The Good Phight - 2022 season in reviewSmall victories, large defeats.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/33221/favicon.ico2023-01-19T09:30:00-05:00http://www.thegoodphight.com/rss/stream/231497572023-01-19T09:30:00-05:002023-01-19T09:30:00-05:00You already know Aaron Nola was good in 2022, so let’s talk about his future
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<img alt="MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at Miami Marlins" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OTl9QCPBET-UQok-x51xbXT1FFo=/0x0:5244x3496/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71883154/usa_today_18709244.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p><em>He’s still an ace, folks.</em></p> <p id="uKeshC">2022 was very, very good to Aaron Nola. He established himself further as one of the top arms in the game, he exorcised his September demons and for those who may not familiar with him around the country, he introduced himself to the larger national stage.</p>
<p id="37qy3Y">All in all, a pretty, pretty, pretty good season.</p>
<p id="CkIfnD"><em>2022 stats: 32 GS, 205 IP, 168 H, 75 R (74 ER), 19 HR, 29.1 K%, 3.6 BB%, 3.25 ERA (2.58 FIP), 6.0 bWAR</em></p>
<h3 id="vS9Npz"><em><strong>The good</strong></em></h3>
<p id="QPPBzQ">What more can you say about Nola in 2022?</p>
<p id="KwtW2K">He had a few stinkers, as most pitchers are wont to do, but his consistency was needed for a team that lost their co-ace for much of the stretch run. His rankings in the statistics you look at most for pitchers were among the best in the game.</p>
<ul>
<li id="UdsJeo">bWAR - 6.0 (4th in MLB)</li>
<li id="5FC7g1">WHIP - 0.96 (7th in MLB)</li>
<li id="Ud3uOx">BB/9 - 1.27 (2nd in MLB)</li>
<li id="dCnriT">K/9 - 10.32 (9th in MLB among SP)</li>
<li id="bAWxgv">IP - 205 (2nd in MLB)</li>
<li id="X1zTeV">K - 235 (4th in MLB)</li>
<li id="EiBXtw">K/BB - 8.10 (1st in MLB)</li>
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<p id="tuQfmS">It’s just so impressive to look back, statistically, at his season and see where he ended up. He sometimes gets lost in the conversation about top starters in the game, but this past year should put him back in that conversation.</p>
<h3 id="WbEbFE"><em><strong>The bad</strong></em></h3>
<p id="5cM9NU">One could argue that Nola looked pretty bad in the NLCS and <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/world-series">World Series</a> and you wouldn’t get much pushback from me. 13 innings pitched in three starts in the two series and he allowed 14 runs to the Padres and <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com">Astros</a>. It was pretty shocking to see him perform so poorly, but I think we can all admit - Nola was almost totally spent by that point. </p>
<p id="HI1sQr">By the time he toed the rubber in San Diego, he had thrown 217 <sup>2</sup>⁄<sub>3</sub> innings to that point, the most in his career. It wasn’t so far over his previous high of 212 <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>3</sub> years back, but considering he had pitched in what felt like a playoff atmosphere for the month prior to that if you factor in the game he needed to win just to get to October, the emotional and physical toll on his arm was showing. Might you expect he dig a little deeper, use that extra adrenaline jolt to carry him through his starts? You could, but that can only do so much. Eventually, you’re going to be on fumes and for Nola, those fumes just weren’t enough to get him across the finish line still at the level he had pitched at all year long.</p>
<h3 id="HruweQ"><em><strong>The future</strong></em></h3>
<p id="E2c1VP">Ah, the meat of the post.</p>
<p id="Slu4rq">Arguably, the biggest question left this offseason for the team to answer is what they are going to do about Aaron Nola in the future. We are all aware that this is his final season under contract with the team and that there is mutual interest in working out something beyond the 2023 season. </p>
<p id="LMiw3V">For the <a href="https://www.thegoodphight.com/">Phillies</a>, the obvious fit of Nola atop the rotation with Zack Wheeler for the foreseeable future would make sense for their World Series aspirations. After all, we saw what having two aces in a staff can do during the Wild Card round, as well as the Divisional Round. It’s been a key component of playoff teams for eons and has become more critical as playoff series get shorter and shorter.</p>
<p id="kh2XsX">For Nola, his value to the team is almost the living embodiment of the Jack Nicholson tirade in “A Few Good Men”, his being able to recite to Dave Dombrowski and friends, “You WANT me on that wall, you NEED me on that wall...” While he can aggravate at times with his home run proneness, it’s getting hard to argue that he isn’t in the top tier of pitchers in the game.</p>
