With Allen Craig gone there’s going to be a spot open for an outfielder, especially in September during the stretch run, so I thought I’d look at the three most likely candidates for that spot: Stephen Piscotty, Randal Grichuk and Thomas Pham.
Today we’ll start with the guy who’s probably the least known nationally: Tommy Pham.
Who is he, and what does he bring to the table?
Here’s his minor league history.
Basically he’s a guy we drafted 8 years ago when he was 18, and he’s been toiling in the system ever since, slowly but surely polishing his skills. As it stands, he seems to be a guy who does a little bit of everything. He plays CF primarily, but has also played LF and just a pinch of RF. He seems to be set up to be someone who could theoretically play all three outfield spots, making him a valuable 4th outfielder, at least at the start of his career.
As for the bat, like I said, he does a little bit of everything. Hits for a decent average, has a little power (he projects to about 10-15 home runs a year) and gets on base at a decent clip, as his OBP in the minors has tended to be about 50 points higher than his BA.
All in all, he seems to be a solid, steady performer. He’s not an eye catcher, but those eye catchers often flame out, and it’s guys like Pham who fill their place and surprise you with their performance.
He definitely deserves a shot at the majors to show what he can do. Since he’s 26, that shot needs to come soon, as he’s entering his prime years.
As always, thanks for reading
Baseball Geek In Galveston 