A solid first full season has put Rupp in line for the Phillies' regular catching job. Now he just has to keep it.
A year ago, as the Phillies prepared at long last to disassemble the core of standout players who had brought the franchise a championship in 2008, a second cohort of more-or-less same-aged players waited behind them for their moment in the spotlight. Far less heralded, not to mention less talented, than the Carlos Ruiz-Ryan Howard-Chase Utley-Jimmy Rollins-Cole Hamels group, no one was asking about their historical legacy or what kind of trade return they might bring.