<p id="J5lZgn">But at what price? Words have been written already about how much the team should be offering in an extension offer and there will undoubtedly be more written as the class 2023-24 free agents dwindle in both quantity and quality. The team would clearly like to have him back at the right price while Nola would like to cash in one final time before his prime years start appearing in the rear view mirror with greater frequency. It’s an interesting debate that might be a little muddied by what the team is doing with their top prospects.</p>
<p id="ioBrga">Last year, Mick Abel and Andrew Painter were being moved through the system with haste, the team in need of some reinforcements late in the season. There was a fleeting thought to giving them a start or two in September, but those dreams met the realities of a pennant race and innings limits, the pair too valuable to thrust into that kind of spotlight and risk some kind of damage. But what if there was an ulterior motive to them moving along? Clearly, they were both ready for the push the team was giving them, but what if they were also being moved in hopes of being ready to join the major league roster in time for a possible Nola departure? The team is pushing up against the second tax threshold this year, a year after breaking into the luxury tax threshold for the first time. Is it possible they are looking to replace Nola with both of the kids so that they can have a little more palatable bottom line without sacrificing, in their eyes, in terms of pitching talent and ability? Without them throwing a pitch in a major league mound yet, that feels like an awfully risky move to make. There are all sorts of things that could go wrong with the pair - injury, ineffectiveness, steps backwards in development. If they are counting on them to both be at, or near, Nola’s level in 2024, it just doesn’t feel like the wisest thing to do.</p>
<p id="0z70DF">So, as the team moves into the coming season, the possibility of a Nola extension will be discussed and discussed often. It’s really one of the only things “hovering” over the team outside of the regular worries a team has. They should smarten up and offer him the money. But will they?</p>
<h3 id="K3hKOn"><em><strong>Final grade: A</strong></em></h3>
<p id="fCo908">He was great for most of the year, but we were all mostly pointing at the calendar with added vigor, saying, “Do it in September, Aaron, and I’ll be happy.”</p>
<p id="vdToRC">Well, that criticism of his game can be laid to rest.</p>
<p id="mvJ0n3">Nitpicking at his World Series performance might knock him down a peg for some and that would be defensible. For me, an A is pretty much exactly where it should be for his whole season.</p>
https://www.thegoodphight.com/2023/1/19/23549917/2022-report-card-aaron-nolaEthan Witte2023-01-16T08:58:00-05:002023-01-16T08:58:00-05:002022 report card: David Robertson
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<img alt="World Series - Houston Astros v Philadelphia Phillies - Game Five" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RZj_ygSwon3Yz6NpmDIpvSH2MOk=/0x0:2379x1586/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71870908/1438807076.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Robertson was a handsome, if not always effective option out of the bullpen | Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The handsome reliever’s second stint with the team was better than his first</p> <p id="8Dkfle">Prior to the 2019 season, the <a href="https://www.thegoodphight.com/">Phillies</a> signed reliever David Robertson to a two-year contract. He immediately became the roster’s best-looking player, but unfortunately his on-field performance wasn’t much to look at. He pitched ineffectually in seven games before a ligament tear required him to undergo Tommy John surgery, forcing him to serve out the remainder of his deal on the Injured List.</p>
<p id="BEQyw5">After returning to the majors in 2021, Robertson signed with the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> as a free agent prior to the 2022 season. Serving as their closer, he pitched well; so well, that when the Phillies sought midseason relief help, they identified Robertson as an option. Robertson seemed pleased to have a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of Phillies fans.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Excited for a second chance!! Let’s go <a href="https://twitter.com/Phillies?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Phillies</a>! <a href="https://t.co/Ip9t6MfWbK">https://t.co/Ip9t6MfWbK</a></p>— David Robertson (@DRob30) <a href="https://twitter.com/DRob30/status/1554576841905766406?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2022</a>
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<p id="ggHgRA">At first, the move looked like a success, as Robertson helped team with Seranthony Dominguez to shore up the late innings. Unfortunately, Dominguez then had to go on the Injured List, and manager Rob Thomson was forced to place a heavy burden on Robertson. Too heavy a burden, it would seem, as Robertson’s effectiveness diminished as the season progressed.</p>
<p id="QwIQ4e">In the playoffs, he was generally used in lower-leverage spots, and generally pitched well enough. (Except of course for the NLDS which he had to missed because he hurt himself celebrating a home run in the Wild Card series.)</p>
