Another uninnocent, inelegant fall into the unmagnificent late stages of the summer
The 2016 season was always going to be one for silver lining hunting, but what was supposed to separate it from the morass of the previous three was that it was at least supposed to be interesting throughout. Odubel Herrera was supposed to reinforce his breakout 2015 with a full 2016 stop the Phillies lineup; Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Vincent Velasquez and others were supposed to last most of the season before likely shutdowns; cheap pickups like Jeremy Hellickson, Charlie Morton and Peter Bourjos could buoy flip value for July; young(-ish) curiosities like Maikel Franco, Aaron Altherr and Cameron Rupp were poised to become potential transitional faces.