Look back at the Phillies in the MLB All-Star Game during the 2010's

Embed from Getty Images

On right, Victorino, Polanco, Lee, Hamels repped Phillies in 2011

On Tuesday night, Major League Baseball will celebrate many of it’s top names with the playing of the All-Star Game at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.

For Phillies fans, this 90th version of the Midsummer Classic will feature just one member of their favorite ball club. That has been the case in most recent years with the team usually in a non-contending position.

However, this second decade of the 21st century did not begin that way. When the decade opened, the Phillies were on top of the National League. The were two-time defending NL champions, had been legitimate contenders for most of the previous decade, and featured a star-studded lineup and pitching staff.

In the 2010 MLB All-Star Game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, the Phillies had three representatives. First baseman Ryan Howard started and batted in the cleanup spot for the NL squad. Second baseman Chase Utley was voted as the starting NL second baseman for a fifth consecutive year, but sprained his thumb in late June and had to miss the game. Roy Halladay was one of the NL reserve pitchers.

Howard went 0-2 that night, striking out to leadoff the top of the 2nd inning against David Price. Halladay came on to pitch in the bottom of the 6th inning. He surrendered a leadoff single to Derek Jeter, but then got Paul Konerko to roll into a double play. After giving up a base hit to Josh Hamilton, the Phillies righty was lifted by manager Charlie Manuel.

The 2011 MLB All-Star Game was played at Chase Field in Phoenix, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. For the first time since 2004, no Phillies position players were voted in as starters. However, Halladay was selected to start on the mound for the National League.

After Doc pitched two perfect innings, he was followed to the mound by rotation mate Cliff Lee. The Phillies lefty would retire the first five batters he faced before Adrian Gonzalez homered with two outs in the top of the 4th inning. It would be the only run allowed by NL pitching in a 5-1 victory.

The Phillies had three more All-Stars in 2011, but none got into the game. Those three were pitcher Cole Hamels, third baseman Placido Polanco, and center fielder Shane Victorino.

Cesar Hernandez is holding off critics with a hot start to the 2019 season

Embed from Getty Images

Cesar Hernandez has been hitting well for over a month

This piece has to begin with a disclaimer. Few writers who cover the Philadelphia Phillies on a regular basis have been more critical of second baseman Cesar Hernandez over the last couple of years than yours truly.

If I’ve called for the Phillies to jettison Hernandez and install Scott Kingery as the starting second baseman once, I’ve done it a hundred times since the winter prior to the 2018 campaign.

Hernandez registered career highs of 15 homers, 60 RBIs, and 91 runs scored. He led the Phillies with 19 stolen bases, tying his career high mark.

However, Hernandez slashed just .220/.321/.332 over the 2018 season’s final two full months. The Phillies were in first place and 11 games over the .500 mark when his poor hitting began in earnest on July 29. By the time it all officially came to an end on September 29, the club had finished in third place. They were 10 games out, and produced a sixth consecutive losing season.

Hernandez wasn’t the only reason for that 2018 collapse. Not by a long shot. But he was consistently unproductive. Many of the other players who made up the bulk of the losing during the previous few seasons were gone already. Freddy Galvis, Dom Brown, Cody Asche, John Mayberry Jr, Cameron Rupp, Tommy Joseph. All either released or traded away.

The 24-year-old Kingery had struggled in his first taste of the big-leagues last season, but also had been forced out of position to shortstop for most of the year, a position he had never previously played. Kingery had been a star in the minor leagues during the 2017 season, after which he was signed to a club-friendly long-term contract.

The Phillies looked to make wholesale changes to their lineup entering the 2019 campaign. Trades brought in a new shortstop in Jean Segura and a new catcher in J.T. Realmuto. Both Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper were signed to take over the corner outfield spots. Rhys Hoskins was moved back to his more natural first base position.

The idea that the Phillies could upgrade the second base position as well was a natural for those of us in the anti-Cesar camp. Find a taker for a player who would turn 29-years-old this year. Turn the Keystone over to Kingery at his own natural position, where he had won a 2017 minor league Gold Glove.

The calls got even louder as the first few weeks of 2019 unfolded. Kingery came out blazing hot, slashing .406/.457/.719 over his first 14 games. Meanwhile, Hernandez was slashing just .246/.329/.391 with just five extra-base hits over his own first 18 games.