<p id="FqdA8o"><em>The stats (with Phillies): 22 games, 23.1 IP, 1-3 W-L, 6 saves, 2.70 ERA, 11.6 K/9, 6.2 BB/9, 0.7 WAR</em></p>
<h3 id="Ryieet">The good</h3>
<p id="1JVHxI">Without Robertson, the Phillies might not have been able to withstand the late-season loss of Dominguez. And as always, Robertson’s good looks were a welcome sight on our television screens.</p>
<h3 id="qHdBoW">The bad</h3>
<p id="bubD71">Robertson’s inability to hold up under the heavy workload nearly cost the Phillies a chance at the playoffs. He had a few very poor appearances which led to some seemingly killer losses down the stretch.</p>
<h3 id="MX1fyx">The future</h3>
<p id="MTt8J2">Robertson signed with the division rival <a href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">Mets</a> where he will not be teammates with Carlos Correa. With the additions of Craig Kimbrel, Gregory Soto, <a href="https://www.thegoodphight.com/2022/12/9/23501715/handsomeness-in-handsomeness-out">and especially Trea Turner</a>, the Phillies seem to have adequately replaced him.</p>
<p id="O5L8ll"><strong>Grade: B-</strong></p>
<p id="Nv5Dgt">Unlike his first, disastrous stint with the Phillies, Robertson was generally effective, even if he lagged a bit at the end.</p>
https://www.thegoodphight.com/2023/1/16/23549537/2022-report-card-david-robertsonThe Smarty Jones2023-01-13T09:30:00-05:002023-01-13T09:30:00-05:002022 report card: Johan Camargo
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<img alt="MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at Pittsburgh Pirates" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mVuhiQq5smwvElqOBoCKwKXLmiU=/9x0:3024x2010/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71861247/usa_today_18792409.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p><em>You didn’t think we forgot about him, did you?</em></p> <p id="fC1fw3">Anybody remember Johan Camargo? </p>
<p id="Iw6j1G">Early on in the 2022 season, Johan Camargo had somewhat consistent playing time under Joe Girardi. In the first three months of the season he started 30 games for the <a href="https://www.thegoodphight.com/">Phillies</a>, mostly playing at shortstop. While I am a big fan of giving players opportunities, Bryson Stott was on the bench while Camargo was playing most of the time. That was a problem.</p>
<p id="rGIW3A">Camargo, 29, signed a one-year contract, worth $1.4 million dollars with the Phillies last offseason. At the beginning of the season, he spent a lot of time with the major league club but then when it got down to the nitty-gritty of the season and also when Girardi got fired, that’s where Camargo began to spend most of his time in Lehigh Valley.</p>
<p id="k61Ld7"><em>2022 stats: 166 PA, .237/.297/.316, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 7.8 BB%, 22.3 K%, 74 wRC+, 0.2 bWAR</em></p>
<h3 id="DxWvGc"><em><strong>The Good</strong></em></h3>
<p id="oyJwO1">When the Phillies signed Camargo, they were signing his glove, plain and simple. Camargo, over his four seasons and 724 <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>3</sub> innings played at shortstop, only committed 4 errors. Not only can Camargo play elite defense at shortstop, he can play anywhere he is needed in the infield. Outside of his shortstop play for the Phillies, he also logged innings at third, second and first base. Hence, that’s the most likely reason why the Phillies decided to sign him because he is so serviceable defensively in the infield.</p>
<p id="pOJV1n">To touch on his offense or lack thereof, Camargo batted his best when he faced right-handed pitching. He had a respectable batting average of .279 and brought in nine runs across the plate. Most of his offensive success came in the early part of the season which makes sense since he was getting a good amount of playing time, he batted .269/.321/.365 with a homerun. </p>
<p id="yxgYDA">Camargo was good with his glove for the Phillies which they paid, for but Camargo was a liability at the plate.</p>
<h3 id="XzhgPd"><em><strong>The Bad</strong></em></h3>
<p id="9V53cX">Moving on from his defense and his utility glove positives, I want to dive into more deeply about Camargo’s not-so-elite batting skills for the Phillies. Outside of his breakout season in 2018 for the Braves where he had a slashline of .272/.349/.457 as well as garnering 126 hits, 18 home runs and bringing in 76 runs, he has never been associated with the phrase, a consistent hitter. As stated above, Camargo had a putrid on-base percentage and batted just above the .230 mark. We’ll cut him some slack because he was mostly coming off the bench but that is just not ideal. </p>
<p id="nukL1o">Not only was he struggling at the plate in the majors, he couldn’t even get redemption in Lehigh Valley for the Iron Pigs. His 2022 minor league hitting stats were forgettable and to be honest, his major league numbers were better! He batted .213/.311/.298 and only managed to get 30 hits in 141 minor league at-bats. </p>
