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.
The biggest concern with Nix is that he is a horrible, no-tool, player who doesn't belong in a contending team's starting line up under any circumstances. As for Mayberry, 50 starts and 200-300 at bats would be great. If he went solely against lefties he'd have killer numbers. But rather than putting everyone on a hot seat and looking over their shoulders if they go 0-for-4, I think they are better off going with Ruf in left and a consistent Brown/Mayberry platoon in right every day. Ruf showed in September that he has a good idea at the plate, a short swing, and incredible power. The power hitting prospects that flame out are the ones who aren't selective and that doesn't seem to be a problem with him.— jtj06- I'm with many of the posters wanting Ruf to get a fair shot at showing what he's got on an everyday basis. I mean, why not? The GM didn't exactly go to the wall with moves this offseason in an attempt to make up the almost 20-game gap the Nats built over the Phils last season, so, if an inference can be made, the outfield should be truly up for grabs and if the kid comes out and shows he's got game against pitchers from both sides, then give him the shot. All or most of the other teams in the league would do exactly that but I have this nagging suspicion that even now, minds are made up and Ruf will be on a very, very short leash.Meanwhile, Brown and Mayberry will continue to receive extended playing time regardless what they do. If Ruf does get a shot and has an iffy April, he'll be gone. Just the way veteran-favoring Manuel is.This is not quite an experimental season but, seriously, does anyone really expect the Phils to contend with the lineup they will feature? Let's give the kid a shot in left. (HTML deleted)— advantasux
- @advantasux, I agree completely with you regarding putting Ruf in left and see if he pans out. He showed promise last year in the short time he was here. I'd almost go out on a limb and say that he will be THE power in the outfield this year. The jury is still out on Brown and Mayberry. I think I'm ok with Revere in center, but he needs to lead off. Of course, with Manuel in the dugout, his bromance with Rollins will continue and Rollins will lead off. We still have a glaring need a proven power hitting outfielder we can plant in right field and this is where Amaro MUST perform, and before July for God's sake!
- @ghost, as I wrote last night, dude, you are in mid-season form already.— advantasux
- Here is how we handle the Mayberry/Nix platoon. Ruf starts in Left. When someone brings in the situational lefty to strike-out Howard in the 8th/9th inning you send Mayberry up to pinch-hit. s soon as the righty comes in you send up Nix. Whoever actually bats goes to Left as Ruf moves to First. This moves is performed until Mr. Howard start hitting over .260 against Lefties in the first 7 innings.— garcia7
- Here is how we handle the Mayberry/Nix platoon. Ruf starts in Left. When someone brings in the situational lefty to strike-out Howard in the 8th/9th inning you send Mayberry up to pinch-hit. s soon as the righty comes in you send up Nix. Whoever actually bats goes to Left as Ruf moves to First. This moves is performed until Mr. Howard start hitting over .260 against Lefties in the first 7 innings.— garcia7
fun- I think they should be looking for Ruf to become an every day play while platooning him at first with Nix, but just until he settles into a comfort zone. This is what they did pretty much with Utley, it seems to me, and it worked. Ruf, I believe, is now the key to the Phils' chances of contending once again if they get the pitching necessary. He could become a Howard/Utley level guy given his track record so far and how his minor league success looked legitimate by what we saw with the big club. Also, despite the disappointment that Mayberry was as an everyday player there's enough of a track record to say he's pretty good against lefthanders. His history shows some clear patterns, one of which poor starts to seasons and strong second halves. It also shows very good numbers vs. lefties consistently: .284 ba, higher than average slugging pct.and OPS. When you factor in his defense, arm, and speed you are talking about a solid, at worst, platoon out fielder. If Brown begins to show more than he has great, but he's not given much reason to expect that. Also, his best chance to grow seems to be to just face righties for now as well. Their OF production therefore pivots on Ruf becoming special and Mayberry continuing to be effective against southpaws and realizing a slow star for him is not unusual.— joe goldberg
