Austin Hays Every Day Isn’t Working for the Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies (79-55) enter Friday with the second-best record in MLB and a six-game lead over second place in the National League East standings. On the surface, everything looks great. When you dig deeper, some things could use some improvement.

The Phillies acquired left fielder Austin Hays in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles (77-58) ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline. Everyone knew that Hays was the weak-side platoon bat for left field with Brandon Marsh getting the nod against right-handed pitchers. That has not been the case. Manager Rob Thomson has insisted that Hays start daily, even against right-handed pitchers.

Hays has not hit right-handed pitchers well this season. He has been even worse against them in his short time with the Phillies.

In 47 at-bats against right-handed pitchers since joining the Phillies, Hays has batted .213/.245/.298. His .543 OPS against right-handed pitchers as a Philly ranks him ahead of only two batters the Phillies have employed this season, Cal Stevenson (.533) and Cristian Pache (.336). Stevenson is in Triple-A currently and Pache has been traded, then DFA'd, and is on his third team this season.

On the other hand (pun intended) Hays has been fantastic against left-handed pitchers this season, batting .342/.398/.526 across 76 at-bats. As a Philly, he has hit .417/.417/.667 in 12 at-bats.

But what about Hays' defense? Is he in the lineup because he is a capable defender? In a surprising turn of events, also no.

For the season, Hays has -2 Outs Above Average in left field, the only position he has played as a Philly, per Baseball Savant . Even in his first month with the Phillies, he has a -1 OAA.

His -2 OAA on the season ranks him 194th out of every MLB fielder with at least 100 attempts, and 18th among left fielders with 100 or more attempts. Ranking 10 spots ahead of Hays for left fielders with 1 OAA, Brandon Marsh.

Here's the kicker, with Hays starting every day, Marsh plays center field against right-handed pitchers. And it's not as if Marsh is incapable of manning center field competently, he has 1 OAA at that position. But that means that Johan Rojas is left on the bench.

While Hays has a negative OAA score in left field, and Marsh has a positive one in left and center field each, Johan Rojas has accounted for seven OAA in center field this season on only 203 attempts. Rojas's seven OAA ranks him 33rd in MLB among qualifying fielders and 13th among qualifying center fielders.

With more innings and more attempts, Rojas would rank much higher on the list. But is Rojas sitting because he is worse than Hays against right-handed pitchers? If you have been paying attention, you already know the answer.

While Rojas has not been good against right-handed pitchers, he has still been much better than Hays in a much larger sample size. In 207 at-bats against righties, Rojas has batted .261/.301/.333 for a .634 OPS. His .634 OPS against righties ranks him 14th on the Phillies this season, three spots ahead of Hays, while also providing Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field.

Hays is not a bad player by any means. He has just been miscast in an everyday player role that does not work for him statistically.

It is impossible to say for certain, but if Thomson had been utilizing Hays properly in a weak-side platoon role through August, the Phillies' lead in the division may be greater than just six games as it stands today.