I think he needs a change.  Also, moving to a system that has an opening for SS would help get him back on track.  I thought the Indians' brass was a bit quick to assume he would make the adjustment to second base seamlessly.  This was actually his first "demotion" or struggle as he came into the Indians' system behind Peralta on the depth chart.

Everyone can second guess, but perhaps Phillips at SS and Peralta at 3B would've been a better route for them as prospects.

do you still have that card?  in 2002, you could have gotten a ton of money for that, but now its almost worthless

I agree with that perhaps the move from SS sent him into his tailspin. I've seen him play a few times, including in the AZFL a few years back, and he should be a productive MLB SS. I never thought the Larkin comps were on, but I would have said he'd be an established .270-.290 with 10-15 HR's a year guy by now.

Forgot what he can do, what WILL he do? What are the chances of him turning this thing around and becoming that player? He's only 24, but I still have it at less than 20%

Hello everyone,

I agree with John in terms of Phillips' problems being his obsession with power and his attitude hindering his chances for success.  I also agree with lenred that his move off SS may have caused some of the problems as well.

In fact, originally, many people had Phillips at SS, while moving Peralta to 3B because they said that Phillips' defense at SS was better and that Peralta would be too big for the position, plus felt that Peralta's offense would enable him to remain at 3B.

However, I think the Indians' mistake was that they allowed Phillips to start with the Major League club in 2003 - I think they put too much stock into him doing well at that level that early in his career.  I don't know if it was an attempt by the organization to justify the Colon trade because many Cleveland fans were against it, just because Colon was starting to show some consistency of becoming an ace (and went on to win 20 games that year between Cleveland and Montreal,) and Phillips was the closest one to contributing at that time.  Lee was just transitioning between AA and AAA at that time, while Sizemore was still in High A.

Plus, Phillips had done well in Spring Training of 2003 - I remember he just outdid his competition - I don't remember if it was Bill Selby or who - but he did so well that Spring Training that the Indians felt he was ready and gave him his first shot in the Majors.

However, Phillips faltered and hasn't been the same since.  I don't think the Indians' organization was ever enamored with his "flashy" attitude - he likes to make the spectacular play, but sometimes botches the routine play.  The Indians' organization likes the "blue-collar" player more so - that's why I believe they went more with Jhonny Peralta at short - he's not flashy, but he's effective, especially with the bat, but also with the glove.  Omar Vizquel was flashy, but also "blue-collar," as he never took his abilities for granted and always worked hard.

I personally think Phillips thought that the game would come so naturally to him that he felt he wouldn't have to be concentrating as hard as he needed to and wouldn't have to make many or any adjustments.  Then, when he realized that the game wasn't coming as easily to him as it did in the Minors, he pressed and lost his ability with the bat, while his glove remained average - making the spectacular play, while botching the routine play.

I remember one announcer, scout, or someone within baseball mentioning that Phillips needs to stop thinking that he's Barry Bonds and get back to what made him a prospect - good contact and gap power, with an occasional homerun here and there.  I believe someone else said that Phillips' swing is similar to Alex Escobar's - long and "loopy" - which usually does not lead to good results in the Majors because there are too many holes in the swing to compensate for to be a consistent hitter.

ScottAZ - if Phillips becomes an average second baseman, that might be considered a success the way it is looking right now.  I think his chances of succeeding are at best, 20%.  Personally, with the Indians, the best he might do is as a backup guy off the bench, filling in at SS and 2B.  However, I wouldn't be surprised if he was traded sometime this offseason, or at the latest, at the trading deadline in 2006.  Of course, I'm not sure how much the Indians could get for him now.  Maybe someone else's disappointing prospect, perhaps, or possibly, a decent low-level prospect.

However, I don't see Phillips taking over for Ronnie Belliard in the future.  That's why the rumors of 2005 draft pick Trevor Crowe becoming a second baseman are becoming more widespread - it appears that the Indians don't believe that Phillips will ever develop into a productive Major Leaguer with the Indians.  I'm not sure if he will at all.

I'm still hoping for Brandon Phillips to develop, but I have serious doubts he ever will, especially in Cleveland.

Take care everyone and have a good day!

Okay, are there any teams that could take Phillips on and hand him the job at SS to see if he can play, once and for all? One bad teams could afford to do it, but KC has Berroa, Tampa has Upton waiting, Pittsburgh has Wilson, etc.

Hello everyone,

Gudy2Shoes - I agree with you about the division rivalry making that deal very unlikely.  It's not a bad thought though - Phillips can't do much worse than Guzman or Rivas (neither of which is now in the Twins organization.)  Question is, who could the Indians get in return for Phillips (from the Twins or anyone else)?

ScottAZ - of the three you mentioned, I don't think Pittsburgh's Wilson (is that Jack or Craig? - I'm not sure) is that young.  I'm not sure about that, but I'm thinking that could be one reason they would turn to Phillips.  However, that Wilson has hit well at SS and has been able to play the position well enough to keep it, will probably result in Pittsburgh keeping Wilson as their shortshop and not going after Phillips.

I would think KC could be another possibility - Berroa is not young anymore and is very inconsistent in his own right - he looks like an All-Star or above-average player at times and at other times he looks like he doesn't have a clue out there.  However, is Phillips really an upgrade over Berroa?  Berroa has at least shown that he can hit Major League pitching at times and he can play great defense at times.  Phillips has definitely not shown he can hit ML pitching, and his defense has been no better than Berroa's, so I doubt KC is interested.  Plus, the division rivalry would make this trade the unlikeliest of the three, in my opinion.

The only reason Tampa Bay would do it is if they move Upton off short - I highly doubt that they have given up on Upton yet as a player.  As a shortstop, that's debatable, but it seems they want to keep Upton at short for now.  Therefore, I doubt Phillips goes to TB either.

I think Phillips is stuck - the only legitimate chance he has, in my opinion, to be close to the player he was projected to be, is that he must have a great year in AAA in 2006 (not a good year, he needs a year that will make GMs stand up, take notice, and remember his once-lofty prospect status) and then some team without a future shortstop in their midsts would have to acquire him (I don't know if Phillips would be a Minor League Free Agent next year or not,) and trust in him to put up above-average numbers in his first full year in the Majors.  

I think the chances of that happening are 20% at best.  I think his chances of being an impact prospect are gone - I'm hoping he'll develop, but I have serious doubts that will happen now.  He's not that young anymore (24 - not old, but when he reaches AAA at 21 and hasn't developed since, then that 24 seems much older than when you first see it) and his offense has really stagnated (much like Guzman and Rivas.)  Plus, he doesn't have the greatest of speed - he might steal 20 bases a year, but he's not one of these players that will steal you 40+ bases a year, so his speed and baserunning aren't outstanding tools.  He's likely not a top-of-the-order hitter, which would have probably been the best area in the lineup for him if he had developed. Finally, his defense, while spectacular at times, is inconsistent, resulting in botching routine plays, so his defense isn't outstanding either.

Really, I will be very surprised if he turns into an impact player at the Major League Level with the Indians or any other Major League team.

I guess this is a classic example of those top prospects that don't pan out, which shows that even "top prospects" aren't surefire Major Leaguers.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Take care everyone and have a great day!