The Phillies aren’t done. On the heels of dealing the flying Hawaiian Shane Victorino for relief pitcher Josh Lindblom and SP prospect Ethan Martin, the Philles have decided to send Hunter Pence to Victorino’s division rival San Francisco Giants for 1B/C prospect Tommy Joseph, OF Nate Schierholtz and P prospect Seth Rosin.

Pence is currently hitting .271 lowest since 2008 but has launched 17 big flies and has driven in 59 runs so far. Pence will fit nicely into an outfield that consists of the resurging Angel Pagan and all-star Melky Cabrera who are both having amazing years. Pence who only has 4 stolen bases in 2012 has shown flashes of speed in his past which the Giants could definitely utilize. While Pence is a good offensive fit for a team struggling to find offense, his fantasy value will drop just a bit. His gap power will certainly help, but his home runs should drop some. Pence is arbitration eligible at the end of the year so in keeper leagues fantasy owners might find some better value later on but for this year you will struggle a bit to find it.

Tommy Joseph shows a lot of promise at catcher in his young minor league career throwing out more than 30% of runners in each of his three years including an amazing 48% CS% in 2012. But he isn’t all defense, Joseph only 21 was the 2nd round pick of the Giants in 2009 and has been progressing nicely since making his first appearance averaging 19 homers, 81 runs batted in and 64 runs scored but he falters with patience at the plate. In each of the first two years Joseph struck out more than 100 times for a total of 218 strike outs in that span compared to only 56 walks which is a terrible ratio to have. If Joseph can figure out how to lay off more than he swings at he could have some nice value in keeper leagues with the band box that is Citizens Bank Park. 

Nate Schierholtz might be the one player that is helped out a lot by the move to the Phillies. Schierholtz has by no stretch of the imagination been an overwhelming player in his six year career but as a left handed hitter in San Fran can you blame him? Nate hasn’t hit more than .278 since 2008 when he hit .320 in just 75 at bats and hasn’t shown much if anything in terms of power but he hasn’t really been called upon to be that type of hitter. While Schierholtz won’t be called on to be that type of hitter in Philadelphia either, the shorter left field should easily enhance his ability to drive the ball deep and his value in deeper leagues. 

Seth Rosin looks to be a pretty good pitcher out of the pen. In his short time as a professional Rosin has struck out 170 batters in just 156 innings pitched, good for 9.8 K/9. Rosin has a career 3.80 ERA which seems to be declining which is a good sign and has started some games but has been predominately used in the bullpen where he has compiled 12 saves. Rosin is still a few years away but if they keep using him as a closer type he could have some solid value a few years down the road for your fantasy team. 

Written by Justin Mandaro exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com
Follow me on twitter @PeckinTheFix

(July 7, 2012 – Source: Brian Garfinkel/Getty Images North America)