Nick Gets Time

Nick Williams earned his way to a regular starting job with the Phillies:

Williams has taken over as the Phillies’ primary rightfielder, supplanting the struggling Aaron Altherr. But he started only 21 of the season’s first 49 games and played so sparingly at times that manager Gabe Kapler was asked in early May if the Phillies would be better off sending Williams to triple A for more regular at-bats.

Instead, the Phillies used Williams as a pinch-hitter, a role that the 24-year-old was not accustomed to during his time in the minors. Realizing that few hitters put up big numbers coming off the bench, Williams said he relaxed and simplified his plate approach en route to going 10-for-21 with three home runs.

“I didn’t have crazy expectations for myself doing it,” Williams said. “I said, ‘I’m just going to try to have a good at-bat.’ If I didn’t have success in this at-bat or get a hit or something, I was like, ‘Well, I was meant to fail anyway.’”

Williams is a low OBP player with power. I understand why the Phillies kept him out of the starting lineup for a while. He had a great May, a down June, and a great July so far. If he can keep the May and July numbers going for the rest of the year, he’ll deserve the starting role.

from baseballmusings.com https://ift.tt/2KT2u2P