As the sun sets on Spring Training and after watching the boys play 20 times, it’s important to remember that Spring games mean absolutely nothing and that spring performance doesn't translate to regular season starts good or bad. Regardless, final comments:
The pitching was solid pretty much top to bottom with notable exception of Walker and to a lesser degree Sanchez. Top 3 starters were outstanding and the bullpen was generally strong (sans Soto on Friday). With the exception of Turnbull, I’m not sure I saw a starter to provide depth given that Walker/Sanchez are behind. I’m really hoping they leave Matt in the pen and don’t do to him what they did last year. The Phillies pen could very well be the best in baseball but you have a lot of innings to replace Kimbrel being gone. I think they viewed Kerkering to basically absorb those innings but he will need to almost have a second spring training to get ready. Abel bears watching as he could provide help later in the summer. Given that you could say they are short, a trade for a starter seems very possible.
Offensively, they were concerning. One can only hope that these are veterans who focus on just being physically ready for the grind. Schwarber swung through everything and Harper bears watching. At least a couple people I know were not comfortable with his swing path. They were surmising that his back was impacting his normal launch rate. I believe this was the first ST where he did not homer. Nick has said he will focus on chase rates but he looked like the Nick we have seen. The rest of the guys looked to be on schedule. I’ve commented before on the lineup. I think I would flip Bohm and Realmuto; I want Bohm up that first inning with a chance to do damage and play with a lead. Small sample size but I like Marsh. Being with K Long has made him into a major league hitter. K Long likes the progress Rojas has made mechanically and I think that was part of the reason Rojas is coming north. I think they want Long to continue to work with him and the pitchers are happy to see him in CF.
A lot of baseball people like Sanchez. He’s bigger and stronger and as long as his BB rate is decent, I think he is their 4. If Sanchez comes along, they can be as good as anyone 1-4. Walker is a bit more troubling but they have a lot of $$ invested in him. Abel at the mid year or a trade for a starter is possible. Offensively, injuries are the only thing that gets in their way over 162 games. Get ready for a lot of talk about Schwarber early. Harper has to be healthy.
I always pick a couple of key players. Offensively, I think Turner needs to have a top 5-10 MVP year for them to go deep. Schwarber will struggle and Harper might need to be managed a bit so they need a guy to handle the load a tad more. I think that’s Turner as simple as it may sound. Pitching wise, a key to me is Hoffman. If they are going deep, Hoffman is either the bridge or maybe even the closer. Is he really this good or was last year a bit of Fools Gold? Their pen can be absolutely dominating given who they can roll out of there.
Where is this going? I think the Phillies are NL third best and will play through again as the top Wild Card. CBP will have the chance to make the Braves shrink once again. This year, the winner of the Braves Phillies series plays the Orioles in the Fall Classic.
Baycare was mobbed from the jump. Hope everyone who made it down enjoyed it. Let’s start the marathon.