Phillies 2019 first half awards: MVP, LVP, Cy Young, Cy Yuk
Who have been the Phillies best and worst players through the first half of the 2019 season? Will it be the same when the year is over?
The first half of the 2019 season has been a weird one for the Phillies. They started incredibly strong before taking a nosedive in June that leaves them in mediocre territory at 47-43 coming out of the All-Star Break. They hold the second wild-card spot and are still within striking distance of the division, but the tone surrounding the team would make you think they are one of the worst teams in the league.
As expected for teams hovering around .500, some Phillies are lighting up the stat sheet, while others are leaving a mess on it. For better or worse, which players are deserving of the team’s first-half awards?
Most Valuable Player: Rhys Hoskins
It was close, but ultimately Rhys Hoskins’ offensive impact for the Phillies is what leads me to name him the first half MVP.
In 89 games this year, Hoskins has a .263/.401/.530 line with 20 home runs, 59 runs batted in, and a 140 OPS+. He leads the National League with 68 walks and ranks sixth in on-base percentage at .401. Hoskins’ 2.6 offensive wins above replacement are the most on the team by a wide margin, while his 2.0 total wins above replacement are second only to J.T. Realmuto.
In most years, Hoskins would have an excellent case for the All-Star Game. Unfortunately, the deck was stacked against him with Freddie Freeman, Josh Bell, and Pete Alonso mounting more impressive campaigns. I thought Hoskins was the team’s best All-Star candidate; so much for that. Realmuto got the nod as the team’s lone representative instead as it was much easier for him to make it as a catcher than for Hoskins to make it as a first baseman.
If Hoskins continues this pace, he will finish the season with 36 home runs and 106 home runs. Hoskins hit 20 home runs in 67 second-half games compared to 14 home runs in 86 first-half games last year, so there’s a good chance he heats up again in the second half this year.
Ultimately, Hoskins has been the glue holding the Phillies offense together as other players fell to injury or succumbed to slumps, which is what makes him the most valuable player this year.
Runners-up: J.T. Realmuto, Scott Kingery, Jay Bruce
Least Valuable Player: Roman Quinn
The Phillies started the year with what was supposed to be a strong outfield with Andrew McCutchen, Odubel Herrera, and Bryce Harper. Harper is now the only one left after McCutchen tore his ACL and Herrera got suspended for the rest of the season for domestic violence.
This left a golden opportunity for other players to pick up the slack and make a name for themselves. Nick Williams, Aaron Altherr, and Roman Quinn were all vying for two backup outfielder roles to start the year, but none of them capitalized. With Altherr out of the organization and Williams in Triple-A, that leaves Quinn as the best choice for Philadelphia’s least valuable player this year.
Quinn has failed to make any discernable impact on the field this year, despite getting every chance to do so. He suffered his umpteenth injury during spring training but got the opportunity to play every day upon returning in mid-April. He managed just three hits and two walks in 27 plate appearances before hitting the injured list yet again with a groin strain.
Since returning from that injury, he has still failed to produce with just two hits in 20 at-bats. Overall, he has been worth -0.5 wins above replacement this year with a .333 OPS and -10 OPS+.
On top of being a sieve of production, Quinn’s inability to be optioned cost Altherr his roster spot. While Altherr hasn’t been the same player since 2017, Quinn isn’t doing any better with the bonus of constant injuries.
Since the team can neither rely on Quinn to stay on the field or produce when he’s healthy, he is the least valuable player of the first half.
Runners-up: Andrew Knapp, Odubel Herrera
Cy Young: Aaron Nola
Unlike last year, the best Phillies pitcher is not so clear-cut. However, the team’s first-half Cy Young yet again goes to Aaron Nola.
Nola had his worst month on the mound since 2016 to start the year with a 5.68 ERA through the end of April. This was a stark contrast from his Cy Young-caliber 2018 season and gave some early cause for concern.
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However, Nola has since turned things around and looks much more like the pitcher he was the last two years. Since May started, Nola has a 2.96 ERA, 1.190 WHIP, 92 strikeouts, and 31 walks in 13 starts. He gave up seven home runs in April but has allowed just eight since then.
Nola finished the first half strong by allowing just two earned runs in his last four starts. He struck out 34 batters and walked only eight in 29.2 innings.
Walks plagued Nola early in the year; by limiting them in the last few weeks, he has elevated his performance significantly.
Nola is Philadelphia’s most valuable pitcher this year with 2.2 pitching wins above replacement. Zach Eflin is the only other Phillies with more than one pitching win above replacement, while J.T. Realmuto is the only Phillie with a higher overall WAR total.
With Nola trending upwards and Eflin trending downwards, Nola is the best choice for the first half Cy Young. The team needs Nola to pitch like he did last year if they have any shot of making a serious playoff run.
Runners-up: Zach Eflin, Hector Neris
Cy Yuk: Nick Pivetta
To put it mildly, pitching has not been the Phillies’ strength this year. Nothing has, but that’s beside the point. One pitcher deserves the mantle of the club’s worst, and he is Nick Pivetta.
Pivetta’s 2019 season mirrors the team’s in nearly every way. He came into the year with a lot of hype after making significant strides in 2018. I was one of many people expecting big things from Pivetta this year.
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However, Pivetta is pitching nearly as bad as he did his rookie year of 2016. In 11 starts, he has a 5.84 ERA, 2.74 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.476 WHIP, and 5.91 fielding-independent pitching. Pivetta started the year off so poorly that he was demoted to Triple-A for over a month.
Even after returning, Pivetta isn’t faring too well. He has allowed four or more earned runs in each of his last four starts, giving up six runs in two of them. Only three of his starts so far this year are average in terms of game score; the rest are duds.
Pivetta’s high point of the season occurred June 8 when he pitched a one-run complete game against the Cardinals.
It could have been the start of the breakout we were all expecting. Instead, he has a 7.33 ERA since the complete game.
While Pivetta, Vince Velasquez, and Jerad Eickhoff all have strong cases for the worst pitcher on the team. However, the high expectations for Pivetta only make his poor season look that much worse. Like the Phillies, Pivetta had plenty of hype coming into the year, but that has since petered out.
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