Phillies prospect Roman Quinn has simple goal: to stay healthy
ALLENTOWN - Ever since he signed with the Phillies as a second-round pick out of Port St. Joe (Fla.) High School in 2011, Roman Quinn has always had the same goal entering a season, one that he has yet to fully achieve.
ALLENTOWN - Ever since he signed with the Phillies as a second-round pick out of Port St. Joe (Fla.) High School in 2011, Roman Quinn has always had the same goal entering a season, one that he has yet to fully achieve.
So as Quinn begins the season with the triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs as their centerfielder and leadoff hitter, the goal remains the same.
"I have to stay healthy for a whole season and that is my biggest goal," Quinn said Tuesday at Coca Cola Park before an evening exhibition game against double-A Reading.
Quinn has yet to play more than 92 games in a season because of a variety of injuries.
Last season, he totaled 92 at three levels. He played 71 for Reading and six on a rehab assignment for the Gulf Coast Phillies. He ended the season appearing in 15 games for the Phillies and performed well.
Quinn made 14 starts for the Phillies, eight in left field and three each in center and right. He hit .263, stole five bases in six attempts, and scored 10 runs.
However, the year concluded in familiar fashion. He left a game on Sept. 27 at Atlanta with a strained side muscle that ended his season.
Earlier in the year, he strained the same muscle in his left side and was out for a month and a half. Three weeks after his return, he suffered a concussion that sidelined him another week.
"The injuries last year were frustrating, but there was a point in time I stopped feeling sorry for myself and just tried to move on and do everything I can to stay on the field," Quinn said.
When he does, Quinn can be a disruptive force on the base paths with his speed. He stole 31 bases at Reading last season.
"He can do special things and impact the game in so many ways with his speed, power, defense, and arm," said IronPigs manager Dusty Wathan, who managed Quinn last season with the Fightin Phils. "It is a big year for him to stay healthy, get back to Philadelphia, and let him contribute at that level."
Even if Quinn is healthy, there isn't a place for him at the moment as a starter in Philadelphia, with Odubel Herrera entrenched in center and veterans Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders as corner outfielders.
Of course, the veterans can always be dealt at the trade deadline. Quinn insists he isn't concerned about the various scenarios.
"I don't worry what is going on up there or what is behind me but just what is in front of me," Quinn said. "That is all I can control."
This spring, he more than held his own. A switch-hitter and natural righthanded batter, he hit .289 (13 for 45) with a .795 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He stole 10 bases in 14 attempts.
"Me and [Phillies hitting coach] Matt Stairs were working on a couple of things and it had me feeling good," Quinn said. "I went through camp feeling good on both sides of the plate, which has never happened - either I feel good from one side and cold from the other - but I felt good on both sides and will try to build from that."
Like Wathan, Quinn's teammates speak in awe about his skill, but there is always one disclaimer.
"If he stays healthy, he will wreak havoc on the base paths," said shortstop J.P. Crawford, the Phillies' No. 1 prospect. "He makes my job hitting behind him easier."
Quinn, 23, bats leadoff with Crawford behind him. This could one day be the combination at the top of the Phillies order.
Quinn spent the offseason in Clearwater working with the Phillies' strength and conditioning staff and said he felt great.
Of course, he hopes to be saying the same thing in September.
"If I get a full season of at-bats," he said, "I would love to see where my game goes from there."
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