Building a Phillies outfield platoon
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Building a Phillies outfield platoon
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
There is no optimal scenario for constructing the Phillies outfield this late in winter. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. conceded as much Monday when he suggested it is likely the team will use what it has.
The risk is obvious; the Phillies could spend $1.5 million on their starting outfield while devoting $19 million to two relief pitchers. Of the current outfield quintuplet, only Ben Revere has ever logged more than 500 at-bats in a single season.
Amaro said the best-case scenario is pitting unproven players against one another with hopes that competition creates a viable outfield. Domonic Brown will receive every chance at earning a role as an everyday player. Health will always be an impediment until Brown shows otherwise.
The likeliest spot for a platoon situation is left field, where any combination of John Mayberry Jr., Darin Ruf and Laynce Nix could form. Mayberry and Ruf both bat righthanded.
Mayberry, if anything, is an ideal platoon partner. His .868 OPS vs. lefties over the past two seasons is 22d in baseball among hitters with at least 300 plate appearances. His slugging percentage (.534) is 12th best. Used correctly, Mayberry could be a powerful part of a combination.
The only issue is this: The Phillies faced 53 lefthanded starting pitchers in 2012. Over the last five seasons, they have faced an average of 48.8 lefty starters per season. So if Mayberry strictly plays vs. lefties, he could expect approximately 50 starts with the platoon advantage.
Where will the other 112 come from?
Some of it could be Mayberry, if he is the hot hand. His 2012 splits, however, suggest that is poor usage. Mayberry made 51 starts against a lefty and 56 against a righty in 2012. His OPS was 153 points lower vs. righty starters.
Oddly enough, the Phillies could hitch their outfield fate to Darin Ruf, a player not thought of highly among front office officials and scouts until late last season. No one knows if Ruf has the offensive skills to face major-league pitching on a daily basis or the ability to regularly play left field.
Ruf hit both lefties and righties during his torrid minor-league season. Ruf has a 1.188 OPS vs. lefties and .869 OPS vs. righties over the past two minor-league seasons. Whether that can translate is the great unknown.
Nix has been used almost exclusively against righthanded pitching in his career (1,701 of his career 1,927 plate appearances are vs. righties). He is a career .253 hitter with a .744 OPS against righties. Again, the concern with Nix would be health. He has required time on the disabled list in three of the last four seasons. He missed 63 games with a calf strain in 2012.
And, as Amaro intimated Monday, this could all be a makeshift situation until a better option presents itself in a midseason trade. The Phillies should enter 2013 with enough flexibility to make such a move.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Very confused by this article. Why in the world would you platoon Mayberry with Ruf? Brown and Revere are left handed. If anything, Mayberry would spot one of those two vs a tough lefty. Plus he could be a defensive replacement late in the game for Ruf. And Laynce Nix will NOT be part of any platoon whatsoever. You are hoping that a couple of those guys (Revere, Mayberry, Ruf, Brown) will prove good enough to be future starters. You will not be taking time from them with Nix.— zubzub
The question, I think, is how well will Mayberry hit lefties if he only faces lefties. It's simply not enough at bats for him to get airborne. They need a proven platoon right-handed bat. John needs a chance on another team. As it is the Phillies are going to be killed by left-handed pitching. Lefties are going to come out of retirement to face them.— JayW- I don't really understand this post. Mayberry has crushed lefties and struggled versus righties his whole career and he has basically been a spot player and now should be considered a veteran. How do more at bats vs. righties help him do even better against lefties when he already is one of the best? — jtj06
- A player with a big swing needs a lot of consecutive at bats to find his stroke and get his timing. (Yes, a few learn how to thrive part time, but this is very hard when you only play against lefties, because there aren't that many of them.) You can't look at his at bats against lefties in isolation. If you take away total and consecutive at bats (even if they are poorer at bats against righties) you may not get the same performance. Also, if his good numbers in 2011 were thought to be a predictor for 2013, the Phillies would have no outfield issues. — JayW
- What I take away from this is that the Phils have pretty much given up on Mayberry being more than a platoon player and he may become less than that if Ruf is ready to step up and be the every day left fielder. Ruf hits, he stays up and Mayberry backs up Brown in right with some action against lefties. If Ruf doesn't perform, he goes to AAA for more seasoning and Mayberry becomes a platoon player in left with Nix. I'm inferring more than the article actually says.— Claudio Vernight
- Claudio: pretty good analysis based on their previous handling of Brown.— frstrm
- I'm not too concerned with the outfield production. Last years was mediocre and if the relief pitchers didn't blow 17 8th inning leads, well, we may have made the playoffs. Key is pitching. If the starters play up to their ability, and relievers do 50% better (which from terrible would be mediocre), they would only need to rely on their offense to produce minimal runs. I think they can accomplish that...small ball - is what it is.— Leo Getz
- Yes another name: Juan Carlos Linares of the Red Sox. A right-handed-hitting outfielder probably obtainable by trade. Start him at triple A, move him to majors if he performs well. Not proven but a good backup plan.— JayW
- Chooch!— 1danny
- Just can't see why they would want to platoon Darin Ruf. He is an every day player. The best I can figure in 2012, of Ruf's 52 home runs combined in the EL, EL playoffs, NL and VWL, he hit 29 home runs against right-handed pitching and 23 homers against lefties. Why would you platoon him when he has shown that kind of power balance? Yes, have a defensive outfielder ready for him in games close and late but his name should be penciled in the starting lineup of every game in 2013 especially when your top home run hitter in 2012 was a switch hitter who hit only a total of 23 home runs for the entire season.— Dull
- ruf is fool's gold. nothing but power and will struggle to hit in the bigs. can only hit mistake fastballs over the plate. a platoon of nix and mayberry is pretty solid. I also like Brown in left every single day. see what he's got.— Ryan
- phils shud pursue stanton from the marlins before the mets get him and he has power,and a good arm in rf ,get rid of brown,,and howard as well— hardball
- The outfield looks like major trouble period. Amaro is waiting for next year when alot of money comes off the books. Can everyone see this or are you just kidding yourself if he does not get a power righthanded bat write this year off. End of story but bye those tickets pay big bucks for parking and concessions. Always next year.— zbeachigo
I say, let Ruf play everyday until he plays himself out of the position.— John621- I agree. Unless he totally sucks in Spring Training let him begin the season as the starting Left Fielder and keep him there until its obvious that he can't handle the job. If nothing else, he'll "run into one" occasionally and land a few in the flower bed. That has to be a better option than putting Nix out there. Same for Domonic Brown. Give him the starting Right Fielder job and keep him there until he stinks up the place or gets hurt. In his case, a platoon with Mayberry might be the smartest approach. If Mayberry has proven nothing else, he's proven that he can hit left handed pitchers. — SteveS11
