The Position Player: Ryan Zimmerman
Ryan Zimmerman is the way to go this weekend. The man is healthy and playing the best baseball I have seen him play in years. Without Harper, the Washington first baseman becomes crucial to the offensive attack.
The Phils have never had it easy with Zim, and this season, he reminded them of that in the finale of their first series about a month ago. He came off the bench to tie the game with a three-run blast in the top of the ninth off Jeanmar Gomez.
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Zimmerman is hitting an absurd .424/.468/.859 in his first 99 at-bats of 2017. He has driven in 30 runs in just about a month of baseball games and hit a team-high 11 home runs. At age 32, he leads the team in every offensive category with the exception of on-base percentage and runs.
Zimmerman has had luck against the Phillies throughout his career. In 166 games, he has homered 21 times and driven in 92 runs. At Citizen’s Bank Park, he has been about average. He has hit 11 of the 21 bombs at CBP, but his other numbers are pretty pedestrian.
The problem is that this is not the same Zimmerman from the last few years. He seems to be having a bit of a renaissance. As he settles into first base and the injuries decrease, he seems to become more productive.
This year, fastballs in the zone are being hit. He is not missing them at all. And sometimes the Phillies pitching fails to hit their spots with that pitch. If they do miss, it could spell some trouble.
As far as breaking balls and offspeed pitches, he is mashing pitches at the bottom half of the zone. If pitchers are able to get it away from him, he has struggled, but anything from the middle to the inner half and down is a problem.
The Phillies hope to slow the reincarnated Zimmerman this weekend, but if they do not, their recent struggles will continue.