MLB Season Preview: Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies


Last Season's Standings: The Philadelphia Phillies went 85-77 to finish second in the NL East last season, including 6-4 in their last 10 games.

In: C Rod Brajas (prev. team: Texas Rangers); SP Adam Eaton (prev. team: Texas Rangers); 3B Wes Helms (prev. team: Florida Marlins); SP Jamie Moyer; 1B Randall Simon; SP Brett Myers; LF Karim Garcia; RP Antonio Alfonseca (prev. team: Texas Rangers); 2B Chase Utley; CF Aaron Rowand; SP Ryan Madson; RF Jayson Werth (prev. team: LA Dodgers); SP Freddy Garcia (via trade w/ Chicago White Sox)

Out: SP Gavin Floyd (via trade w/ Chicago White Sox); LF David Dellucci (new team: Cleveland Indians); RP Aaron Fultz (new team: Cleveland Indians); 3B Alex Gonzalez (new team: Kansas City Royals); 3B Jose Hernandez (new team: Pittsburgh Pirates); C Mike Liebrathal (new team: LA Dodgers); RP Arthur Rhodes (new team: Seattle Mariners); 2B Joe Thurston (new team: Washington Nationals); RP Rick White (new team: Houston Astros); SP Randy Wolf (new team: LA Dodgers)

Starting Pitchers: Trade acquisition Freddy Garcia enters the season as the staff ace for the Phillies. He had a good season in 'o6 going 17-9 with a 4.53 ERA in 33 starts. Base runners have their way with Garcia and he struggles with command against left-handed batters. Pitching next in the rotation will be fellow rightie Brett Myers. Myers was 12-7 with a 3.91 ERA in 31 starts at season's end last year. He must control his competitive fire and be better with runners in scoring position. Cole Hamels will likely occupy the third spot in the rotation and is entering his first full season in the majors. Hamels missed 17 games last season to a shoulder injury and will be looking to remain healthy all season in '07. He was 9-8 with a 4.08 ERA in '06 in 23 starts. Hamels needs to throw first-pitch strikes more often and to build his stamina beyond 100 pitches. Adam Eaton is another pitcher looking to stay healthy this season (he missed half the '06 season to a broken finger). Eaton struggles against lefties and sometimes with his control. He went 7-4 with a 5.12 ERA in 13 starts with Texas. The aging Jamie Moyer is entering his 21st season in the majors, but should be an effective 5th starter. As he ages, he has become more prone to giving up the long ball and thrughout his career, when he struggles things go very downhil. Moyer went 11-13 in 33 starts in '06. Finally, Jon Lieber will challenge Moyer for the 5th starter's spot, but look for him to start as a long man out of the 'pen. Lieber was 9-11 with a 4.93 ERA in 27 starts last season.

Bullpen: Tom Gordon is the closer for the Phillies. He saved 34 games in 59 sppearances last season and also had a further record of 3-4. Health is a question mark for Gordon as he missed 12 games with a shoulder injury last season. He also has some wildness tendencies at points where he'll hit batters, walk batters and completely miss the catchers target. Ryan Madson is a candidate for long man duty. He may even be a set-up man for Gordon. He went 11-9 with 2 saves, 17 starts and a 5.69 ERA in 50 appearances. Endurance, pitching against lefties and holding runners are the trouble spots for Madson. Rightie Geoff Geary should be a middle reliever, coming into the ball game in the 6th or 7th inning. Geary was 7-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 81 appearances last season. The Phillies need a repeat performance to be successful this season. Free agent signing Antonio Alfonseca will attempt to be a successful 7th-8th inning reliever. He had a 5.83 ERA in 19 appearances in '06. Alfonseca must improve with the bases empty and the middle of the order hitters. Rookie Fabio Castro is battling for one of the final 2 bullpen spots. He was 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 16 games played in '06. Likely vying for a long reliever's spot is rookie Eude Brito. Brito pitched in five games last season, two of those being starts, as a September call-up. He finished with a record of 1-2 and a dysmal 7.36 ERA. Due to his lack of experience, Brito will likely start the year in AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Clay Condrey had a decent season in '06 going 2-2 with a 3.14 ERA in 21 big league appearances. He'll be looking to build on that effort, but is in tough to make this deep squad. Look for him to start in AAA ball but be available as an injury replacement. Rookie Brian Sanches will also be looking to build on last season, where he had a 5.91 ERA in 18 appearances as a September call-up. Barring an excellent spring training where he blows the coaching staff away, Sanches will be moved to the minor league camp at some point. Finally, Matt Smith stands a decent shot at the final bullpen spot, especially since he pitched so well last season, finishing 0-1 with a miniscule 0.87 ERA. He'll be looking to prove that those numbers are no fluke.

