Five Phillies players in a make-or-break season this year

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CLEARWATER, FL – MARCH 25: Maikel Franco #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits a two-run home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the seventh inning of a Grapefruit League spring training game at Spectrum Field on March 25, 2018 in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

2018 will be a big year to determine the future of several Phillies players. Who needs a strong season to still have a future role on this team?

Even though this season is the closest the Phillies have been to a playoff spot in years, certain aspects of the rebuild still need to be finished. The team has found a couple players to become future cornerstones, but other areas of the team remain question marks.

There are certain players who have yet to establish themselves as locks in the future of this team. They have struggled, dealt with injury, or both in their career. This year may be the last chance for them to establish a role, or their job may be taken by the time next season rolls around.

Let’s take a look at five players who are in a make-or-break season this year:

Maikel Franco

Maikel Franco is the first player that comes to mind whenever you talk about a player in a make-or-break season. After two disappointing seasons in a row, this is his last chance to be the cornerstone third baseman we hoped he could be.

Franco’s issue through much of last season was his lack of quality contact. His hard and soft contact rates were about league-average; so was his groundball rate. However, he hit few line drives, and without much speed, he was easily thrown out on ground balls. His batting average on balls in play was .234. He grounded into 21 double plays, tied for fourth-most in the league.

This spring, there has been much talk about Franco’s new closed batting stance. He is working on keeping his foot straight instead of opening up his swing, which led to some truly awful swings last year.

Franco started off this spring atrociously but started to heat up over the last two weeks. He went nine-for-28 in his last eight spring training games. He hit four home runs in that span and six this spring overall.

Franco is a spring training darling and made everyone believe the last two years he was ready to take the next step. This year really needs to be the year he does as the offseason of Manny Machado is on the horizon. If Franco can’t show he can be an everyday player, the team will have no issue breaking out the checkbook to bring Machado in.

Vince Velasquez

This April will mark two years since Vince Velasquez’s incredible Citizens Bank Park debut when he struck out 16 Padres in a complete-game shutout. He already had the makings a future top-of-the-rotation starter after being acquired from the Astros in the Ken Giles trade. Fans could dream of a rotation spearheaded by Velasquez and Aaron Nola.

After that start, Velasquez has failed to replicate any sort of similar success. His major-league career since then has been plagued by injury and inconsistency. His walk rate jumped 3.1 per nine innings in 2016 to 4.3 in 2017. His strikeout rate fell, leading to a meager 2.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio last year.

Velasquez managed just 15 starts last year after dealing with two separate injuries. He missed a month and a half due to a flexor strain in his right elbow during the middle of the season. His last start came in August before he was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a vascular issue in his middle finger. He had surgery in September to fix the issue.

Velasquez looked strong this spring in 14.1 innings of action. He struck out 15 batters, walked just four, and had a 2.51 ERA.

This year may be the last Velasquez has to prove he can be a major-league starter. If he can’t find consistency in the rotation, there’s a strong chance he will get moved to the bullpen after the year. He has so much potential, but that potential can only take him so far.

Dylan Cozens

Dylan Cozens’s 40 home run season in 2016 at Double-A Reading was either the best or the worst thing that happened to him. It launched him into the top prospect conversation with as much raw power as anyone else in the game. However, expectations for his future rocketed well above what most scouts and evaluators expected from him.

The strikeouts that were a problem in 2016 got even worse in Triple-A last year. Cozens struck out 194 times in 542 plate appearances, leading the International League. His power was still evident with 27 home runs and a .208 isolated power, but the rest of his numbers were not good.

Cozens is stuck in an outfield logjam with Rhys Hoskins, Odubel Herrera, Nick Williams, and Aaron Altherr all in the major leagues. He needs a season like 2016 to re-enter the conversation in the outfield; otherwise, he could be tossed to the wayside.

Jake Thompson

If any one player is going to be labeled as a bust in the Cole Hamels trade, it’s almost certainly going to be Jake Thompson. He was the top pitching prospect acquired in the deal, but he has failed to live up to that hype.

Zach Eflin

When the Phillies traded Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers in 2014, Zach Eflin was considered the major return in the trade. Most expected him to be a major-league starter. I was higher on him than most, seeing the potential for a No. 3 starter in him. Boy, was I wrong.

More from That Balls Outta Here

Every time Eflin starts to perform well in the majors, he takes a step back and falls victim to injury. He started off 2017 well with five strong starts before getting completely annihilated in his next three. He was sent down to Triple-A before missing a month of action due to swelling in his elbow. He came back for a few more starts before another injury, a shoulder strain, took him out for the season.

Eflin came into this spring with a chance to earn a rotation spot. His 5.79 ERA in five appearances did little to show he deserved it. He was sent back to Triple-A Monday as the job instead went to Ben Lively.

Next: Phillies 2018 Season Preview: Closer Hector Neris

Eflin may get another chance to prove himself this season if and when injury strikes the rotation. If he continues to struggle or gets hurt again, his valuable 40-man roster spot may become someone else’s

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