Future at first, outfield should be competitive for Phillies

Cozens (L) and Hoskins (R) pushing for a shot with Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies moved yesterday to DFA both reliever Jeanmar Gomez and outfielder Michael Saunders. This should prove to be the beginning of a changeover in the roster and lineup.

The baseball industry has recognized for more than a year now that the Phillies minor league system has greatly improved. Talent is going to begin flowing to the big league team soon, likely at some point this summer.

Once that talent really starts pushing to Philadelphia, there are going to be some interesting decisions for the club to make. That is going to be especially true in the outfield and at first base. Three of those four spots appear taken, at least in the short term.

Center field is currently manned by 25-year old Odubel Herrera. A 2016 NL All-Star, ‘El Torito’ was signed to a contract his past winter that is guaranteed through the 2021 season.

With the Saunders trade, 26-year old Aaron Altherr should begin to see even more regular playing time. He has been perhaps the Phillies best all around player this season. Altherr is hitting for a .278/.352/.531 slash line. He leads the team with a dozen homers and 37 RBI, and his 32 runs scored is second on the club.

At first base, Tommy Joseph is second on the club with 10 home runs. After a slow first month, Joseph has gotten his hitting game together. Since May 1, the 25-year old is hitting .290/.348/.519 with 19 exta-base hits and 25 RBI.

The Phillies are giving time right now to veterans Howie Kendrick and Daniel Nava. They also have a pair of players recently up from the minor leagues. Those two, first baseman Brock Stassi and outfielder Cameron Perkins, are seen more as reserve/role player types.

Predicting the Phillies Opening Day Roster

Club management with the Philadelphia Phillies, itself the object of much change, has spent the past couple of years shaping the organizational talent for the future.

Some of that young talent has already reached the big leagues. This is most especially true on the pitching staff.

In the everyday lineup, the very best prospects in the Phillies system are nearly ready for their first full-time shot. The 25-man roster that opens the 2017 regular season in just over two weeks is going to look very different by the end of the season.

But let’s not get that far ahead of ourselves. This will be a look not at the Phillies of July or September, but the club that will travel to Cincinnati for that 2017 Opening Day.

The players who begin the season in a Phillies uniform include a number who are on borrowed time. That is because the club has intentionally signed a few players specifically with the knowledge that they will likely (hopefully?) step aside later in the year as the prospects become fully ready.

One major caveat here is that the players listed remain healthy. A minor injury at the start could delay a player who would normally make it. This would provide an opportunity, even if temporary, to someone else. But injuries aside, this is how I see things breaking with Pete Mackanin‘s club at this point.

Brock Stassi Making a Spring Bid for Phillies Roster Spot

The Philadelphia Phillies have been giving young prospects an opportunity to play over the last couple of seasons as their rebuilding program got underway.

Those opportunities have continued this spring as some of the club’s top prospects begin to make a real push for regular big league roles. This includes highly rated shortstop J.P. Crawford, outfielders Nick Williams and Roman Quinn, and catcher Jorge Alfaro.

But it has been a far less heralded prospect who has emerged to steal the spotlight during the 2017 Grapefruit League season down in Florida.

Brock Stassi is a 27-year old first baseman. He was the club’s 33rd round selection in the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft out of the University of Nevada-Reno.

Stassi has spent the ensuing six seasons battling his way incrementally up through the Phillies farm system.

In those six minor league seasons, Stassi has hit for a cumulative .263/.347/.390 slash line. He has produced just 42 home runs in more than 2,200 minor league plate appearances.

The left-handed hitter is limited to first base, so his only path to a regular big league role is with his bat. To this point, he simply has not hit enough to be considered a true prospect. As a result, MLB does not rank him among the Phillies current Top 30 Prospects.