Milwaukee Brewers prospect Brett Phillips has reason to laugh again
Last year, Milwaukee Brewers prospect Brett Phillips went viral with his unusual laugh. Unfortunately, he didn't have too many reasons to smile once regular season action began. Phillips struggled and finished the year batting .229/.332/.397 with 154 strikeouts. This season, the laughter has returned and with it is a productive bat.
Several Brewers prospects saw their names vanquished from the MLB.com Top 100 Prospects list at the start of the season. Phillips is one of those punished for his horrid 2016 performance. At one point he ranked as high as number 32. This year, MLB.com wrote him off completely.
With his back up against the wall, Phillips has gotten off to a terrific start. The Brewers had every reason to keep him down in Double-A again, but Phillips has shown why he deserved an opportunity to play at the next level.
Through 198 plate appearances this season at Triple-A, Phillips slashed .297/.369/.589 with 11 home runs. The 23-year-old outfielder had only 14 home runs all of last season. He has not been an especially astute power hitter with a career-high of 17. However, with an early ten this season, there's reason to believe Phillips may have added home run pop to his bat.
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Philips is the kind of player who can offer the Brewers a lot of great offensive tools in the near future. He is a proven base stealer and has two minor league seasons of hitting over .300. His ability to draw walks at a high rate is also helpful in maintaining a career .361 OBP. Although the stolen bases have not been present this season, Phillips has enough talent to swipe a bag when needed.
The amazing start for Phillips recently earned him a promotion to the big leagues. On June 5, 2017 he made his debut against the San Francisco Giants.
Since joining Milwaukee, Phillips has not received ample playing time. Fortunately, he has already picked up two big league hits and scored his first MLB run in his second start.
One immediately present weakness for Phillips in his first eight MLB plate appearances has been the strikeout rate. He has already fanned five times which could signal the Brewers are in for some frustrating at-bats.
Strikeouts have always been a problem for Phillips. The 177 strikeouts last year severely held him back from turning his season around. Even in 2015 when he put up impressive numbers, Phillips averaged about a strikeout per game.
Phillips is lucky that Keon Broxton may not actually be a late-blooming star. This opens up an opportunity for him to compete next season for the starting center field job.
Whether he realizes it or not, each at-bat Phillips has this season is going to play a factor in how hard the Brewers push his playing time next spring. This is a team still trying to figure out its place in MLB. Anyone who can outperform others at their respective positions should get the playing time they deserve.
