Philadelphia Phillies: Is Adam Haseley the answer in center field?

Is the Philadelphia Phillies’ center fielder of the future already be on the roster?

With the Philadelphia Phillies 2020 season (thankfully) in the rearview mirror, the focus quickly has shifted to the off-season.

Of course, the large questions surrounding this team remain who will serve as the general manager? Will the franchise re-sign All-Star catcher J.T Realmuto? What will the team do to address the bullpen?

While all of these are incredibly relevant questions, there remains to be one that continues to get overlooked. That, of course, is who will be patrolling center field for the Phillies in 2021? While it is certainly possible, the team may look to add a premium free agent like a George Springer or, to a lesser extent Jackie Bradley Jr; it is also possible this player could already be in-house. Yes, I am talking about Adam Haseley.

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Considering how these last two Phillies’ seasons have felt like they carried on for an eternity, along with the fact Haseley has been a part of both, it is hard to believe he still has only registered 107 games at the Major League level. In that short time on the field, the results have been mixed, ranging from incredibly encouraging to, at times, downright confusing.

Overall, the young outfielder has produced a slash line of .278/.348/.712 while smashing only five home runs and driving in 39.

Yes, adequate at best in terms of offensive production. However, where Haseley really jumps off the page is defensive; as he has shown he is at worst an above-average outfielder and could very well develop into an elite defender.

His serviceable offense, along with his strong defense, has led to Haseley producing a WAR of 1.6 to this point in his Major League career. Keep in kind, essentially all of that was produced in 2019, where he held a WAR of 1.7. This past season saw that number dip all the way down to -0.1.

However, I believe a lot of this can be attributed to opportunity, which is something that, for whatever reason, wasn’t really giving to Haseley this past season.

His playing time can be best described as sporadic at best, and ultimately the Phils’ had made the decision that he could not hit left-handed pitching. Which, to be fair, is, well, an unfair assessment, in my opinion.

Keep in mind, the Phillies’ used the eighth overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft on Haseley, and throughout his minor league career, he hit .286 combined against left-handed pitching. So it was honestly quite surprising that the front office randomly decided he was unable to face left-handed arms.

Haseley will play the 2021 season at 25 years of age. Combine that with the fact he has been relatively productive so far in his big league career, along with the Phillies used such a high draft pick on him just a few years ago; it seems crystal clear what the answer out in center field should be. That, of course, would be to have Haseley play every day and allow him the chance to continue to develop his game.

While long term, it may be better for number 40 to eventually transfer to left field as his defense could truly be elite there; with Andrew McCutchen still on the roster, there isn’t a clear path to playing time in left.

Still, having Haseley play every day in center could be incredibly beneficial to not only the development of the player but also to the Phillies as a whole.

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Only time will tell how this situation will eventually unfold. There is one thing that is for sure, though; the Philadelphia Phillies currently have a void out in center field, and they have a young player who appears destined to thrive in that role. The answer seems obvious, but with how inept this franchise has been over the past decade, who knows what they will decide to do.

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