Darick Hall crushes walk-off home run, continues to impress in Lehigh Valley
Darick Hall can’t stop hitting the baseball for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.
Hall was sent back down to Triple-A on August 23rd, just a few days before Bryce Harper made his return to the Phillies lineup. The move was an obvious one at the time, with Rhys Hoskins playing first base every day and Harper holding down the DH spot for the rest of the year due to an elbow injury.
Darick struggled when he went down to the minors at first but is now slashing .392 since the beginning of September. Just last night, he crushed a walk-off home run for the Iron Pigs and is now just two HRs away from breaking Rhys Hoskins’ record for HRs in a LHV season.
Why is Darick Hall Still in Triple-A?
Calling Hall up for the rest of the season seems like an obvious answer, but with his splits against lefties (.091/.091/.091), it’s hard to rely on a guy off the bench when you know opposing teams will change pitchers the second he steps to the plate.
Darick Hall slashed .264/.296/.550 in 37 major league games this season, crushing 9 HRs, 16 RBIs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, and 34 hits. The Phillies have guys like Donny Sands on their current roster who haven’t gotten any action since being called up, which leaves the decision to leave Hall in the minors seem like a questionable one.
Lehigh Valley has just seven games remaining on its schedule, with the last game coming on September 28th. The team could be holding Darick Hall in the minors to keep his bat as fresh as possible and call him up as close to the playoffs as possible, but it’s hard to predict. Whatever their current reason is, it feels like the wrong one.
Up Next for the Phillies
The Fightins kick off a 4-game set with the Atlanta Braves tonight. The Magic Number is 11.
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Mandatory Credit: AP Photos
