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2008 With the departure of Rowand, Victorino returns to center field, where he excelled defensively in 2006. His bat also plays better in the middle pasture; he's underpowered for right, but his overall 2007 performance was in line with what the average NL center fielder hit last year (.273/.336/.426). Victorino might be a bit better than that; he was hitting .284/.351/.430 last year before a calf injury cost him three weeks in August and limited his playing time in September. Playing on one leg, he hit just .255/.308/.362 in 53 scattered plate appearances, dragging down his overall numbers. 2007 Rowand`s injury and Abreu`s trade gave Victorino the chance to play regularly last year, and he made the most of it. Despite only stealing four bases--he batted ahead of Utley and Howard and was understandably red-lighted--speed is a vital part of his game, whether he`s slashing across the outfield or taking extra bases with abandon. Rowand shouldn`t assume that his center field job is uncontested. 2006 A two-time selection in the Rule 5 Draft--the Phillies plucked him in 2004--Victorino was named International League MVP. He is the shortest center fielder to play for Philadelphia since the gnome-like Ricky Otero played 140 games in 1996-97. Unlike Otero, Victorino can actually swing the bat as well as run, and he developed a line-drive power stroke in the past two years. In six previous seasons, he had never hit more than four homers, but he`s mashing these days. Unfortunately, with Aaron Rowand and Jason Michaels in front of him, he`s going nowhere fast.
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