2021 Phillies Major League Regular Season Discussion

[andyb]

Maton just does not have plus speed though, so it is unreasonable to expect him to be any good in CF (unlike Taylor who did have 30 SB speed).

Small sample size but Maton is only 26.8 feet/sec in his limited sprint speed chances which is below average. Good news for Cutch is that he is back at 28.2 which is the same as JT. Joyce is slow at 26.2 and Miller is the worst at 25, though we also kind of know that Miller was running gingerly at the beginning of the year due to his oblique. Moniak is pretty good at 27.8 and Haseley was down a bit at 26.9.

I just find these interesting even if the sample is small because it does dispel some of those uninformed TV comments about Maton having really good speed. He appears to be a very good athlete with a plus arm, but that is more a Cal RIpkin type positional SS than a guy you would look to move to CF.

Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard

[zambonir]

Moore didn't have to be sick to have tested positive. Either way it's gotta be less than ideal to have no catcher or coaching. Not clear whether they would have had a mound either.

Question is, if Vince pitches as well as he did the other night - which was just okay, but better than Moore - do they really just give Moore back his job. Relief-wise he's probably not significantly worse than what we've seen from Romero, though his most recent appearance was nice.

[andyb]

Moore didn't have to be sick to have tested positive.

If he had been sick or showed symptoms he would have had a longer timetable to test positive and be available. Guessing this was just timing of exposure to coaches who were in contact tracing. There was clearly some positive test involved. It is just when they put various contacts into the protocol.

No idea if this is a real competition. We go through a new CF every week or two, so the same could be true of 5th starters.

[BostonRoss]

It’s a stretch to say that 6 games dispels anything. But in this small sample size, Maton is pretty much the same speed as Haseley (and close to Harper). Actually, Odubel was at 26.7 in 2019.

But the question isn’t whether Maton is good enough to be the CF long term. It’s whether what the Phillies lose on defense is offset by better offense. Right now, the other options are so bad Maton could play the outfield like Luzinski and the net value would be positive.

[zambonir]

Well, right now Herrera is our primary CF and Maton is our primary 2B, at least for another 6 or 7 days (and Segura could be out for longer). Beyond that, who knows.

One can at least assume that if Torreyes returns it will be Kingery, not Maton, who goes back to Allentown, and one would also think that unless Maton suddenly looks over matched, he'll beat out Torreyes in the long run too.

Torreyes played CF for us last year. So did Harper.

[schillingfan]

I never understood why people would assume that Kingery's problems were related to his defensive switches. As you note, Chris Taylor (and several other Dodgers--Hernandez, Muncy, ...) seem not to have been affected adversely. It's possible he just was never going to be that good, but I would like to believe that he has started doing some things very wrong and can correct them (I hope the Phillies have the coaches who can help him).

Ricky Botallico was quite sure on Saturday’s post game that Hoskin’s problems were trying to make him swing launch angle, and said it may be Kingery’s proble

[mdougherty12]

Ricky Botallico was quite sure on Saturday’s post game that Hoskin’s problems were trying to make him swing launch angle, and said it may be Kingery’s proble

I'm looking at the numbers for Hoskins on Baseball Savant, and I'm not sure the data supports Bottalico's position. Hoskins' average launch angle has been quite high for his entire MLB career. His average LA was slightly higher on 2018-2020 than his 2017 call up or his 1 month of 2021, but Hoskins seems to have come into the big leagues as a "launch angle" guy.

Rhys Hoskins Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | MLB.com

[Austinfan]

I think Hoskins problems are HR happy, when he tries to pull everything.
This year he's using the whole field, so is Harper - both have the power to hit the ball out of any ballpark in any direction.

As we saw with Howard in his declining years, when a hitter is pull happy you jam him inside then throw off speed stuff to the outer part of the plate and let him roll the ball over. When a good hitter starts dropping those two strike off speed pitches into the opposite field, it kills both that strategy and the effectiveness of the shift. The key is situational hitting, look for a pitch you can drive with less than two strikes, look for a pitch you can hit with two strikes.

[tom81]

I find it encouraging that Hoskins isn't trying to pull everything but I also find it discouraging that he isn't walking this year, only 4 BBs in 92 PA. His current .293 OBP doesn't fit in the 2 hole. If he keeps this profile he should hit 4th and JT hit 2nd.

[David_Criss]

Phillies plan to use Spencer Howard as a starting pitcher as back of their...

[BostonRoss]

I find it encouraging that Hoskins isn't trying to pull everything but I also find it discouraging that he isn't walking this year, only 4 BBs in 92 PA. His current .293 OBP doesn't fit in the 2 hole. If he keeps this profile he should hit 4th and JT hit 2nd.

It seems likely there would have been more runners on base for Rhys’s home runs if he had been hitting behind two guys with .400+ OBPs instead of McCutchen and the pitcher.

[mdougherty12]

I find it encouraging that Hoskins isn't trying to pull everything but I also find it discouraging that he isn't walking this year, only 4 BBs in 92 PA. His current .293 OBP doesn't fit in the 2 hole. If he keeps this profile he should hit 4th and JT hit 2nd.

It seems likely there would have been more runners on base for Rhys’s home runs if he had been hitting behind two guys with .400+ OBPs instead of McCutchen and the pitcher.

I don’t think I would have predicted that Hoskins would lose 70 points off his career OBP, while Realmuto would gain 100 points on his career OBP. It’s certainly lead to some inefficiency with the lineup so far, though,

[BostonRoss]

I agree; I wasn’t criticizing Girardi. It’s always necessary to adapt, an I think he will.

[bkeich]

Is anyone else surprised that Haseley isn’t even mentioned lately? No rumors, no information, nothing. No discussion from the team, no reporters trying to track him down and get a comment?

Odd

[Florida_Sunshine]

I would think the word has gotten out to give him space to clear his head, assuming that is what all are hoping for.

[zambonir]

It is obviously very personal and private. Or he really has just lost his passion for the game. Or both. But clearly the team and the reporters are respecting his wishes. I suspect we won't hear a word unless or until he's ready to come back.

Four Players Have Already Walked Away From Baseball in 2021. Why?

[bkeich]

It is hard to imagine Reporters caring about his privacy or the teams request, but clearly you are correct. Surprising to me is all, hope he is doing well.

[zambonir]

I hear you, but there aren't many tabloids left, journalistic resources are spread thin and sports media is much more measured about covering sensitive topics these days.

Plus, sadly, he's just not that important a player. The Athletic isn't going to sell more subscriptions off that scoop. And none of the national writers care about bench outfielder (even if he was our starter for two weeks). I'm sure if he decides to talk it will be a pre-arranged thing with chosen outlet, whether that's NBC Philly, Phillies.com or somewhere else.

[DurhamBull]

It's a pretty big deal to walk away from a major league career, even if temporarily. I give Haseley a lot credit for making what must have been a really difficult choice.

[Patchmk88]

Playing for this franchise probably makes a lot of players want to give up baseball.