5 Phillies Spring Training invitees who won’t make the MLB roster
By Tim Boyle
4) Why Jhailyn Ortiz won’t make the Phillies roster
The Phillies have a couple of notable bats in camp, too. Outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz is one of those guys. A .237/.319/.415 hitter last year in Double-A, Ortiz’s weaknesses are fairly obvious.
One big problem you won’t see from the slash line is how much he strikes out. Ortiz fanned 165 times in 119 games. This included 505 plate appearances. He didn’t hit with nearly enough power to justify all of the strike three calls against him.
Not much has changed with Ortiz since his career began way back in 2016. His performance last year is actually dangerously close to his career minor league numbers featuring a .233/.317/.426 batting line. Is this the guy he actually is?
Ortiz does have some pop in his bat. He hit 17 home runs last year while adding 25 doubles. Mostly a right fielder at this point, Ortiz may be headed toward a spot on a major league bench. He’s not an amazing fielder. There are several areas he needs to improve at the plate.
Now 24, Ortiz’s stay with the Phillies organization may come to an abrupt end if they don’t see vast improvement in some way. He doesn’t need to be a future star. The Phillies just don’t need a guy striking out once every three plate appearances. They have enough of those.