367 thoughts on “Phillies Discussion (6/18/2026)”

1. Seth Johnson looked really good. He’s now pitching from the stretch (no more high leg kick) and it seems to have made him more consistent with his delivery. He topped out at 100 and he located a couple of nice ones. I think he’ll still be a work in progress with his walks, but for now, he could be a viable mid game reliever.

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2. Ha remember sleeping in tent in backyard listening to that 68 team on transistor radio. I know guys train better with help of tech to quicken bat speed. But just like golf where tech with ball and clubs I’m sure some power tied to bats and balls(and mlb wanting that xtra power)

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3. Koy I remember reading back then. Johnny Callison worked selling cars in off season. That I believe hurt there training time. They make less than 100.000 in those days , a lot of players

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   1. Yes, he worked at the same dealership in Levittown (I think) with my little leaue coach.

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      1. Remember seeing Johnny Callison working as a bartender in Glenside.

         He was very friendly to me and my friends.

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4. Rule 4 draft will have changes it appears…knew it would come down to it……MLB wants it players to be older and more developed when they sign their first pro contract-plus MLB saves $$$$….so college rosters will expand. The elephant in the room….the international draft. Latin Caucus of players will strike….IMO change has to be made.

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   1. The college baseball coaches were already applauding these possible changes. They won’t have to worry about losing HS recruits to MLB.

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5. Thought the TV booth was best it’s been in awhile with Brett, Schmidt and Kruk. I was lucky to be at game 6 of Royals Phil’s WS. I think I had fun that night in the city. I woke up under a bush in West Collingswood Heights the following morning

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   1. That was a very fun exchange in the booth. Brett talking about his chase for .400 was crazy.

      I would legitimately freak out if I was able to meet both Schmidt and Brett at the same time.

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      1. No you wouldn’t. I meet him.

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   2. Are you politely suggesting that you are tiring of the never ending rambling of T-mac about nothing relevant …….. well who would have thought!

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      1. We’ve been spoiled by Kruk so much that it’s easy to forget T-Mac is kind of just okay at his job.

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6. I have a son who just finished his junior season and is committed to play baseball for a great D3 program. The rule changes to college baseball over the past few years with the NIL, transfer portal and limited roster size have had a massive impact on the sport. The impact has been that high schoolers who are good, but not elite draftable players, have been spread out. Most are going to lower tier schools where they can play early, and then go into the portal. Effectively, D3 and lower D1 have become a minor league system for the power 5 D1 schools. It’s crazy how much it has changed for normal college athletes. Overall, I think that it is good.

   The proposed MLB draft rule changes are going to have a further impact. I like them and think that they are the right direction. College baseball is awesome. It is so good for the game. Adding another 120 top tier talented players to the college game is only going to make it better. And it is definitely better for the kids to get a college degree as most won’t make real income in the majors. I think college baseball’s atmosphere can grow the game.

   Personally, I would like them to consolidate the international draft into the rule 4 draft. I don’t see why they would have two different drafts. But overall, while it is a massive change, I think that it is good.

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   1. This change will really only hurt the elite HS players. Could you imagine what a waste it would be if Bryce Harper or Mike Trout had to go to college for 3 years? If you thought Kris Bryant’s college numbers were insane, image Bryce Harper.

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      1. Yeah. Just like college basketball. It will be good for the game.

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   2. As far as college baseball goes…….do away with the metal bats and have MLB aid in funding wooden bats for the colleges. No more ‘ping’ but ‘thump’. Now college guys get to use them only in the summer league competition.

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      1. I disagree. It is part of what makes the college game fun. I love the ping and the homers. No one wants to watch pitchers duels.

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   3. Congratulations to your son. I hope everything works out well for him.

      Has college baseball changed from what I remember a few years ago? I recall that there was a limit on the number of coaches (two full-time I think with a provision for a third albeit part-time coach having been turned down), that scholarships were limited to the point that they might be parceled as half-scholarships to spread them around, and that they are more available at D1 than at D2 and D3.

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      1. Thanks Jim. D1 allows 4 coaches and D2 allows 3 coaches. D3 has no limits but my experience is that there are 3 as well. And some assistants that are either part time or are interns.

         The big change in rosters is that D1 just lowered the roster limit dramatically. D1 used to allow 40 players on the roster. They recently cut it to 34. That meant that 6 players from every program was cut or new recruits were limited. That has had huge implications. There are 300 D1 programs, so that means 1,800 kids got cut or blocked from D1. It all trickled down to D2 and D3. The level of play at the lower levels has gone up a lot.

         You are right about scholarships but that is only because for most programs, baseball is non-revenue producing. But big time teams in the Power 4 all offer scholarships and NIL money. The NIL money is much smaller than what it is in college football and basketball, but it still is something.

         as an fyi, this is my son’s junior year high school highlights. he could have played D1, but we wanted a high academic program. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/phfqp97ksfqvukko36z23/Jr-year-Highlights.mp4?rlkey=dmob127bt4x1ecsfk02xi3i1o&st=qux80ckm&dl=0

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         1. Very exciting V1.

            My daughter is currently playing softball in the Big 10.

            I think the game has changed there as well where some players who in the past may have been ‘lower tier’ power 4 athletes go to a smaller school – prove they can play at that level and provide that they can adjust to college – and if they prove both, they sometimes look to move to the higher competition.

            Good luck to your son on his continuing baseball endeavors – enjoy the ride!

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            1. Yep. It is a magical time. I savor every moment.

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7. Mr. Jim called it quite awhile ago. The Phillies back then used Johnson for two innings. He mowed them down in his first inning and then got knocked around in his second inning. Jim questioned them using Johnson for multiple innings.

   Alvarado has really gone backwards this season. At this point I really can’t see Backus doing much worse. With Banks sent down and Alvarado pitching so poorly the Phillies are down to one serviceable southpaw in the bullpen.

