He’s Nick Maton minus the howling: Meet Drew Ellis, the Phillies’ unlikely jolt of energy

Much like Maton, who is back in town this week, Ellis made an immediate impact in a pinch. It’s not surprising to a former coach who knows him well.

Phillies infielder Drew Ellis hit two home runs in an 11-3 rout of the Nationals on Sunday.Read morePatrick Semansky / AP

by Scott Lauber

Published June 5, 2023, 2:16 p.m. ET

Nick Maton is back in town this week, which means the return of high-pitched howls, yelps, and other canine noises, all within earshot of the Phillies dugout. The Detroit Tigers infielder dubbed himself “Wolfie” for reasons he never explained, at least publicly, and is as likely to greet his former teammates with a bark as a hello.

But Maton’s contribution to the pennant-winning 2022 Phillies, short-lived as it was, went beyond his quirky personality.

The Phillies had lost five games in a row and seven of eight when Maton got called up on June 1 to replace injured Jean Segura. He got two hits, including a two-run homer, in his first game and had an RBI double in his second when he sprained his right shoulder diving in shallow right field to rob a hit from Mike Trout. And when he returned two months later, he played five positions, even filling in as an outfielder.

Mostly, though, Maton was a human energy drink when the Phillies needed a quick jolt.

Which brings us to Drew Ellis.

A few days ago, it was “Drew who?” Ellis, a 27-year-old infielder who wasn’t even in the organization until the middle of April when the Phillies signed him off his couch to a minor league contract after he’d been released by the Seattle Mariners in spring training.

But since the Phillies mined their depth and dug up Ellis to replace injured third/first baseman Alec Bohm, he started back-to-back-to-back games in Washington, went 4-for-9 with four walks, reached base in eight of 13 plate appearances, and even slugged two home runs Sunday, increasing his career major league total from one dinger to three.

He’s Maton, just without the howling.

“Not surprising,” Dan McDonnell, Ellis’ college coach at Louisville, said by phone Monday. “Because the struggles you go through when you’re younger, they only prepare you for the challenges ahead.”

Ellis was a second-round draft pick by the Diamondbacks in 2017 and made Arizona’s opening-day roster last season. Before that, though, he got redshirted in his freshman year at Louisville. And when he finally played as a sophomore, it was mostly as an outfielder, hardly what he expected after playing mostly shortstop in high school.

Humility, then, comes naturally to Ellis, who was unemployed for nearly a month before the Phillies came calling. After joining the team last week in New York, he confessed that he asked agents Adam Karon and John Furmaniak at one point, “Is this it?”

“When a player struggles and is subsequently released, it can cause them to question the profession, especially when it takes some time to find a new job,” Karon said. “Drew had a tough spring, but the talent and work ethic have always been there. John and I always felt the talent and mental toughness would play at the MLB level, so we were hesitant to recommend independent ball for Drew. Fortunately, the Phillies saw the same thing, and it has worked out great so far.”

Indeed, Ellis bashed three homers in 35 double-A at-bats and five in 43 at-bats in triple A. When Bohm strained his hamstring, the Phillies needed a quick fix. They chose their hottest-hitting triple-A infielder.

The report from Lehigh Valley indicated that Ellis wasn’t chasing bad pitches. He has a short right-handed stroke that produced 20 homers in his junior year at Louisville and 84 in the minors, including 44 in 724 career triple-A at-bats.

After initially planning to use Ellis mostly as a first baseman against left-handed pitchers, manager Rob Thomson gave him a chance to play third base against righties in place of slumping Edmundo Sosa. Thomson stuck with Ellis, too, after he got picked off first base in the second inning Friday night.

And Ellis has taken advantage. Just like always, according to McDonnell.

“Coming out of high school, he showed up and he redshirted his freshman year. No kid wants to hear that,” McDonnell said. “We just figured with the roster, where he was at, we didn’t know if he was 100% ready. That was a hard year for him. But I’m sure Drew probably looks back and goes, ‘Man, I’m so glad that I had to fight for my life at Louisville and I had to play other positions.’ Drew kind of embraced that role.”

Karon added, “Those who know Drew and how he goes about his business are not surprised to see him find success like this.”

It has helped, Ellis said, that Thomson gave him a chance to get in the lineup right away. He joined the Phillies on Thursday and started at third base on Friday night against Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray.

The question now: How long Ellis can remain productive?

Maton struggled last season when he had to play more often, going 7-for-37 with 16 strikeouts down the stretch. The Phillies packaged him with outfielder Matt Vierling in the January trade that brought reliever Gregory Soto and infielder Kody Clemens from Detroit. Entering the series opener Monday night, Maton was batting .162/.286/.304 with five homers.

Will Ellis have more staying power?

Regardless, one piece of advice that Ellis has gotten from star outfielder Nick Castellanos: Enjoy the ride.

“I’ve talked to Nick quite a bit, and he’s helped me out with just, ‘Ride this wave as long as possible,’” Ellis said. “A lot of guys have kind of said the same thing. They’ve been a really good help. I can’t thank them enough.

“Approach-wise, I trust my work. Going out there every day, not trying to do too much, get a pitch I can handle, and try to do some damage. Hopefully I can just keep that going.”