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Thread: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

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    Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    I see a lot of posts by people saying if Ludwick is capable of hitting 4th again then BP should hit 2nd.

    My question is why? I fail to see which part of his game is built for hitting 2nd.


    Wouldn't it be better to keep Frazier there and bat BP 6th?


    Even with Frazier's massive slump, his OBP is still 27 points higher than BP's post all star break (and 14 points higher on the season). In fact even in this "terrible/pathetic/awful" season everybody seems to say Frazier is having, his OBP this year is still higher than BP's career OBP.

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    malcontent (08-18-2013)


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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    The current version of Phillips would be a terrible #2 hitter

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    Daffy Duck RedTeamGo!'s Avatar
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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    Phillips is actually currently the opposite of a good 2 hitter, I agree.

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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    he is not the best fit at 2nd...

    but if he would change his approach (away from power hitter that he isn´t towards an obp guy)

    he would be a good fit at #1 or 2

    I would prefer #1 because he has dp issue´s...

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    Daffy Duck RedTeamGo!'s Avatar
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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    In no way should Choo be taken out of the leadoff spot.

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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    2013 Phillips (.260/.310/.410) probably isn't a great choice as a number 2 hitter, but 2010-2012 Phillips (.285/.336/.439) would look just fine in that spot. The question is whether he can get back to those kinds of numbers or if he's about to take a steep tumble off the aging curve as he moves out of his prime years. Phillips still has pretty good bat control and likes to hit to the opposite field, so I think he still has a couple decent years left in the tank. However, he never has and never will have great plate discipline.

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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    Phillips would easily adapt to the 2 hole spot. YOu guys taking his numbers now and saying he would suck at as a two hitter. Have it all wrong. His numbers now are a reflection of him trying to be a power guy.

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    Rantly (08-15-2013)

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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    There is nothing about BP's game this year that is suggesting he is trying to be a power guy.

    I can't even believe people are suggesting that. His .410 sgl % is his career low as a Red.

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    UC_Ken (08-13-2013)

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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    This topic got me interested, and I'm still trying to figure out why Phillips is struggling this year. He has a 2.50 K/BB rate, which is not great, but is better than last year. His K's are up slightly over last year, but so are his walks. His ISO is at .148, which is identical to his 2012 mark. He's posting a career high 25% line drive rate. This should translate to a higher than normal BABIP, but his BABIP is the worst it has been in 5 years at .278. That's 20 points lower than his 2012 BABIP.

    I guess what I'm saying is that all of the peripherals look good, and Phillips should be fine moving forward. The K rate has been creeping up slightly, which is a bit disconcerting, but everything else still looks good. He's still league average or slightly better with the bat, and I'd expect him to remain so for the next couple of years.
    Last edited by Alpha Zero; 08-14-2013 at 07:26 AM.

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    kfm (08-14-2013)

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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    Quote Originally Posted by SlimJim11 View Post
    There is nothing about BP's game this year that is suggesting he is trying to be a power guy.

    I can't even believe people are suggesting that. His .410 sgl % is his career low as a Red.
    Hes the clean up hitter. He's batting 4th for this team.

    Hes being asked to be the "Power Guy" ......

    Not sure what you dont understand.

    The point still stands. he's being asked to do something hes not best suited to do. He needs to be batting in the 2 hole for this team.

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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    Quote Originally Posted by bmwreds31 View Post
    Hes the clean up hitter. He's batting 4th for this team.

    Hes being asked to be the "Power Guy" ......

    Not sure what you dont understand.

    The point still stands. he's being asked to do something hes not best suited to do. He needs to be batting in the 2 hole for this team.
    What he's saying is basically Phillips isnt hitting for more power this year.

    So, Phillips hitting 4th this year thus prompting a change in approach to hit for more power is speculation that didnt bear itself out in a statistical category.

    I suppose he couldve actively tried to hit for more power but ended up hitting for less and moving him to the 2 hole could cause him to "change his approach" and hit better....

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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    Quote Originally Posted by bmwreds31 View Post
    Hes the clean up hitter. He's batting 4th for this team.

    Hes being asked to be the "Power Guy" ......

    Not sure what you dont understand.

    The point still stands. he's being asked to do something hes not best suited to do. He needs to be batting in the 2 hole for this team.
    I'm pretty sure he doesn't need to be hitting in the 2 hole. He's only had an OBP over .330 3 times in his career so it's not like he's ever really been a great fit for the 2 hole. Plus this BP is not the BP from 2-5 years ago. He's in a 2 year drop in AVG/OBP/SLG and he's 32.


    Also fwiw last year BP had 287 ab's batting 4th and put up a .303/.344/.460 line which is above his career average in all 3 categories. So I'm not gonna buy batting 4th is the reason he's struggling this year.

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    kfm (08-14-2013)

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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    Seems like he has batted 4th for multiple reds managers more than any other spot. It seems to me like his approach when runners are on is so much better than in the past. He is really taking the ball to right field a lot this year. I don't see nearly as many of the wild swings I have seen in the past. He is more likely a middle of the order guy (4,5,6) than top of the order. The one Thing he has really done well this year is hitting with risp, so why take a guy who is going to drive in more than 100 runs out of the four spot?

  20. #14
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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    Quote Originally Posted by SlimJim11 View Post
    There is nothing about BP's game this year that is suggesting he is trying to be a power guy.

    I can't even believe people are suggesting that. His .410 sgl % is his career low as a Red.
    Except for Brandon himself saying that's what he was doing.

    However, there's a difference between trying and actually doing.

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    Re: Why is Phillips the "ideal" 2 hitter for this team?

    There is also a difference in saying something and actually attempting to do it.


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