Didi Gregorius off to hot start in 2nd season with Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius began his first eight games of the 2020 season slashing .321/.536/.902 with seven singles, two home runs, four RBI, two walks and just one strikeout.

So far, the 10-year veteran is off to a similar successful start to his second year donning red pinstripes. Along with his eight singles, Gregorius has homered once, as well as produced four RBI and one walk, albeit striking out 10 times with a .290/.324/.387 slash line.

Shortstop Didi Gregorius is off to a good start in his second year with the Phillies.

Entering Sunday’s action, Gregorius is tied with Cedric Mullins, Nolan Arenado, and Bo Bichette for the longest active hitting streaks in Major League Baseball. Gregorius has a hit in each of the Phillies’ eight games this season. His only multi-hit game so far was last Tuesday against the New York Mets, in which he singled and homered in the 8-4 loss.

Gregorius has not only impressed at the plate, but also in the field, turning five double plays with some web gems along the way. His three errors through seven innings are a cause for concern, however. Gregorius committed only seven errors all of last season across 470 innings and 218 chances in the field.

The Phillies reportedly had serious interest in Andrelton Simmons this offseason to be their next shortstop, however he wound up signing a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the Minnesota Twins.

So far, Simmons has produced better numbers than Gregorius, slashing .435/.567/.565 with seven singles, three doubles, three RBI, six walks, and just five strikeouts across eight games and 23 at-bats.

Whether it is his artwork, post-game emoji tweets after each win, photography, and more, the 31-year-old’s qualities as a great teammate cannot go unnoticed. It’s still early in the season, but the decision to re-sign Gregorius looks like a good one so far.