Phillies stay with their hitting approach despite the disappointing results

Gabe Kapler raised a finger Friday afternoon each time he listed his team's struggles at the plate this season.

"We haven't slugged as good as we are capable of slugging," Kapler said with his thumb raised.

"We haven't reached base as good and like we are capable of reaching base," the Phillies manager said as he pointed with his index finger.

"We haven't been as selective as we're capable of being," Kapler said as he lifted his middle finger.

"And we haven't been as assertive on pitches that we can drive as we're capable of being," Kapler said as he finished his list on his ring finger.

The Phillies' offense is one problem short of having a full hand, but they are sticking to their approach. That approach simply tells hitters to be aggressive on pitches that are thrown in the zones identified by the coaching staff as a spot where a specific hitter would have success. The hitter is to be passive on pitches that are not thrown in those zones.

The approach was expected to increase the Phillies' slugging percentage and help them reach base at a high rate, as they were selective on pitches they believed they could drive. The Phillies expected it to lead to everything Kapler said they've struggled with.

The most obvious changes under first-year hitting coach John Mallee brought about an emphasis on grinding out at-bats. Batters were expected to wait for a pitch in the zone that Mallee told them to wait for. And that's what they're doing. This season, the Phillies have registered the second-most pitches per plate appearance. And when they get that pitch, the batters are expected to drive it. The team's offense was built around walks and extra-base hits. The Phillies, as they try for big hits, have the fourth-highest launch angle in the National League after having the sixth-lowest last year.

But the results, at least in Year 1, have not showed up.

The Phillies rank 23rd in slugging percentage, 18th in on-base percentage, 28th in batting average and last in hits, and have the third-most strikeouts. The only elite production that came from the team's new approach was walks and pitches seen. It's not exactly the way to build a powerhouse.

"When we're going good, what that approach leads to — and it leads to it very organically — is guys seeing pitches they can drive, attacking them, sometimes fouling them off, sometimes putting them into play, but if not living to fight another day and getting that pitch again," Kapler said. "Something that's been asked a lot is do we want our guys to take? The answer to that question is unequivocally no.  We don't want our guys to take for the sake of taking. We feel like they will take more balls that they can't drive if their mind-set is to attack balls that they can. That's a very simple and general way of explaining what we stress in the cage every single, day."

The Phillies' offensive struggles seem rooted in their inability to hit pitches in the strike zone. They have the fifth-lowest slugging percentage and second-lowest batting average on pitches in the strike zone. The Phillies are having a tough enough job of hitting pitches in the strike zone, let alone the player-specific zones that Mallee is outline for them before each game. Perhaps the team's ability to hit strikes is the pinky.

"We are constantly digging into and being diligent about finding the solutions, applying trial and error, going back to the drawing board every single night to come up with the solution that will help our guys manage their at-bats more effectively," Kapler said.

Maikel Franco felt soreness in his shoulder after taking indoor batting practice. He said he expects to be out a few more days he was injured Tuesday night when he fell over the guardrail behind third base. … Dylan Cozens took ground balls at first base and will likely see an emphasis there during spring training to add positional flexibility, Kapler said. …Vince Velasquez starts for the Phillies on Saturday.