   Finally, the Phillies were 6-7 versus the Mets last year when they probably should be 9-4 or at least 8-5 against them. One thing I like about the Mets is that they have a ton of young players with a few veterans here and there.

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8. maybe I missed but what about JUCO schools kids eligible after a year or 1/2 year technically if enroll spring semester

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   1. It looks like that loophole is closed by the requirement that a potential draftee isn’t eligible to enter the draft until two years after his senior class graduates AND the eligible draft age being 20 before September 1st the year of the draft.

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9. Francisco Renteria has hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot for the DSL Phillies. Renteria is 3 for 4 today and has driven in 3 runs and scored 3 runs. No video of the game today per Mitch Rupert, he’s up to a .392 ave and a 1.161 ops.

   https://x.com/Mitch_Rupert/status/2068031842557595866

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   1. For Philadelphia, Renteria is the Chosen One. He has to be untouchable in any trades.

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      1. playing at the lowest level for two weeks Should we put him in hall of fame?

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         1. Of course not but he is only 17 so it’s an impressive start. With a LONG way to go obviously.

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10. It’s interesting to see so many people in favor of MLB outsourcing development to college.

    Personally I hate the idea. Firstly, this is just another way of the owners crying poor. Of course they want colleges to handle developing players. They want to offload the costs of it while reaping the rewards.

    Secondly, are any of you dealing with paying tuition to college right now? The costs are ABSURD. Kids are going into debt for life (no, I am NOT exaggerating) to pay tuition these days. And I know the counterargument is going to be, “oh they get scholarships.” Sure they do. The top prospects will have full rides, probably even make money thanks to NIL. What about the fringe prospects? What about the undrafted signees? What about the kids who have no hope of going pro, but just enjoy playing baseball and a scholarship would be their way of getting a degree? Even if the NCAA agrees to add more scholarship slots to accommodate the influx of new players, team spots are still finite. We’ll be pushing out kids who ACTUALLY want to go to school in favor of the players that MLB owners want developed but don’t want to be responsible for.

    And that brings me to my next point… why are we FORCING kids to go to college. I get it, a degree helps you find a job outside of baseball. But that’s not our decision to make. I say this as someone who was a straight-A student and went to both high school and college on the highest scholastic scholarships they offered… Not everyone should go to college. We keep telling kids to go, work hard, and get a degree and that will get you a good job. But 1) no it won’t. And 2) athletes with pro ambitions don’t get “real” degrees anyways. Student athletes aren’t actually expected to attend classes, and jobs hiring them are aware of it. Plus, you don’t need a college degree to become a real estate agent (one of the most common careers for “student” athletes that don’t go pro, in my experience). Somewhere along the way, we stopped letting kids know that there are alternatives to college like trade schools and apprenticeship. And pigeonholing them into one track in life is just asking for disaster. If they want to pursue an alternative to going to college, that is their right. The minor leagues are essentially trade school for athletes. If that’s what they want to do, it’s up to them. There is absolutely zero reason they should be forced into taking Social Psychology and Calculus classes (as if schools would actually make them show up…) if they don’t want to. If they end up wanting a degree, they can always go to school later. There’s no age restriction for college.

    And lastly, I know I keep calling them kids… but they’re legally adults. They’re allowed to vote. They’re allowed to join the military. They’re eligible for the MILITARY draft. But they’re not eligible for a sports draft? What a load. This isn’t some altruistic move to prepare young adults for their future. It’s further strengthening of a monopoly and wage suppression, plain and simple. MLB has absolutely no qualms about teenagers working themselves to the bone in pursuit of a career in sports. They just don’t want to be the ones paying them for their work. But why should they have to give up benefiting from that work just because they aren’t paying?

    So yeah, if an 18 year old wants to forego college in order to join the workforce, that is their decision. And if the MLB doesn’t want to have exclusive rights to their labor, that’s fine. But if they’re going to use outside institutions to streamline their product, then it’s time to take a look at that antitrust exemption they’ve held for so long.

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    1. Very good MLB draft philosophical response. MLB and the other sports should have their Antitrust Protection repealed if they don’t want to pay for Minor League Devopment.

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    2. I have a kid right in the thick of it right now. I see it differently.

       1. The minor leagues is a brutal lifestyle. the kids make no money and are passing up getting a college education. The reality is so few will even sniff the majors, let alone make a living at it. it is far better for their future to get a degree and have fun in college. party, date girls, have fun.
       2. The 120 kids who are not getting drafted by this rule are definitely going to Power 4 schools and will get scholarship money and most will get NIL money.
       3. I do not think that anyone will feel forced to play college baseball. that is a privilege. it is a great time and they will make memories that they will remember for a lifetime. no one is forcing them to that. NFL and NBA also have age limits.

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       1. 1. Correct. And 18 year olds should be made aware of that. But again, not everyone should go to college. You treat it like it’s a non-stop party, when it isn’t. College is also a lot of hard work (especially if you’re pursuing a “valuable” degree). And some people simply do not like the lifestyle that pervades most American colleges. But at the end of the day it’s simple; it’s not our decision to make for them. They’re adults, and they can always change their mind later if they want. Maybe foregoing higher education turns out to be a mistake. But it’s their mistake to make.
          2. Yes, that’s true. And then the kids those schools would have previously given scholarships to will go somewhere else that offers them an opportunity. And then the kids THOSE schools previously were scouting will go elsewhere. And so on and so on. It may not be thousands, but this change WILL result in kids who actually want to go to school losing out on scholarships in favor of kids who are only going because they have to.
          3. Again, you’re projecting your experiences/expectations instead of the reality. Not every prospect wants to play college ball. And yes, if they want to make the majors they WILL have to. How many NFL teams draft players who didn’t attend college? I can think of maybe 10… and some of them were international. Likewise with basketball, if you want to go to the NBA you either go to college or play internationally. International baseball leagues are not signing 18 year old kids from the US. So their options are to play in college or play independent ball. Independent ball is even worse than the minors, so is it really even a choice?

