Neither Nick Williams (left) or Aaron Altherr (right) have given the Phillies consistent production in right field. (Brandon Apter and Frank Klose/STP)
By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
When Philadelphia Phillies general manager Matt Klentak signed first baseman Carlos Santana to a lucrative free-agent contract this past offseason, the thought was that it gave the Phillies a surplus of starting-caliber outfielders. Rhys Hoskins, whose natural position was first base, would play left field regularly. Odubel Herrera would remain the team's starting center fielder. And Aaron Altherr and Nick Williams, both of whom were viewed as viable starting options, would compete for time in right field.
Thus far, Gabe Kapler hasn't received sufficient production in right field from either Altherr or Williams.
Altherr is slashing .173/.298/.309 as a starter, with 116 of his 131 starting plate appearances having come in right field. If you put together a highlight package of the Phillies 2018 season thus far, Altherr would be heavily featured because he does have five home runs this season, two of which have been grand slams. The problem is that the five home runs have been over one-fifth of his hits this season.
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Perhaps the one positive part of Altherr's offensive approach in 2018 is that he's already walked 25 times in 152 plate appearances this season, just seven less than he walked in 412 plate appearances in 2017. Just as he proved to be coachable under former hitting coach Matt Stairs, Altherr has taken to seeing more pitches in 2018, something Kapler and new hitting coach John Mallee have preached. After seeing 3.87 pitches-per-plate-appearance in 2017, Altherr is seeing 4.28 pitches-per-plate-appearance in 2018. His strikeout percentage has seen a slight uptick, but not an alarming one that you could attribute his lack of overall offensive success to.
In addition to the -2.2 oWAR that Altherr has posted this season, he continues not to not grade out well as a fielder. Despite the belief from many that Altherr's athleticism should allow him to grade out well as a fielder, he's posted a -1.4 UZR, a -8.1 UZR/150 and a -2.7 dWAR thus far in 2018. One shouldn't put a ton of stock into two months of fielding – for example, Herrera, who traditionally has graded out as an elite fielder, has a -0.1 dWAR so far this season – but Altherr hasn't graded out well as a fielder since the start of the 2017 season. He's got a career -7.1 dWAR at the major league level, largely propelled by the -7.9 dWAR he posted in 2017. A season ago, he posted a -4.3 UZR, a -5.7 UZR/150 and -4 defensive runs saved.
Nearly a year ago, the Phillies called-up Williams and he provided a scuffling (to put it lightly) offense with a spark. Altherr, for lack of a better term, has gotten the right of first refusal to be the starting right fielder in 2018. But when Williams has started, he's done next-to-nothing to warrant him getting regular starts. As a starter, he's slashing .167/.270/.244 with just one home run and four RBIs. Like Altherr, Williams has seen an increase in his walk percentage in the 89 plate appearances that he has as a starter in 2018. Also like Altherr, his increase in walks hasn't been enough to make up for his lack of offensive production – he has a -3.0 oWAR – as a starter.
While Altherr once did grade out well as a fielder, Williams never has. In less than a full year as a major leaguer, Williams already has -15 defensive runs saved. With a struggling bat as a starter – and a -21.3 UZR/150 in 2018 – it's becoming more difficult to justify him starting more than once or twice a week.
MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported at the beginning of this month that though nothing was imminent, the idea of optioning Williams for Roman Quinn had been an internal consideration. A few things have kept that from happening. First of all, the oft-injured Quinn is currently on the disabled list after tearing a ligament (and subsequently having surgery) in his middle finger. Secondly, for as underwhelming as Williams has been as a starter, he's been other-wordly as a pinch-hitter. Williams' game-winning pinch-hit home run last Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays was his third pinch-hit home run of the season. He's batting .455 with eight RBIs in 23 plate-appearances as a pinch-hitter in 2018.
In 21 pinch-hit appearances in 2018, Altherr is hitting .333 with a home run and four RBIs. What the first two months of the season have shown us is that for a contending team, Altherr and Williams may be best equipped to be a team's fourth outfielder. In the meantime, however, the Phillies are a contending team that needs more production out of one of the two, and neither is likely content to accept being a pinch-hitter at this phase of their respective careers.
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Internally, the Phillies don't have another realistic option to come get starting at-bats in right field. Quinn is on the disabled list. The only other outfielder on the 40-man roster is Dylan Cozens, but despite world-class power, Cozens is hitting just .228 for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. One internal possibility could be that once J.P. Crawford returns, the Phillies give Scott Kingery some more at-bats in right field, where he's played at three times this season. Of course, despite high expectations entering his rookie season, Kingery has struggled at the plate as well in 2018.
Does the possibility exist that if the Phillies remain in contention over the next two months Klentak will make an upgrade via trade? It's not impossible, but with a very strong free-agent outfielding class looming – headlined by Bryce Harper – it feels unlikely that it would be a major addition. The Phillies could add a rental outfielder, though it's fair to wonder how much of an upgrade that would be.
The best-case scenario for the Phillies for the remainder of the season would be for one of Altherr or Williams to break-out of their slow start and alleviate this issue. Given that Williams has thrived as a pinch-hitter and the Jayson Werth comparisons that were being thrown out in a cavalier manner prior to the season, a breakout from Altherr may be the best thing that could happen for the Phillies. One thing is for sure – the Phillies can't continue to get this little production out of their right fielders.
