June 7, 2017

The Call-Up

Brett Phillips

by Wilson Karaman

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The Situation: With Travis Shaw heading out on paternity leave, Ryan Braun still hurt, and Keon Broxton scuffling once again, the Brewers called up the most big-league ready of their collection of high-end outfield prospects.

The Background: A sixth-round prep pick by the Astros in 2012, Brett Phillips was a standout athlete in high school whose football mentality quickly showed itself on the baseball field. After a nondescript full professional debut in 2013, Phillips raked his way through the Midwest and California Leagues in 2014, then kept right on hitting after a promotion to Double-A in the late spring of 2015.

The Astros shipped him off to Milwaukee a few weeks later as one of the centerpieces of the Carlos Gomez/Mike Fiers deal that July, and then last year he suffered through a struggle of a season in the Southern League. He’s managed to put those troubles behind him this spring, taking advantage of his Pacific Coast League environs to the tune of .297/.369/.589 in nearly 200 plate appearances. And he has done all of this either in spite or because of this laugh.

Scouting Report: Phillips boasts a delightful collection of tools, highlighted first and foremost by a fire hose hanging off his right shoulder. His 70-grade arm is an elite weapon that gives him more than enough flexibility to play all over the outfield as needed, and he wasted no time showing it off in his MLB debut Monday night.

Left to his own devices in center field, he’d be capable of evolving into an above-average defender there, thanks in part to plus speed that plays much better on the grass than on the bases. He has continued to struggle with stolen base efficiency throughout his ascent, and he’s all but given up attempting to steal bags this spring.

Offensively, Phillips was exposed quite a bit by pitching adjustments at Double-A last year, as an evolving approach to his swing mechanics had him leveraging more and looking to damage baseballs more consistently to the pull side. With the added dingers came more strikeouts–way­ more strikeouts–and they haven’t subsided even as he’s found success in the PCL this spring. When he has made contact, he’s done well to get to more of his average raw power to both the pull side and opposite field. He’ll control the zone pretty well and take some walks to offset at least some of the batting average concern among scouts who don’t see enough contact in the profile.

Immediate Big League Future: Phillips’ stay isn’t likely to be a long one, as Shaw’s FMLA leave will wrap up later this week, and when it does that’ll force a corresponding roster move.

Fantasy Impact: Phillips’ uncertain role and likely short ride in the bigs combine to make him a less than desirable waiver wire claim this week, though if your re-draft league has wide enough benches he has the kind of across-the-board tools that may be worth stashing. His inability to develop and improve as a base-stealer thus far in spite of his good speed is a ding to the fantasy profile, and he doesn’t have anything resembling a carrying tool for fantasy.

Especially in standard leagues, where the specter of a .210 hitter will scare the neighbors, his is a profile that can take some time (and opportunity) to produce fantasy value. In FAAB leagues this very well may all be irrelevant by Sunday, but I wouldn’t throw more than a couple bucks at him–unless of course this is not irrelevant because he’s come out of the gates hitting and has found his way into the lineup consistently as a result. In that case, buy away and look to flip him quickly.

Wilson Karaman is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @vocaljavelins
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