Phillies once dealt top prospect pitcher Kyle Drabek to help land Roy Halladay

Embed from Getty Images

Kyle Drabek was the key piece in package to bring Roy Halladay to the Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies completed a big trade this afternoon, landing all-star catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins. As part of the package sent to Miami, the Phillies gave up their top prospect, pitcher Sixto Sanchez.

As with most deals in which a team parts with its number one prospect for a veteran, there was a segment of the Phillies fan base who vocally lamented the inclusion of Sanchez in this trade.

What those fans need to remember is that prospects are one thing and one thing only – an asset for a Major League Baseball organization. That asset could one day come up to the big club and help the team win directly. They could also be utilized as a chip in a deal to help improve the big club. Both are legitimate uses of prospect talent.

A decade ago, the Phillies dealt away another top pitching prospect in a big trade for an all-star. That pitching prospect was named Kyle Drabek, and he was used as a piece to acquire a veteran pitcher named Roy Halladay.

One comment that I read today opined that the talent levels of Drabek and Sanchez were completely different. I also saw someone make the argument that Drabek was dealt for a “Hall of Famer”, while the Phillies “only” got a modest catcher upgrade for Sanchez. I think those arguments are specious and ignore the actual facts and talent levels of the players involved at the time of the respective deals.

Let’s travel back nearly a decade in time. When Baseball America released their 2010 Prospect Handbook, one of the most respected prospect reports in the game, Drabek was rated as the Phillies #2 prospect behind outfielder Domonic Brown.

While some Phillies fans might scoff at that, the fact remains that back then, Brown was considered one of the very top prospects in the entire sport. In fact, Brown would reach a point where he was ranked as the #1 prospect in all of baseball. Three different evaluators from Baseball America released their individual Top 50 Prospects lists in that publication.

Jim Callis ranked Drabek as the #18 overall prospect in the game and the fifth-highest ranked pitcher. John Manuel had Drabek at #16 overall, and the sixth-best overall pitching prospect. Will Lingo placed Drabek at #30 overall and the game’s ninth-rated pitching prospect.

In his scouting report, the son of 1990 NL Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek was said to possess “the organization’s best curveball, a power downer that he can bury or throw for strikes.” There were scouts that gave the pitch a 70-grade. He also threw a fastball that usually ran in the low-90’s with “solid-average life.”

Drabek’s athleticism, coordination, and competitiveness were all considered at the top of the charts. In short, the right-hander selected at 18th overall in the first round of the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft by the Phillies was considered as close to a can’t-miss prospect as you can get.

For three decades the Phillies have largely been unable to develop a top prospect

Embed from Getty Images

Pat Burrell has been the Phillies best high draftee to develop into a top prospect

Earlier this week, I wrote a piece on the current standing of the Phillies best minor league players on recently released top prospect lists. For nearly three decades, one of the most respected of the resources tracking and producing such lists has been Baseball America.

The same day as my Phillies Nation article was released, Baseball America was publishing their own piece on the history of their top prospect coverage. Specifically, the BA staff was re-visiting every prospect ranked either #1 or #2 on their annual Top 100 Prospects list.

Before even bothering to look down the entire list, which covered every top prospect and runner-up since 1990, a thought popped into my head – have the Phillies ever had someone finish in either spot? I follow the prospect game pretty closely and couldn’t recall the team ever having a prospect ranked that highly.

Sure enough, the list revealed that no Phillies prospect has been ranked as the best in all of baseball on the annual Top 100 list. Only one of the club’s prospects has ever found themselves in the #2 spot. That would be Pat Burrell back in 2000.

A look around the National League East Division reveals that the Atlanta Braves have seen five of their prospects ranked as the best in the game: Steve Avery (1990), Chipper Jones (93), Andruw Jones (96-97), Jason Heyward (2010), and Ronald Acuna just last year. Jones was also the #2 prospect of 1994.

The Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos organization has produced a pair of top prospects: Cliff Floyd (94) and Bryce Harper in both 2011 and 2012. While still in Montreal, Vladimir Guerrero was the #2 prospect in 1997. After the franchise had moved to D.C., Stephen Strasburg finished in the runner-up slot for 2010.

