After impressing Rockies fans with a great 2009 cameo (.311/.396/.422, .357 wOBA, 109 wRC+ in 54 PAs) brought about by injury/Chris Iannetta getting jerked around, reserve catcher Paul Phillips was once again pressed into short term duty in 2010 by Chris Iannetta's demotion to the minors after just 30 PAs.
This time around, Phillips wasn't so impressive. The 33 year old managed to hit only .217/.280/.217 (.234 wOBA, 30 wRC+) in 25 PAs spread over 12 games, most of them in May. Phillips did score the winning run in the game mentioned in the picture caption, so there's that, I guess. The minor league journeyman did hit .238/.316/.320 (.289 wOBA, 64 wRC+) in 156 PAs in Colorado Springs last year.
Phillips is the kind of guy that managers love, a veteran catcher that will do everything he is asked to the best of his ability, handle a young pitching staff competently, and provide a little leadership. Unfortunately, Phillips' true ability level is probably pretty close to replacement level -- and that means that if he's playing anything other than a cameo role for your team, you're in trouble.
Grade: D+ -- Phillips, fairly or not, had created artificially high expectations with his stellar 2009 numbers. Besides playing passable defense at the catcher position as a 1-2 start per week guy, he didn't really meet expectations in 2010 at all, providing well below replacement-level production offensively.
2011: Phillips has signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians, where he is expected to perform a similar catching insurance role as the 3rd or 4th string guy.