Phillies: Matters settled and unsettled until April
By Tal Venada
No safety net:
From April’s starting lineup, Jorge Alfaro will be vulnerable to losing time behind the plate. Firstly, Rupp might be Aaron Nola‘s batterymate on Opening Day in Atlanta, and a lot will depend on Alfaro’s hitting from mid-March on.
Keep in mind, Alfaro averaged .241 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs for Lehigh Valley over 324 at-bats before his promotion. Additionally, the team wants him to pop some homers, which could drop his average. Ingredients for trouble?
After blasting 16 bombs with a .252 mark, Rupp in 2017 dropped to .217 with 14 long balls. So, will the competition spark a resurgence or was 2016 a career year? On the other hand, the Phillies’ receivers aren’t top defenders either.
Other than 2015’s radar blip with a .360 average, 11 home runs and 56 RBIs, Knapp has been a .260 hitter before and after his eye-catching time with the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils. Last summer, he batted .257 as Rupp’s backup, and he has the potential to be a solid second part of the catching tandem.
Even though the red pinstripes need two starters, Eshelman will probably open the season with the IronPigs. This will motivate him to dominate Triple-A offenses for two months and lead to a promotion with his confidence peaking.
Like Eshelman, Kingery’s cut will be near camp’s end because they’ll want to advance him when he’s on a hot streak. But his MiLB assignment will be a challenging decision, and fans will be extremely vocal when he returns to Triple-A. But who will be the most difficult call for Klentak? Eshelman!