Two of those divisional rivals, the New York Mets and Florida/Miami Marlins, have fared even worse than the Phillies in placing prospects at the top of the ranking lists.

The Mets had Paul Wilson rank #2 in 1996. Wilson pitched just one disappointing season in the Big Apple at age 23 in 1996 before his career was derailed for four years by injuries. He finally recovered enough to appear in parts of three seasons with Tampa Bay and three more in Cincinnati.

The Marlins, established as an expansion organization in 1993, have never placed a prospect in either of the top two slots on the Baseball America rankings. But despite not joining Major League Baseball until the 1998 season, the best at producing top prospects has been another expansion club, the Tampa Bay Rays.

There have been a pair of Rays at the top: Josh Hamilton in 2001 and Delmon Young in 2006. Five Rays prospects have finished in the runner-up slot: Rocco Baldelli (03), B.J. Upton (04), Evan Longoria (08), David Price (09), and Matt Moore in 2012.

Phillies DFA Gomez, Saunders as placeholder purge begins

Jeanmar Gomez was DFA'd today by the Phillies

A quick scan of the current 2017 standings reveals that the Philadelphia Phillies are the worst team in Major League Baseball.

The 22-46 record that the club has produced is no fluke. The Phillies are 29th in runs scored, 28th in OPS, 24th in steals. The lineup produces little consistent power or speed, and the overall approach of the hitters remains awful.

For roughly six weeks now, I have been calling for major changes to the Phillies lineup. It has been clear for at least that long that the current crop of placeholder players is simply not good enough to compete in MLB on a consistent basis.

It appears that the Phillies may now be coming to that same realization themselves. This afternoon, the Phillies announced that both reliever Jeanmar Gomez and right fielder Michael Saunders have been DFA (designated for assignment.)

In their place, reliever Hoby Milner and outfielder Cameron Perkins have been promoted from the club’s AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs roster.

Phillies Gain Little in Signing Michael Saunders

The Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly in agreement with free agent outfielder Michael Saunders on a contract for 2017. The deal is rumored to be for one year, with an option that may be the player’s to exercise.

There have been rumors all off-season that the Fightin’ Phils were looking to add another bat to their lineup. Just last week, club president Andy MacPhail publicly confirmed those rumors, which I explored here.

Word of a possible Saunders deal with the Phillies first broke across Twitter in the early afternoon from insider Jon Morosi.

Later in the day, information began leaking that the deal was for $9 million guaranteed in 2017. The second year option option at $11 could escalate to as much as $13 million.

If the Phillies do indeed complete this signing, what exactly will the club be gaining? In my opinion, very little of significance. In fact, a legitimate argument can be made as to whether signing Saunders improves their talent at all.

Phillies Say Goodbye to a Number of 2015 Players

While the Philadelphia Phillies have brought in a number of new players for 2016, the club has also lost a few from the organization.

Aside from the obvious loss of closer Ken Giles in the big trade for five young pitchers, there are a number of other players who contributed significantly to the 2015 big league club, to other recent Phillies teams, or who were long time minor league prospects, who will not return to the organization next year.

The biggest name is also the one that was most obviously not returning, former lefty ace Cliff Lee, who has unsuccessfully battled injuries over the last two seasons.

The now 37-year old Lee is a free agent, and has been linked to a number of teams including the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Kansas City Royals. 

Lee is most likely to catch on with a contending team on a non-guaranteed contract with a spring training invitation, assuming he can play at all.

Three starting pitchers who took the mound for the Phillies in 2015 will also not be returning. 

Phillies 2015 Report Cards: Outfielders

After previously handing out grades to the 2015 Philadelphia Phillies infielders and catchers, it's now the outfielders turn. 

The starting outfielders based on playing time this season were Ben Revere, Odubel Herrera, and Jeff Francoeur, and there were 2-3 others who received substantive time.

Others receiving significant time included Cody Asche, who started 61 games in left field. 

Domonic Brown, who the club released just yesterday, appeared in 50 games in right field. 

Aaron Altherr appeared in 37 games spread across all three outfield positions. 

The Phillies also got 31 early season games from Grady Sizemore in left and right field.

