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Phillies 2016 Report Card: Shortstop Freddy Galvis

By John Town

Jul 21, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis (13) is unable to throw out Miami Marlins right fielder Ichiro Suzuki (not pictured) on his infield single during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 21, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis (13) is unable to throw out Miami Marlins right fielder Ichiro Suzuki (not pictured) on his infield single during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis flashed some ridiculous power this year, and his defense was solid as always. However, he struggled in other offensive aspects.

Our expectations for the Phillies from the shortstop position this year turned out to be completely wrong. My hope was to see J.P. Crawford by the end of the year as he becomes an offensive sparkplug. Rather, Crawford had a middling season and instead Freddy Galvis led the charge at shortstop. Galvis actually put together a surprisingly decent season this year for the Phillies.

2016 was Galvis’s second full season in the major-leagues as the starting shortstop for the Phillies. He played in 158 games this year, starting 153 of those. In 624 plate appearances, Galvis registered a .241/.274/.399 hitting line.

Compared to his 2015 season, Galvis was almost the complete opposite player on offense. Last year, Galvis hit for a .263/.302/.343 line. While none of those numbers were particularly good, they indicated a player who is more geared for contact. Meanwhile, Galvis struggled to get hits with a .241 batting average, but his 20 home runs show Galvis has some power in him. Considering Galvis had 20 home runs in the four seasons prior to 2016, his home run total this year was surprising to say the least.

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Phillies bench coach Larry Bowa liked the offensive production from Galvis had this year. He said to Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly, “Let’s not overlook the fact that if we had a better offense, everybody would look at Freddy, the numbers he has right now, and say, ‘Wow.’ The way he’s playing shortstop with 20 homers — they’d take that any day of the week.” While Galvis’s 20 home runs and 67 RBI were a definite plus, he struggled in other areas of his offense.

Galvis didn’t help himself at the plate, striking out 21.8% of the time while walking just 4% of the time. His approach completely went off the rails once he went down by two strikes. In two-strike counts this year, Galvis had a .527 OPS and 36 wRC+. He swung at 52.6% of pitches this year according to Pitchf/X, including ones completely out of the zone like the one below.

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One aspect Galvis definitely succeeded in was on the basepaths. He went 17-for-23 in stolen base attempts. As Ryan Lawrence of Philly Voice noted on Twitter, Galvis finished the season as the only shortstop with 20 home runs and 15 stolen bases. While Galvis is not a particularly fast runner, his baserunning instincts give him a solid power-speed combo.

Of course, Galvis was stellar on defense as always. He led the National League with a .987 fielding percentage and 210 putouts. Meanwhile, he came third among major-league shortstops with a 15.1 ultimate zone rating (UZR).

According to Baseball Reference, Galvis created 1.3 wins above replacement on defense alone this season.

There are some that think Freddy Galvis could win the Gold Glove this year, becoming the first Phillie to win a Gold Glove since Jimmy Rollins in 2012. Ethan Witte (now of The Good Phight) made the case for Galvis back in August and Brandon Apter of Philliedelphia presented his argument for Galvis in September. Bowa, who is also a Gold Glove winner, said it would be an “injustice” if Galvis didn’t win a gold Glove.

FREDDY GALVIS. B. . Shortstop. Philadelphia Phillies

Grading Galvis’s season this year, his power and baserunning prowess were dampened by his limited on-base ability. That leaves the grade right in the middle, but when you factor in Galvis’s stellar defense, it comes out to a “B”. If Galvis was more well-rounded on offense, it would be an “A” without a doubt.

Next: Phillies 2016 Report Card: First Baseman Tommy Joseph

Looking towards 2017, Galvis should be the Opening Day shortstop. Even when J.P. Crawford comes up, Galvis could and should move over to second base. The Phillies have little power in their lineup, and Galvis can – apparently – provide that. Hopefully, he will be able to get on base as well as hit for power.

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