Phillies 2018 Season Preview
Ready to check out our 2018 Philadelphia Phillies predictions? The Philadelphia Phillies are young and although they are still rebuilding they look like a team that is closer to being a contender than they are at being a dumpster fire.
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After having a terrible year record wise last year they still were able to show some glimpses of what the future might hold with some of the young guys finally coming out of the minors and into the majors.
The big question this year is how close are they to competing? Is this the year they finally take a step towards making the playoffs or are they still a year or two away?
2018 MLB Team Previews – Philadelphia Phillies
- National League East +700
- National League +2000
- World Series +20000
Key Additions:
- Jake Arrieta
- Carlos Santana
The last few years the Phillies haven’t done a ton in the free agency market, but that wasn’t the case this year. In December they signed Carlos Santana away from the Cleveland Indians.
They then bolstered their pitching staff adding Jake Arrieta in a deal that makes you think the Phillies front office have to feel they are closer to competing then some of the experts.
For Santana, he is still a good first baseman but he is getting older and his numbers did dip a little last season. The Phillies are hoping they can get the power out of his bat though and his average will go up a little bit this year.
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For Arrieta, this gives the Phillies a true ace that they can start to really build the rest of their pitching staff around with young guys.
Key Losses:
SS Freddy Galvis
OF Hyun-soo Kim
1B Tommy Joseph
The biggest loss this year for the Phillies was probably Freddy Galvis but in terms of production, the Phillies didn’t lose a ton.
Phillies Predictions: Projected Lineup:
- Cesar Hernandez, 2B
- Carlos Santana, 1B
- Odubel Herrera, CF
- Rhys Hoskins, LF
- Nick Williams, RF
- Maikel Franco, 3B
- Jorge Alfaro, C
- J.P, Crawford, SS
The one thing about the Phillies is they are young and the lineup is probably going to go through some growing pains which is why it makes it so much more imporant that Carlos Santana really has a good year.
If the lineup can go above expectations even a little bit, that would make the Phillies a team that has a chance to compete.
Phillies Predictions: Projected Rotation:
- Jake Arrieta, RHP
- Aaron Nola, RHP
- Vince Velasquez, RHP
- Nick Pivetta, RHP
- Ben Lively, RHP
Of course the ace of the squad is Jake Arrieta but the rest of this pitching staff is actually pretty good too and it should be the strength of this team.
Last year Aaron Nola went 12-11 with a 3.54 ERA. He was a victim of not having a ton of run support and that should be different this year.
One of the key to how good this pitching staff performs as a whole comes down to Vince Velasquez. He was 2-7 last year with an ERA of 5.13.
They need him to take a step forward if the Phillies really want to sure up this rotation.
Phillies Predictions: Projected Closer:
- Hector Neris, RHP
Hector Neris was the closer last year for the Philadelphia Phillies and he was actually pretty good last year with not a lot of opportunities.
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He appeared in 74 games last year and posted an ERA of 3.01 ERA and 26 saves. He should have more opportunities this year so the stats should look even better this year.
2018 Philadelphia Phillies Prediction:
There is no question that the Phillies are going to be better this year, the question is just how much better will they be this year.
I don’t think they will make the playoffs, but they are going to do enough to at least make this year interesting for their fans.
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Look for Arreita to have another Cy Young like year and really sure up that pitching staff. It’s going to be a fun summer in Philadelphia.
What do you think of our 2018 Philadelphia Phillies predictions? Comments are welcome below.
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