Philadelphia Phillies Weekly Awards: May 21st to May 28th
The Phillies are sliding and the end doesn’t appear to be in sight.
The Phils went 2-5 on the week and are now owners of the worst record in baseball. The rebuild has taken a turn for the worse as the “corner pieces” of the said rebuild are regressing.
This young Phillies team is 6-19 in the month of May and the fans are starting to sour. Hopefully, June will be the month will be the month where this ball club really turns things around.
Let’s take a look at the weekly award winners for the last week of May.
All statistics referenced from MLB.com.
Most Valuable Position Player: Runner Up
Andrew Knapp
Only a small sample size this week for Knapp but he made the most of it. Knapp went 3 for 10 on the week scoring three runs.
Two of Knapp’s three hits were thanks to the long ball and his four RBIs were second to only Tommy Joseph, who had five. Knapp has better or similar production numbers to that of Cameron Rupp with just around half the playing time.
It may be time for a changing of the guard behind the plate in Philadelphia.
Most Valuable Pitcher: Runner Up
Hector Neris
Neris absolutely showed up this week. The 27-year-old righty threw three hitless innings while only walking one and striking out six.
The outing dropped Neris’ ERA down to 0.84 for the month of May.
Least Valuable Position Player: Runner Up
Maikel Franco
I’m starting to run out of ways to deflect the fact that Maikel Franco may not be the player we thought he was.
Franco went 2 for 18 at the plate this week with no extra base hits and no runs batted in. Franco’s average now sits at .213 in 169 at bats and his slugging percentage ranks as 13th on the roster… between Brock Stassi and Vincent Velasquez.
Least Valuable Pitcher: Runner Up
Jeremy Hellickson
Hellickson had a tough week. The Phillies ace gave up eight hits and seven runs in just five innings of work while also walking four batters.
Hellickson’s May has severely hurt his draft stock as the veteran righty is 1-2 with a 7.30 ERA for the month.
Least Valuable Position Player
Odubel Herrera
The only everyday starter with a worse slugging percentage than Franco? That’s Odubel Herrera.
Herrera had another horrendous week going just 3 for 28 with two doubles and no runs batted in. Herrera is now hitting .237 on the season and has shown zero power through the first 48 games.
Odubel tops the list of players that Matt Klentak needs to evaluate come the trade deadline. His work ethic and poor demeanor could eventually lead to an addition by subtraction move.
Least Valuable Pitcher
Zach Eflin
Eflin is having a horrendous month and this week was no different. The 23-year-old gave up 15 earned runs in just 11 innings this week.
Equally as horrifying is the fact that opponents hit over .400 off Eflin including seven home runs. That is five home runs more than the nearest Phillies pitcher this week. Eflin has now given up 11 home runs on the season and has a 6.13 ERA to show for it.
Most Valuable Position Player
Tommy Joseph
I’ll start this one off by tipping my cap to Aaron Altherr, who had another nice week. However, Joseph just continues to rake.
Joseph went 7 for 26(.269) this week with two more bombs and four runs batted in. The slugging first baseman has turned his season around with a nice last few weeks and is now batting .257 on the year.
After being highly criticized in April, including by myself, Joseph has had a nice month of May. It will be interesting to see which Tommy Joseph shows up in June.
Most Valuable Pitcher
Vincent Velasquez
Velasquez had the best week of any Phillies starter this week. The flame-throwing righty threw five strong innings scattering eight hits and one earned run. Velasquez struck out seven batters over those five innings while only walking one in the process.
Notably, eight hits over five innings are quite high but the fact that the 24-year-old was able to work around it is quite impressive.
Next: Phillies to activate Kendrick, option Eflin
Much like every other start for the Phillies this season, Velasquez has been up and down but hopefully, this last start can lead him towards a successful June.