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The Philadelphia Phillies have the advantage of no one having any expectations of them this season. They’ve been part of a rebuilding process for the past couple of years and after a 63-99 season in 2015, the team wasn’t expected to do much more this year. Whatever they do in 2016, it’ll likely be seen as progress.
Despite the horrible season that we witnessed from the Phillies last year, there were still causes for optimism when looking up and down their roster. First and foremost, the average age of the team is relatively low. The longest-tenured players on the team are Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard, and it’s possible that one or both could be moved by the trade deadline.
There are two names on the roster who are attracting as much attention as any young players in the league.
Third baseman Maikel Franco has been raising eyebrows since his May call-up last season and hasn’t disappointed so far in 2016. The 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic is hitting .289 through 19 games and leads the team with five home runs and 14 RBIs.
From a pitching standpoint, one of the Phillies’ prized possessions is starter Aaron Nola. The 22-year-old made his debut on July 21 last season and since that point has gone 7-4 with an ERA of 3.82 — extremely impressive for a player who pitches for a team that finished 36 games below .500 last season. His 2016 stats are less impressive but aside from one bad start, he’s pitched very well. His 30 strikeouts ranks second on the team behind only Vince Velasquez (33). It’s worth mentioning that Velasquez is just 23 years old.
Philadelphia is 10-10 heading into Wednesday night. They sit just 4.5 games out of first place in the NL East. No one expects the Phillies to make a postseason run as the season progresses, but 70 wins isn’t out of the question. A seven-game improvement with a young roster would be a huge step for the organization, and I think fans would be very excited with that kind of progress.
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