<p id="lwvOLz">If we take a quick peek at his Baseball Savant page we can also see that he is in the 7th percentile of sprint speed and in the 27th percentile of max exit velocity. I’m not throwing him under the bus because he is not fast but I’m only showing another aspect of his non-credible offensive game. Not only does being, not fast, affect your offense but it can also hurt your chances to field a ball. Luckily for Camargo, being in the lower percentile of sprint speed hasn’t affected his defensive skills.</p>
<h3 id="4pswMc"><em><strong>The Future</strong></em></h3>
<p id="EovR5O">Camargo on Nov. 27th signed a minor-league contract with the <a href="https://www.twinkietown.com/">Minnesota Twins</a>. I would expect this contract to play out very similarly as it did for the Phillies. When the Twins need a defensive infielder if someone goes down, they will call up Camargo to play. Shoot, even if they need someone off the bench to face a righty, maybe they will call up Camargo.</p>
<h3 id="IjP56i"><em><strong>Grade: C-</strong></em></h3>
<p id="tNzkhY">Camargo sure did earn a D- for his offense but his defense at all positions in the infield helped jump up his grade a bit. </p>
https://www.thegoodphight.com/2023/1/13/23552214/2022-report-card-johan-camargob_shinault2023-01-12T09:30:00-05:002023-01-12T09:30:00-05:00Sometimes, contracts end up exactly as designed, like Brad Hand’s in 2022
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<img alt="MLB: World Series-Houston Astros at Philadelphia Phillies" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7e2uTgG51R8K2KRNgb0nfUWPR5k=/0x0:4957x3305/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71856703/usa_today_19380762.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p><em>He did his job. That’s about all we can say about Brad Hand.</em></p> <p id="5skHS1">Dave Dombrowski has established his routine with the construction where he’ll hand out a few one-year deals to veterans arms, deals that don’t include a large guarantee (or at least one that will hurt the bottom line) and hope for the best. Sometimes the deals don’t work (Jeurys Familia), sometimes they do. Brad Hand’s contract was pretty much exactly what he was worth. He did his job, now the team moves on to another veteran to give a one year deal to. </p>
<p id="2rT3cV">Wash, rinse, repeat.</p>
<p id="ZtJcx0"><em>2022 stats: 55 G, 45 IP, 37 H, 18 R (14 ER), 19.2 K%, 11.6 BB%, 2.80 ERA (3.93 FIP), 0.9 bWAR</em></p>
<h3 id="CWJH6L"><em><strong>The good</strong></em></h3>
<p id="j7sPX5">About the best thing one can say about Hand’s 2022 season is that he didn’t really kill the <a href="https://www.thegoodphight.com/">Phillies</a> in any of his outings. Running back through his game log, there are only a handful of games where the linescore is ugly. The worst game was his outing on September 20, one in which he gave up four runs in <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub>3</sub> of an inning. He more or less did his job. Maybe it wasn’t the prettiest thing to watch, but it was adequate enough.</p>
<h3 id="eUZQ9K"><em><strong>The bad</strong></em></h3>
<p id="XwL5eV">I think Hand inherited the Hector Neris mantle of “oh no, he’s coming in, cover your eyes” outings. You never really knew what you were going to get, but you could be sure that he’d be walk a tightrope as soon as he got on the mound. The walk rate that he posted was absurdly high, to point where he was near unusable in the postseason. As Rob Thomson cycled through his relievers towards the end, having a left hander like Hand could have made a big difference as it could have helped out Jose Alvarado in some key situations. Alas, Hand’s dependability wavered with each passing week.</p>
<p id="ya7P6M">Up to the playoffs, Hand was stuck in that role of “not quite trustworthy, but he can still get some guys out” limbo relievers get into. In the first two rounds, he wasn’t much of a factor, but once the team reached the NLCS, Hand was going to play a part. In game two, that part pretty much shoveled the final pile of dirt on any hope he was going to be a high leverage reliever.</p>
<p id="ZPZpvo">Aaron Nola had just surrendered the lead and needed to come out, visibly exhausted from the season to that point. The game was still tied, but the Padres has men on second and third and there were two out. Hand was summoned to get Jake Cronenworth out and keep the game tied, but...</p>
<div id="aKu5tS"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/jake-cronenworth-hit-by-pitch-wocf9m" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="6w4jAI">and then...</p>
<div id="VkZx0I"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/brandon-drury-s-two-run-single" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="aDodRF">followed by...</p>
<div id="DKLaec"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/josh-bell-singles-on-a-ground-ball-to-right-fielder-nick-castellanos" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="W0NNsu">It put game two out of reach for the Phillies, a game in a series they would eventually win. What I remember is how angry I was, irrationally, at Hand, but it was kind of a microcosm. Living on the edge for so long before falling off and giving us a bushel of runs.</p>
