A nice way to bounce back
There was a lot of panic in the Phillies universe following a strange sweep the hands of the Pirates. It was justifiable – the team looked terrible in Toronto and Pittsburgh. There were injuries and ineffectiveness and a lot of good questions were asked. That’s what makes this past week so calming. The Phillies went and took care of business at home, beating two good teams in series before they head to Miami for another series they should take. There were some highlights to be had for sure.
Three up
Alec Bohm
Sometimes, bad starts are exactly that: bad starts. Bohm was hitting .177/.188/.228 on April 18 and had the body language to match. The underlying stuff indicated he was a bit unlucky, but the lack of power was still concerning. Since that completely arbitrary date, Bohm has heated up and has hit .328/.374/.478 in 203 plate appearances. This past week, the power has started to show back up with his hitting two more home runs, still only seven on the year, but at least they’re starting to go over the fence now. He’s been arguably their second best hitter in that time frame.
The rotation
Six starts this week, 36 innings pitched between the five starters and nine runs given up. Outside of Mick Abel getting beaten up a bit, this rotation has been everything the organization could have hoped for. They’ve gone deep into games, pitched effectively while doing so and has helped the Phillies climb out of that one week malaise. They’re going to have to continue the work down the stretch for this team to be able to make a run in the playoffs.
Max Kepler
Let’s give the new guy some love.
Inside the TGP Slack room, there has been much talk about Kepler. He’s not the most popular player. The word “release” is usually used in conjunction with his name. But this was a good week for him. The game winning home run helped quite a bit…and so did the six runs scored. He’s played well of late given a little bit of run here.
Because do we really all want more of Weston Wilson?
Three down
Johan Rojas
Brandon Marsh has gotten a lot of run here with the team facing a lot of right handed pitching. Rojas, in turn, has been relegated somewhat, but still has not done much with the chances he has gotten. This past week, he was 0 for 6 and has two hits in the month of June. Granted, it’s only been 18 plate appearances, but if he wants to continue to be part of the outfield rotation, he’s going to have to hit. Otherwise, the team will be looking to upgrade that part of the platoon once the deadline rolls around.
Joe Ross
The team has started to roster churn at the bottom. Carlos Hernandez was finally let go and it’s beginning to look like Ross might be next.
I’ll admit that I was quite wrong about Ross. I believed his numbers as a reliever in Milwaukee last year were real and that his relatively inexpensive addition to the bullpen would be a solid move. He’s just been pretty bad this year. He’s logged some low leverage spots, giving the team a few innings here and there, but his spot is one where an upgrade could be made.
Platoons
When was the last time Edmundo Sosa, Rojas and Wilson all were in a game? Sometimes, the schedule just doesn’t fall your way.