Comparing the Phillies to the Nationals, Astros, and Cubs
General manager Matt Klentak said the Phillies are going through a rough patch just like the Astros, Nationals, and Cubs did, so here we’ll compare them to the Phils.
The Phillies are coming off one of their worst months in franchise history, winning just six of 28 games in May. Both the pitching and offense is struggling, and no one wants to watch this team right now.
General manager Matt Klentak recently talked with Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly about the team and their struggles. Klentak compared the Phils with some of the top teams in the league right now and the struggles they went through to get to where they are now:
“Honestly, what I do when I get frustrated — which I do — is I try to remind myself as much as possible: right now, would we trade places with the current Houston Astros, the current Washington Nationals, the current Chicago Cubs? The answer is yes, but they lived through this. “The Nationals had the No. 1 pick and were the worst team in baseball two years in a row. The Cubs went through four or five years of top picks. The Astros lost 100 games three years in a row. That doesn’t make this any easier to stomach, that’s not what I’m saying at all. “This is kind of where we are right now and we’re doing everything we can to try to pull out of it. But teams that have been successful in their rebuilds have gone through stretches like this. Now, our job is to pull out and try to end this.”
The Cubs, Nationals, and Astros are among the top teams in MLB right now and nearly every Phils fan, if not all of them, would want their team to be as good as those three teams. How does Philadelphia compare to those three squads? Let’s find out.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros toiled away for years in the NL Central with five other teams before moving to the AL West in 2013 to balance out the divisions. Now they are back in full force with a 38-16 record, the best in the league. How did they get back to this point?
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After 2008, the Astros went through six losing seasons. They didn’t finish any higher than fourth in their division, coming in last place for three straight years between 2011 and 2013. Those three years they racked up more than 100 losses, losing 111 games in 2013. The Phillies almost look playoff-worthy compared to that squad.
What the Astros lacked in major-league talent they had in prospects.
The team’s top two prospects in 2014, Carlos Correa and George Springer, are both starters at the major-league level. Correa won Rookie of the Year in 2015 and Springer has 11.6 fWAR since 2014. Two of Houston’s other top prospects, Mark Appel and Vince Velasquez, are both now with the Phillies thanks to the Ken Giles trade.
We hope this Phillies team is more like the 2014 than the 2013 Astros where the imminent arrival of prospects brings success soon, just like the Astros winning the 2015 AL Wild Card.
Chicago Cubs
Just like the Astros, the Cubs were the punching bag of the NL Central for several years before becoming World Series champions. Between 2010 and 2014, the Cubs were in fifth place in the NL Central. Once the Astros left in 2013, the Cubs were officially at the bottom of the barrel in the division.
Even though 2014 was a losing season, the Cubs showed some signs of life. Jake Arrieta and Anthony Rizzo were both five-win players with top prospects Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Albert Amora, and Jorge Soler all in the system. All were contributors to the team’s 2015 NL Central crown and the team’s World Series title last year.
You could make the argument that Maikel Franco, Odubel Herrera, Aaron Nola, Rhys Hoskins, and Dylan Cozens could be the pieces the team needs to regain the NL East crown, but it’s still way too early to tell. When the Cubs won the division in 2015, they were considered ahead of schedule in their rebuild.
Washington Nationals
When the Montreal Expos moved to Washington and became the Nationals, they were coming off seven losing seasons in eight years. Those woes continued as the Nationals finished last in the NL East five of six years between 2005 and 2010.
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However, out of the crumbling ashes came some of the top players in the game. The Nationals drafted Stephen Strasburg No. 1 overall in 2009 and Bryce Harper in 2010 at the same position. They got Anthony Rendon in 2011 at No. 4 overall and 2012 No. 16 pick Lucas Giolito was part of the trade that brought Adam Eaton to Washington.
Now those first-round picks are contributing to the team’s success. Since 2012, the Nationals have finished no worse than second place in the division, winning the division three times before losing in the division series. Harper won Rookie of the Year and NL MVP and Strasburg has been solid when not dealing with injury.
Even 2005 first-round pick Ryan Zimmerman is reviving his career with a 1.118 OPS in 50 games this season.
The Phillies will have to dethrone the Nationals to ever come back in the division and they haven’t had the same success with their first-round picks. They will have to hope their international signings and prospects acquired by trade will make up for their dearth of production from first-round prospects.
Philadelphia Phillies
Now we come to our hometown team, and it doesn’t seem like it can get any worse. 2016 was their fourth straight losing season and they were the worst team in baseball in 2015. They are a long way gone from the dynamic teams of 2008 to 2011.
Their 17-34 record this season is worst in MLB by 3.5 games. Players that were supposed to be contributors like J.P. Crawford, Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco, Jerad Eickhoff, and Aaron Nola aren’t having the seasons they were supposed to at all. It seems like team is taking a step back.
However, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel, just like all the other teams that Klentak cited.
The team has several prospects lighting up Triple-A in Rhys Hoskins, Dylan Cozens, Nick Williams, and Roman Quinn. All are candidates for a call-up soon, and eventually the team will have to promote them. Scott Kingery is doing the same thing one level lower at Double-A and he should be in Triple-A soon. Mickey Moniak has all the tools necessary to be a four-tool, if not five-tool, player at the major-league level. He could be the difference maker the team needs to push them over the top when they are on the edge of competing.
Next: Scott Kingery deserves promotion
Does losing suck? Yes. Does waiting suck? Also yes. But Klentak had a point when he compared the Phils to the Astros, Cubs, and Nationals. Their fan bases had to wait several years for their team to compete again, but they are enjoying it now.