          Oh and there’s one thing I didn’t mention in my previous post. You say playing college ball is a fun time and for many it is. But some college coaches/teams downright ABUSE their players. Especially pitchers.

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       2. College v. Minors is a great path for Hitters, not necessarily Pitchers. See alot of high school baseball in SoCal.

          Pitchers burned by pitch loads in college. Best to develop in house.

          Hitters gain from the College Season + the additional 40-50 college games in Summer Ball.

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    3. Love this post Dan K

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       1. I agree. Dan K and v1 are clearly both smart guys, and they both have good reasons for their opinions here. I side with Dan K only because I don’t think its right to force players to go to college.

          Why is it ok to sign a teenage dominican free agent but a high schooler has to go to college? A kid cant get his bag early because he is a US player and not an international player?

          I do think that going to college is beneficial to MOST players, but I dont think its the leagues job to make the decision for them, and as many have said, imagine if Harper had to go to college

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11. I want to understand this, so American kids can’t be drafted out of high school. But Latin kids can sign at 16?

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    1. MLB does not like that either…….but whenever they tried to make changes,, like a draft or waiting until the kids are 18 -years old they get push back from the Latin major league players and the buscones …most all in the DR. And the Latin players will strike like they threatened about 8/9 years ago.

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       1. Romus how do they sell this to agents. There will be a lawsuit for sure. You can’t do that to American kids

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          1. Good question…NFL did it for the three year college rule because of the physicality of the game…an 18 year vs a 24 year in collision courses will not work out well for the younger player…concussions would be on the table.

             NBA could not do that, but they did get the one year in college rule set up.

             Until it is challenged , MLB may just go with what they think will work and let the chips fall where they may.

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12. Agree a lot with what Dan says. MLB will save $$ on development but doubt they’ll drop ticket or streaming prices. But I can say baseball players do have to go to classes. Maybe football and basketball can skate by. My son rcvd almost full ride to division 1 and coach was calling me all the time cause of his grades. And funny thing was I was talking to a girl who went to same school but several years earlier and we were talking bout Quarterback and she said oh I used to do all his criminal justice papers

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13. Middleton may say he wants his trophy back to be honest he probably wants Fannie’s in seats every year more so. That’s why he should hold players his scouts think could be stars. Sooner than later all these guys gonna fall off a cliff and gonna need young stars that kids are gonna beg parents to come see. Hopefully Miller, Renteria maybe a Marquez.

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14. Bryan Rincon with a bit of a moon shot for his 10th HR of the season. Up to .876 OPS

    https://x.com/FuturePhils/status/2068110610408091962

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    1. If you asked me to pick one position player in the Phillies’ system who is a bit under the radar right now, but has a chance to become a very good major league player, the guy I would pick is Bryan Rincon. He is supposed to be an elite fielder, he has extremely good plate discipline (perhaps elite plate discipline) and on base skills and has showed potentially above-average power. He is 22 years old, which is the age of guys who are drafted in their junior year in college and are in their first full season of minor league ball. Imagine if we had picked a college player in the second or third round of last year’s draft and he was performing in AA the way Rincon is right now – we’d be over the moon about him. And we should feel that way about Rincon – he still has questions about his hit tool but he has a very high ceiling and, I think, a pretty high floor too. He’s a truly exciting prospect.

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15. Impressive debut for Ramon Marquez at JS tonight. His line: 5 IP | 0 H | 0 ER | 1 BB | 6 K 52 pitches 34 strikes) 13 whiffs. That changeup,

    https://x.com/FuturePhils/status/2068131411630993689

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    1. I actually watched him pitch. So impressive!

       His fastball was consistently 95. His cutter was 88-90 and his changeup was 80-82. He made the hitters look foolish with the change up. absolutely dominant pitch. Fangraphs calls it a 60 present/ 70 future pitch and I see that. it was really nasty. 15 mph difference between a fastball and change is really awesome. I was very impressed.

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       1. Nice!

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       2. The velo difference between a 95 fastball and an 80 changeup is really an outlier. As an example, Sanchez has the best changeup in MLB with a 16.7 run value. His fastball averages 95 mph too. But his changeup is 86. Taking an extra 6 mph off that pitch (to sit 80) with the same arm speed and release point as his fastball is really amazing. Fangraphs grades it as a future 70 pitch but it might grade out higher. It is very impressive when you watch it. The hitters knew it was coming and they couldn’t make contact.

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          1. Enjoy it while it lasts – I believe Marquez will likely headline whatever trades they make at the deadline.

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             1. Very possible. But if so, we better get a real stud coming back. It better not be a rental.

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16. Braves beat brewers with the kid who shut us out. DD save you prospects it’s hooeless

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17. Do you think he may have success on the big stage?

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18. Keaton Anthony 3-4 3 rbi another dbl. .310

    question. Is he a viable trade piece since he is completely blocked at MLB level here? In a package deal

    all he ever does is hit .300+ at every level and age appropriate

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    1. Anthony will have some trade value but not as much as you think. There’s a reason why Keaton Anthony is not ranked in the top 100. As a 1B/DH, he has to have the HR power which he doesn’t have. Not only that, he’s turning 25 next week. Age matters when it comes to prospects. If you look at the top 10 1B prospects on pipeline, all of them are 24 and under. Even the lone 24 year old prospect, Jonathon Long, has 49 HRs in his minor league career. Keaton Anthony has 21 HRs.

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19. https://x.com/i/status/2068138137415475378

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    1. If the BP keeps imploding, good chance he gets the call after the all-star break….he is already on the 40 so that is taken care. They may want to see if he will give the BP some stability if it is needed.

