The arrival of spring training games brings a new hope for MLB teams, who will look to uncover their next unexpected breakout candidate to hopefully lead the team to success in 2021.
But with spring training also comes the important reminder that spring performances don’t always translate into the regular season, for both better and worse. The Phillies themselves have had a number of players scorch their way through spring before falling to earth when the games began to count, while others were able to maintain that level of production as spring became summer.
With that in mind, here are six of the top spring training performances over the past six years, and how those performances translated once the games actually mattered.
Chase Utley, 2015
Utley had a memorable 13-year career with the Phillies, but he saved one of his best spring training performances for his last. Leading into the 2015 season, fresh off of his sixth All-Star selection, Utley posted a 1.297 OPS across 34 at-bats, logging 14 hits, four home runs and two doubles. The then 35-year-old was showing no signs of slowing down.
Then the 2015 season got going, and Utley started to show his age. He posted a 71 OPS+ in his 73 games with the Phillies, easily the worst mark of his career, and was eventually traded do the Dodgers, where he didn’t fare much better offensively.
Maikel Franco, 2016
Franco arrived to spring training camp in 2016 hoping to play in what would be his first full season after playing in 80 games in 2015, and he certainly made a strong case for and everyday role.
Franco has his power stroke humming in spring training, swatting nine home runs in 68 at-bats to finish the spring with a .721 slugging percentage and a 1.054 OPS.
He drove in 23 runs that spring, with the next highest mark being Darin Ruf’s 14 RBI. Franco was easily the team’s most impressive offensive performer in exhibition play.
Franco, 23 years old at the time, did earn a regular role in the Phillies infield that season, but his hot spring couldn’t be maintained. While Franco still managed to hit 25 home runs, still a career-high, he batted .255 with an OPS+ of just 94, while striking out 106 times.
Cameron Rupp, 2016
Another Phillie was hoping to finally earn an everyday role coming into spring training in 2016, with Rupp making a case to be the starting catcher once the season began. He put forth a great audition, hitting three home runs and four doubles in 35 at-bats to finish with a 1.139 OPS, and it earned him 105 games in the regular season after appearing in 81 in 2015.
Unfortunately, Rupp’s bat cooled as the regular season moved along. He did hit a career-high 16 home runs, but struck out 114 times and finished with a 98 OPS+, just below league average. He was out of the majors after the 2017 season.
Brock Stassi, 2017
Stassi was a 33rd-round pick by the Phillies but began to open eyes after a torrid 2015 season in Double-A, and by 2017, the 27-year-old was fighting for a spot on the Opening Day roster. He made a heck of a case to be included once exhibition games began.
In 62 spring at-bats, Stassi clubbed six home runs, posted a 1.013 OPS and drove in 17 runs, tied with Franco for the team lead. Stassi did get his spot on the Opening Day roster, but he fell fast, appearing in 51 games, slugging just .295 with an OPS of .573, and was finished with his first and only major league season by July 18. Stassi most recently joined the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League before the season was canceled due to COVID-19.
Scott Kingery, 2018
Kingery was looking to secure a spot on the Phillies’ Opening Day roster for what would be his first season in the majors in 2018, and by the end of spring training, the 24-year-old had left no doubt that he would take the field with the Phils when the regular season began.
Kingery crushed five home runs and a total of 10 extra-base hits in 54 at-bats in spring training, batting .411 with a 1.226 OPS, making him an easy choice to be the team’s regular shortstop in 2018. But those numbers were simply a tease, as Kingery hit just eight home runs in 147 games, struck out 126 times and finishes his rookie season with a .605 OPS. He was much better in 2019, but his shortened 2020 season brought more struggles, finishing with a .511 OPS.
Phil Gosselin, 2019
Gosselin had been looking to play a full season in the bigs since he arrived in 2013, and he made his best case to make 2019 that first complete campaign when he recorded eight extra-base hits, including two home runs, in 42 at-bats to finish his spring slate with a 1.159 OPS. He was with the big-league club by April 19 in an everyday role, but couldn’t replicate his spring success.
Goselin lasted just 44 games in what was his first season with the Phillies, slashing .262/.294/.308 and didn’t record a home run. He did return in 2020 and posted a .726 OPS with three home runs for the Phillies in his age 31 season, and recently signed with the Angels.