Ok Phillies fans, it’s only less than 10 days till Spring Training officially opens it’s doors to the Phillies! That means we’re going to see a team that should be an improvement over the past couple of years with the Phils finish in last place.
Rhys Hoskins was one of the big reasons to get back into Phillies baseball last year, he smacked 18 HRs while appearing in 50 games last year, he played first base. The Phils moved Tommy Joseph out of the first base bag to accommodate Hoskins, now the Phils brought in Carlos Santana for first base, and will apparently move Hoskins to left field this year. A lot of fans were concerned at this move, but don’t fret, MLB Network ranked new Phils first baseman in the Top 10 First Basemen Right Now!.. Here’s more from MLB Network:
New Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Carlos Santana ranked tenth on MLB Network’s annual Top 10 First Basemen Right Now! program this past Saturday. Santana, who makes his first appearance on the countdown since being ranked tenth on the 2015 list, finished one spot behind the Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter. In addition to Santana, the Phillies’ Cesar Hernandez ranked tenth on the Top 10 Second Basemen Right Now! two weeks ago.
Hosted by MLB Network’s Brian Kenny alongside MLB Network analysts, each Top 10 Right Now! ranking takes into account player performance over the last two seasons, a number of offensive and defensive metrics, both advanced Statcast data and traditional numbers, and expert analysis by the MLB Network research team.
On Saturday’s countdown, MLB Network analyst and 2018 Hall of Fame inductee Jim Thome said of Santana, “Across the board, what he brings for the whole package, I think you’ve got to reward him no doubt. He’s a guy that’s just a consistent baseball player and you know what, let’s face it, he can play first base, he can go to the outfield, he needs to be rewarded for what he’s done on the whole package. …When you think of a solid, everyday first baseman, Santana’s that guy for sure.”
The complete ranking for MLB Network’s top-10 first basemen is listed below and an embeddable recap on Santana can be seen here:
Top 10 First Basemen Right Now!
1. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
2. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
3. Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
4. Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs
5. Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
6. José Abreu, Chicago White Sox
7. Edwin Encarnación, Cleveland Indians
8. Brandon Belt, San Francisco Giants
9. Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
10. Carlos Santana, Philadelphia Phillies
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