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       1. McFarlane may be up sooner if the bullpen continues to implode.

          Another issue is JTR’s inability to drive runs in from 3rd base with 1óut.

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       2. McFarlane may be up sooner if the bullpen continues to implode.

          Another issue is JTR’s inability to drive runs in from 3rd base with 1óut.

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          1. What are folks talking about? The Phillies have a very strong bullpen. It ranks 5th in big league baseball even though it has been hurt by bad fielding. And this passes the eye test too. Bullpens have bad games and certain players are bound to struggle but this is a very strong bullpen and there are some good arms in the minors too so that’s a strength of this team and I suspect it will be all year. The acquisition of Bowlan, by the way, was great. He’s still ironing out his stuff, but has a great explosive fastball and he’s under team control for the better part of a decade. Great trade. As I’ve always said with DD, he does his best work with one hand tied behind his back. Give him too much money to play with and that’s when he tends to get in trouble.

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20. v1. I agree totally with your post on the college selection process now. I have told people here in Indiana since the inception of the NIL and all this transfer stuff a good to really good player needs to begin at a lower level and PLAY. Sitting on a D1 bench for 2 years does you no good. The school will recruit over you again the 3rd year as well. That is why you see schools in all sports bringing in players from small schools who in later years are big time contributors. Just one quick example in softball Jackie Lis played 3 seasons at Southern Illinois. Then this past year was a mainstay at Texas Tech. This is everywhere now. College sports have now become a 22-24 age collection.

    This comment does not pertain to the very top elite kids in any of these sports. But it applies to a large majority. I just told Ruff, ask Cignetti how it now works.

    Rocco. The Lis girl is an Indiana girl. I had to toss that in.

    On the Phillies front big concerns with Alvarado. He may need a trip back down. I just looked at standings. 11 teams in the NL have at least 38 wins. Phillies are going to have their work cut out for them to be one of the six playoffs’ teams. Most likely will take at least 85-87 to make one of those spots. Nats and Marlins are right on the Phillies tail.

    I watched Braves vs Brewers. Mis was still really good. Just not great like last Friday. He had issues with his landing spot on the bottom of mound. Had ground crew work on it. Wonder if the Braves might have measured where his landing spot would be. Just a thought. Surely not. He still went for 101 I think 47 times and did have a 104 in there as well.

    Jim. I remember all those 68 team guys. Johnny Callison was my guy growing up. I tried to emulate his batting stance. Worked well for me for some time. Remember Dick Allen’s tree trunk bat. Those were the years baseball became my favorite sport. Nice memories Jim. I too remember all having off season jobs.

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21. Just saw this. Oklahoma who is kind of the kingpin of college softball in recent years just added a girl in the portal from College of Southern Idaho. May not even be a D1 school. Point is as v1 addressed go and play. They will find you if you develop. A top D2 pitcher was on one of the Super Regional teams this year. There are some of these top softball gals getting big dollars. Texas Tech brought that to the forefront of college softball. But I was thrilled they lost both years in the final. The really elite high school and college have nowhere else to go but another school.

    At this time Baseball kids who are elite do still have the draft. Just on a local basis. Montgomery on White Sox and Fisher with Philles were IU commits. I am sure the colleges coaches will be thrilled if they can land the guys for a year or two maybe before they are gone.

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22. Highest OPS on #Phillies — in June

    Brandon Marsh — .914

    Edmundo Sosa — .893

    Kyle Schwarber — .844

    Alec Bohm — .831

    Bryson Stott — .827

    https://x.com/JeffKerrPHL/status/2068349282835456083

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23. https://x.com/the_defranc/status/2068190772734701882

    An interesting read on how Wood is doing at Reading,

    “Wood has been dominant when pitching ahead in the count this season. Opposing hitters are batting just .159 (11-for-69) against him in those situations, while he has recorded 40 strikeouts without issuing a walk.

    When behind in the count, however, those numbers take a dramatic turn. Opponents are hitting .371 (13-for-35) against him, while he has recorded nine strikeouts compared to 17 walks.”

    also,

    “Like I said, I’m a starter right now, I’m going to be where my feet are, but I feel very capable of going out there and getting outs at any moment in any part of any ball game,” Wood said when asked if he’d be willing to move to the bullpen if the Phillies needed him.

    At the moment, however, there is no indication the Phillies are considering Wood for a major league bullpen role.”

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    1. He’s still throwing way too many balls vs strikes to be considered. Let’s not rush him and ruin him. Plus are we sure he’ll be here after the trade deadline?

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       1. Those of us here reading and posting cannot rush Wood or even ruin him. If you trust the org and those responsible for developing him there is nothing to worry about.

          His proximity to pitching at the bank will rest on the shoulders of the player and the right people being paid to make those readiness decisions.

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24. Two more hits today for Francisco Renteria. He drives a single the other way at 105.3 mph, then drives in a run when he pokes an outside pitch up the middle. He was 2-5 today, 1 Run, 1 RBI, now at a .393 ave, 1.130 ops.

    https://x.com/Mitch_Rupert/status/2068388598492111105

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25. https://x.com/i/status/2068391562162106607

    Marquez highlights

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26. https://x.com/i/status/2068410865536090580

    Renteria

    quick hands. smooth swing

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    1. Just a SSS, not yet 150 PAs ….approx 60 PAs….but so far only a 15% K- rate and 12% BB-rate, so he has a good eye and is hitting the pitchers in the DSL

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    2. For a 17 year old, Renteria looks jacked. BR has him at 6’3″, 216lbs and he looks every bit of that.

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27. One of the best duo performances in a game I can remember.

    Hitting for cycle + 3 absolute BOMBS and 9 rbis

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    1. Harper decided to use the bigger 35 ounce bat…he may want to keep using it.