<h3 id="dyldEV"><em><strong>The future</strong></em></h3>
<p id="GXkb9G">Hand has moved on from the team, destined to get another job with someone else. Whether that job includes a major league contract or a minor league one, time will tell. So long as he continues to throw with his left hand, however, his phone will continue to ring each offseason.</p>
<h3 id="L78MSk"><em><strong>Final grade: C</strong></em></h3>
<p id="zfCVa9">He wasn’t great, he wasn’t bad, he was just average. The ERA may have fooled some for a while into thinking his season was deserving of more playing time, but those of us who are educated in the analytics know to look beyond the baseball card numbers.</p>
https://www.thegoodphight.com/2023/1/12/23549920/2022-report-card-brad-handEthan Witte2023-01-09T10:00:00-05:002023-01-09T10:00:00-05:00Nick Nelson: solid guy, average pitcher, useful member of the roster
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<img alt="MLB: World Series-Houston Astros at Philadelphia Phillies" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/t4ZocUDgiC3-eWVEMLpBxiE9Bfk=/52x0:5475x3615/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71843847/usa_today_19342926.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p><em>An underrated part of the team, if you asked me</em></p> <p id="gzahQW">What do you make of a player like Nick Nelson?</p>
<p id="er2HLI">Surely he isn’t going to be counted on as a major part of the pitching staff. If he is, something has seriously gone awry with the team during the season.</p>
<p id="nMAdB1">He’s not exactly that roster filler at the end of the 26-man squad, the one you don’t want to see come into games when it is on the line. Instead, he fills the role of mop-up guy almost to a tee. </p>
<p id="0UF7Wa">Is your starter getting blown out of the water, yet you need to fill up innings to get you through the game? Nick Nelson is your guy.</p>
<p id="6191Go">Have you exhausted several of your relievers and you need to get this out in the sixth inning while hoping the game remains close? Nick Nelson is your guy.</p>
<p id="s2OVYy"><em>2022 stats: 47 G (2 GS), 68 </em><sup><em>2</em></sup><em>⁄</em><sub><em>3</em></sub><em> IP, 66 H, 38 R (37 ER), 22.6 K%, 11.8 BB%, 4.85 ERA (3.04 FIP), 0.2 bWAR</em></p>
<h3 id="QDdmBo"><em><strong>The good</strong></em></h3>
<p id="axw5iX">Without looking: how many home runs did Nick Nelson give up in 2022?</p>
<p id="5gEwKI">.</p>
<p id="dJ1xhe">.</p>
<p id="m0kWfv">.</p>
<p id="6QaOYX">Would you have guessed only one?</p>
<p id="nr9yVA">Nelson is one of those guys who you would think would get pounded into dust, but he can actually throw a solid fastball and a not horrible slider. In terms of velocity, the fastball actually registered in 88th percentile in the game, something I definitely wouldn’t have expected. He wasn’t hit all that hard and rarely got barreled, so his only allowing one home run all year probably shouldn’t be all that surprising. He had more success last year throwing his fastball and changeup less while upping the amount of time he threw his slider, nearly tripling the usage (8.3% in 2021 to 24.2% in 2022). There is something there is a somewhat decent pitcher.</p>
<h3 id="8j08a8"><em><strong>The bad</strong></em></h3>
<p id="yzufhO">Every team has one of those white flag guys on its roster and as much time as I’ve spent extolling the virtues of Nick Nelson, he <em>feels</em> like yet another example of this type of player. If you see him trotting to mound in third or fourth inning, the game is either out of reach or someone has an injury, neither one a good outcome. If he’s coming in the game in the eighth or ninth inning, either someone is injured, the outcome has been decided or the manager must be truly desperate.</p>
<p id="twQHlG">The problem with writing something in this section is that Nelson wasn’t exactly “bad”. He was just....meh. There wasn’t anything standout “good” about him, but on the flip side of the coin, there wasn’t anything standout “bad” about him either. He was just an ordinary, shows up to work every day and does his job average kind of pitcher.</p>
<h3 id="3cxvPj"><em><strong>The future</strong></em></h3>
<p id="kLey1x">He’ll stay with the team, not making much in terms of salary. His ability to throw either multiple innings a game or just get out a batter or two does give the team some flexibility. If they were to acquire someone else as an upgrade, does he stay? Maybe not. If the team wanted to give someone like Griff McGarry his job, a reliever who could go multiple innings or be effective for only one, would that be wrong? Not really. </p>
<p id="jfSR2z">Put it this way: until someone better comes along, there is a role for Nelson on the team where he would be somewhat useful. At the rate the team is acquiring pitchers for the bullpen, if Nelson isn’t already looking over his shoulder, he should start.</p>
<h3 id="ri3iUj"><em><strong>Final grade: C</strong></em></h3>
