Three players will lead Philadelphia Phillies’ new core
Despite the 2017 season being a lost one, the Philadelphia Phillies have young three players that will lead the team for many years to come.
Rhys Hoskins, Aaron Nola and Nick Williams. Get used to hearing those three names, Phillies fans.
We came into the season with plenty of optimism and hope that the team could show sign of progress, but instead it’s been the opposite. Many players have been disappointing, including Maikel Franco, and the team has traded away almost all of its expendable veteran players.
The result has been a season with just 53 wins as of Thursday.
But in this season, Hoskins, Nola and Williams have all managed to create excitement for the future of the team in their own individual ways.
Obviously Hoskins has been not only the talk of the town, but also the talk of Major League baseball as a whole.
However, Nola has been one of the best pitchers in the National League since June, and Williams has consistently continued to improve ever since he was called up from Triple-A at the end of June. Williams has hit for a good average and showed a steady improvement with his pitch selection, something he struggled with a lot.
Let’s take a look at each player individually and examine what he brings to the table for the team going forward.
Rhys Hoskins
If there’s one perfect way to take the baseball world by storm and rejuvenate an entire fan base, Hoskins had found it.
He became the fastest player to hit 11 career runs in MLB history by doing it in just 18 games. The previous record holder was Gary Sanchez, who accomplished such feat in 23 games last season.
But what has been truly amazing about Hoskins so far is his plate discipline and sense of calmness in every count.
People have been quick to halt the Hoskins hype because we’ve seen players like Dom Brown have similar hot streaks, but they fail to realize how Hoskins is hitting these home runs.
He’s working himself out of 0-2 counts into full counts where he can get a pitch to do damage with. Hoskins has simply made pitchers pay for mistake pitches.
To this point, seven of his 11 home runs have come with two strikes. This is not a player that has run into a couple of fastballs and has gotten hot. This is what good hitters do. He is comfortable at the plate, no matter the count is. The big difference between Hoskins and a player like Franco is that Hoskins doesn’t get over-aggressive when ahead in the count and has no problem letting a pitch go for a strike if it wasn’t what he’s looking for.
It’s early, but Hoskins reminds of a player with Chase Utley’s plate discipline and Ryan Howard’s power.
Hoskins looks to be the team’s slugger of the future.
He’s going to be in the heart of the lineup for many years to come and will help the players around him in the lineup get better pitches to hit.
When trying to piece together a team to compete for a championship, the goal is to have that powerful, reliable hitter in the cleanup spot and the Phils appear to have that in Hoskins.
Aaron Nola
Many questions surrounded Nola after his 2016 season came to an abrupt end due to an elbow injury.
No one really knew what to expect this season as Nola attempted to bounce back from an injury. But the former LSU star has answered all of those questions and given the team a future top of the rotation starter for the future.
Nola was 2-0 in the month of April but saw a drop off in the month of May when he went 0-3 with a 5.63 ERA.
But since June 22, we’ve seen a different Nola.
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One not many even thought we’d see at any point in his career. Nola has always been known for his wipeout curveball, but this season his fastball velocity has increased to a consistent 94-96 mph. His two-seam fastball has also become a key strikeout pitch against right-handed hitters as it cuts over the outside corner at the last second.
The pitch that he’s really developed this season has been his changeup, however.
It’s become a key strikeout pitch for him against lefties, but it’s also been a pitch he’s used to get ahead in the count against righties.
The Nola we saw in the month of July is the pitcher the Phillies will hope to continue to see for years to come. His 1.32 ERA during his five starts in July was the best in the National League among starting pitchers. The best stat from that month, however, was his strikeout-to-walk ration, which was over five.
When the Phillies drafted Nola in the first round back in 2014, many thought of him as a safe pick that was guaranteed to be at the very least a solid third starter.
But this year, Nola has ascended into a potential ace for the Phillies with increased velocity on his fastball and a new wipeout changeup.
Nick Williams
One of the biggest surprises throughout the Phillies organization in 2017 has been Williams.
After a disappointing 2016 season in Triple-A where Williams had regressed as a hitter and showed very little plate discipline, he turned his entire career around by coming into 2017 with a redefined approach at the plate.
Williams was a very impressive hitter through the first three month of the season and on the last day of June, he earned his promotion to the big leagues and has only continued to get better.
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Despite one or two rough stretches, Williams has been a good baseball player for the Phillies. He is currently slashing .274/.333/.482 with nine homers and 40 RBIs through 60 games.
The one aspect of his game that he has greatly improved upon this year is pitch selection, which has been evident in his ability to get one base more.
Williams has also proved to be an excellent defensive outfielder, capable of playing all three spots in the outfield. He’s said that he prefers to play centerfield, but he’s also shown that he can make outstanding defensive plays in the corner spots, specifically in right field.
What Williams gives the Phillies for the fu ture is a very good corner outfielder that is above average both defensively and offensively. Williams could theoretically cement himself as the No. 5 hitter in the lineup behind Hoskins. Hitting behind a good hitter like Hoskins could only help Williams as a hitter and allow him to be more aggressive and drive in more runs.
All good teams have that one corner outfielder that can be a force in the middle of the lineup and hold his own defensively.
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Williams gives the Phillies that, and more.