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       1. Happy father’s s day to all. to the man who taught me how to play ball. Ty to Romus my second day. For all games you took me too. all the Burgers we had together ty

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28. Alirio Ferrebus has had a great year at Clearwater so far. He is putting together one of the most complete offensive seasons in the Florida State League, and he is, I hope, closing in on a well-deserved promotion.  To appreciate his breakout, you have to look at the context. Last year, a fractured wrist robbed him of valuable development time, limiting him to just 44 games at Low-A. Wrist injuries completely sap a young hitter’s power and timing. Returning to the FSL this spring was all about getting him healthy, building back his baseline, and letting him lock in his reps.  Ferrebus doesn’t even turn 21 until September 12, making him younger than the average FSL competitor, yet he is holding his own, if not dominating the league. Look at what he has done across his first 57 games (213 at-bats):  Hitting a solid .310 BA with a .377 OBP and an .871 OPS.  He has 8 HRs and a league-leading 46 RBIs—consistently anchoring the middle of the Clearwater order.  He has a low 12.9% strikeout rate (3rd lowest in the entire FSL). He generates impact power without the heavy swing-and-miss that plagues most young sluggers.  His 90th-percentile exit velocity is 106.2 mph (with a max of 111.7 mph). Those are legitimate Major League power metrics.  Last season, the Phillies kept Eduardo Tait down in Low-A for exactly 75 games before moving him up. If the front office follows that exact developmental blueprint for Ferrebus, his 75-game milestone lands right around July 12.  I hope he moves up sooner rather than later.

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    1. I have absolutely no doubt that he’ll get to JS in due time. The issue now is his position. This year he’s played the following games:

       1B: 6

       C: 25

       DH: 27

       It would kind of make sense if the Phillies had a hotshot catching prospect taking reps at catcher but Will Vierling (11th round pick in 2025) has played in 36 games at catcher.

       Ferrebus will make it to the bigs for the Phillies as a catcher. He won’t as 1B/DH.

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       1. if he keeps this offensive production, but can’t stick at catcher, are you saying he’s not a major league player? Or are you saying he won’t play with the Phillies (because of Harper and Schwarber)? He’s probably 3-4 years away, so a lot can happen between now and then.

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       2. He is playing everyday, but they probably do not want him catching consecutive games in a row….maybe because of his youthfulness, his rather bigger size and maybe the heat in Florida. Maybe trying to keep him refreshed, could there be any other reasons?

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29. yes they always rotate C in the lower levels of the organization. They usually rotate 3 players at C DH 1B; don’t overthink it

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30. in my unprofessional opinion your born a catcher it’s difficult to make someone a catcher. I know a different time but I checked and Carlos Ruiz caught almost 600 minor league games I think I read. No offense but since then Phillies haven’t really developed a decent catcher. Ferrebus bat is worth keeping though

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    1. Chooch did have close to 500 games as a catcher in the minors …all after age 21…..but I believe Ruiz began his professional career as a second baseman in the DSL in 1999 before transitioning to the catcher position. Another past Phillies who switched from infield to catching was Bob Boone. So it can be done on occasion..

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    2. JT was a shortstop in high school when he was drafted.

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31. At Reading tonight Hartford was teeing off on Jean Cabrera, He gave up 3 HR’s, and lots of hard hit doubles and line outs. Like Painter, he seems really lost.

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32. Harper started using a 35-ounce bat (last two games):

    https://t.co/skoMDLQvJc

    He’s gone 7-9 with 2 HR, 2 doubles, and a triple🤔

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    1. As a gift, one of my sons got me a signed authentic Bryce Harper bat. I think the bat I have is lighter than the one he is using now and, my God, it so, so heavy. I cannot believe this guy can get around 100 MPH fastballs with the bat I have, let alone a 35 ounce bat. He must be an enormously strong person (not a surprise, obviously).

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       1. He only used, in the past, the 35 oz during pre-game batting practice…..normally uses a 32 oz during the game….but he decided to try the batting practice bat the other night and he hit for the cycle…..so he may keep using it until it’s magic wears out.

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33. Found on web but your right wasn’t catching originally

    While scouting a high school game in Oklahoma, a Miami Marlins scout told Realmuto that he possessed the raw tools and instincts that would give him a much higher chance of reaching the majors as a catcher rather than a shortstop. 

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34. instincts being key observation

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    1. Yes…worked for Mike Piazza, Jorge Posada, Aaron Nola’s brother Austin and Carlos Santana…all switched to catching from the infield based on suggestions from keen eye baseball men.

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35. Regarding MLB’s proposal to end the draft for HS players (and, it seems, keep the college rules, so that a player would have had to finish three years of college or have turned 21 to be eligible for the draft), and start an international draft, raising the age there by two years from the current signing age. I believe that the players’ union will, and should, fight these tooth and nail. The effect of these proposals will be to eliminate the superstar player entering the league at 19 or 20 (Trout, Harper, Machado, Soto, Griffin). For domestic players no one would enter the league before about 22 or so. The effect will be to eliminate the possibility of a free agent at age 25 or 26. It’s those players that drive salaries. The net effect is that the monster contracts — which help drive overall salary increases — will be lessened greatly. A free agent at 28 commands substantially less than the same free agent at age 25.

    Separately, the college baseball landscape at the D1 level is, in terms of number of players at D1 programs, simply returning to what it was pre-covid. Before covid there were 300 D1 teams and 35 roster spots per team. The number of teams has risen to 308, and the new 34 roster limit means it’s almost exactly the same number of D1 roster spots as there were in 2019. There was a roster exception made during covid but it is that half-decade that is the outlier over the past couple decades, not the new roster limits that are the outlier. Plus, there are now far more scholarships available, since the prior limit of 11.7 scholarships per team has been removed for conferences that choose to do so. So compare 2019 to 2026 — same number of D1 roster spots, FAR more scholarships available.

