On offense, the Philadelphia Phillies are building up a strong outfield. On the defensive side of things, center fielder Odubel Herrera has his work cut out for him in 2018.
Next season, the Philadelphia Phillies should open the year with an enviable young outfield. Barring a drastic change, Odubel Herrera will return as the center fielder with second-year players Rhys Hoskins and Nick Williams filling in at the corner spots. While this should provide them with plenty of runs offensively, it’s going to require a Gold Glove-caliber season from Herrera.
You see, Hoskins and Williams aren’t exactly competing to become the next Kevin Kiermaier. This pair is more inclined to sell jerseys based on what they do with their bats, not their gloves. This was very evident in the brief sample size we witnessed this past season.
Williams is easier to judge fairly as an outfielder. In his first 83 games with the Phillies, he put together a mediocre defensive outing. Williams finished his rookie year with a -1.6 WAR on defense. Despite not making a single error, other statistics show that Williams’ glovework needs improvement.
Hoskins probably won’t be any better when he transitions from first base to left field. The young slugger was already a below average defender at first base. Putting him in left field won’t do the Phillies any favors. We’re looking at a reboot of Pat Burrell. At best, opposing teams run a little too often against Hoskins, and he loads up on outfield assists as Burrell did early in his career.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
In this mess of an outfield, the Phillies do have the capable feet and arms of Herrera to cover a whole lot of ground. He finished 2017 with a 0.6 WAR on defense and other positive numbers.
With his speed and history of putting up well-above average statistics in the range factor category, the Phillies can breathe a little easier.
Still, it’s not as if Herrera can pull a Kelly Leak and get to everything.
A few balls will inevitably get hit down the lines and cause some trouble for Hoskins and Williams.
Those unlucky balls smacked into the gaps will have a lot more difficulty becoming hits.
Defense is often a struggle for young teams. Those woes should continue when the Phillies take the field in 2018. Freddy Galvis, last year’s lone Gold Glove finalist, is now with the San Diego Padres.
He’ll be replaced by J.P. Crawford who should make plenty of outs for the Phillies. They’ve also added Carlos Santana, another Gold Glove finalist from 2017. So, the defense won’t completely fall apart.
Next: Miami Marlins: Derek Jeter, Marlins Man fiasco is bizarre
Phillies pitchers will need to cross their fingers when the ball leaves the infield. With a new Burrell in left and someone from the Bobby Abreu School of Fielding in right, they are going to need to buy Herrera a bigger glove.