Heavy fog in Clearwater this morning. I arrived at the Complex early only to find out I was late. The players began their workout early to accommodate afternoon meetings. The only new face was Jiandido Tromp.
There has been a change to the players’ reporting date. Pitchers and catchers will undergo physicals on Monday and Tuesday next week. Their first workout will be on Wednesday, February 14th. Valentine’s Day. The first full workout is still on the 19th.

By 9:00 AM, the players had finished their stretching and long toss. They were running through the final fielding drills prior to BP. Some pitchers were already leaving the Complex. One of the drills I missed was the catchers throwing to the bases. This has become one of my favorites as I measure catcher’s arms against Jorge Alfaro who has a cannon for a right arm. I’ll get to see it again next week.
Hoskins was with the outfield group today. Cabral took his spot on the second base bag accepting throws from Joseph, Alfaro, and McBride who fielded balls at first. Florimon was at second, Stankiewicz was at shortstop with Coach Hines taking throws at first. I enjoy watching these drills with two coaches hitting simultaneously. It gets better next week when three coaches will hit. Moore was missing, as was Walding.
The position players batted in three groups again today –
- 1.) Pedro Florimon, Roman Quinn, Rhys Hoskins, Tommy Joseph;
- 2.) Dylan Cozens, Jorge Alfaro, Andrew Pullin, Matt McBride; and
- 3.)Drew Stankiewicz, Edgar Cabral, Carlos De La Cruz

Cozens, Joseph, Hoskins, and Alfaro continue to hit bombs. Yeah, it’s only BP off a coach, but, …

We spoke with Charlie as he left the field. He loves to talk hitting, and we got him to describe what he’s trying to do with Cozens. Charlie said that in a nutshell, a batter wants to stay behind the ball when he makes contact. Too many young ball players try to hit too hard and get their weight on their front foot , which saps power. He said that Cozens doesn’t need 100% power to drive the ball, 70-80% is enough. When he gets that into his head, he will drive the ball more efficiently. Of course, Charlie said, he has to make sure he swings at the right pitches.
Ray Burris also sat down to talk with us as we left the Complex. He’s the rehab pitching coordinator. He was careful not to talk about specific players, but was cordial with us.
BTW, during spring training, attending team meetings sometimes means tee times. Just sayin’.
These are the players I’ve identified at the Complex –
- Mario Sanchez (rehab, PFPs and throwing from flat ground)
- Kevin Gowdy (rehab, PFPs and throwing from flat ground)
- Grant Dyer (rehab, PFPs and throwing from flat ground)
- Sutter McLoughlin (rehab, may have returned home until his next scheduled appt.)
- Pedro Florimon (rehab, but taking part in all activities)
- Roman Quinn
- Dylan Cozens
- Carlos De La Cruz
- Jake Thompson
- Ben Brown
- McKenzie Mills
- Kyle Young
- Garrett Cleavinger
- Seth McGarry
- Ryan Etsell
- Zach Warren
- Jeff Singer
- J.D. Hammer
- Nick Pivetta
- Ben Lively
- Drew Anderson
- Zach Eflin
- Logan Moore
- Pedro Beato
- Adam Morgan
- Mitch Walding
- Edgar Cabral
- Mark Leiter
- Vince Velasquez
- Tom Eshelman
- Jerad Eickhoff
- Aaron Nola
- Hoby Milner
- Rhys Hoskins
- Jorge Alfaro
- Tommy Joseph
- Brandon Leibrandt
- Andrew Pullin
- Matt McBride
- Austin Davis
- Drew Stankiewicz
- Jiandido Tromp
Thanks for the detailed updates Jim! I feel like I’m at the complex watching these workouts.. I can taste the pastries at Lenny’s!!!
Much has been said or written about the possibility of the Phillies going with an 8 man bullpen. I’m wondering with the off days and rainouts if it might be wiser to at least start the season with 7. If the Phillies add a quality starter, would that change things?
Would it change things? You bet your farting butt it would!
It won’t be long now Jimmy….