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36. Back in the first full week of spring training in late February the Phillies came to West Palm Beach to play the Nationals on Monday night and the Marlins on Tuesday in Jupiter. When the game started, it was 60 degrees and the temperature dropped to 48 degrees by the time I left in the seventh inning.

    The Phillies started Rangel that night. He pitched the first inning. He threw 27 pitches, gave up 1 hit and 1 ER. He struck out none and walked 2 batters. What I’m saying/writing here is when/if he eventually gets a start this week is not to expect too much from a guy who appears to be a 4A pitcher.

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    1. The when is tonight. Mayza is opening, but Rangel is going to get the starter’s load of innings.

       And yeah, he’s pitching against one of the best offenses in baseball. So I’m just hoping he holds them to 5 or less runs in 5-6 innings. Hopefully Schwarber and Harper can stay hot so we can keep pace.

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       1. Griffin, another lefty doing well this year…..will be tough tonite…hope the Phillies will surprise me.

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37. Phillies should have six on the NL-All Star team….Harper, Schwarber, Marsh, Sanchez, Wheeler and Duran. Duran with 18 saves is second to Padres’ Miller with 20.

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    1. Marsh and Sanchez are virtual locks, but the other four could get pushed out on logistics since they won’t be winning the fan vote and every team needs at least one rep.

       Olson and Freeman are gonna be tough for Bryce to overcome.

       Schwarber is the clear-cut second best DH after Ohtani. But Bryce Eldridge or Juan Soto might get put there since OF and 1B are crowded.

       Wheeler and Duran SHOULD make it easily on merit. But you can just never guess what they’ll do about pitchers for the ASG.

       So I’m actually guessing 4 Philly reps this year.

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       1. Never thought about Olson and Freeman at 1B…..Harper may not make it after all…..however Scwarbs keeps hitting HRs amd leading the league, he should be there….if only for the HR Derby.

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       2. Difficult to measure sometimes, as reputations built over the years are difficult to overcome even though new players have had better years. Never liked when the fans do it and can vote six times a day …… becomes a popularity contest and big city teams stuff the boxes. Only interest is to see who gets “home” for the WS.

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38. Romus I used to see one of those keen eyed baseball guys hanging around college games as a scout a lot. His name was Ron Vaughn. He was assistant coach at USC. Catcher was Jack Del Rio and two of the pitchers were Randy Johnson and Mark McGwire. Vaughan was coaching summer league and told McGwire I’m gonna put you in the field. I think you could be a good hitter. And that was that the story goes supposedly.

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    1. Interesting story……USC was a powerhouse college team from SoCal in the day. Then UCLA and Cal State Fullerton began to show up. I think McGwire’s brother was a drafted pitcher.

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39. ohhhh you mean that “Curtis Mead” is the guy we traded for Sanchez …… I got it now!

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40. With regard to the new draft proposal I thought a study was done a long time ago that development for the special HS players was much better in a MiLB program than a college program.

    Granted very few high schoolers are special to that degree where they can be above average big leaguers as 19 and 20 y/o.

    And specifically for pitchers it doesn’t seem to me colleges worry about managing innings or pitches.

    I don’t think any statistics show that the way they develop players today is any better than 20 or even 50 years ago.

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    1. There is that financial savings that MLB teams benefit from. that also plays a factor in the changes they want to make. Smaller minor league systems, equal less expenses.

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41. Pathetic That lineup against any left hand is terrible. two career minor league guys giving us 2 run effort.Then Marchan who can’t start anymore games. fails to get runners in.. Johnson asked to keep it close blows it. I would never throw a right hand pitcher against them rest of yr. except elite guys DD really imo sucks

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    1. I’ve always thought that most GMing is a “better lucky than good” type scenario. Most of the moves they make can be defended on paper or with subjective mumbo jumbo.

       Others are moves out of necessity rather than they think it will be an improvement. Mostly in the case of the owner giving mandates to cut or limit payroll.

       I think mostly they just cross their fingers and hope it works out LOL.

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42. I am slowly coming to the conclusion that, if you can live with some added cost and risk, the best fit for the Phillies in right field may be Mike Trout. Based on what he’s doing this year, it would be hard to argue that he wouldn’t be a massive upgrade for this team and make them one of the clear favorites to win the WS this year and at least next year. Now a lot would have to come together to make it work – but if it happened, it could be magical.

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    1. Mike Trout is currently on the injured list with a right hamstring strain. Those things are tricky and unpredictable.

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       1. I saw that and they are. But it just drives down the price for the Phillies. They don’t need him (probably) to make the playoffs – they need him to make a deep postseason run.

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          1. Exactly……”if” they can possible get him @ a great deal…..they should be EXTREMELY cautious with him and make sure he’s ready for Red October

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43. Nice video of Renteria hitting a ball 105.3 the other way

    https://x.com/Prospect_Tilt/status/2069340394349891614?s=20

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44. I really hope, after his contract ends, the Phillies can convinced Zack Wheeler to come back for a season or two. It’s hard to believe but if he finishes out his contract the way he is pitching now, he’ll be pretty damned close to HOF consideration (but probably not quite there), which is amazing given that, when he joined the Phillies, he was a 30 year-old pitcher with a lifetime 9.1 WAR.

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    1. Actually, he started 2020 as a 29 year-old but it was his age 30 season.

       Still, what he’s done since he’s joined the team is phenomenal – he’s certainly pitched at a HOF level for them pretty much the entire time. And the consistency has been staggering.

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       1. Wheeler should get to, I imagine, a 50WAR pitcher before his contract is completed….putting him on the cusp for a HoF nomination at least. If he is willing for a 2 year deal, and produce a few 5WAR seasons, maybe that will be enough WAR to get him that selection.

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       2. Wheeler and Harper. more than likely the two best free agent signings in their history…Schwarber could also make a case for that also when his contract is completed, that is if he still is carpet bombing.