When spring training in Clearwater began back in February, few would have predicted that the Rule 5 draftee Herrera or the supposedly washed-up free agent signee Francoeur would end up as regulars, let alone as fan favorites. But that is exactly what happened as the 2015 season developed.

Below you will find letter grades assigned to the first seven names mentioned above, making up all of the players who appeared in at least 30 games in the outfield for the 2015 Phillies.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---

Grady Sizemore - F: it's really hard to see why Ryne Sandberg kept writing the then-32 year old Sizemore's name into the lineup during the months of April and May. 

Likely it was simply because the ill-fated skipper felt there were few proven options, with Herrera and Francoeur not yet having fully emerged, and with Revere as the only established, healthy, proven starter. 

Sizemore produced nothing in 104 plate appearances: a .245/.288/.296 slash line with no homers, six RBI, four runs scored, no stolen bases. 

He was released on June 1st, signed with the Tampa Bay Rays two weeks later, and actually produced well for the Rays over the season's final three months. But again, with the Phillies he was nothing more than a complete waste of time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---

Aaron Altherr - C: some over-exuberant fans or evaluators may be tempted to give Altherr a higher grade. Let's not get carried away. 

He will turn 25 years old in January, so he's not exactly a kid. He also hit for a just a .241 average, and the right-handed batter amazingly performed much worse against lefty pitching, with a .180/.276/.360 slash line in 58 plate appearances against southpaws. 

He did produce five homers, 22 RBI, 25 runs, and six stolen bases in 161 total plate appearances. Multiply those production numbers by four to get a full season. 

If Altherr can actually produce those types of numbers, he can be a full-time big league starter, at least for the next few seasons as the Phillies roster continues to improve. 

He committed no errors, and generally fielded well no matter where he was placed in the outfield. 

Expect Altherr to enter spring training as a favorite to win a starting corner outfield spot. If he can figure out lefties, the Phils may have themselves a productive, dependable starter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Domonic Brown - F: never let it be said that I didn't kick a man when he was down, at least when that man is someone who I have cringed at watching in a Phillies uniform as much as I have Dom Brown over the last few years. 

I already went over Brown's disappointing performances over the last few years in yesterday's piece following his removal from the Phillies 40-man roster. Let's just focus here on what produces this grade, his 2015 performance. 

The season began with him on the DL, then with a .260 average and three homers in 248 minor league plate appearances. 

He certainly didn't earn a promotion, but the Phils gave him one anyway. Back in the big leagues, Brown produced just a .228/.284/.349 slash line with five homers, 25 RBI, and 19 runs scored over 204 plate appearances. 

He committed just one official error, and did flash his strong arm with four outfield assists. 

But he continued a troubling lack of awareness of his place on the field at times, which directly ended his season and Phillies career in early September when he tumbled into the Citi Field stands, suffering a concussion. 

It was just more of the same disappointing failure time after time for Brown. Can you tell my feelings regarding his release? Good riddance.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cody Asche - D: let's be honest here, Asche wasn't much better in 2015 than Brown, if better at all. His passing grade is barely, and is really only given due to his versatility in reasonably covering two positions on defense. 

Asche had been the club's starting 3rd baseman, but was moved to left field with the development of top rookie Maikel Franco. 

While no Gold Glover, the athletic Asche did show that he can handle the outfield, at least in a backup role. 

In 2015, Asche produced a disappointing .245/.294/.395 slash line that was very close to his overall career MLB numbers across more than 1,000 plate appearances. 

While he didn't hit righties particularly well, he did show far greater power against them.

He will turn 26 years old right in the middle of next season, and looks like a backup player. 

Asche is going to need to show more, or as the overall roster improves he is going to find it harder and harder to keep a big league job, at least in Phillies pinstripes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ben Revere - C: the speedy Revere had an almost identical season to his 2014 campaign, when you combine his full Phillies and Blue Jays numbers. 

With the Phils, he produced a .298/.334/.374 slash line with 24 stolen bases and 49 runs scored across 388 plate appearances prior to his July 31st trade to Toronto. 

Revere was with the Phillies what he is overall as a player: a speed threat. His speed allows him to beat out enough infield hits, and he makes enough contact, to keep his average around the .300 level. 

