Despite most of the key players having a down year in 2010, it’s no secret that on paper the Phillies own one of the most potent, if not best lineup in baseball.
From top to bottom it has just about every type of player. There’s speed with Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, power with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez and contact with Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz.
However, in addition to all of those qualities, there’s another one “werth” mentioning – the glaring hole in right field due to the departure of Jayson Werth.
The Phils starting rotation is sometimes referred to as “The Four Aces and that Other Guy.” Well, their lineup should be called “The Seven-Card Studs and a Wild Joker,” because nobody knows who will occupy the vacancy in right field.
“That job is up for grabs,” Charlie Manuel said last Friday down in Clearwater.
Now that Werth is gone, the fans in the right field seats will have to salute someone different before every home game. That will most likely be Ben Francisco, Domonic Brown or a combination of the two.
If the Phillies are smart, by the time April 1 comes around, the gap in right field should be filled by the platoon of Francisco and Brown.
While it’s not ideal, for the time being this is the best way to go, as both are bottom of the lineup hitters.
The popular decision would be to make the 23-year-old Brown the starter. He’s a young, athletic talent that was highly touted from his play in the minor leagues. He would bring a rare form of youth to an aging lineup. Additionally, people are not happy with Francisco after he pulled a “Ryan Howard” and left the bat on his shoulder in a key pinch hit situation in Game 6 of last year’s NLCS.
But, Brown’s numbers after making his major league debut in late July last season were not good. He sported a .210 batting average, with only two home runs and 13 RBI’s in 62 at bats. Not to mention, despite his athleticism, he needs to hone his fielding techniques. Also, he would be yet another left-handed bat in a lineup that lacks balance on both sides of the plate.
Francisco batted .268, with six long balls and 28 RBI’s in 2010 as a bench player. He was a full-time starter in Cleveland before he was traded to the Phils during the 2009 season, but in 2008 he only hit .266 and the next year just .250 while still a member of the 
Indians.
Some feel that if Francisco, a right-handed bat, got a more consistent string of plate appearances, then his numbers would be better. Yet, last season in games where he got more than one at bat, his average was an unimpressive .234.
He doesn’t strike you as having great fielding abilities like Werth, but believe it or not, he’s never committed a regular season error in a Phils uniform. Delcaring him the full-time starter would make this Phils lineup the oldest in franchise history, with an average age of 32.3.
Ross Gload, another lefty, is a potential third option for the spot. He had a decent average of .281 in 2010, but he’s been a career backup since 2000. In addition, he’s a valuable utility player that the Phils need on their bench. He can play the infield as well as the outfield.
Making Francisco or Gload the full-time right fielder is also bad for Brown’s development.
Some think Brown is still not major league ready because he can’t hit the more difficult big league pitches. The fact remains though that he hit .346 in AAA-Lehigh Valley and .318 in AA-Reading before being brought up last year. How much more major league ready can a young talent become?
Sending him back down to start 2011 would be counter productive. It would frustrate his psyche and put him in a situation where it’s obvious he’s better than.
So, since you can’t send him back down and the other two guys are not good enough options to be everyday players, then a Francisco-Brown platoon is the best scenario.
In this situation, Brown will be getting more major league repetitions than last season, giving him a chance to improve. Furthermore, there will be an extra left-handed bat in the lineup versus righty pitchers and an extra right-handed bat against lefty pitchers.
Flashback to Opening Day 2008 – the Phils started the season with the platoon of Werth and Geoff Jenkins in right field. Obviously, Werth eventually took full-time duties and the season ended with a World Series crown. It could be a good omen.
Maybe as time passes either Francisco or Brown will emerge as a serviceable everyday right fielder. But for now, sharing the responsibility is the best way to go.
A defintiet hole,
Hopefully Bropwn is ready though I think he’s not and need another 400-500 bats which he can get playing everyday at Triple AAA, (He’s only 23 Years old) and has 10-12 years ahead of him.. but it does him no good to play 3-4 games per week and ride the bench the other games,, He needs to play everyday to work on his skills
A big Concern I have is defensivley, If Francisco is playign RF who takes over for the week fielding R Ibanez late in Games..This OF is much weaker Defensively with the loss of Werth.. and it will cost them some runs late in games
i do hope that brown can be the guy…that being said i think it will depend on the other teams starter….brown will start against righties, francisco against lefties…hopefully brown can take over the full time roll sometime during the season….ipretty funny thing i just heard here….jayson werth had his spring training interview today and kinda threw a jab at the phils…..he said that if the they didnt mess up trading cliff lee away last year, then they could of had us both…..sounds like he is already kind of upset that he isnt in phils pinstripes this year…his wallet will make him feel better, but its gotta be tough on him…ideal situation woulda been having him still in right with a new deal and brown taking over for ibanez next year…but who knows what would happened at that point….i think id rather have the phab phour
Why not just wait and see how he does? If he hits, play him. If he struggles, send him down. Why have a predetermined opinion? Not brain surgery.
Just on general principle Dominic Brown should be the starter. Jayson Werth became expendable because the Phillies had the “Best Prospect in Baseball”, as an outfielder with a bat last year. To back pedal on that this soon is a little ridiculous. I don’t like that Charlie Manuel said automatically that it was an open slot it would have been better to say that it was Brown’s job to loose in spring training. It’s not like Brown has been resting on his laurels and living off some success from the distant past. The guy needs a little time and a little motivation to his feel for the game back on this higher level or he’s going to be mediocre, but at least give the man his shot without beating him down. If Francisco flat out embarrasses Brown in Spring training I can see starting him or platooning the two players, but that’s it. Honestly I’ve always seen “platooning” players at a position, as a generally counter-productive for both players , sure sometimes the team gets what they want but typically neither player realizes their full potential and they tend to see the organization in a bad light if they feel they never got a fair shake even if they’ll never admit it.