The Phillies are coming off a week in which they won a game 17-3 and lost a game 14-4. First, the blowout win. The Phillies gave Jeremy Guthrie one of the worst birthday presents imaginable, hanging a 12-spot on the veteran pitcher before he could get three outs. Now, the blowout loss — Clay Buchholz turned in a typically short Clay Buchholz start and the pitching staff would go on to allow seven home runs to the New York Mets.
Last year’s darling, Tommy Joseph, has only two hits in his first 25 at-bats. Maikel Franco is off to a slow start. On the hotter side of the coin, Howie Kendrick and Odubel Herrera have been hitting the cover off the ball. Kendrick’s veteran presence is very valuable to this lineup.
Jeremy Hellickson has made two very strong starts, further building his trade value for the deadline. Jerad Eickhoff has also made two good starts, and looks like the real deal number-two starter of the future in Philadelphia. The assumed future ace of this staff, Vince Velasquez, struck out 10 in his 2017 debut, but made it through only four innings as he struggled with command.
The 2017 season could not have gotten off to a worse start for the Royals. That is especially true of the KC bullpen. Royals relievers have an ERA close to 8.00 through the first seven games of the season and have taken three losses. Matt Strahm was expected to take on a big role in the bullpen this year, but has allowed seven runs while walking six in his first 1.1 innings this season. This cannot continue if the Royals are to salvage this final year with their entire core intact.
Offensively, the Royals have been one of the worst teams in baseball so far. They are batting below the Mendoza Line as a team and have the worst OBP in all of baseball. Players like Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, and Alex Gordon will get things going, so there is not too much reason to be concerned about the offense.