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45. In 1983 John Mellencamp wrote “Crumblin’ Down”. Some lyrics: Well, some people say I’m obnoxious and lazy. I’m uneducated-my opinion means nothin’. But I know I’m a real good dancer.

    I have been known to be obnoxious and lazy at times. I am educated and in my day I was a pretty good dancer. With that written I’m going to offer my opinion to those who will indulge me.

    Our boys lost game one to a good, upstart Nationals team. If the Phillies win the next three games, I think they could be a serious contender. If they split the series, they are in for a dogfight.

    If Washington wins the series or even sweeps, the Phillies will have a difficult time making the playoffs. I realize it’s not even July yet but things tend to snowball for good or for worse.

    This is not “your father’s Nationals” (or for that matter Marlins). They are both young teams that are playing well. Let’s hope for the best and thanks for letting me voice my opinion.

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    1. Yes indeed,. This series could be a forewarning of things to come. Nats are looking to make a statement, something that many young teams want to do, to the established veteran team that has had their number for many years. Will be good viewing coming up.

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       1. reading this after the Top half of the 9th inning … 😀

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46. Ninth home run of the season for Clearwater’s Alirio Ferrebus it’s an opposite field shot.

    https://x.com/Mitch_Rupert/status/2069583651734479276

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47. ………. and Kerkering gets his 4th Win 😳 heh heh heh!

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    1. that’s a perfect example of why statistics frustrate me. No way Kerkering should be rewarded for his inning.

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       1. That’s why people entirely disregard relief pitcher win/loss records – and rightfully so as it’s the most meaningless stat in baseball that I can recall. But this is a bad example, most stats are much, much more meaningful than this one.

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48. that Nats pitcher probably gettting dirty looks in the locker room after that game. You wanted a rivalry? You got one. If the Phils csn win the next 2.. that’s gonna hurt

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49. Before the magical comeback I framed it to my buddy that the Nat’s don’t have a single player earning more than $7 million a year but that comes at a price.

    The Nats haven’t made the playoffs since winning the WS in 2019.

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50. Five clubs (Mets, Phillies, Yankees, Blue Jays, Dodgers) dropped down 10 places and out of the first round as a penalty for exceeding the second surcharge threshold of the competitive-balance tax in 2025. 

    Does anyone know by how much we went over? If doing without Garcia would have saved us those 10 spots crikey…

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    1. It’s the penalty from last year’s CBT. This year’s won’t be calculated until the end of the year. As of now, Garcia’s contract WOULD probably matter. But after we add players at the deadline it likely won’t.

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    2. Scouts will now need to dig deeper into the weeds to find that impactful player.

       Maybe a Mason Edwards, lefty pitcher from USC could be on the board when they pick. He looks like a winner as a mid-rotation guy.

       https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/draft/

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       1. It will be interesting to see what the Phillies do this year, especially as it relates to pitching. One thing that I found surprising (and, really, somewhat disappointing) is that, last year, after they went with Wood (power pitcher) and Obermueller (a finesse plus lefty), they picked a lot of guys who left me with a (really, why did you pick him?) kind of empty feeling. I’ve seen some of these guys pitch and many are righties who struggle to throw in the mid-90s which, these days is pretty much a prerequisite for being a successful RH pitcher. And the vaunted Matthew Fisher also sits in the low 90s which is a bit of a head scratcher (1994 called and said it wants its prospect back). This was especially disappointing because the Phillies over the last few drafts before last year’s draft seemed to do a good job identifying promising arms. So maybe some of these guys develop or maybe just the first two picks do well (which is fine if they become mid to upper rotation starters), but the overall approached seemed puzzling to me and I didn’t get it then and I still don’t get it.

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          1. Perhaps they are anticipating a change in the pitching dynamics. In the past relievers were washed up starters….now relivers are guys throwing in the upper 90s. Maybe they sense that RH starters should be finesse guys that will give you twice maybe three times thru a lineup and ‘out you go’ for our 97/99 reliever.

             And there is something else that may be in the back of baseball men minds these days…..when does that young starter throwing 98/99 go on the TJ shelf for a few years…rarely does a 92/93T94 guy have to have TJ….they may be the new innings eaters

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             1. Yeah, I’d hate to give them that much credit and, frankly, I don’t see softer-tossing righties as having much of a future in the major league baseball (except for knuckleball pitchers – I still think they could do quite well and it’s always sad to see none of them anymore – one day, I’m not sure when, that could change again). To the contrary, righties whose game is pinpoint command and ball movement, like Aaron Nola and Zach Gallen, have struggled mightily in the last several years and there appears to be not much place for them in the current MLB where basically every righty worth his salt throws at least 95 MPH, but maybe guys like Sonny Gray offer a ray of hope. Who knows, but, on the whole, no, I don’t get excited to see righty high draft picks who can’t throw in the mid to high 90s.

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       2. Some of them were too far into the “weeds” on the ones they suggested.

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51. Moffo – If your house faces home plate in the Nationals park, you better watch out for flying baseballs because Nola is pitching tonight. Actually, I think he’s going to turn in a good outing tonight. Either that or lots of runs with Mikolas pitching for the Nats.

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    1. I wear a helmet in House, when Nola pitches

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       1. …and maybe rocco….you qualify for the senior discount with Renewal by Anderson for windows.

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       2. The “meds” remember Dr. said “1/2 hour before gametime”, need to be working by first pitch!🤔

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52. Tyler O’Neill is due $16.5M next year and about $5.5M at the trade deadline. That adds up to $22M. Would you trade a marginal minor leaguer for him if the O’s threw in $12M.

    They gave Garcia $10M for less than half a season this year. Basically, they’d be giving O’Neill the same $10M for a season and a third. They are used to doing it with Kepler and Garcia.

