Monday, October 28, 2013

Phillies 2013 Review: Third Base

Ever since the Scott Rolen trade back in the day the third base position has not been a position of strength for the Phillies. 2013 was no different. I am getting tired of writing up these blogs and talking about all of these negatives about this Phillies team but there are not many positives this team has right now.

During the off-season the Phillies made a trade to acquire 7 time All-Star Michael Young. Young has been known for his consistency throughout his major league career decided to waive his no trade clause to join the Phillies for the 2013 season. One of Young's strengths has been his ability to play multiple positions. He had experience at first base, second base, shortstop, and third base.

Overall, Michael Young's season with the Phillies in 2013 was mediocre at best. Young showed that he could put good at bats together at times and had a decent OBP of .336. But his defense was a tick below average. Young made most of the plays a third basemen should make but he never made an outstanding play and would occasionally miss a ball that should have been snagged.

After a few months of mediocrity from Young, the Phillies called up prospect Cody Asche to play third base everyday. Young, moved over to first base because Ryan Howard was out with an injury. On August 31, the last day where teams can make trades to teams Michael Young was traded to the Dodgers.

As stated, prospect Cody Asche was given a chance to play third base everyday for the Phillies in the final two months of the 2013 season. Asche took the opportunity to show the kind of player he is and showed flashes that he has potential to be a solid major league player but he did struggle at the plate. With only hitting .235 and posting an OBP of .307 Asche has a lot of room to grow offensively. Defensively, Asche showed a lot of promise. He made several great plays and in his small sample size of 50 games Asche will be a competent defensive player.

As of right now, Asche is the lead candidate for the starting third base spot for the Phillies next season. If Asche takes the chance and runs with it the Phillies can have a third basemen for several years, but if he flops, they will be back to square one.

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