Ryan Howard is off to a slow start at Triple-A

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

Anyone who questions Ryan Howard's desire to play the game of baseball is foolish. Anyone who questions whether Howard is still good enough to warrant a 25-man roster spot on a big league roster, well, they may be on to something. 

Howard waited an entire offseason without garnering much interest in his first stint as a free-agent. He remained unsigned through Spring Training, but continued training to play in 2017. Much to the surprise of many around the league, Howard signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves organization on April 6, and ended up at Triple-A Gwinnett after a short stint in extended Spring Training. 

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It's not clear what timetable the Braves have for Howard, but the 37-year-old isn't off to a strong start in the Braves' organization. Even after a two-RBI performance Wednesday evening, the Phillies' single-season home run record holder is batting just .188. 

To be fair to Howard, he's batted just 34 times so far in 2017 and did have his share of slow starts in his time with the Phillies. For example, he hit just .168 in April of 2008, a year that he would eventually hit 48 home runs, drive in 146 RBIs and bat .251. Then again, the pressure for Howard to have an impressive start is much higher when he's in the minor leagues (after hitting less than .200 a year ago), than it was in 2008, when he had combined for 105 home runs in the previous two seasons. 

Howard did have a .932 OPS in the second half of the 2016 season, something that Braves general manager John Coppolella cited when the team announced the signing. He also hit 25 home runs, which was the most in a single season since 2011. Still, if Howard hadn't been a franchise icon, the fact that he spent virtually the entire season hitting under .200 probably would have led to the Phillies designating him assignment. 

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The Braves, who are obviously a National League team and have Freddie Freeman entrenched at first base, do have seven games in American League parks next month. There could be some thought that Howard could join the major league team later this month to serve as a DH when they play in an American League stadium, but he would have to heat up rather quickly at Triple-A for that to be a worthwhile experiment. After May, the Braves play just three games in an American League stadium. 

There may be value in having Howard in September (and potentially October), just for the hope that he could change an important game with one swing. Again though, Howard would have to demonstrate a fair amount of power at the Triple-A level before the Braves could even give him that chance. It also seems less than likely that the Braves will actually be contending late in the season. 

Whether Howard ever makes it back to the major leagues again or not, there's little that he hasn't accomplished in his big league career. He won the 2005 National League Rookie of the Year. He won the 2006 National League MVP. He was one of the core pieces to the Phillies 2007-2011 run of National League dominance, in which they secured the franchise's second World Series title in 2008. Oh, and he's made nearly $200 million in his career, making him the highest paid player in team history.