Call to the pen
Fansided

Phillies’ Make-or-Break Candidates

By Tal Venada

On February 22, Franco Displays Herrera's Sign of Things To Come. Photo by Butch Dill - USA TODAY Sports.
On February 22, Franco Displays Herrera's Sign of Things To Come. Photo by Butch Dill - USA TODAY Sports. /
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Franco Rounds Third During His Inside-the-Park Homer. Photo by Kim Klement – USA TODAY Sports.
Franco Rounds Third During His Inside-the-Park Homer. Photo by Kim Klement – USA TODAY Sports. /

Before every Opening Day, players realize either their dream will continue, or they will reach their ceiling during the season with the Philadelphia Phillies: pipeline or parent club.

Self-Appraisal Threshold:  

Sometimes, reality has the nasty habit of interrupting years of hopes, dreams, prayers and plans and replacing them with disappointment.

Among the obvious situations, the Phillies have Tommy Joseph and outfielder Nick Williams. Joseph will face more same-sided pitchers and have first baseman Rhys Hoskins one level away, while Williams in Triple-A this summer must come close to his 2015 Double-A average of .303 with a .354 OBP.

"IN OTHER WORDS:     “Hardships make or break people.” – Margaret Mitchell"

With a clear-cut goal but less apparent limitations, Maikel Franco must make a big improvement with disciplined plate appearances and by trusting his teammates to contribute offensively. However, this major uptick in production would be to hit .280 with 30 homers and 100 RBI up from a .255 mark with 25 home runs and 88 RBI. But if five more long balls, 12 additional RBI and a .025 average increase is not a huge achievement, what would Franco’s numbers look like? Maybe, 35 homers and 115 RBI.

Double D, a poster from another site, asked which players are also at the proverbial crossroads of success and failure. Well, Odubel Herrera is dealing with the motivation of playing with the security of a long-term contract. Will he be more or less productive with lowered stress?

Meanwhile, Double D, Hector Neris will eventually be the closer and listen to all the encouragement and advice he will get from Franco. Keep in mind, the pressure of the eighth inning was visible on the reliever’s face until he got comfortable with the role. And Franco showed his approval for each positive outing by tapping his glove on the setup man’s head. Remember, Neris was especially thankful to God after closing out 2016’s final game. That stated, the tension will mount as the save count increases. Where are the Rolaids?

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