I’ll start off by saying the Philadelphia Phillies will make the playoffs in 2020. Stamped.
There’s been a lack of spring training games on TV over the past couple weeks, but luckily for you, I had the privilege of seeing the Phillies in action this past week in Clearwater, and here are my thoughts:
The Philadelphia Phillies lineup is money. I’m buying stonks in Bryce Harper for MVP this season. I don’t care that it’s just spring training, Bryce Harper has been on absolute fire this spring. If he can carry this momentum over into this season Phillies fans are in for a treat.
Rhys Hoskins has gotten a ton of at-bats during Spring Training, with good reason. After an absolute shit 2019 season, Hoskins is on the hot seat. So far, he leads the team in at-bats with 24, and honestly I’m not impressed. 6 hits, 1 HR, and 11 strikeouts is not ideal. Don’t get me wrong, Rhys hasn’t been disappointing, but with the opportunity he’s had so far, I would have expected more out of him.
Now someone who has been disappointing so far, Didi Gregorius. Call me overreaction Mcgee if you must, but 0 hits in 22 plate appearances is unacceptable. I don’t care if its spring training, or backyard wiffle ball, no hits in 22 AB’s is not okay. Not the ideal first impression Didi.
Overall, I think the biggest surprise in Clearwater has been Alec Bohm. First off, Alec Bohm is a fucking moose. Standing at 6’5, dude looks huge in person. He has really made a name for himself and I’m all aboard the Bohm train. He isn’t a big power guy, but he certainly can get on base. I really liked what I saw from Bohm. He was extremely aggressive at the plate and I definitely think we’ll see him being called up during the season.
As for the pitching goes, I really didn’t see anything promising. While down there, Pivetta, Wheeler, Suarez, and Velasquez were all the starters I got to see.
I was excited to see Wheeler in action. Even though his ERA is shit, I’m not ready to overreact just yet. The stats don’t show it, but I thought his stuff looked pretty good.
Pivetta and Vinnie Velo have really shit the bed battling for the 5th starter spot. Pivetta’s stuff looked all over the place, and Velasquez couldn’t throw a strike to save his life.
With that, they basically handed the 5th starter job over to Ranger Suarez, who has pitched decent enough this spring to be a contender for the starting spot.
Seranthony Dominguez is back, which is huge for the Phillies bullpen in 2020 if he can stay healthy. Seranthony was able to see some game action this spring against the Blue Jay’s, and his stuff looked decent. Hopefully the elbow injury won’t linger and he won’t need Tommy John after all.
All in all the Phillies look good so far in Spring Training. Joe Girardi is the perfect man to lead this team back to the playoffs. The lineup is going to absolutely rake, and I expect big things from Nola, Wheeler, and Arieta at the top of the rotation. As long as Nola doesn’t’ die from the CoronaVirus.
There’s no doubt in my mind that this Phillies team can return to October baseball with at least a wild card spot.