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Philadelphia Phillies: Roster Breakdown – First Base

By Chuck Booth

Sep 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Darin Ruf (18) celebrates with second baseman Chase d
Sep 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Darin Ruf (18) celebrates with second baseman Chase d /
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With Spring training underway it’s now time to start roster breakdowns for the Philadelphia Phillies. Today we’ll begin the second article in the series breaking down the depth chart at First Base.

For the purposes of this exercise we will only be including players currently on the Philadelphia Phillies’ 40-man roster. While we know that sometimes things can change that end with a player who has a spring training invite pushing someone out of a 40-man spot we want to focus on the most likely candidates.

  • Darin Ruf – While Ruf comes with some versatility in the ability to play left field and third base, he will most likely help the team at first base this season. Even though he isn’t the offensive force that’s expected at first Ruf can be an above average player for the Phillies. There has been talk about Ruf and Ryan Howard platooning this year  because of Ruf’s offensive potential and Howard’s lack thereof. Last year he appeared in 106 games for the Phillies hitting to the tune of .234/.300/.714. Looking at Ruf’s on base plus slugging numbers, it’s clear to see that he has power that can play in Citizens Bank Park. Ruf also saw time at three different positions last year only committing one error which shows his defensive value to the team as well. Ruf is projected to have slightly better numbers this year for the Philadelphia Phillies which would see him contribute as a slightly above average first baseman in the league.

    • Ryan Howard

    – That awkward moment when your team would do anything to get rid of you and your salary. That’s where the Philadelphia Phillies currently find theirselves because Ryan Howard has been underperforming for years now. Philadelphia Phillies manager Pete Mackanin has been quoted saying

    "I want to do what’s right for Ryan, but I also want to do what’s right for the team. But . . . if you want to play at this level, you have to produce. It’s a bottom-line business. If you want to play a lot, then you have to play better than you’ve been playing. The player decides that."

    This quote sums up Howard’s fall from grace over the past few years. Last season Howard contributed 23 homers to the team and had a triple slash line of .229/.277/.720. While that may seem serviceable it’s not what you pay a baseball player 25 million per year for the next two years. With this happening it should come as no suprise that the Phillies are looking for any way possible to extract value out of Ryan Howard but it’s hard when he is a liability against left handed pitching. His contract isn’t conducive to being a bench player but, at this point in his career Ryan Howard should spend some time on the pine.

    The best case scenario for the Phillies, may be a platoon of these two players. They could play Ryan Howard against right handed pitching and sit him in favor of Darin Ruf vs left-handers. On the days when Ruf isn’t playing first he can be placed in the outfield since he has the ability to play in the corners and Peter Bourjos will be able to offer defensive cover in center. This isn’t an ideal situation for the phillies in any sense but with Howard’s albatross of a contract, it’s one that their stuck with.

    Next up in the series we will take a look at the second base position for the Philadelphia Phillies.

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