Chase Utley

No comments anywhere about him, even in the KC paper.  .290/.350/.458, 16 HRs, 85 RBIs, 31 2Bs, 5 3Bs, 10 SB.   Nicely done.

I live in Phils territory (Lancaster, PA), and I can confirm that Utley is definitely a big fan favorite around here.  And the young ladies are quite enthusiastic about him.

I'm impressed with his play.  He even sparkles in the field on occasion, which is a nice surprise considering what I knew of his defensive rep in the minors.  I'm looking forward to watching him in the coming seasons.

Ryan Howard isn't quite the complete package that Utley is, but his rookie season deserves applause, too.

I've been very impressed by Utley this season. I don't actually keep physical lists of favorite players but Chase has instantly jumped into my top 10. He's a gamer and I gotta love any 2nd baseman who can take Pedro deep twice in one game.

I drafted Weeks over Utley a few years ago b/c Utley's FSL and first IL campaign didn't scream out at me. His 2nd IL campaign was great but he was a league repeater. While i think Weeks has a bright future there isn't a 2nd baseman I'd rather have than Utley (Giles comes close, but gets edged out).

I'm a Phillies fan, and have seen a lot of him. I frankly wasn't too high on him coming into the season, despite his promising rookie campaign in 2004.

But this year, he's shown an improvement in plate discipline which has paid dividends big time. He looks like a lefty Jeff Kent, only with better defense.

The big knock on him defensively, I think, was largely due to the year he spent playing 3B (the Phils moved him there when they were having trouble negotiating a long-term deal with Rolen). He simply doesn't have a good enough arm for 3B, but it's adequate for 2B. He's a little stiff on DB turns, but his range appears excellent and he doesn't seem to be error-prone.

I drafted Utley in a fantasy baseball league and I was pulling my hair out the first couple months when he was splitting time with Polanco. Speaking of which, the Phils really should have traded Rollins and moved Polanco to short. They'd be winning the Wild Card right now.

He's probably the second-best second baseman next to Marcus Giles right now. At least I can't think of anyone I'd rather have. Kent is old and busted, Soriano sucks, Bellhorn's a Yankee, Orlando Hudson doesn't hit enough and Mark Loretta is getting old.

OBP gets my heart pumping.

So I've been watching him for about four months now.  The NL East has a lot of exciting young talent in Howard, Utley, Wright, Reyes, Francoeur, and I'm probably missing about 4 or 5 other guys too.

Speaking of the NL East, anyone else think that John Patterson has had an incredibly underrated season?

With the shortage of good fielding secondbasemen in the NL, Utley just might be a candidate for the Gold Glove.Luis Castillo played with nagging injuries so the crown just might be passed on to another second baseman.Marcus Giles is another possibility for the Gold Glove.

isn't gold glove caliber, though he has improved.  Offensively, he definitely looks like the left handed version of Kent.  I wouldn't say that his defense is better than Kent's though.  Kent in his prime, was a solid defender.  Jeff Kent has been the best offensive 2B in baseball this year.

Wow . . . If the Phillies had anyone competent playing 3B, their infield would be sick.  Ok, maybe Lieberthal is old, but Howard, Utley and Rollins could rival Texiera, Soriano and Young.  

Utley hits for good power, but doesn't sacrifice discipline.  I haven't had the pleasure of watching him at a game, but I've caught him on TV a couple of times when they were playing the Bravos, and he's definitely no fluke.  

His defense is pretty good.  His range is excellent from what I can tell, and is probably better than Kent's was when he was still moving well.

And speaking of guys who have had weirdly good seasons, Jorge Cantu immediately jumps to mind.  I know he's not flying under anyone's radar, but he holds the RBI mark for the Rays now, doesn't he?

Another few guys who stand out - Jason Bay, Curtis Granderson and Chris Shelton (17 HR??).  Tony Clark's getting up there in years, but he's hit 30 HR with an OPS over 1.000.  And scored only 47 runs.  Which is mindboggling when you think about it.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure the White Sox are the first team to have two regulars, one who hit over 40 HR and one who hit none.  I think.  Haven't checked though.  

I think the Phillies screwed up when they traded Polanco away and stuck with Bell, yes, he is a good thirdbaseman, but he certainly can't hang with Polanco at the plate.  If the Phils would have traded Rollins, you would have been battling the Natspos for last place in the division.

I've watched Utley all year in Philly and he's become a helluva player.  He's quite fast, and is becoming a base stealing threat (16 SB, only caught 3 times).  He's a fan favorite because of the way he hustles every play, throwing his body around when necessary--a contrast to the more phlegmatic Phillie heroes like Abreu and Burrell.

He doesn't have great hands, but he's a typical 2Bman--fast, scrappy, dirty uniform.  Except for his power.  He uses an open stance, and has a very short swing, so short he barely follows througn at all.  It looks like the swing of a guy with gap power who is trying to spray line drives, but somehow he is able to generate tremendous bat speed and drive the ball a long way.  A number of his HRs have gone over the center field wall.  He crowds the plate and is quick inside when pitchers go in there as they often have to test him.  

Slight of build (listed as 6'1", 170 lbs) he's going to get stronger.  Next year, he will be a full time player from the beginning.  Charlie Manuel blundered the first part of the year by insisting on running David Bell (and his .676 OPS, under .600 against RHers) out there every day, while platooning Polanco and Utley.  When Polanco was traded, Utley quickly proved he could hit LHers (7 HRs against them in less than 100 ABs).      

He can hit, hit for power, run, take a walk, and he hustles.  The Phillies have been batting him 3rd against RHers and 5th against LHers; they seem to now realize what they have.  At 25, he has a very bright future.