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 –

1. Mario Sanchez (rehab, PFPs and throwing from flat ground)
2. Kevin Gowdy (rehab, PFPs and throwing from flat ground)
3. Grant Dyer (rehab, PFPs and throwing from flat ground)
4. Sutter McLoughlin (rehab, may have returned home until his next scheduled appt.)
5. Pedro Florimon (rehab, but taking part in all activities)
6. Roman Quinn
7. Dylan Cozens
8. Carlos De La Cruz
9. Jake Thompson
10. Ben Brown
11. McKenzie Mills
12. Kyle Young
13. Garrett Cleavinger
14. Seth McGarry
15. Ryan Etsell
16. Zach Warren
17. Jeff Singer
18. J.D. Hammer
19. Nick Pivetta
20. Ben Lively
21. Drew Anderson
22. Zach Eflin
23. Logan Moore
24. Pedro Beato
25. Adam Morgan
26. Mitch Walding
27. Edgar Cabral
28. Mark Leiter
29. Vince Velasquez
30. Tom Eshelman
31. Jerad Eickhoff
32. Aaron Nola
33. Hoby Milner
34. Rhys Hoskins
35. Jorge Alfaro
36. Tommy Joseph
37. Brandon Leibrandt
38. Andrew Pullin
39. Matt McBride
40. Austin Davis
41. Drew Stankiewicz
42. Jiandido Tromp