Philadelphia Phillies: Tomorrow at Second Base
By Tal Venada
On the other side of the infield, Andres Blanco advised Galvis to stop looking over his shoulder. Don’t worry about the prospect with the IronPigs. Have fun. That said, after Galvis took the vet’s tip, he rebounded from a low of .210 to finish at .241; and he accomplished it by batting .257 with 13 homers and 37 RBI for the final three months, which projects to 26 home runs and 74 RBI for a whole campaign. Wrinkle!
Behind the front-office door of the Philadelphia Phillies, Klentak considers other avenues for available personnel. Howie Kendrick could be a stopgap at second base if the decision-maker forges a deal for Hernandez. Additionally, Odubel Herrera, a solid defender, is a second baseman by trade; but the slow development of outfielders in the pipeline will keep him in center field, where he was also a National League finalist for a Gold Glove.
How have Crawford and Kingery done? Well, Double D, they received promotions last season but their recent numbers haven’t been impressive. And returning to Lehigh Valley and Reading respectively will probably be beneficial as a growth measurement. For instance, Crawford showed plate discipline with a 1.43 BB/K, which was a major factor for his advancement to the IronPigs.
Crawford:
- Triple-A: 385 PA, .244 Avg., .328 OBP, .071 BB/K and 0.8 WAR.
- Postseason: 3 Gms., 12 AB, .083 Avg., .154 OBP and .033 BB/K.
Kingery:
- Double-A: 166 PA, .250 Avg., .273 OBP, .014 BB/K and -0.2 WAR.
- Postseason: 4 Gms., 16 AB, .188 Avg., .188 OBP and .000 BB/K (8 SO).
- Arizona Fall League: 20 Gms., 77 AB, .234 Avg., .294 OBP and .035 BB/K.
At his desk, Klentak views the above statistics on his screen, and he anticipates good news by July from coaches and in scouting reports. But what does he see now from Crawford and Kingery? Wrinkles!