Catcher: Free agent signing Rod Barajas will get the majority of starts behind the plate (between 115 and 125) and will bat eighth in the line-up. Brajas had just an okay year at the plate in 2006 batting .256 with 11 HR and 41 RBI. He's a good defensive catcher and that's mainly why he is in the everyday line-up. Backing him up should be a battle between rookies Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste with Coste having a slight edge due to more experience. Whoever is back-up would be wise to follow Barajas's every move to gain tips from him.

First Baseman: Ryan Howard could well play every game this season and will bat clean-up. Howard is just an outstanding hitter, who can knock the ball out of the park on a very regular basis (58 times in '06), hit for average (.313 last season) and drive in buckets of runners (149 in '06). The only thing he can work on a little are striking out less (181 times in 2006) and perhaps taking a walk a bit more. Backing him up should be Wes Helms, who will serve as the every day third baseman. Coste may also get some playing time over at first base. Finally, waiver wire pick-up Greg Dobbs will be in the mix to challenge for playing time, but he'll likely start in AAA ball and be available as an injury replacement, if needed.

Second Baseman: Chase Utley will play around 160 games and bat 2nd in the line-up. Utley hit .309 with 32 HR and 102 RBI last season. Defensively, he can bea liability, but had an error free year in 2006 and will be looking to build on it. Utilitymen Abraham Nunez and Danny Sandoval will battle for back-up jobs at 2B, SS and 3B. Nunez hit .211 with 2 HR and 41 RBI last season. He can defend at any infield position, but is at best average at the plate. Sandoval is less experienced and also hit .211 and managed to knock in just 4 runs last season. He'll need a strong training camp or he'll start in AAA ball.

Shortstop: Leadoff man and speedster Jimmy Rollins will play between 155 and 160 games and he'll be expected to get on base and be a headache for the pitcher. Rollins stole 36 bases in '06, hit .277 with 25 HR and 83 RBI. He needs to be more patient and wait for his pitch; could stand to lower the strike out total (80 K's last season). Sandoval and Nunez will battle for the back-up role.

Third Baseman: At the hot corner is Wes Helms who will all but certainly bat 6th and play between 135 and 145 games, if healthy. Helms hit an impressive .329 with 10 HR and 47 RBI. He has a bad tendency to be over-aggressive at the plate and also to be a primary pull hitter, making defending him predictable, but not necessarily easy. Defensively, he is sound and he is willing to learn. Nunez, Sandoval and Dobbs will battle to back him up.

Left Fielder: Pat Burrell is an invaluable power-hitting lefty that teams knock themselves over trying to sign as a free agent. He'll bat either 3rd or 5th in the line-up and play between 140 and 150 games provided he's healthy in '07. Defensively, Burrell needs to work on reading fly balls. At the plate, he is capable of hitting 30 HR, although he hit 29 last season. Burrell batted .258 and knocked in 95 runs last season. Burrell needs to bring down the strikeout total (131 in 2006). Ex-Blue Jay Sayson Werth is likely pencilled in as the 4th outfielder. He can play any outfield position but will need to prove that he's over the serious wrist injury that kept him out all of last season, including the playoffs. also battling for a spot on the roster as a platoon outfielder is Chris Roberson, who stands a decent chance to be the platoon outfielder, but his experience, or lack of it is a question mark. Roberson batted just .195 and only managed to drive in a single run in 2006. He could start in AAA ball for more fine tuning. Shane Victorino is also in the mix, and is likely to be the starting right fielder; more on him later.

Center Fielder: Aaron Rowand tends to be a slow starter, but will still be the 3rd or 5th batter in the batting order. He hit .262 with 12 HR and 47 RBI last season. Rowand needs to prove his fractured ankle is healed. If healthy, he'll play between 135 and 145 games. Werth, Victorino and Roberson will battle for the back-up job, with Roberson and Werth likely getting the closer look.

Right Fielder: Finally, I'll discuss Shane Victorino, who is likely more suited as a 4th outfielder, but is the best of the bunch between himself, Werth and Robenson and will therefore be in the everyday line-up. Look for him to bat 7th and play 150+ games next season if healthy. He hit .287 with 6 HR and 46 RBI in the 2006 season. Werth and Roberson will battle for the back-up job.

Season Prediction: Philadelphia will be in the hunt for a while but alas, they will finsh 2007 3rd in the NL East.