Phillies no longer using Citizens Bank Park to their advantage
SAN FRANCISCO - These days, the chatter about Citizens Bank Park as a bandbox is muted because the home team cannot hit for power. The ballpark gained its reputation more than a decade ago when robust Phillies lineups dumped high flies into flower beds. Pitchers from opposing teams complained; the effect became exaggerated.
SAN FRANCISCO - These days, the chatter about Citizens Bank Park as a bandbox is muted because the home team cannot hit for power. The ballpark gained its reputation more than a decade ago when robust Phillies lineups dumped high flies into flower beds. Pitchers from opposing teams complained; the effect became exaggerated.
But earlier this month, when potent Toronto and Arizona lineups came to Philadelphia and bashed 17 homers in six games, it served as a reminder of how Citizens Bank Park has become such a disadvantage for the home team.
The Phillies, under Andy MacPhail and Matt Klentak, have prioritized pitching in the rebuilding process. Good pitching is a commodity in this game. The Phillies - both MacPhail and Klentak have repeatedly said - can buy hitters when they're ready to contend because of the ballpark's reputation.
But power is more elusive than ever in baseball, and buying it is not as simple as it was a decade ago. Shouldn't the Phillies, who have an inherent advantage to tailor their team to their ballpark, be better at exploiting it?
It is somewhat staggering to consider how Citizens Bank Park has become a disadvantage for the home team. The Phillies have been outslugged by a wide margin in their own ballpark for the last few years. They have not developed a legitimate power hitter since Ryan Howard.
Their .368 slugging percentage at home since 2014 is 29th in baseball. Opponents have slugged .415 in that span. There have been 398 homers hit at Citizens Bank Park since the start of 2014 and just 163 (41 percent) are by the Phillies. The Phillies rank 25th in baseball in home runs at home since 2014.
This season, in 38 home games, the opposition owns a slugging percentage 120 points higher than the Phillies'. Yes, better pitching will reduce that gap. So, too, would a few more Phillies power hitters.
Since they drafted Howard in 2001, the Phillies have selected 24 position players who made the majors either with them or another team. Those 24 players had combined for 261 homers through Thursday. The leaders: Domonic Brown (54), Darin Ruf (32), Michael Bourn (32), Cody Asche (29), and Travis d'Arnaud (26).
Brown and Ruf are in the minors. The other three are not power hitters. Maikel Franco, signed for $100,000 as a teenager in the Dominican Republic, could transform into a reliable power presence. He smashed 26 homers in his first 162 major-league games; only three Phillies had more in their first 162 games: Chuck Klein (44), Howard (43), and Don Hurst (32).
Klentak last week said Howard's mere power potential - while far diminished from his glory years - is enough to justify a roster spot. While that may be true, it is more an indicator of how few other power options the Phillies have developed.
"I know that opposing managers absolutely know when Ryan Howard is in the on-deck circle and on the bench with a chance to come up," Klentak said. "They have to respect the power and the impact that comes with that. Right now, for us, we think there's value to that on our 25-man roster."
The emergence of both Dylan Cozens and Rhys Hoskins comes with both excitement and caution. The two young sluggers at double-A Reading have been at or near the top of the minor-league leaders in home runs all season. They could add pop to the lineup in 2017. But, given the franchise's track record, it could be that the strikeout-prone Cozens and Hoskins are both beneficiaries of Reading's favorable ballpark.
The Phillies, over the last decade, had targeted power at the top of the draft. They selected Anthony Hewitt with the 24th pick in 2008 and Larry Greene Jr. with the 39th pick in 2011 because of their power potential. But both were high-ceiling prep hitters who lacked the elusive talent to recognize pitches.
So it was interesting to see the Phillies, in the later rounds of this draft, take chances on three small-college first basemen with big power bats. Darick Hall, a 14th-round pick, slugged .630 with 20 homers at Dallas Baptist University this year. Caleb Eldridge, a 20th-round pick, slugged .781 with 16 homers for Cowley (Kan.) College. Alex Wojciechowski, a 15th-round pick, was one of the top Division II players with a .973 slugging percentage and 33 homers for Minnesota-Duluth.
Wojciechowski, though, may not sign because of a significant elbow injury suffered around the time of the draft.
They're all lottery tickets, like Howard was as a fifth-round pick from Missouri State. It's just jarring that the Phillies have not filled Citizens Bank Park with any homegrown sluggers since.
@MattGelb