Philadelphia Phillies Season 2017: Five Storylines to Watch

Thankfully, a long Spring Training is in the books. Now the Philadelphia Phillies prepare to take the field for the marathon 2017 season. What does it hold?

As Spring Training winds down every year, each team is hoping to head back home with the roster intact. No injuries. No unfortunate surprise suspensions. Just bring the whole group of players back home with a month’s worth of at-bats under their belts.

The Phils were able to make it through the entire month of March with none of the above occurring. The new faces and returning faces are all healthily traveling to Cincinnati for Monday’s season opener, and manager Pete Mackanin could not be more thrilled. He will have his full starting rotation, eight regulars, and a bullpen choked-full of improved arms.

That does not mean the season does not come without intrigue, though. There are headlines aplenty as the Phils prepare for the long season ahead. Some on the field at the big-league level, others at the minor league level, and some in the dugout and behind the scenes.

Storyline #5: The Odubel Effect

Odubel Herrera has been one of the most exuberant players to come through Philadelphia in a long time. When was the last time this city has had a player flip his bat after the walk to the point that you would think he just hit a ball 450 feet? The answer: Never.

During his first two seasons, Herrera hit his way to a long-term deal with the organization. His improvements were noticeable one year to the next, and he was rewarded for them. Other youngsters on the roster will hopefully take notice.

Herrera nearly doubled his home run output from 2015 to 2016. There are those (I am among them) that believe he can get from 15 to 20 this coming season. He also doubled his number of free passes (28 to 63). While there was one month during the second half of 2016 that was not what should be considered pretty, Herrera showed the ability to find his weaknesses and make improvements.

We already know that Doobs energizes his teammates with his electricity. There are areas the Phils would like to see their centerfielder improve. For example, it would not hurt for him to add to his 25 stolen bases from last season. It appears that he will likely hit third at the start of the season. Finding ways on base more consistently will help both his stolen base numbers, but also as a direct correlation, assist Franco’s success.

In addition to his direct impact, Herrera’s deal raises the question as to whether or not players like Maikel Franco can mimic the act El Torito has put on the last two seasons. If Franco wants that $65 million treatment, he needs to make $65 million worth of improvements. In my opinion, Franco is the only position player currently on the big league roster who could see that sort of cash in his future. However, multi-year deals could also be available to the likes of Tommy Joseph, Aaron Nola, Vince Velasquez, and perhaps Jerad Eickhoff.

All they have to do is continue to show improvement, and well, be like…Odubel.

Storyline #4: The Mackanin Watch

I have been a Pete Mackanin fan since his hiring. It is a positive feeling as a fan that every article that talks about the manager (whether local or national) seem to always refer to him as being respected in all baseball circles.

That being said, 2017 is a critical year for the manager. Mackanin asked for bats to fill out his lineup and more arms in his bullpen. He had every right to do so since he was running an aged Carlos Ruiz out every few days hitting fifth. The lineup was not deep, and he was close to hitting an innings limit for Hector Neris by the end of June last season.

Now, Mackanin has veteran bats to fill out his lineup. General Manager, Matt Klentak, made a minor deal to acquire veteran righty, Howie Kendrick. While not what he once was, Mackanin has praised him for his approach, and they hope for it to rub off on Maikel Franco. Throughout Spring, we saw Kendrick selflessly give himself up to move runners around the bases. Klentak also added Michael Saunders for some lefty pop, which should help balance Mackanin’s lineup and protect Franco.

He will be able to couple that with a stable starting rotation and deep bullpen. Klentak added Joaquin Benoit and Pat Neshek to a solid stable of right-handers, Jeanmar Gomez, Hector Neris, and Eudobray Ramos. He has a couple of young lefties in Adam Morgan, who will fit the long man role nicely and the electric Joely Rodriguez, who had success in a short stint at the end of the 2016 season.

Mackanin has his answers, and if he plans on having his option for 2018 picked up, he will need to take advantage of them. If the team does not improve upon last season, it is likely the Phils may move on from the 65-year-old baseball lifer. They are going to want a manager to grow with the kids that are on the way. I believe Mackanin can help them grow and mature, but this season will be very telling as to whether my thought is truth.

