Roman Quinn Running Out Of Chances To Prove He Belongs
The Philadelphia Phillies have a problem. No, for once, I’m not talking about the $330 million Bryce Harper problem that will plague the franchise for more than a decade to come. I’m talking about the problem in centerfield. The centerfield spot in Philadelphia may as well be a black hole at this point. Roman Quinn is running out of chances to prove he’s the guy for the job.
Quinn, 27, was supposed to be the guy in CF for Philadelphia. If you don’t know the book on Quinn, let me give you a run down real quick. Quinn is probably the fastest player in the big leagues. He’s going to steal a shit ton of bags and cover a ton of ground defensively. Can we get him on base enough for the speed to be worth it?
The problem is, Quinn isn’t just struggling with the bat. You can essentially book an 0-4 night for him every day. That’s not a joke. Quinn has ONE hit in 23 at-bats (.043 average). Worse yet, his slugging percentage is the same number. The OPS+ is NEGATIVE 15. I have to be honest; I did not know OPS+ was capable of being a negative number.
How long can the Phillies continue to rely on Quinn? There’s no room to panic in April but the NL East might be the most competitive division in baseball. You can find yourself in last place real quick by having two down months. It’s going to be a dog fight from start to finish. We know the guy in right field is a cancer. The guy in center field can’t also not perform up to expectations.
When Quinn was first called up, he hit in the .260 range in 2016 and 2018. You will take that if you’re Philadelphia. If Quinn can get on base even at a subpar rate, his speed makes him a valuable asset on the roster. It’s another thing to be an automatic out every time you step to the plate which really isn’t acceptable if you’re anything other than a backup defensive minded catcher.
Adam Haseley is on the restricted list and the Phillies aren’t sure when he’s coming back. Philadelphia would prefer not to rely on Odubel Herrera who is a domestic violence abuser. Former number one overall pick Mickey Moniak was called up out of desperation. Moniak hasn’t been able to hit in the minors. I’m not sure why they would expect that to change at the MLB level.
Roman Quinn is running out of time to prove he’s a major league player. What’s his ceiling? Hey, Terrance Gore can bounce around the league forever. A guy that can run and steal a bag is something teams want on their roster. It’s another thing to be a fast guy who’s capable of being the regular starter in a big league lineup. The time is now for Quinn to prove he belongs.
