The Phillies will head north in a few days. All in all they managed a winning record and played really good baseball. Franco led the league in bombs and seems poised to pick up where he left off before his 2015 injury.
Vincent Velasquez looks legit. His stuff is the real deal and maybe he is not an Ace today but he definitely has the potential to grow into that. After all look what happened to Jake Arrietta once he left Baltimore.
Herrea is just a really nice player and no doubt now that he is a solid everyday MLB player.
The rest of the team to start is just meh but wait that leaves out Nola and Eickhoff. I think both will be good pitchers but neither appear to have the upside that VV has. That's not a bad thing as I think Nola fits very well as an above average 3 and probably will have some years where he flirts with 15 wins. Same for Eickhoff.
The real funs begin at whichever point in the season JP comes up and Nick Williams comes up and Jake Thompson. Those guys along with Franco have the real potential to be stars and make everyone around them look better. They seem likely to be the next core of getting to the top of the NL East.
Most importantly this team despite the record will be much more enjoyable to watch. I suspect the changes and new faces mean an additional 5-8 wins this year. I like that they extended Pete Mckanin I think he has a good way with players and a sharp baseball mind.
I expect the minor league system to produce value in the next few years and a #1 overall pick shouldn't hurt either.
No comments:
Post a Comment