Oct 2, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (6) tips his cap to the fans as he leaves the game during the ninth inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. The Philadelphia Phillies won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
The Phillies disappointing season came to an end on Sunday. The team finished the year 71-91, an eight game improvement over the 2015 season.
A lot of young talent emerged for the Phillies this year, giving fans reason to hope that a contending team is not too far away. Cesar Hernandez and Odubel Herrera shined offensively, while Jerad Eickhoff and Vincent Velasquez showed a lot of promise out of the rotation.
The Phillies final week of the season was an abysmal one. They finished the week 1-5, with their lone win coming in their season finale against the Mets on Sunday.
While his MVP days are long behind him, Howard will always hold a special place in fans hearts as one of the core four (along with Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Cole Hamels) that brought a championship home to the City of Brotherly Love after a 25 year drought.
Let’s take a look at who was surging and who was struggling to end the 2016 MLB season.
Surging Bats
Roman Quinn was having a nice final week of the season, hitting .750 with a double and a stolen base, until being sidelined by an oblique injury. The injury only furthered questions about Quinn’s ability to remain healthy. Here’s hoping Quinn can stay healthy next year and help to provide the Phils with a spark atop the lineup in 2017.
Cesar Hernandez finished the season strong with seven hits and a .333 batting average last week. Hernandez had an outstanding offensive season. He hit .294 with six homers, 11 triples, and 14 doubles on the year. The one knock on Hernandez this year was his poor base running skills. He had 17 stolen bases to 13 caught stealing.
After a slow start, third baseman Maikel Franco ended the season strong. Franco hit .333 in the final week of the season. He finished the season with a .255 batting average, 25 homers, and 88 runs batted in.
Utility man Andres Blanco also finished the season strong. Blanco hit .300 with a double this week. Overall, he finished the year with a .253 average, four homers and 15 doubles.
Odubel Herrera had a decent week at the plate. Herrera hit .250 with a double, but had a nice offensive year overall. He finished the season with a .286 average, 15 homers and 21 doubles.
Honorable mention goes to Ryan Howard. The Big Piece finished out his Phillies career with a nice week. Howard hit .278 with two homers and seven RBI. While his season average was just .196, Howard did manage to club 25 homers on the year.
Struggling Bats
Freddy Galvis struggled to finish out the season. Freddy hit just .200 with a double last week. Freddy finished the year with a .241 average, 20 homers and 26 doubles.
Tommy Joseph hit just .167 this week. Joseph finished out the season with a .257 average, 21 homers, and 15 doubles. The starting first base job will be his to lose during the 2017 season.
Cody Asche had a brutal final week. Asche managed to hit just .083. Cody finished the season with a .213 average, four homers and 15 doubles.
Jimmy Paredes also struggled to finish out the year. Paredes hit just .167 in five games played. Jimmy finished the season with a .217 average, four homers and 17 RBI.
Surging Arms
Jerad Eickhoff had a great final week. Eickhoff posted a 1.80 ERA with 13 strikeouts in his last two starts. Jerad finished the year with a 3.65 ERA in 197.1 innings pitched with 167 strikeouts. He has cemented his place as a strong middle of the rotation option for the Phils.
Jeremy Hellickson was pulled from his final start of the season with an inury after just 3.1 scoreless innings and four strikeouts, but he was a workhorse for the team this year. Hellickson finished the year with a 3.71 ERA in 189 innings pitched with 154 strikeouts.
Joely Rodriguez had a nice final week out of the pen. Rodriguez posted a 2.70 ERA out of the pen in 3.1 innings pitched. Joely finished the season with a 2.79 ERA in limited playing time after a late September call up to the team.
Struggling Arms
Adam Morgan struggled mightily to finish the year. Morgan gave up nine earned runs in just five innings pitched this week. Adam finished the season with a brutal 6.04 ERA in 113.1 innings pitched.
Jeanmar Gomez had a brutal week to close out the season. Jeanmar gave up five earned runs in just 1.1 innings pitched. Gomez finished the year a 4.85 ERA in 68.2 innings out of the pen.
Severino Gonzalez also struggled this week. Severino posted a 10.80 ERA in just 1.2 innings pitched. Gonzalez finished the season with a 5.60 ERA in 35.1 innings pitched on the year.
Luis Garcia also had a poor week to end the season. Garcia gave up two earned runs in just 1.2 innings pitched. Luis finished the year with a dreadful 6.46 ERA out of the pen.