Storyline #2: Aaron Nola’s Health

Every time I have a discussion about the 2017 version of the Philadelphia Phillies, the question marks surrounding Aaron Nola are inevitably raised from the start. Nola is indisputably one of the most important pieces to the future success of the organization.

Nola’s 2016 season was broken into two extremely different paths. As a matter of fact, there was a stretch when the righty threw 23 consecutive scoreless innings. Throughout his first twelve starts, Nola’s ace-like qualities were brightly shining through with a 2.65 ERA, and an opponent line of .212/.252/.329 over 78 innings pitched.

The hype was real. Phils fans had every reason to believe this was a guy would dominate the National League with his uncanny ability to pinpoint every pitch he had in his repertoire. Then, the next eight starts changed everything.

The Louisiana State University product who walked just 15 batters over the aforementioned impressive stretch, handed out 14 free passes in the next 33 innings he pitched. Opposing hitters? They destroyed Nola in the fashion of the .367/.435/.531 storm. The Phils finally shut him down at the end of July because of a strained elbow.

Fans are banking on the idea that the struggles were a direct result of the elbow discomfort. As Spring slows to an end, Nola promises he feels great. While the numbers this month do not necessarily support that claim, it is something to hope for in 2017.

Storyline #1: The Stairs Project

Selfishly, I am anticipating being part of the moment this coming Friday when Matt Stairs is announced as the new hitting coach in front of 40,000 fans at Citizen’s Bank Park. However, perhaps more exciting is the hopeful impact that he is going to have on the young hitters in the Philadelphia organization.

Stairs played parts of an insane nineteen seasons in the majors for thirteen teams. No one spends nineteen seasons in the big leagues out of pure luck. Stairs has been known throughout baseball as a guy who simply understands hitting. Often over the course of the last three seasons we, as fans, could hear his growing frustration with the struggling Phillies offense from the broadcast booth.

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So what did the Philadelphia folk hero do as a result? When the opportunity to become the new hitting coach arose, he was first in line. And now that he has the title, we are all waiting (and praying) for the positive results.

The Phillies 2016 season was successful regarding wins and losses because of an eight-game improvement. However, a deeper look at the season will tell fans it is a near miracle that they were able to win that many games with baseball’s worst offense. Their run differential was an abysmal -186. The Phils were outscored by nearly 200 runs last season and were somehow still victorious 71 times.

Also, I invite you to scroll down the MLB’s list of average runs scored per game in 2016. The lowest total seen will be the Atlanta Braves and Oakland A’s with 4.03 runs scored. Wait…you thought I meant last overall? No, no! That was last among teams who scored more than an average of four runs.

The Phils were dead last. They were the only team in baseball to average under four runs a game (3.77) at season’s end. This was par for the course as the Phils were bottom feeding from every offensive statistical category in 2016.

In 2017, Stairs hopes to change those numbers. His approach to hitting had to change over his career as he went from a regular to a power bat off the bench. He adjusted just fine, as we all remember. The real concern is whether or not he can get buy-in from his new students.

All of the talks out of Phillies camp has been positive. His work with Nick Williams and Maikel Franco before Spring games showed great promise. Results were evident, as both showed a much more mature and calm approach. Williams’s swing was much more controlled, while he took a more patient approach. And thinking back on it, did Franco’s helmet fly off at all?

And then there is the silent story of camp, Aaron Altherr. The 26-year-old stood out and even made some believe that he deserves more opportunities. The ball seemed to jump off his bat at times this Spring, especially toward the end. For example, with just a few days left in camp, the big righty hit a monster blast over the batter’s eye. He credited Stairs with moving his hands to a better position, allowing him to react more quickly and see the ball a bit better.

Next: Phillies Release 2017 Minor-League Rosters

Stairs has already cemented his name as a legend in Philadelphia Phillies lure. He hit the most memorable postseason home run of the most recent run. He also hit the home run that ended up being Harry Kalas’s last “That ball’s outta here” call.

If Stairs can turn the current crop of youth into a group of major league hitters, the legend of Matt Stairs will simply grow and the Phillies rebuild will be accelerated.