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Fantasy baseball

Phillies fantasy preview: Rebuilding begins with Odubel Herrera

Steve Gardner
USA TODAY Sports

As the 2017 fantasy baseball season approaches, we take a look at the biggest news and story lines from each club. We'll feature one team each weekday ... and we'll finish up on Feb. 15, the first day all teams will have their pitchers and catchers on the field for workouts.

2017 fantasy baseball team previews

Speedy Odubel Herrera led the Phillies in runs (87), hits (167) and stolen bases (25) in 2016.

The Philadelphia Phillies are another team that seems committed to rebuilding and taking the time to do things right. They've patched some of their immediate holes with veterans on one-year deals, which will buy their promising youngsters the time they need to develop. In fact, only center fielder Odubel Herrera is signed to a guaranteed contract beyond this season. The Phillies could be the worst team in baseball this season, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

2016 at a glance

Record: 71-91 (4th in NL East)
Hitting: 30th (3.77 R/G)
Pitching: 26th (4.63 ERA)

Arrivals

OF Michael Saunders
2B/OF Howie Kendrick
SP Clay Buchholz
RP Joaquin Benoit

Saunders, 30, avoided injuries to play in a career-high 140 games last season and his numbers (.253, 24 HR, 57 RBI, .816 OPS) were the best he's had as a major leaguer.

Kendrick, 33, still makes excellent contact, but doesn't hit for much power. He'll be a full-time outfielder, but still qualify at second base for fantasy purposes.

Buchholz, 32, split time between the rotation and the bullpen in Boston, but was excellent down the stretch when he ditched his full windup and began pitching only from the stretch. He'll get a slight boost in value leaving Fenway Park and the American League, but he's still only borderline rosterable, even in NL-only leagues.

Benoit, 39, adds bullpen depth and could get a chance to close.

Players to watch

OF Odubel Herrera 
3B Maikel Franco

Herrera became the cornerstone of the new-look Phillies after signing a five-year contract extension in December. he's posted a .353 on-base percentage, averaging double-digit homers and 20 steals in his first two major league seasons. On many teams, that's a great leadoff hitter ... but on the Phillies, he'll hit third.

Expectations were high for Franco last spring (I was one of those who bought in), but his on-base and slugging percentages took a dive in his first full major league season.  Still just 24 with excellent raw power, Franco seems a good bet to improve on his 25 homers and 88 RBI from 2016.

Sleepers

SP Vince Velasquez
SP Aaron Nola

Velasquez is one of the game's more exciting young pitchers. He burst on the scene last season with a three-hit, 16-strikeout shutout in his second start. The Phillies shut him down in early September after 131 innings, so he should be able to get in the 160-175 range this year. With a strikeout rate of 10.4 per nine innings, he could push 200 K's over a full season.

Judging solely by his ERA, Nola seemed to take a step backward in his second MLB season, going from 3.59 in 13 starts to 4.78 in 20 starts last season. But luck wasn't on his side -- as a .356 average on balls in play and a 63.7% strand rate conspired against him. Looking closer, his FIP actually went down significantly from 4.10 in 2015 to 3.14 last year. And his strikeout rate went up, from 7.9 to 9.8 K/9. The elbow sprain that shut him down in late July is no longer an issue and he should be good to go in spring training.

Bullpen

Closer: Jeanmar Gomez
Next: Hector Neris/Joaquin Benoit

Despite losing his job as closer in September, Gomez gets the preliminary nod here on the basis of his 37 saves last season. He'll get a chance to prove that 19.13 ERA in eight innings over the final month was an aberration.

Benoit (2.81 ERA) and Neris (2.58) were much better over the full season -- and Neris' 102 strikeouts in 80 1/3 innings (11.4 K/9) could make him worth a spot on fantasy rosters even if he doesn't close.

Position battles

Aaron Altherr can play all three outfield positions, so he should see a decent amount of playing time. A wrist injury in spring training last year kept him out of action until July -- and he never really recovered.

The Phillies have a wealth of young starting pitchers just looking for the opportunity to break into the rotation, but the addition of Buchholz and the re-signing of Jeremy Hellickson will keep them at bay for at least a while.

Prospects

SS J.P. Crawford
C Jorge Alfaro
OF Roman Quinn

Crawford, 22, is the team's No. 1 prospect and could get the call to the majors before midseason, but he must improve offensively before he's worth rostering in fantasy. He hit a combined .250/.349/.339 at Class AA and AAA and was just 12-for-19 in stolen base attempts.

Alfaro, 23, came over from Texas in the Cole Hamels trade and is viewed as the Phils' catcher of the future. An excellent defender, he played in six games with Philadelphia last September after hitting .285 with 15 homers at Class AA Reading.

Quinn, 23, is a speedy leadoff hitter who could eventually move Herrera to a corner outfield spot once he's ready. In 69 plate appearances with the Phils in September, he posted a .373 OBP and stole five bases in six attempts.

Projected batting order

1. 2B Cesar Hernandez
2. LF Howie Kendrick
3. CF Odubel Herrera
4. 3B Maikel Franco
5. RF Michael Saunders
6. 1B Tommy Joseph
7. C Cameron Rupp
8. SS Freddy Galvis

Projected rotation

1. RHP Jeremy Hellickson
2. RHP Aaron Nola
3. RHP Vince Velasquez
4. RHP Jerad Eickhoff 
5. RHP Clay Buchholz

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