Fan Zone

It's the middle of August and the Philadelphia Phillies are 30 games under .500. Same old story. Most fans get excited in March, and won't turn a game on after June. Can you blame them? No. The Phils haven't been above .500 in any season since 2011, which seems like an eternity ago.But over the past few months, we've at least seen some of the young prospects in the farm system move up and get a shot in the bigs. Is there any reason to be optimistic about the Phillies? Some locals believe so, but they'll have to address the correct issues along the way."I got season tickets when I turned 21, and I've had them for 38 years," said Jesse Hiles of Lansford. "I've seen a lot of bad baseball at times."I think they're competitive now, but they just lose so many one-run games. However, it's refreshing to see them moving up a lot of younger guys."Philadelphia is 16-30 in one-run games, which is the worst record in Major League Baseball."I'm very high on the team," Hiles said. "If you could turn around their record in one-run games, they could be in the hunt. But it's the (fault of the) bullpen right now. They put them in and you might as well forget it. That's where the problem is."Hiles might be on to something. Phils' relievers are sporting a 4.37 ERA, which is ninth-worst in the league. One could say there is no reason to invest in expensive relievers if you're not competing, but perhaps things would be different if the Phillies were on the better end of those one-run games, and the bullpen could hold its own.One certainty is that the bullpen hasn't been very active every fifth day over the past two months. That's because it's Aaron Nola's turn to take the rubber.The Phillies' ace has now gone 10 straight starts with allowing two earned runs or less. He's shaping into the dynamic front-end starter that many envisioned him to be a few seasons ago when he was climbing through Reading and Lehigh Valley. Out of the exciting young crop of prospects that the Phillies now have playing in the pros, Jay Gilbert of Coaldale tabs Nola as the franchise player."I think it's going to be him," Gilbert said. "He's going to take that Cole Hamels role from about 10 years ago and run with it. There were times when the bats weren't there, but Cole was on fire every week. The bats catch up to him and they start winning. I think Nola can take that role, another West Coast guy that loves to pitch."It was Nick Williams last month and both Rhys Hoskins and Jorge Alfaro last week. These former IronPigs sluggers are now gaining some valuable pro experience. Williams has been knocked for his attitude issues in the minors, but he's kept his head on straight during his stint with the big boys so far.Entering Friday, he's hitting .291with six homers and 25 RBIs across 148 at-bats. Williams and Alfaro were the big pieces that Philly received in the Hamels trade with the Rangers two seasons ago. The jury is still out as to whether the Phillies' haul was enough, but Williams is proving his value so far. Alfaro had a great 2016 campaign in Double A Reading, but struggled when promoted to Lehigh Valley this season. His strikeout percentage has risen and is a cause for concern, but the Phillies still view him as their catcher of the future.Hoskins is arguably the hitter with the biggest upside in the organization. The minor league fan favorite hit 93 bombs in just 455 games during his time with Reading and Lehigh Valley. After going hitless through his first 14 at-bats, he notched his first MLB hit on Sunday against the Mets. Hoskins erupted for a pair of home runs on Monday night at San Diego, and crushed another one on Tuesday. He is the exact jolt of electricity this team needs to help carry over some momentum to close out the regular season.What will the team do with Tommy Joseph? Hoskins has been experimenting in left field, and there's nothing to lose with the Phillies totally out of contention."I liked Tommy Joseph when they made the trade for him a couple years ago," said Ron Hood of Lansford. "He's had those concussion problems, but I don't know how much Hoskins is going to play the outfield with Aaron Altherr coming around and (Odubel) Herrera, it's going to be tough to find time in the outfield. I think they're going to be moving Joseph."However, both Hiles and Gilbert think Hoskins is athletic enough to play left field, which would make it possible for the team keep Joseph, instead of exploring trade possibilities in the offseason."I think he is athletic enough to play left field," Gilbert said. "I saw him play one game in left field at Lehigh Valley last week before he came up. I think he can do it, I really do."The Phillies totally blew it up. But it was too late. Ruben Amaro Jr. waited months or even years too long to find a trade partner for Hamels, and figure out what to do with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, which set the team back a few more grueling seasons. I get it - the city loved them, and the organization wanted to show them respect."Ever since they got rid of him (Hamels), he's been injury prone," Hood said. "He hasn't really stepped it up like he did in Philly. I think Alfaro is going to be the next Carlos Ruiz as far as catching. I saw him play in Reading and I think he's the real deal."Amaro's decision to not make better baseball business decisions drug out the process when the Phillies weren't just stuck in mediocrity - they've been downright awful. It sure speaks volumes about your job when you go from running the Phillies organization to coaching first base for the Red Sox.But there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. The Phillies definitely need some depth behind Nola in the rotation to help get on the right side of those close one-run games. Vincent Velasquez showed an incredible ceiling, but it doesn't ever look like he'll get back on the field as a consistent starter at this rate."They might have a couple of No. 3 or No. 4 starters, but they might have to go out and buy someone (for the top of the rotation)," Hood added.Maybe Jerad Eickhoff will finally figure out how to pitch against lefties. Maybe Zach Eflin will figure out his mechanics. Maybe the Phils will deal Maikel Franco for some pitching prospects to pave the way for the likes of Scott Kingery.Or maybe the Phillies will have to simply #TrustTheProcess, just like their neighbors at the Wells Fargo Center.