MLB: Unexpected Contenders for the 2017 Season
By Matt Meffe
Philadelphia Phillies
You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and baseball fans learned this when looking at the Philadelphia Phillies last season. The Phillies got off to a hot start in April and May, but expectedly fizzled as baseball entered the summer. Most of the fizzling came from injuries to some of their key players, including young ace Aaron Nola. Offensively, the Phillies were one of the worst teams in MLB. In fact, only the San Diego Padres had a lower batting average than the Phillies. Only the Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers had fewer hits than the Phillies. Only the Atlanta Braves had a lower slugging percentage. No team had fewer runs scored than the Phillies. You get the picture.
In the offseason, the Phillies went out to get some decent additions to their offense and bullpen, two major low points in 2016. Joaquin Benoit was signed, and the Astros traded Pat Neshek to Philadelphia for a player to be named later. The Phillies also added Clay Buchholz to their pitching staff, while also adding Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders to fill holes in their lineup. While these moves are not significant, they do provide better, more experienced options for the year. With their plethora of youth and a mixture of veteran players, the Phillies may be a team to look out for in 2017.