Brandon Phillips

Brandon Phillips is starting his 3rd game in a row at 2B for the Reds this afternoon.

Take this as a signal to grab him from the free agent pool. This may be the first significant change in playing time post-draft where a non-draftee's value goes from nil to $10+.

The year opened with a three-headed monster of Rich Aurilia/Ryan Freel/Tony Womack at 2B for the Reds. With the Griffey injury, Freel has moved to the OF, and Aurilia seems to be more of a platoon 1B and back-up 3B (9 combined appearances at the corner) than a middle infielder(3 combined appearances all at 2B).

That leaves Womack and Phillips to man 2B. (At least until Griffey returns from the DL.) I think everybody except Tony Womack's employer believes NTW should get the playing time. (NTW=Not Tony Womack)

What can be expected of Phillips? He was heavily hyped and was the top prospect included in Omar Minaya's trade for Bartolo Colon a few years agao.

Since then, Phillips has disappointed. He looked to have been a 20 HR/30 SB middle infielder, but he hasn't sniffed either marker since.

However, his power has been consistently in the teens. Unfortunately, his SB capabilities appear to be in serious decline. He gets caught too frequently so maybe that isn't a bad thing.

With his home games at the Great American Ballpark, I can see his power remaining constant.

I have not written off the speed but that seems to be gravy versus something to seriously count on.

The big x-factor is age. Despite the aura of failed prospect status, he is still just 24. Big things could be ahead.