The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of questions to answer this offseason, and there are question marks for the future of every infield position.
Throughout this lackluster 2017 Phillies season, players up and down the organizational ranks have been making their cases for why they should (or should not) be apart of the future infield of the team.
There are question marks about the future at every infield position and will need to be answered by Andy MacPhail, Matt Klentak and the team’s brain trust in this upcoming offseason.
When a team has the worst record in baseball with just a month and a half remaining in the season, not many people would want to bring back any players for the future of the team. But players like Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis have shown flashes this season that they could be contributors to winning teams in the future.
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But with players at each of their positions playing well right below them in Triple-A, their spots aren’t secured for the future.
J.P. Crawford and Scott Kingery are the lone bright spots in the Lehigh Valley IronPigs lineup since the promotions of Nick Williams, Rhys Hoskins and Jorge Alfaro. But those two have continued to produce at the top of the lineup in Lehigh Valley.
Crawford got off to a rough start this season but has turned a corner, especially since the All-Star break.
The 22-year-old has been slashing .306/.398/.604 with seven home runs and 19 RBIs with an OPS just over 1.000 in his first 29 games since the mid-season break.
These are the type of numbers the Phillies have been expecting out of Crawford, and if he can sustain them for the remainder of the season, he may force the Phillies’ hand during the offseason.
The Lakewood, California native is not an All-Star caliber defender like Galvis, but he has shown flashes of brilliance with his glove.
There's good plays, there's great plays, and then there's @jp_crawford plays. pic.twitter.com/PJR6FgmYnD
— Lehigh Valley IronPigs (@IronPigs) August 9, 2017
If Crawford maintains his blistering pace at the plate, it will only be a matter of when he supplants Galvis as the team’s shortstop, and the Phillies could begin looking for a trade partner for Galvis as early as this offseason.
Crawford’s double play partner, Kingery, has been impressive as well, but on a more consistent basis.
Kingery started the year in Double-A and set the world on fire in his first 69 games. The former second round picks out of Arizona slashed .313/.379/.608 with 18 homers and 44 RBIs.
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After putting up those impressive numbers, Kingery was promoted to Triple-A. Kingery has continued to put up impressive numbers in his first 42 games in Lehigh Valley. His power has dipped a little as he has just six homers, but is still hitting just under .300 with an OBP of .330.
Despite his success this season, Kingery is still being blocked by Hernandez, a solid player for the Phils and one of the better leadoff batters in the NL. He is hitting .294, but his .365 OBP is the most impressive stat.
It seems like the Phillies want Kingery to be the team’s future second baseman, and he appears to be ready to make the jump to the big leagues. With Hernandez becoming a potentially valuable trade chip, Klentak should look to cash in on his value this offseason to make room for Kingery.
The corner infield positions aren’t as cluttered as the middle, however.
Tommy Joseph appears to have the first base job for the remainder of 2017, but Hoskins will likely take over at the start of next season after making his jump to the big leagues last week.
The team will likely try to trade Joseph in the offseason as he and Hoskins simply can’t coexist on the same roster. But that might be difficult as Joseph’s -0.7 WAR ranks worst among all qualifying first baseman this season.
Third base is a much bigger question mark thanks to Maikel Franco’s lack of development.
When Franco first arrived in the big leagues, most people thought he had the spot locked down for at least the next ten years. But he has regressed as a hitter and lacked any plate discipline. It has come to a point where fans, including myself, have somewhat given up on Franco.
His lack of plate discipline and ability to get on base at a consistent rate is incredibly troubling for his development.
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If Franco doesn’t improve, the Phillies could look outside the organization during the 2018 offseason to find the team’s future third baseman. Manny Machado has been on Phillies fans’ radars for quite some time now, and the team has the money to offer him a massive deal.