Phillies Notes Kepler Crawford Harpe

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The Phillies scored just one run over a three-game sweep at the hands of the Astros this week. Theyre still in strong position at 47-34 but have had a poor month offensively, ranking 25th in scoring.  has been among those struggling, as hes hitting .167/.265/.350 over 68 plate appearances in June.  Kepler was out of the lineup for three consecutive games between June 22-25. The Phils faced left-handed starting pitchers in each contest and wanted to shield the lefty hitter from an unfavorable platoon matchup. That didnt sit well with Kepler, who told on Thursday that he was told he was going to be the starting left fielder when he signed a $10MM free agent deal with Philadelphia. He added that not playing every day has impacted his rhythm.  The Yadier Molina Jersey  veteran outfielder doubled down on those comments today. I signed here being told that I was going to be the starting everyday left fielder, he told reporters before tonights series opener in Atlanta (link via ). Thats why I came here. Manager Rob Thomson pushed back somewhat about Keplers gripe, noting that hes been in the starting lineup for 60 of the teams 81 games. Hes making his 61st start tonight, hitting fifth and playing left field against Atlanta righty  .  To be clear, theres nothing to suggest the relationship between Kepler and Thomson has become untenable. The outfielder said today that if he were pushed into a bench role, hed take it on and hope to make the most of it. Its neverthele s apparent that he wants more playing time against southpaws. A career .221/.291/.362 hitter against lefty pitching, he has hit .222 with one home run in 49 plate appearances against lefties this year.  The greater concern is that Kepler hasnt produced with the platoon advantage either. He took a .205/.307/.389 slash against righties into tonights contest. Kepler had a solid April but owns a .179/.270/.364 line since the start of May. Its not all that surprising that Thomson would prefer to get another righty bat into the lineup against left-handers when Kepler isnt performing.  moved from first base to left field for all three of those appearances, which drew utility infielders  or  into the lineup.  Keplers struggles come at a time when outfield prospect  is hitting in Triple-A. The 21-year-old Crawford, a former first-round pick, has a .332/.408/.435 mark at the top minor league level. The son of  , Justin has minimal power but has excellent speed and has shown improved plate discipline. Gelb writes that the organization is bullish on Crawford despite some other teams questioning his offensive approach. He has a 63% ground-ball rate in the minors, a rate that only  has topped at the MLB level (minimum 100 plate appearances). Thomson told reporters on Thursday that Crawford has absolutely put himself on the radar for a big league call.  It leaves the front office with some interesting decisions a month out from the trade deadline. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said this week that the bullpen was understandably their . He downplayed the po sibility of adding to the offense. At the same time, the Phillies have gotten minimal production from both corner outfield spots. Kepler and company havent hit well in left;  has been a solid hitter but remains a defensive liability in right.  They could turn to Crawford, but thatd probably require benching one of Kepler or Castellanos. (Crawford can play center field, but  has been one of the teams better hitters following a dismal April.) Theres obviously no guarantee that Crawford would produce in his first look at MLB pitching. The Phillies are in a tight battle with the Mets in the NL East and cant afford to be too patient if he were to struggle.  The lineup should get a major boost with  forthcoming return from a wrist injury. Harper hasnt played since June 6 but told reporters this afternoon that a return next week is definitely in play (link via ). He took on-field batting practice at Truist Park and is scheduled to hit off a pair of Phils minor league pitchers tomorrow. That could result in a little more outfield playing time for Kemp, their preferred fill-in at first. The 25-year-old rookie hasnt hit a ton in 17 MLB games  though he did just take Elder deep for his first career home run  but he mashed at a .313/.416/.594 clip in Triple-A.  Drew Verhagen Jersey
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