Phillies Opposition Roadblock: Jake Lamb
The Philadelphia Phillies visit the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Snakes’ 3rd baseman could prove a major roadblock to Phillies success.
The Phillies went into the Bay this weekend and they battled. I did not think they had a chance with the three arms lined up to face them, but they proved me very wrong.
The Phils battled Jake Peavy and lost due to a bullpen meltdown on Friday. On Saturday evening, the young group pushed three runs across the plate against Madison Bumgarner on their way to a 3-2 victory.
Finally, on a beautiful Sunday on the ocean, the Phillies could not overcome a fourth consecutive difficult start from Aaron Nola. However, they were able to knock Johnny Cueto from the game after scoring six runs against the owner of a sub-2 ERA.
It felt almost like a rare moral victory for a team that does not have much to be proud of here in the month of June. Fans have lost faith in the short-term. The team has lost confidence. The manager seems to have lost any idea of what to do on a nightly basis with the hand he has been dealt. But…we stay the course. Because that is what fans do.
We will follow them on their trip to the desert this evening to play a team which swept them out of a four game series in South Phillis just last weekend. The Arizona Diamondbacks happily open their doors for a three game set with the Phillies.
When they last met, I took the easy road in selecting as my ‘Opposition Roadblock’ the 2015 NL MVP runner-up, Paul Goldschmidt. It may have been an easy pick, but he also did enjoy a very successful series. Seeing the Diamondbacks (and their hideous uniforms) only a week ago, it is safe to say I have had a pick for this current series made since last weekend.
A player like Goldschmidt can only be as good as the players protecting him. Ask Maikel Franco or on an even larger scale, Bryce Harper. This season, Goldschmidt has leaned heavily on Jake Lamb to be his protection.
The 25-year old third baseman is only in his second full season, and is having some nice success in the early going. Lamb is slashing .285/.364/.570 along with a team leading 15 homers and 51 RBI. His .934 OPS is second only to Goldschmidt.
Lamb is not a player with a ton of college credentials or minor league accolades to fill the pages with, but he is putting up a solid 2016 campaign.
He was previously drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 38th round of the 2009 draft. Lamb decided to forfeit that opportunity to instead play at the University of Washington. In 2012, Lamb was drafted again, but this time in the 6th round with his current Diamondback organization.
He spent two years in the minors before getting his opportunity last season. In 107 games last year, the lefty had 350 at bats over which he slashed .263/.331/.386, homering six times and knocking in 31 runs. The Huskie alum was has already overcome modest expectations based off last season’s numbers, and the D-Backs hope the growth trend continues.
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Lamb destroyed the Phillies last weekend, going 9-17 with a double, triple, two homeruns, and 5 RBI in the four game wraparound series. The Phillies pitchers had no answer for the Seattle native.
In order for his success to turn in the favor of the Phillies this week, the good guys have to come with a better strategy for getting him out consistently.
That task is first in the hands of Vincent Velasquez, returning for his first start since a15-day DL stint for tricep soreness. Following him will be the ever consistent Jerad Eickhoff, followed by Zach Eflin, beginning to find consistency.
The Phillies will absolutely shift Lamb this weekend, as they should. It does not seem as though Lamb plays often against lefties, only having 50 at-bats this season versus southpaws. He won’t run into that with a team that does not currently trot out any left-handed starters.
Lamb crushes righties to the tune of .307/.374/.603, and has 12 of his 15 bombs against righties. The good news for the Phillies is that Lamb’s average drops a full 62 points when he is at home. Other than average, however, his numbers are pretty evenly split between home and road.
Lamb has struck out almost a third of his at bats this season. The potential for strikeout numbers is big in this series with Velazquez and Eickhoff both taking the bump for the Phillies.
In order for that to happen, the Phillies pitchers must keep the ball down and test Lamb’s patience outside of the zone. His contact rates plummet quite a bit when pitchers test him away both down and up outside the zone. Eickhoff has off speed and breaking stuff that can make Lamb chase, and Velasquez’ fastball will test Lamb’s ability above the zone.
The Phillies are about to step back into the snake pit. We can only hope the results are not as snake bitten as they were last weekend.
Last Series’ Opposition Roadblock Grades
Roadblock Pick: Brandon Belt
Belt’s Performance: 5-13 (hit safely in each game), 3 doubles, 3 RBI, 1 run and 2 strikeouts. Belt’s performance was a component in this series. In both his multi-hit games, he stroked two hits. The first game, Belt smoked a three run double of Elvis Araujo that gave the Giants the lead they would not relinquish.
My Grade: He obviously played the difference in the series. It was not a major difference, but enough to warrant a decent grade for myself. Grade: B
The Phillies Grade: I am going to be a bit biased here. Belt did have a convincing role in the first game of the series, in which he accounted for four runs. The Phillies did not let him dominate the series. He had three other hits, but none broke the Phillies backs in any way. Grade: B-