FLB: Phillies preview
By Tristan H. CockcroftESPN Fantasy Games
If someone had told you that, before the first pitch of the 2005 season had been thrown, the Philadelphia Phillies would remain in the hunt for a playoff spot into the final day of the regular season, would you have believed them? Most people would have; the Phillies were considered by many a legitimate contender to unseat the Atlanta Braves atop the National League East standings. But if that same someone had told you the 2005 Phillies would receive just 59 games of a .207 batting average and .712 OPS out of 2004 team home-run and OPS leader Jim Thome, and .260/.787 second-half numbers out of 2005 All-Star Home Run Derby champion Bobby Abreu, you'd likely have been more skeptical.
While Abreu and Thome were once the offensive leaders of this team, they began the gradual passing of the torch to a newer, younger left-handed duo, first baseman Ryan Howard and second baseman Chase Utley, last season. Both Howard, the National League Rookie of the Year, and Utley, the No. 2 second baseman on the Player Rater, enjoyed breakout fantasy campaigns, and there's no telling how high their statistical ceilings. Most scouts, as well as Phillies management, feels Howard should soon be a perennial 40-homer man, the kind of power hitter Thome was in his prime. Utley, meanwhile, actually had better numbers than Abreu in batting average (.291-.286), home runs (28-24) and RBI (105-102), and contributed a healthy 16 steals. Both had a little trouble adjusting to left-handed pitching in 2005, which is the last step towards their ascension to superstardom, though Utley clearly was a good year ahead of Howard in his development.
To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
FANTASY TOP HEADLINES
