoff has been a great addition to the rotation. At one point, Jerad was 2-8 on the season, which wasn’t really his fault, as his ERA hovered around 4, its just he wasn’t getting any run support. He is 4-2 in his last 7 starts and has an ERA of 3.80. Most teams would be very pleased with a 3.80 ERA from their #4 starter. First half grade of A-.
The first top prospect to arrive in Philadelphia this year was not Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, or J.P. Crawford, it was Zach Eflin. He was called up to replace Velasquez when he went on the shelf, and ultimatley out played Morgan to stay in the roataion. Unfortuantley, his major league debut came against the Blue Jays, and that high powered offense shelled the youngster for 8 earned runs in only 2.2 innings. His ERA sat at 27.00. He has performed better in every start since boasting a very good ERA of 2.20 in his last four starts. His ERA sits at 4.08 and it should continue to go down as he moves past his rough debut. Considering the circumstances, he’s eanred a grade of B-.
Many wondered who the closer would be this season, and after a couple tries with other guys, the Phillies stuck with Jeanmar Gomez. The 28 year old has converted 24 of 26 save oppurtunities, and has an ERA of 2.59. He’s now even being considered as a trade candidate. He gets a first half grade of A becuase no one expected him to have this kind of success.
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Set up man Hector Neris has had an up and down season. He has had trouble finding the strike zone at times, that may be due to the fact he’s been used the most out of any reliever in the majors. His ERA once sat around 1.00, its now 2.87, still not terrible. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll be in this role, but I give him a first half grade of C+.
Overall, I give the pitching staff a grade of B-. Early in the season, the pitching carried the team, lately, the offense has been carrying the team. They’ve done a good enough job and the staff should also get younger as more prospects break through.
Offense/Position Players
The offense struggled for most of the first half, which resulted in a lot of one runs wins as the team only averaged three runs per game. Lately, the offense has been clicking. Overall, they are 23rd in average at .244, 22nd in homers, and 29th in runs, obviously, these are not great numbers.
Odubel Herrera has been the team’s best hitter all season hitting .294 with 10 homers and 44 walks, which is 8th in the National League. He still has a few issues in center field, but he’s come a long way this year. Herrera has slowed down a bit after hitting .324 in April, but he represented the Phillies at the All Star Game yesterday, which of course is no small feat. He earns a first half grade of A.
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The two corner outfield spots have been shared by a group of guys which includes Peter Bourjos who is hitting .274 with 15 doubles while playing great defense. Cody Asche missed the first two months of the season, but since coming backhe’s hit .259 with 4 homers and 12 doubles. Tyler Goeddel has also seen a lot of time in the outfield, he’s only hitting .209, but he’s made many fantastic plays in the field, especially his throw to home to throw out the tying run to end the game against the Reds back in May. I give this group a grade of C becuase they haven’t hit the way that’s expected of corner outfielders, but they have played great defense.
Second year third baseman Maikel Franco has built off of his success last season to hit .269 with 18 homers and 52 RBIs, both of which leads the team. His average dropped to .235 in early June as he hit a funk, but he’s hit .393 in his last 15 games. His defense has come a long way and he’s been making great plays all season. He gets a first half grade of B+.
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First base no longer belongs to Ryan Howard full time as Tommy Jospeh has emerged from triple A to take over the majority of playing time at first. Howard is hitting a pitiful .154 with 12 homers. Joseph is hitting .255 with 11 homers. Having 23 homers from the first base position is not bad at all,but both will not hit for average and have some problems defensivley. I give them a first half grade of C-.
Freddy Galvis is still holding down shortstop, until the much anticipated arrival of MLB’s top position prospect J.P. Crawford. Galvis is hitting .234 with 8 homers, and his 36 RBIs are second on the team. He’s a defensive minded player, and he’s played that way this season. He may not be at short for much longer, but for now he’s earned a grade of C, the amount of double plays he hits into is crazy.
Cesar Hernadez did not have a great star to the season, as of June 2nd, he was only hitting .249. He’s stepped it up as of late hitting .444 in his last 15 games to raise his average to .291, which is second on the team. He’s not a power threat at all but he does have a team high 6 triples. Hernandez doesn’t play the best defense as he’s tied for the team lead with 8 errors. He’s doing a fine job as a fill in until the Phillies can find a long term answer at second. I give him a grade of B-.
Cameron Rupp has taken over the majority of the catching duties as veteran Carlos Ruiz continues to decline offensively. Rupp has only played in 56 of the 90 games, but he’s hitting .285 with 9 homers and a team high 17 doubles. Rupp has worked on his game calling and his defense. The Phillies have two catching prospects in the minors, but Rupp is making a case for himself in the long run. I give him a first half grade of B+.
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As a whole, the offense is struggling. Franco, Herrera, and Rupp have carried the offense for most of the year, but with little production from the corner outfield spots and short stop and firstbase, the offense is a work in progess. This group gets a first half grade of C-.
Overall Team Grade
I’ve been impressed with the team’s play this season. At one point they were even first in the division, for a day albeit. A 42-48 record is a lot better than most expected, and most of that is in part to manager Pete Mackanin who is doing a great job. The pitching, for the most part has been solid, and the offense is starting to heat up. The team earned a first half grade of B, they have greatly out played expectations.
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Its shaping up to be an exciting end to the season as the team is getting hot and a few top prospects are knocking on the door of the majors. Stay tuned.
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