Phillips' arm upgraded to an 80 grade

[bork]

So Phillips jokingly tweeted what he needed to do to upgrade his grade from a 70 to an 80 after his 104 MPH throw. Someone took note and upgraded him to the highest grade possible.

 

http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/254942870/brett-phillips-arm-upgraded-by-mlbpipeline/

[reillymcshane]

So Phillips jokingly tweeted what he needed to do to upgrade his grade from a 70 to an 80 after his 104 MPH throw. Someone took note and upgraded him to the highest grade possible.

 

http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/254942870/brett-phillips-arm-upgraded-by-mlbpipeline/

Phillips throw was the second hardest throw from the OF in the majors since the info was started being tracked in 2015.

[CheezWizHed]

Meanwhile, India has selected Maverick in the Cricket draft as a bowler...

[JohnBriggs12]

Phillips has been impressive with the bat as well. The numbers don't wow you yet but he's not looking overmatched and he's been getting on base.

[djoctagone]

Phillip's arm

when was the last time the brewers had a player named phillip that went by phillip?

[bork]

Phillip's arm

when was the last time the brewers had a player named phillip that went by phillip?

 

Ouch. My punctuation error caught by the guy who doesn't capitalize anything.

[nate82]

So Phillips jokingly tweeted what he needed to do to upgrade his grade from a 70 to an 80 after his 104 MPH throw. Someone took note and upgraded him to the highest grade possible.

 

http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/254942870/brett-phillips-arm-upgraded-by-mlbpipeline/

Phillips throw was the second hardest throw from the OF in the majors since the info was started being tracked in 2015.

 

I wonder how hard Vlad was throwing in his prime.

[bork]

He broke his own record yesterday with 104.7. He now has the 3 hardest throws of the year.

 

I can't find it now, but an article said he was hitting 92 as a pitcher at 14, but elbow soreness moved him to the outfield.

[BuckyBrewer61]

Phillips has been impressive with the bat as well. The numbers don't wow you yet but he's not looking overmatched and he's been getting on base.

 

Wouldn't say he's been impressive at the plate, I'd say he's been fine. Don't get me wrong, I like the kid, and I expect he will continue to get better, but to date he has not been overly impressive offensively.

 

.232/.328/.375/.703

 

And that's with some luck given his BAbip of .379, to go with a K-rate of 38%.

 

Given his good defense and propensity to strikeout...he's more or less a left-handed Keon Broxton at this point. He's got a cannon and been great defensively, but offensively he's just been ok. I'd happily platoon him and Keon the rest of the season.

[And That]

Phillips has gotten a bit quieter at the plate since last season, which gives me some confidence that he'll be able to put up the offense that he is capable of, which is quite a bit. He's also added the glasses recently, so that could play a role as well.

 

I've always said Phillips is going to be a big league value add on defense alone, which is on full display - makes me proud to see him make it after such a (perceived) rough 2016 that saw a lot of people write his future value down.

[KeithStone53151]

Phillips has gotten a bit quieter at the plate since last season, which gives me some confidence that he'll be able to put up the offense that he is capable of, which is quite a bit. He's also added the glasses recently, so that could play a role as well.

 

I've always said Phillips is going to be a big league value add on defense alone, which is on full display - makes me proud to see him make it after such a (perceived) rough 2016 that saw a lot of people write his future value down.

 

At the time of the trade, I felt like Phillips was a highly touted version of Logan Schafer. He's proven to be a bit more impactful in just about every way(while striking out more), I hope he gets a chance to hit regularly at this level. It's going to be tough to earn that opportunity consider our options.

[stoutdude04]

It was funny watching last night's game when Frazier(I think) was on 3rd and it was a short fly to left center and Phillips threw home...You could read Frazier's lips, "wow"

[bork]

It's pretty hard to look at stats and draw any conclusions due to his sporadic playing time. He's just now getting some regular playing time. But it was encouraging to see him battle to that 12 pitch walk last night.

[3and2Fastball]

He broke his own record yesterday with 104.7. He now has the 3 hardest throws of the year.

 

I can't find it now, but an article said he was hitting 92 as a pitcher at 14, but elbow soreness moved him to the outfield.

 

Probably a smart move, he throws too over the top to successfully pitch without tearing up his elbow. Sandy Koufax had a (relatively) similar throwing motion.

