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Phillies Hitters: The Great Eight

B-Dub Written by B-Dub, Wednesday March 24 2010
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There is no question in my mind that the Philadelphia Phillies have the best lineup in major league baseball.  Sure, Yankee and Red Sox fans will insist that their teams score more runs, but that's with that bastardized version of baseball they play in the American League with the designated hitter.
 
The Phillies were the only National League team among the top five in runs scored in 2009.  And that was without a single Phillies player hitting over .300 for the first time under manager Charlie Manuel.  Yes, the Yankees led MLB in runs, but their core is getting old, while the core of the Phillies lineup is in their prime.  Plus, the Phillies replaced Pedro Feliz at 3B with Placido Polanco.  Polanco is a much better hitter than Polanco and is the prototypical two-hitter.
 
Here is the Phillies projected starting lineup with their 2009 stats.
 
                                             AVG      HR    RBI     R       SB      SO      OPS
 
SS-Jimmy Rollins           .250       21      77     100     31       70      .719
3B-Placido Polanco        .285       10      72       82       7       46      .727
2B-Chase Utley               .282       31      93     112     23     110      .905
1B-Ryan Howard             .279       45    141     105      8      186      .931
RF-Jayson Werth            .268        36      99       98     20     156      .879
LF-Raul Ibanez                .272        34      93       93       4     119      .899
CF-Shane Victorino         .292       10      62     102     25       71      .803
C-Carlos Ruiz                  .255          9      43       32        3        39     .780
 

Those are some impressive numbers when you consider that only Werth and Victorino had career years in 2009.  Now let's take a look at them one-by-one.

SS - Jimmy Rollins

2009 was one of the worst seasons of Rollins' career and he still scored 100 runs.  It's amazing that his stats looked as good as they did in 2009 considering that Rollins was batting .205 as late as July 1.  He hasn't been able to match his MVP season of 2007, but he's still one of the best SS in MLB.  He could take more walks, but as long as he's scoring 100+ runs a year it doesn't really matter how he gets on base.  Then there is also the little matter of Rollins being the best fielding SS in MLB, as evidenced by his three straight Gold Glove awards the last three years.

3B - Placido Polanco

Polanco is a career .303 hitter and the perfect two-hole hitter for the Phillies.  In a lineup with too many strikeouts, Polanco excels at making contact to advance runners to get them in scoring position or play a little hit and run.  The Phillies were the top scoring team in the NL last season without a player to do that.  Now they have a guy who does it very well.  The only downside to Polanco is that he has absolutely no power.  And he will also be changing positions after winning a Gold Glove at 2B last season.  He did play 3B before though, when he was with the Phillies previously.  It shouldn't be a problem.

2B - Chase Utley 

Chase Utley is, without question, the best 2B in MLB and there is sure to be a NL MVP award in his future.  2009 was a down year in every offensive category except stolen bases (24 steals without ever getting caught) for Utley.  He is a lock for 30+ HRs, 110+ Runs and 100+ RBIs.  You can't get those numbers from any other second baseman.  His performance in last year's World Series, where he hit a record tying 5 homeruns, proves how great he is.

1B - Ryan Howard
 
Howard is a classic power-hitter who strikes out too much.  The thing is, he's so good, you can live with the KOs.  Howard was the Rookie of the Year in 2005 and the NL MVP in 2006.  He was also hit 200 HRs faster than any other player ever in MLB history.  Since 2006 he has led the NL in HRs twice and RBIs three times.  Sure the KOs tend to lead to a few slumps, but those always occur early in the season.  Howard has a track record of getting better as the season wears on.  When he's locked in he's on Pujols' level.  In short, he is one of the most feared hitters in the middle of a packed lineup.   

RF - Jayson Werth

Werth had career highs in every single offensive category in 2009 because he had over 500 at-bats for the first time in his career.  As a matter of fact, it was only the second time in his career that he had over 400 at-bats.  He made the most of the opportunity and made the All-Star Team.  Werth offers production in every category and is a valuable right-handed bat in a lineup load with left-handed hitters.  The balance he provides for heart of this lineup is critical.  He is also in a contract year, so he has even more incentive to set new career highs.

LF - Raul Ibanez

Ibanez was having an MVP-type season in the first half of 2009 and made the All-Star team.  Then he suffered what turned out to be a sports hernia and slumped in the second half.  He had offseason surgery and is ready to go this season.  Even with the slump, Ibanez put up numbers that would make him the #1 OF on some other teams.  Now that he's healthy he should be able to do some real damage in 2010.

CF - Shane Victorino

Victorino had a career year in 2009 and made his first All-Star game.  Now he'll be moving down to the 7th spot in the lineup, where he'll have more RBI opportunities.  He'll also be able to run more with only Ruiz and the pitcher hitting behind him.  As good as Victorino has become at the plate he's even better in the field, as evidenced by the Gold Glove he won last season.  Whole lot of Gold Gloves on the Phillies aren't there?

C - Carlos Ruiz

Ruiz's stats may not look that impressive, until you compare them to other catchers.  Or even to the #8 hitters in other lineups.  When you do that they're still that impressive, but at least they look average.  Ruiz's strength is his ability to handle a pitching staff.  Any offense he provides is gravy.  It was nice to see him hit .341 with 2 HRs and 9 RBIs during the 2009 postseason though.        

One through eight, the Phillies lineup has no equal.  The presence of the pitcher's spot in the batting order means that they won't score the most runs in MLB, but that's just because the AL teams don't play the game the way it was meant to be played.

When you take into account both offense and defense, the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies starting lineup has no equal. 


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2 comments


0 up down 0
B-DubB-Dub, over 2 years ago said:

Oh MC Homeslice, you need to look the stats again. Citizen's Bank Park isn't even aomng the top HR ballparks in MLB. It's in the top third, but it's not as bad as you make it seem. And if you check Howard and Utley's splits, they hit bombs in any park. They have an AL offense in the NL. Again, check the stats as I have. And exactly how is it easier to play defense in a smaller ballpark, when all of the infields are EXACTLY the same dimensions. By using your logic, should I say Lincecum is good, but not great because he pitches in a big ballpark? If he pitched in Philly would he suck? Of course not. Roy Halladay will prove it doesn't matter where you pitch, when he wins the NL Cy Young award this year.

0 up down 0
MC HomerMC Homer, over 2 years ago said:

They have a great offense, no doubt, but if you put them in AT&T Park, Petco, or Citi Field they would only be good, not great. They play in a very small ballpark in which it is easy to play defense and even easier to hit homeruns. I know you're a homer Dub and I can respect that, but let's not ignore the obvious.