Phillies: Three prominent reasons the team has struggled in this season
So many things are wrong with the Phillies, but a handful truly stand out
The Phillies began the year with expectations to at least sniff the .500 mark following an eight game improvement to 71 wins last year compared to 2015. But following Wednesday’s game against the Marlins, the Phillies found themselves dwelling in the cellar at 17-34.
While much has gone wrong for the team to be on pace for their worst season since the 47-win team of 1961, here are the top reasons for their poor performance.
Weak Production From Middle of Order
The addition of Michael Saunders in the offseason, combined with an extra season of experience for Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera, looked on a paper to increase offensive production. So far, this hasn’t been the case.
Saunders has struggled much of the season, appearing to be trying to smash every ball into the upper deck. While he’s come on lately, he’s hit just .225 with six home runs and a terrible 40-to-9 strikeout to walk ratio.
Herrera has looked completely lost at the plate for the past month. After a decent .262 average with three home runs in April, Herrera hit a meager .181 in May, including a five-strikeout game against the Rockies on the 25th.
A drop in the lineup, a few days off, or even a stint in the Minor Leagues to get his timing back could do Herrera a lot of good.
Franco was expected to take the reins of the offense this year and begin to carry the team on his back. While hitting only .213 in April, Franco was quite productive, belting four home runs and driving in 21 runs. Like most of the club, he’s struggled in May, knocking in only seven runs and hitting .205.
Herrera and Franco are still young players and are most certainly pressing, which is likely to continue until the club begins to win some games after an anemic 6-22 in the month of May.
High ERAs from the Starting Pitchers
Aaron Nola, Jeremy Hellickson, Jerad Eickhoff, Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez, Zach Eflin and Clay Buchholz have all started at least a game this season. None of them have an ERA this season below four and in fact, Hellickson’s 4.45 ERA is the lowest of all starters.
All told, the starters have a combined 4.79 ERA, allowing 130 runs on 277 hits and a whopping 50 home runs, in 244 1/3 innings.
Perhaps the most disturbing part is the lack or progression and even a decline in the production of Vince Velasquez. He’s run high pitch totals in most games and has surpassed six innings in a start only three times this season.
Velasquez has victimized by the long ball 11 times this season and has seen his ERA skyrocket to 5.58, nearly a run and a half higher than last season. Now Velasquez is likely to miss time due to an injury sustained in Tuesday’s start.
Injuries to Veterans Clay Buchholz and Howie Kendrick
When the Phillies acquired pitcher Clay Buchholz and outfielder/infielder Howie Kendrick this offseason, the theory was to add stability and leadership to an otherwise young team. Neither player was expected to carry the team, but what has happened was totally unexpected.
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Buchholz, an 80-game winner with a career 4.01 ERA, started only two games before going down with a forearm injury, which will likely keep him out most, if not all, of the season.
Kendrick, who can play left field, second base and first base, is not the player he was in the past. Still, he is a good number two hole hitter who can get one base, as his .289 batting average and .332 career on-base percentage indicates.
With Kendrick out, the Phillies had to move players around in more unfamiliar roles, and frankly none of them have done as well batting second as Kendrick did. Back in the lineup, Kendrick is hitting .319 with a .373 on base percentage in 13 games.
Next: Why the prospects aren't here
Can the Phillies bounce back? It’s difficult to envision this team regressing from 71 wins to 54. Having said that, they need to turn things around quickly in order to eclipse last year’s total. Anything less would be considered a failed season for a team expected to improve.