April 25, 2015
Things are going essentially as expected for the Phillies this year. With a 6-11 record, and without many fans in the stands to watch this team struggle, it hasn't been pretty for the red pinstripes.
Amid the misery, however, one player has proven to be a bright spot. Pegged with replacing the greatest shortstop in Phillies history, Freddy Galvis has started the season with offensive numbers that match his defensive abilities.
Friday night, the fourth-year player from Venezuela singled in the bottom of the ninth of a scoreless game against the Atlanta Braves. Galvis advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt, found his way to third on a passed ball, and scored the winning run on Ben Revere's weak ground ball that was mishandled by Freddie Freeman.
The Phillies' offense has been, to put it mildly, really bad this year. The team has scored the fewest runs in baseball, while aging stars like Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are sitting with batting averages well below the Mendoza Line.
But Galvis has been a nice surprise so far. He's always been capable with the glove, but has consistently struggled with the bat. He hit .287 in 2013, but even then his WAR stood at a measly 0.3, and those numbers dipped significantly last year to a respective .227 and -0.2.
After switching to a fatter bat and a subsequently altered approach at the plate, the 25-year-old has seen improvements. While it's still very early, Galvis is currently hitting .345, best on the team. He's provided several key hits in the Phillies' few wins while driving in eight runs so far.
Freddy Galvis leads all NL shortstops with a .345 BA and .400 OBP. Second among major-league SS to Jose Iglesias
— Corey Seidman (@CoreySeidmanCSN) April 25, 2015
Both he and his manager have noticed the benefits of his simple but effective strategy: put the bat on the ball. Being a slap hitter, or focusing on contact over power, doesn't really mean much if your average is lousy. So it's promising to see Galvis get base hits at a consistent pace. The occasional power is nice too, even if the ball barely leaves the yard.
Galvis' future with the team is not set in stone. If everything falls into place, J.P. Crawford and Maikel Franco should be anchoring the left side of the infield for years to come. But Galvis has shown he's a capable second baseman, and Father Time (or a trade suitor) will catch up with Utley sooner rather than later.
Again, it's still too early to tell if Galvis' hot start equates to consistent offensive production. But amid a season of misery, it's nice to look on the bright side.
