Phillies: Three players who need to rebound in 2020
If the Phillies are going to win in 2020, they’ll need these three players.
The 2019 Phillies season was ravished by injuries from the start and the depth of the team wasn’t good enough to keep the club afloat for 162 games. Even before opening day major pieces such as David Robertson and Tommy Hunter were in the trainers room, and they’d soon be joined by Andrew McCutchen and almost every other pitcher on the roster.
Not only did the Phillies face a rash of injuries, they saw several of their key cogs take some steps back. Aaron Nola wasn’t the Cy Young candidate they needed, but he still kept the Phillies in ballgames. Several other starters such as Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta failed to develop under pitching coach Chris Young, pushing the franchise back several years.
If the Phillies are to compete for a playoff spot under Joe Girardi in 2020, they’ll need these three players to bounceback and contribute much more
Jake Arrieta
I don’t think anyone knows what to expect from Jake Arrieta in 2020 after he grinded through bone spurs in his elbow before stepping aside last season.
Arrieta hasn’t been the guy Philadelphia hoped he could be when they signed him in 2018. The drop in velocity and risk of injury was a big reason why he wasn’t signed until spring training.
Now coming off rest and a cleaned up elbow Arrieta will need to be, at the very least, a guy who can get the Phillies through five or six innings giving up minimal damage. He doesn’t have to be the ace or even the number two/three starter for this team, he just has to give them a chance every five days.
If Arrieta can do that, at the very least, the pitching staff will be much improved in 2020.
Jean Segura has to find himself in this new role with the Phillies
By the end of the season Jean Segura was one of the most polarizing players on the Phillies. Many fans didn’t want the veteran shortstop to return after he committed a career-high 20 errors. Perhaps fans didn’t realize he’s made at least 10 errors for eight straight years for five teams.
What the Phillies hoped to get from Segura was a guy who could hit around .290 with 200 hits and 50 extra-base hits. He fell short on the batting average and hit total, but did pick up 37 doubles, four triples and 12 home runs. The .280 batting average was still relatively respectable, but coming off three seasons hitting at least .300, the Phillies wanted more after trading J.P. Crawford to Seattle.
After the trade with Seattle was made a lot of people wondered why Segura had bounced between so many teams in so little time. Behind the scenes, it sounds like Segura ruffled some feathers, and his effort on the field didn’t match the expectations (however lofty) that fans put on their players.
The acquisition of Didi Gregorius should put Segura on watch both on and off the field. Defensively, Segura’s best season came in 2016 when he primarily played second base, making just nine errors in 142 games. That was also the season he led the league with 203 hits and set career highs with a .319 average, 41 doubles, and 20 home runs.
If Segura doesn’t bounceback, the coaching staff will gladly put Scott Kingery back at his natural position and allow top prospect Alec Bohm to take over the third base job full-time.
The Phillies will simply be better if Segura can live up to his past performances. Hopefully, playing under Joe Girardi will wake Segura up and force him to play hard every day.
There isn’t any bigger piece on the Phillies than Rhys Hoskins
While Rhys Hoskins may not be “The Big Piece” he’s arguably the largest cog on the Phillies roster and the key for their success not just in 2020, but for the next decade.
Fans thought they had their next Ryan Howard when Hoskins came up in 2017. He hit 18 home runs in 50 games, including eight in nine games, and set unthinkable records for both the team and for all of Major League Baseball.
Philadelphia Phillies
As a rookie Hoskins became the fastest big league player to hit his ninth, tenth, and eleventh career home runs, and tied he a Phillies record by hitting a home run in five consecutive games.
I don’t think anyone every expected Hoskins to hit for a high average, but under Gabe Kapler and his staff, Hoskins saw his batting average drop every season, hitting a combined .236 compared to .259 as a rookie.
Hoskins has a unique combination of tools as a hitter, primarily power and pitch selection. If he can refine those tools and fix his swing under Joe Girardi and new hitting coach Joe Dillon, Hoskins could reset his career and be the middle of the lineup bat the Phillies saw in his rookie season not that long ago.
Putting 40 home runs from Hoskins in the middle of the Phillies lineup between Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto would obviously be a game-changer for Philadelphia.
Turning Hoskins around is the number one job for Girardi and Dillon this season, and if they can’t get him right, then we could see Bohm come in and take up some playing time at first base.