<p id="b6ZuYK">Nelson was pretty much the definition of average. He didn’t do anything that would make the world stop on its axis, but he also was that guy every team needs to soak up innings here and there. </p>
https://www.thegoodphight.com/2023/1/9/23530345/2022-report-card-nick-nelsonEthan Witte2023-01-07T08:59:00-05:002023-01-07T08:59:00-05:002022 Player Report Card: Rhys Hoskins
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<p>Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that the Big Fella was a huge part of this NL Championship.</p> <p id="cFNizw">Rhys Hoskins is one of the most polarizing athletes in recent Philadelphia sports history, and for good reason. He’s both infuriating and exhilarating to watch at the same time. When he’s hot, there’s almost no one hotter in baseball. But when he’s cold, there’s almost no one colder. Hoskins also has the privilege of being one of the longest tenured players on the roster, which has left a lot of fans with misguided notions that the playoff drought that lasted over a decade was somehow in part his fault. Regardless of what I say in this report card, I’m sure there will be comments both supporting and vilifying Hoskins. My final grade will be simultaneously too high and too low. It’s impressive how polarizing he really is.</p>
<p id="WuIpei"><em>2022 stats: .246/.332/.462, 30 HR, 79 RBI, 25.1 K%, 10.7 BB%, 122 wRC+, 3.1 WAR</em></p>
<h2 id="xnwhyn"><em><strong>The Good</strong></em></h2>
<p id="g0fNUV">As stated above, when Rhys Hoskins is hot, he crushes the ball better than almost anyone in baseball. In 2022, he set a career-high in hits (145) and mashed 30 homers for the second time in his career, both of which were second-best on the team. He also led the team in doubles (33), was second in walks (72) and third in RBI (79).</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Can I interest you in 36 Rhys Hoskins home runs (30 regular season, 6 postseason) <a href="https://t.co/R8lvIrRYKP">pic.twitter.com/R8lvIrRYKP</a></p>— John Foley (@2008Philz) <a href="https://twitter.com/2008Philz/status/1611175462029369344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2023</a>
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<p id="cboFYY">Playoff Rhys Hoskins was on a month-long hot streak, which played a huge role in getting the Phillies within 2 wins of a parade down Broad Street. He tied with Harper and Schwarber for the league lead in playoff homers (6), and was third in RBI (12). Two of those homers came in game 4 of the NLCS, pushing the momentum of the series further into the Phillies’ favor. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this glorious playoff moment:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bat spikes >>>>>><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Postseason?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Postseason</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZbxJiGcG87">pic.twitter.com/ZbxJiGcG87</a></p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1581042225588228096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2022</a>
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<h2 id="tIFaaw"><em><strong>The Bad</strong></em></h2>
<p id="WlDpGU">Hoskins with two strikes is almost always painful to watch. That’s one of the biggest things that he, the Phillies, and hitting coach Kevin Long, need to address moving forward. He slashed just .152/.263/.287 with 52 hits and 50 walks with two strikes against him in 342 ABs. As also previously mentioned, with every very hot streak also comes a very cold streak. It’s hard to predict how helpful he’ll be with no idea which version of him will show up at any given time.</p>
<p id="B0uCR4">And then there’s his defense, which is one of the biggest reasons a contingent of fans vehemently don’t like him. Hoskins committed a career-high 12 regular season errors in 2022, which led the Majors for first basemen. He also made two more in the playoffs.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Phillies were about to get out of the top of the 6th with a double play, but Rhys Hoskins wasn't able to hang on at 1st.<br><br>The Braves got a run in the next AB.<br><br> : FS1 and the FOX Sports App <a href="https://t.co/z8ZIZ8FmP1">pic.twitter.com/z8ZIZ8FmP1</a></p>— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1581054471185920000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2022</a>
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<h2 id="sxn0Yb"><em><strong>The Future</strong></em></h2>
<p id="MzROS6">2023 is Hoskins’ final year of arbitration. His estimated salary is just under $13 million. He’s also one of the only remaining big names left in the 2024 free agency pool so it’ll be interesting to see if he gets an extension before he hits the market.</p>
<p id="X0rPu3">At this point, it’s hard to see any other reasonable option than extending Hoskins at least through 2024. Internal options like Hall or Schwarber (this is one of the weirdest suggestions for “improvement” that I’ve seen) won’t provide a significant upgrade across all aspects of play, trade targets would be extremely expensive to acquire, and the first base free agency market in 2024 is dreadful.</p>
