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Ten MLB players not living up to the hype

Trea Turner Nationals

Vince Velasquez, starting pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies

Courtesy of MiLB.com

Velasquez gave the Philadelphia fans something to be hopeful for in 2016, posting a 4.12 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and striking out 152 hitters in 131 innings. Nobody is ever winning a Cy Young Award with numbers like that, but they’re not bad for a 24-year-old on a rebuilding team.

After a season like that, it was reasonable to expect Velasquez to take a step forward. That has not happened. In fact, Velasquez has gone in the other direction.

As is the case with so many of our struggling pitchers, the strikeout totals (45 in 43.2 innings) have been fine. But the 1.42 WHIP and 5.98 ERA are well below what was expected.

Velasquez walked 3.1 hitters per nine innings in 2016. That’s a respectable total, especially for a high strikeout guy. But in 2017, that number has jumped to 4.1. Walking hitters is always problematic. But when you play in a hitter’s haven like Citizen’s Bank Park, the free passes are even worse.

Also, while Velasquez is allowing fewer hits in 2017 (8.7 per nine) than he did in 2016 (8.9 per nine), he’s not allowing the right kind of hits. In 2016, Velasquez posted a high, but manageable 1.4 home runs per nine innings. In 2017, that has sky rocketed to to 1.9 per nine. When you’re struggling with control, you have to challenge the big part of the plate. When you do that against major league hitters, the ball goes a long way.

Since last winning the National League East in 2011, Philadelphia has been stuck in neutral, or worse. For the Phillies to get back to being a contending team, players like Velasquez will have to improve.

Of course, he’s not the only one.

Maikel Franco, third baseman, Philadelphia Phillies

Franco was another player who gave the Philadelphia faithful reason for hope in 2016. He slugged 25 home runs with a .255/.306/.427 slash line.

Thus far, 2017 has been a step backwards.

Franco is slashing at .221/.281/.377. He has six home runs, which is respectable but nothing more. Six dingers will certainly not make up for such a dismal slash line.

Now, some of this can be attributed to bad luck. Franco has similar strikeout rates, walk rates and line drive rates to what he did in 2017.

But Alex Stumpf of Fangraphs detailed a bigger problem.

“In 2015, he was 2.2 runs above average against the slider,” he wrote of Franco. “Last season, he was worth 0.2 runs. In his first 39 games played, that mark stood at -8.7. That’s the lowest value of any qualified batter against the pitch. It’s the lowest value of any qualified batter against any pitch, actually.”

Opposing pitchers are certainly well aware of this information. Until Franco can do more against the slider, opponents will show him a steady diet of them. So until he shows a marked improvement, the numbers aren’t going to come up in any significant way.

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