Phillies: 5 takeaways after first dozen games of 2021 season

4. Center field is a major problem for the Phillies

Former first-round pick Adam Haseley — after at least a somewhat-promising first 100 games the last two seasons — came out and struggled early this season. He has no walks and an OPS+ of 19. Even Scott Kingery was better than this last season, with a 38 OPS+.

Now with this said, Haseley has been placed on the restricted list for personal reasons. Manager Joe Girardi was asked if he would be back for the year and he simply said that he did not know. These are very concerning things to hear. Let’s just hope everything is OK; you never want to see situations like this.

Backup center fielder Roman Quinn has found a way to be even worse than Haseley, statistically speaking. Quinn has a -23 OPS+ — which I didn’t know was possible — and has struck out 10 times in 11 games. If you value batting average, you would be extremely displeased at his .050 average. Quinn has brought no value to the Phillies … and that is being nice.

Next in this centerfield puzzle is Mickey Moniak, the former No. 1 overall pick back in 2016. He is getting his first real chance in the big leagues after a very good spring training.

Moniak beat out players — including former starter Odubel Herrera and Kingery — who are both at the alternate site. While we don’t know how things are going at the alternate site, we can theorize that Moniak outplayed both.

We have to remember one key thing. With Haseley being on the restricted list, his 40-man spot is free until he returns. So, the Phillies didn’t actually have to create a spot for Herrera. All three of these guys were on fair ground for this situation … and the Phillies went with Moniak.

5. A .500 record against the Braves and Mets is not bad at all.

We have to remember that the National League East is the hardest division in baseball. Other than the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, there is not a lot harder it could get than the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets.

The Phillies also are second in the division — with the Braves getting off to a slow 5-8 start and the Nationals looking putrid with a 3-7 start.

These first 12 games have somewhat gone the Phillies way. Next on their schedule are teams like the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants. These are steps down from the Braves and Mets. Not only that, but they both are series at home.

There is no need to panic and pretend the record isn’t at least a little promising from the first dozen games. The Phillies have some worries and some of those will be fixed. They are in a solid position to be a good baseball team in 2021, and potentially be in the race for a Wild Card spot.