His ability to get on base and use his speed fit perfectly with the Jays' power-laden lineup. With the Phillies, his skill set was basically being wasted. 

He will turn 28 years old in early May, and becomes arbitration eligible this coming off-season, so he would have begun to become an expensive, limited option. 

Defensively, Revere's speed allowed him to run down some balls, and he was willing to give up his body for diving grabs. However, he also took questionable routes at times, and has a weak arm. 

The Phillies were able to get a pair of young arms for him. If either pans out in any way that helps them down the line, this should prove a deal that works out for both teams.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeff Francoeur - C: it's not that 'Frenchy' wasn't a joy to watch for most of the season, he was. Especially during such an overall down season for the team. But we have to be reasonable about handing out grades. 

He produced a .258/.286/.433 slash line with 13 home runs and 45 RBI in 343 plate appearances. 

A few of those home runs were dramatic, coming at key moments, including to walkoff some of the Phillies few victories during the 2015 season. 

A former Gold Glover who was once a regular atop the NL outfield assists leaderboards, his still powerful arm produced some sensational throws. 

Heck, he even took the mound in a blowout, tossing two solid innings. 

He was also widely acknowledged to be a strong, positive influence in the clubhouse. 

However, Francoeur does turn 32 years old in January, and should not be considered a big piece of the future. 

He earned a return in the same role, at least for 2016: backup outfielder who will not embarrass himself or the team if needed as the regular right fielder at any point.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Odubel Herrera - B: there is nothing to say about the fact that a Rule 5 draftee who had never played center field in his career became your starting center fielder than "amazing", and that was Herrera for the 2015 Phillies. 

Easily the season's most pleasant surprise, the rookie Herrera was voted the club's top offensive player by the staff here at TBOH, and was also selected by the Phillies as the team Hank Aaron Award nominee. 

He will turn 24 years old at the end of December, and thus is young enough that, if he continues to develop, he can become a key piece to the rebuilding program. 

The player known affectionately as "El Torito" (the little bull) hit for a .297/.344/.418 slash line, producing eight homers, 30 doubles, 41 RBI, 64 runs scored, and 16 steals across 537 plate appearances. 

While he won't win the award, Herrera should receive some votes in the upcoming NL Rookie of the Year voting. 

Frankly, I'm not sure of what the Phillies have here. Is he their future in center field? Maybe back at his more natural position of 2nd base? 

Will he be a regular, a bench player, or a flash-in-the-pan who fades into a footnote in Phillies history? I honestly believe that all of those remain possibilities at this point.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OTHERS: Brian Bogusevic played 16 games in the Phillies outfield this season, receiving 13 starts in right field and one in left. 

Darin Ruf played 22 games, including 19 starts, in left field. We covered Ruf in our infield grades, where he started 43 and appeared in 66 at 1st base. 

Darnell Sweeney played 14 games in the outfield, starting 11 times in left. He also started eight games at 2nd base. 

Jordan Danks appeared in one early August game. None of these players received enough time to be able to give any a fair grade. Bogusevic was released from the 40-man roster along with Brown yesterday. However, it is believed that the club is interested in bringing him back, at least with AAA Lehigh Valley.

Towards the end of the season, manager Pete Mackanin was forced to bench Herrera due to an episode of pouting in which he also displayed a lack of hustle in a game against the Atlanta Braves. As reported by ESPN, Mackanin called Herrera out publicly after the outburst.

"Boys play Little League and men play Major League Baseball. We will not pout, we will not feel sorry for ourselves. If you want to, then you don't belong here. He had to learn a lesson. Lately he's been showing his emotions a little bit more. We're just not going to stand for it. He's got to understand that it doesn't work that way. I'm sure he's going to understand."

No one wants or expects Herrera to play without emotion. He needs that aspect of his game, and it can bring energy to the entire team. 

However, he does need to grow and learn to harness those emotions, displaying them in a more positive way. 

If he can do so, his talent could allow him to become a player similar to what Shane Victorino became a decade ago.

The developement of the Phillies outfield, like the rest of the roster, will continue in 2016. You should expect to see Herrera featured prominently. 

Will the club decide to open up their wallet and spend for free agents such as Jason Heyward or Justin Upton? 

If not, you can also expect to see a lot more of Altherr, Francoeur, and even Asche.