<h2 id="PonAOk"><em><strong>Final Grade: C+</strong></em></h2>
https://www.thegoodphight.com/2023/1/7/23462464/2022-player-report-card-rhys-hoskinsAllieF2023-01-06T09:30:00-05:002023-01-06T09:30:00-05:00Cardiac Knebel wasn’t too big of a failure
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<figcaption>Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p><em>Was that a waste of $10 million?</em></p> <p id="qCrP4n">Before the lockout last offseason, the <a href="https://www.thegoodphight.com/">Phillies</a> agreed to terms with free agent relief arm, Corey Knebel. He signed a one year deal with the Phillies in an effort to supply the Phillies with more stability at the back end of the bullpen. </p>
<p id="EuDqZk">At some points in the season he did just that but at other times he would blow the game, therefore earning the infamous nickname of Cardiac Knebel.</p>
<p id="BhlNZr">In the latest installment of a Good Phight 2022 report card, we are going to discuss the good side of Knebel’s career with the Phillies and of course the bad side. </p>
<p id="nmdO7O"><em>2022 stats: 46 games, 44.2 IP, 3-5 W-L, 3.43 ERA, 4.46 FIP, 5.6 BB/9, 8.3 K/9, 0.6 WAR</em></p>
<h3 id="Y55uBe"><em><strong>The Good</strong></em></h3>
<p id="PyqFcJ">The Phillies signed Knebel knowing how dominant he can be. In 2017 with the <a href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a>, he was named an All-Star after making an appearance in a national league leading 76 games all while earning an ERA of 1.78 and striking out 126 batters. After that season, he would not get even close to reaching that amount of appearances and strikeouts and he also wouldn’t get close to reaching that elite ERA number. </p>
<p id="ZCa9Kk">Consequently, the Phillies wanted to take a shot on him and try to achieve a similar success that Knebel had in 2017. At some points, they did receive that version of him and sometimes we got the terrifying opposite; let’s dive into numbers shall we?</p>
<p id="VL3ABp">To start off the 2022 season, Knebel was our primary closer and he did very well in the early months of the season, April and March, he had a stellar ERA number of 0.96, allowed just one earned run, six hits and only three walks. Knebel featured a four-seam fastball that had an average velocity of 96 MPH and he had a killer knuckle curveball that would make the batters look silly every time they tried to time it up.</p>
<p id="HkJFmK">Fast forward through the middle months of the season, we will talk about those months later, he returned to the $10 million dollar man that the Phillies paid for. In July, Knebel didn’t allow a single earned run or even a run in that matter in 10.2 innings. He allowed a measly two hits and he struck out 11 batters. This success in July can only mean one thing: When Knebel is healthy, he is really effective, let me explain.</p>
<p id="FWuvh8">We discussed earlier about his great success in April and March but then in the middle part of April he got hurt which led to his demise in May and June. When he returned from his injury, he was a whole new pitcher in July. In spite of that, he got hurt yet again and he never returned to elite form for the Phillies. That final injury was diagnosed as a tear in his shoulder capsule. So, to recap my good: When Knebel is healthy, he is a very effective back-end arm for a baseball team.</p>
<h3 id="LBNr4k"><em><strong>The Bad</strong></em></h3>
<p id="8c5aap">We touched on the bad already in the good section, which is that Knebel can’t stay healthy for a full season. The last time he was healthy for a good part of the season was in 2017 when he was an All-Star. Even when the Phillies signed Knebel, everyone knew about his story which was he is a very good piece for a bullpen but you can’t rely on him to be at your disposal for a good portion of the season. </p>
<p id="R9h4io">Not only was Knebel hurt for the Phillies a lot, when he was healthy he struggled with walks a lot. At the end of the year his BB/9 finished at 5.9, not ideal for a reliever. Knebel also fell behind in the count a lot, further explaining his struggle with command at some points during the season. </p>
<p id="lSStyX">To touch more on Knebel falling behind in the count, he did it a lot and opposing batters took advantage of that. When Knebel fell behind he couldn’t fight back which led to him blowing a lot of games for the Phillies. When he fell behind he gave up 17 hits and he walked 28 batters and only managed to come back six times for a strikeout. </p>
<p id="OeovhJ">Knebel only threw two types of pitches last year, a fastball and a knuckle curveball. I’ll admit when Knebel is using his two-pitch mix he is really effective but when he wasn’t throwing those pitches to the best of his ability, he got hit around a lot. Only having two pitches can really hurt a pitcher when they aren’t able to throw at their full capacity, this was the case for Knebel this past season. </p>
<h3 id="j0Y9fg"><em><strong>The Future</strong></em></h3>
