Today was Photo Day.  All major league spring training participants reported early (around 6:00 AM, I heard) for their array of team and individual photos.  However, this did not upset the training schedule.  Players were on the fields before their 11:00 AM exercises commenced.  Drills were the same with the only major that all BP was held on the Complex fields.

The pitchers followed their normal regimen of stretching, tossing, then splitting between two fields for PFPs.  I did not see them go through their bunting drills today.

Position players split into two groups, clearly the A and B teams.  The y went through their running drills on separate fields.  Odubel Herrera was the lead runner for his group.  I am reminded of how hard Chase Utley ran these drills.  I always felt sorry for the guys running before and after him.  He always gained on the guy in front, and widened the gap on the guy behind him.  Herrera paced the group well.  Jean Segura and Cesar Hernandez, the two runners who alternated running second, could not draw any closer to him.  On one run, Herrera’s cap flew off between second and third.  Hernandez scooped it up in full stride like a rodeo rider grabbing something on the ground while riding on horseback.

The position players regrouped only to split into infield and outfield groups.  Since I had watched the infielders yesterday, I stayed with the outfielders today.  Big mistake.  They divided into three groups in left and center fields on Ashburn Field.  One group charged balls that were rolled to them.  The second group those basketball and football drills where they were lined up and went back-front-left-right depending on the direction of the coach in front of the group.  The third group looked like they were running a reverse lay up drill where they ran toward a coach who flipped a ball in the air, caught it, flipped it to a second coach, and returned to the end of the line.  The line was short enough that the players were running all the time.  I was far enough away that I’m not 100% sure what I was watching.  So, maybe what was happening was different from what I just related.

Anyway, I left that to go watch the infielders, but had waited long enough that everyone had begun gathering for BP.  Sitting here at the keyboard, I can’t honestly recall which happened first, BP off coaches or live BP.  I love live BP, so that is what is sticking in my mind.  I’ve got some photos to share.

Segura actually swung at a first pitch and hit into right field … AND ran it out.  (In the words of Gust Avrakotos, “No reason this can’t be fun”.)

There were live sessions on all fields today.  Edgar Garcia, Adonis Medina, and Jeremy Bleich were among the others who threw.

The only player NOT in camp is Gift Ngoepe.  I was told by an informed source that he is hung up in Australia with an expired visa.

I skipped the 8:00 AM sessions on “Bowa Field” so that I could stay later and watch the minor leaguers.

There are at least 60 players here who are not part of the major league camp – around 35 position players and around 25 pitchers.  They were completing their running (position players) and long tossing (pitchers) when we got back from lunch at 1:30 PM.

Infielders took ground balls and outfielders caught fly balls while pitchers warmed up on the seven mounds.  Some continued to warm up on the mounds between Carlton and Roberts Fields.  Thank god there are at least 10 catchers in camp.  About half of the pitchers threw live BP.  I couldn’t cover all three fields, but I don’t think anyone threw more than an inning.  In fact, I learned later that pitchers had been limited to 15 pitches.

For those interested, here are the minor league players I saw yesterday or today.  Some aren’t on the field yet.

Catchers (10) – Nick Matera, Colby Fitch, Henri Lartigue, Austin Bossart, Abrahan Gutierrez, Juan Aparicio, Rafael Marchan, Jack Conley, Edgar Cabral, Lenin Rodriguez

Infielders (15) – Alec Bohm, Raul Rivas, Jose Tortolero, Daniel Brito, Brayan Gonzalez, Cole Stobbe, Luke Williams, Jake Scheiner (brought a catcher’s mitt), Drew Stankiewicz, Damek Tomscha, Darick Hall, Jesus Henriquez, Kyle Martin, Nicolas Torres, Dalton Guthrie

Outfielders (9) – Carlos De La Cruz, Jose Pujols, Simon Muzziotti, Malvin Matos, Cornelius Randolph, Ben Pelletier, Ben Aklinski,  Yerwin Trejo, Jesus Alastre

Pitchers (31) – Kyle Young, Ben Brown, Adam Cox, Tyler McKay, Jake Kinney, Seth McGarry, Tom Windle, Aaron Brown, Andrew Brown, Brian Auerbach, Tyler Fallwell, Tyler Viza, Francisco Morales, David Parkinson, Gustavo Armas, J.D. Hammer, Luke Leftwich, Rafael Carvajal, Trevor Bettencourt, Kyle Dohy, Connor Brogdon, Victor Sobil, Mauricio Llovera, Luis Pacheco, Garrett Cleavinger, Zach Warren, Luis Ramirez, Kyle Gowdy, Jose Jimenez (on crutches), Anton Kuznetsov, Sandro Rosario

ST for the affiliates begins next week on the 27th.  Players aren’t required to be here until then.  The Phillies chartered their Venezuelan prospects into Clearwater 2-3 weeks ago.  Any with visa problems were taken to the Phillies’ Dominican Academy.

No outside hitting for the minors today. they had their sessions inside today.