[And That]

I really haven't looked at his swing since he's been called up, but the primary reason he strikes out so much is he has such a deep load that he has to commit early. He generally won't swing if he sees ball all the way, but if it's close or if it's a late-breaking pitch, he'll take some pretty clumsy-looking swings. He doesn't necessarily have the elite hand speed of an Orlando Arcia to make the instant adjustments required by his early swing start.

 

But the thing that drove me nuts the most last year and still this year was his jittery feet and hands at the plate pre-swing. He had enough to get right on his swing alone that all the pre-swing movement was just sinking his chances of making consistent contact. Calming down should help him focus on pitch recognition, as should the glasses (theoretically). There's still going to be swing and miss, and he'll take his walks as well. But save for re-working his swing, I really do think calming down pre-pitch will help his game out a lot.

[brewerfan82]

He also had a bit of a slow start when he first came up when he struck out in 9 of his first 14 plate appearances. Since then he's had a .262/.380/.452/.832 line in 42 ABs. He seems to have gotten the jitters out quickly to become a productive bat in the lineup.

[MadScientist]

He broke his own record yesterday with 104.7. He now has the 3 hardest throws of the year.

 

I can't find it now, but an article said he was hitting 92 as a pitcher at 14, but elbow soreness moved him to the outfield.

If you have the 3 hardest throws on the year, in limited playing time to boot, I think that should pretty much define an 80 arm. It's the best one in MLB.

[StearnsFTW]

Phillips has gotten a bit quieter at the plate since last season, which gives me some confidence that he'll be able to put up the offense that he is capable of, which is quite a bit. He's also added the glasses recently, so that could play a role as well.

 

I've always said Phillips is going to be a big league value add on defense alone, which is on full display - makes me proud to see him make it after such a (perceived) rough 2016 that saw a lot of people write his future value down.

 

At the time of the trade, I felt like Phillips was a highly touted version of Logan Schafer. He's proven to be a bit more impactful in just about every way(while striking out more), I hope he gets a chance to hit regularly at this level. It's going to be tough to earn that opportunity consider our options.

 

Odd comparison. Phillips had a lot higher slugging percentage than Schafer ever thought about. Stole more bases too, albeit on lower percentages.

 

Phillips was represented as a power-hitting centerfielder with the arm of a rightfielder by my recollection.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

If Brinson is the CF of the future, then I imagine Phillips would be more valuable in RF than in LF given his arm strength. Santana then would likely shift to LF. Of course, Braun isn't exactly old yet, either, so that may be further down the line. I suppose it is possible that Braun could transition to 1B as well, although that is sort of a waste of his athleticism.

 

As for the comparison of Phillips to Schafer, I think Phillips was always touted as a more dangerous run producer. Schafer was touted as a top- or bottom-of-the-order type with the speed to steal bases, but never hit for much power. Very similar to Dave Krynzel. Phillips was touted as more of a 5-tool prospect, perhaps lacking in the contact department if anything.

[reillymcshane]

I don't see the Logan Schafer comparison. Schafer was a fringe prospect with several good/solid tools - but no great ones. I had hopes he could be a decent CF - but the bat never translated to the big league environment. Most people viewed his upside as a fourth OF or a left handed half of a platoon. No one ever accused Schafer of having 20+ HR potential. Or an 80 arm. His minor league OPS is .746. Phillips' minor league OPS is .846 (although aided at times by good hitting environments). Phillips possesses far greater potential (but like all prospects, no guarantees) than Schafer ever did.

[buckybrewer232]

Would like to see Phillips start everyday from here on out. He was actually better against lefties this year in AAA, than righties. Sure, smaller sample size but still. Broxton should be delegated to late inning defensive help only, IMO.

 

I'm sure it will never happen, though.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't see the Logan Schafer comparison. Schafer was a fringe prospect with several good/solid tools - but no great ones. I had hopes he could be a decent CF - but the bat never translated to the big league environment. Most people viewed his upside as a fourth OF or a left handed half of a platoon. No one ever accused Schafer of having 20+ HR potential. Or an 80 arm. His minor league OPS is .746. Phillips' minor league OPS is .846 (although aided at times by good hitting environments). Phillips possesses far greater potential (but like all prospects, no guarantees) than Schafer ever did.

 

Agreed. Phillips generates a lot more bat speed than Schafer and is more of a natural pull hitter. His offensive upside is more like a hybrid of Christian Yelich and Travis Shaw and if he doesn't make it as a hitter, that arm certainly would make him a relief pitcher option.

[FVBrewerFan]

Maverick Kieschnick?