<p id="QmW9p4">As of January 4th, Corey Knebel is still a free agent and he might be one for a while because of the injury he suffered last season. The injury that Knebel suffered landed him on the 60-day IL back in August and the recovery for the surgery tends to take a couple months plus he may need some physical therapy to get that shoulder going again.</p>
<p id="4kiUPZ">I believe that when Knebel is fully healthy and fully recovered from this injury, he will sign with a team because he is way too effective when he is healthy to be sitting at home. Do the Phillies have a spot for him? No, but other teams in search of a pitcher that has a good fastball and curveball will no doubt come calling. </p>
<h3 id="MGt5TO"><em><strong>Final Grade: B-</strong></em></h3>
<p id="ZJCeqO">I would have loved to give him a higher grade based on the success he had when he was fully healthy, but it just wasn’t around when the Phillies really needed him.</p>
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https://www.thegoodphight.com/2023/1/6/23540308/2022-report-card-corey-knebelb_shinault2023-01-05T08:59:00-05:002023-01-05T08:59:00-05:002022 report card: Michael Plassmeyer
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<figcaption>Michael Plassmeyer looked good in his two appearances | Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The lefty pitcher impressed after coming to the Phillies in a mid-season trade</p> <p id="fqaqN0">Most people didn’t notice when the Phillies traded for pitcher Michael Plassmeyer in a June exchange of minor leaguers. The lefty was struggling as a starter for the Giants’ AAA team and considering the Phillies would be his fourth organization in as many years, it didn’t seem that he was very well thought of as a prospect.</p>
<p id="ird7HW">But Plassmeyer’s season turned around after the trade. In 16 starts at Lehigh Valley, his ERA dropped to 2.85. He pitched so well that he was called up to the majors in August, making his major league debut in an August game against the Reds. In that game, he struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches, en route to 1.1 scoreless innings. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Michael Plassmeyer with a memorable MLB debut. He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Ranger Suarez. He struck out Austin Romine to leave the bases loaded in the sixth.</p>— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) <a href="https://twitter.com/ToddZolecki/status/1562250633708597249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2022</a>
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<p id="PGVEni">He returned to the minors until a brief stint in the majors at season's end when he started one of the meaningless games against the Astros and had a nice showing.</p>
<p id="5BSj3i"><em>The stats: 2 games, 7.1 IP, 0-1 W-L, 3.68 ERA, 3.38 FIP, 1.2 BB/9, 8.6 K/9, 0.2 bWAR</em></p>
<h3 id="znd4au">The good</h3>
<p id="o4bCcw">Plassmeyer was uncharacteristically wild before the trade but got his walks under control upon reaching the Phillies’ system. He did so well that he was named the International League’s player of the month for August. And he gave notice that the improved performance might be for real when he looked good in his brief time in the majors.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Michael Plassmeyer's last 4 Triple-A starts before traded to <a href="https://twitter.com/Phillies?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Phillies</a>: 10.71 ERA, 12 BBs, 6 HRs in 15 IP<br><br>Since then with <a href="https://twitter.com/IronPigs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IronPigs</a> and Phils: 17 games, 2.38 ERA, .208 BAA <br><br>Getting 1 more outing w/Phils today in regular-season finale <br><br>His progression: <a href="https://t.co/k823F0zml9">https://t.co/k823F0zml9</a></p>— Tom Housenick (@TomHousenick) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomHousenick/status/1577711879723565057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2022</a>
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<h3 id="p5oMPn">The bad</h3>
<p id="4tO5Lc">It isn’t clear why Plassmeyer was having such problems with his control before the trade. But there was very little bad after arriving in the Phillies’ system.</p>
<h3 id="p5WTvX">The future</h3>
<p id="fbLhd4">Plassmeyer will probably be in the Phillies camp with an outside chance to win the fifth starter job. Bailey Falter is probably the favorite to win that job, and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before more highly touted prospects like Mick Abel and Andrew Painter are called upon. But early in the season, it wouldn’t be shocking if it’s Plassmeyer who gets the call when the Phillies are in need of an additional starter.</p>
<p id="LU3PMU"><strong>Grade: Incomplete</strong></p>
<p id="AnMo11">It’s tough to assign a grade based on two appearances but considering that teams can always use additional rotation depth, it’s a good thing that Plassmeyer has made himself a possible option.</p>
https://www.thegoodphight.com/2023/1/5/23533675/2022-report-card-michael-plassmeyerThe Smarty Jones