The Philadelphia Phillies Need Production from their Young Players

The Philadelphia Phillies have no shortage of veteran talent. If the Phillies reach the postseason this year, it will be on the backs of All-Stars like Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, J.T. Realmuto, and Aaron Nola.

That being said, Philadelphia's star players won't be able to do it all themselves. The Phillies are relying on young players at third base, center field, and the middle infield, and those guys will need to do their part too.

Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Mickey Moniak, and Matt Vierling have each had big moments this season, but thus far, all four have hurt more than they've helped.

Bohm has played better defense since his embarrassing three-error game in April, but he is still a poor fielder and he has to hit to justify his place in the lineup. Unfortunately, his slash line is just .262/.302/.369, and his .671 OPS is well below that of a league average third baseman.

Stott — as good as he's been recently — has a dismal .188 batting average in 103 plate appearances, making him one of the worst hitters in all of baseball. His .555 OPS ranks in the bottom ten percent of National League hitters (min. 100 PA).

Moniak has only been back in the big leagues for a short while, but in 17 plate appearances, he has reached base just four times. Vierling has been similarly awful as the plate, hitting .188/.273/.292 in 55 PA.

While Stott, Moniak, and Vierling are all competent defenders, none of them are good enough with the glove to make up for this kind of poor offensive output. As such, none of these rookies have been very valuable to the Phillies. All three have been worth zero or fewer Wins Above Replacement according to FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, and Baseball Prospectus.

Nevertheless, manager Rob Thomson has committed to playing the young guys, despite their season-long struggles.

Thomson told reporters on Saturday that he strongly believes in giving regular opportunities to his young players. He called the young guys, "a big asset to the ball club."

It is Thomson's responsibility to give these players the chance to live up to their potential, and he seems to understand that. So far, all four have made the most of the opportunities afforded to them under Thomson.

Stott went 4-for-4 last night, just days after he hit a walk-off shot for his second career home run. Bohm and Vierling went back-to-back off of Josh Hader to win the game on Tuesday night in Milwaukee. Moniak is hitting .300 over the past five games.

All four have been playing with passion and intensity, and it has been delightful watching them contribute to big wins. Thomson believes their energy is infectious, elevating the entire team.

The manager was also clear to emphasize that they're producing with more than just energy, telling Todd Zolecki of MLB.com: “It’s good to bring energy, but it’s also good to bring performance, too. They’re doing that, and that’s huge.”

If Bohm, Stott, Moniak, and Vierling can continue to hit the ball well, it's going to make a big difference. All of them have been below-average players this season, and if they can just produce at an average or close-to-average level, Philadelphia's lineup gets so much deeper. They don't have to be the top run-producers, they just have to produce some runs on regular basis.

With all the veteran talent they have, the Phillies do not need their young players to be stars. Bohm does not need to be a middle-of-the-order bat and Stott does not need to contend for Rookie of the Year. All Philadelphia needs is for the young guys to play solid baseball — the veterans will handle the rest.

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