Ready, Freddy? Phils Shortstop Again Heats Up

It has certainly been a roller coaster of a season thus far in 2015 for new Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis. Much as with starting pitcher Aaron Harang, Galvis was playing at an All-Star-caliber level through the first month or so of the season.

Unfortunately, also much like Harang, Galvis has crash landed hard back to earth. He has looked completely lost at the plate since the middle of May. After finishing April with the best batting average among all NL shortstops at a .355 mark, the 25-year-old finished May with a .237 average. He followed with an even poorer June, finishing the month with a .200 overall average, the second-worst among NL starting shortstops.

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After last night’s three-hit performance in a heartbreaking 8-7 loss to the Brewers in extra-innings, Galvis has four hits in eight at-bats so far in July. A small sample size, yes, but a good start, and hopefully a confidence booster for the first-year everyday starter.

After watching his average drop to a season-low .254 on June 15th, Galvis has batted .321 in 53 at-bats to raise his average up to .267. Over that stretch, Galvis also has a .368 OBP and has been able to find the holes, batting .381 on balls-in-play.

The key for Galvis is hitting the ball on the ground. This is shown by his .347 batting average on ground balls, and his horrendous .079 average on fly balls. A hitter without power will not survive by hitting the ball in the air. Galvis, like most of the hitters in the Phillies’ lineup, needs to hit the ball on the ground and find the holes to have success. With only two homers on the year, Galvis is clearly no Giancarlo Stanton.

Since being dropped from the 2-hole to the #8 spot in the Phillies’ batting order, Galvis has flourished, batting .338 in 77 at-bats at the lower slot. With Cesar Hernandez hitting the cover off the ball since taking over for Chase Utley, the Phillies now have hot hitters at the top and at the bottom of their lineup, as was displayed last night. The two went a combined 6-9, propelling the club to score seven runs.

With the Phillies beginning a Fourth of July weekend series against the Braves, Galvis will need to continue his hot hitting in order for the Phillies’ offense, which our TBOH series preview showed has actually come alive of late, to overcome what has been awful starting pitching.

Galvis has owned the Braves so far this season with a .409 average in six games against them. If Freddy can continue to hit and get on base from the bottom of the order, then the Phillies should be able to produce some offensive fireworks this holiday weekend.