Phillies' Tommy Joseph: Starting job not at risk yet
GM Matt Klentak said that the Phillies are not ready to give up on Joseph after just 90 plate appearances this season, Corey Seidman of CSN Philadelphia reports.
Joseph is hitting just .207/.267/.341 with two homers this season, and Rhys Hoskins is raking at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, prompting questions from the media about when his time will come. Joseph has seen his strikeout rate rise from 21.6 percent last season to 27.8 percent this season, which has contributed to his season-long slump. He went through stretches last season where he was striking out at a similar clip, but would have months where he adjusted and dropped his strikeout rate into the mid or high teens. He'll need to make those kinds of adjustments again in the next month or so before the Phillies reconsider giving Hoskins a shot. Joseph has shown some signs of coming out of his slump with a .267/.364/.579 slash line over his last seven games.