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    1. No, the Phillies are waiting until next season to sign O’Neill so he can check the box next year as their annual, expensive, waste-of-money, bounce back, soon-to-be-released outfield candidate. Can’t wait!

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53. I hope you are wearing the one with the full face mask?

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54. Wood 3.2 I, 68/43 2 H, 2R, 2ER, 2 BB, 4H, 1HR

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    1. corr. 4 Ks

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55. Wow. The last 5-6 days have been nuts..

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56. Phillies prospect Alex McFarlane struck out two in a clean inning for Reading tonight. McFarlane ripped off a few NASTY sliders and touched 100 mph during the inning.

    https://x.com/FuturePhils/status/2069964051195613530

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    1. Hard to see what he has left to prove in the minors. I would think that he gets called up the next injury to a RP at the MLB level.

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       1. Why isn’t he at triple a? makes no sense to me. Duren was nasty last night. Mason Miller .0.79 is crazy. Who was that pitching with Nola name on his jersey? Anyone know why 20 yr old Cardoza is batting ninth hitting well over 300 at Clearwater? Romus on a side note Susan said to say hi from Hair club for men

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          1. LOL

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          2. I’m a big Victor Cardoza fan, but he’s probably about where he should be in that lineup. Since being called back up from the FCL he’s hitting .290. That season BA is being propped up a little bit by a 5-for-6 run in two games in a brief stint early in the season.

             Don’t take this the wrong way, but his tools remind me a lot of Johan Rojas. Great speed, sneaky pop even if it doesn’t show in home runs. But there’s also a good amount of swing and miss, and a good amount of chase. He’s one to keep an eye on, for sure, but he’s probably about where he should be in that lineup.

             https://prospectsavant.com/player/808282

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             1. ty

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       2. I am very excited about McFarlane, but, unless you’re actually watching the games, it’s hard to know how far advanced he is and what he has to work on. As difficult as it is to believe, throwing 99 or 100 MPH doesn’t make you a shoe in for the big league anymore, even if you can throw strikes, as Seth Johnson’s struggles show. But I will say that I saw McFarlane pitch in ST and was very impressed. It’s clear he has high-level big league quality pitches, so it should come down to command and consistency.

          And, on a separate note, anyone who discounts the importance of a closer should watch a bunch of Phillies games. It is almost impossible to overstate how important Jhoan Duran is to the Phillies. Take whatever his WAR is and double or triple it and, to me, that’s his value and I’m not entirely engaging in hyperbole. They paid a lot for him, but dammit, they got their money’s worth.

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57. We’re pretty much at the half way mark and in today’s MLB even that isn’t enough to get solid reads on who has a chance at the end. That said some interesting notes:

    The AL seems really weak. The AL Central doesn’t have a single team with a + Run Diff. The Yankees lead the AL with a +113 and there only two other teams with a + Run Diff and those teams are barely in the positive.

    Dodgers and Brewers are stand outs +144 and +123 respectively; The Braves +92 our Phillies -1.

    7 Teams in the NL have + Run Diffs.

    Last the Braves are 3-7 in their last 10 the Phillies 6-4 so they have managed to close the gap some. Now just 4.5 back

    And none of it predicts or ensures anything LOL. For our horse racing brethren the Phillies are stalking the pace. We’ll have to see what they got when they get to the 1/8 th pole. Don’t show em the whip yet.

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    1. The AL is far and away the worse of the two leagues – this is about the biggest differential in talent between the leagues as I can remember.

       I know the Phillies’ run differential on the whole is not great, but according to Google AI, since Mattingly became manager, it’s plus 46, so they’ve turned it around quite well.

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58. Romus stop mention prospects names. Hogarts when fron 284 to 217 after you jinx him

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59. Abel is still on the injured list and Tait has 14 homers but is hitting only 221 at high A. Duran meanwhile looks like a godsend.

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60. The Phillies signed18 year old SS Yohali Geraldo and sent him to the DSL.

    https://x.com/PhilsTailgate/status/2070139523791548588

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    1. Geraldo is in the lineup today playing second base

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61. I’m not saying Lee is going to be great but the Phillies may have found their fifth outfielder. He plays all 3 positions and could be a fine platoon for Crawford. I believe he’s much better than Rojas. If the Phillies can find a right hand hitting right fielder, I think they’ll be in a pretty good situation to contend.

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62. My bad. I meant to write HILL. I’ve got to start paying better attention.

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63. Season ending surgery for Mick Abel. Wishing him the best. Seemed like he was just starting to get some traction at the big league level.

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    1. Yeah…..the silver lining for him, his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and flexor tendon remain structurally intact, meaning this is a clean-up or scope procedure rather than Tommy John surgery or an internal brace

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       1. Romus your good. you know a lot.Flexor tendon. is your jaw bone?

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          1. rocco….yes indeed, jowls……and do me a favor, tell Susan at the Mens Hair Club I will be by there for a plug adjustment…some are loosening up.

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    2. He should be good to go for spring training next season.

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64. With Julian Garcia making his MLB debut on Tues with the Reds, he joins these other Phillies’ signees make MLB debuts with other clubs….TJ Rumfield, George Klassen, Hao-Yu Lee, Rodolfo Duran

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65. MLB debuts…..Steve pointed out I missed one….Eiberson Castellano

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    1. Other than TJ Rumfield (Rockies)who was also with the Yankees and possible Hao Yu Lee (Tigers) that is not an impressive list of former prospects that were with the Phillies.

       Not sure what your point was with your post.

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66. MLB owners now want to limit contract lengths….like the NHL….max 6 yr length. …and no deferment contracts. MLBPA will never agree to that. This just may be a negotiation tool for the owners.

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    1. I said this before limit. I think 5 yrs

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       1. rocco……under the NHL CBA, the maximum NHL contract length is seven years for players re-signing with their current team and six years for unrestricted free agents signing with a new team….they will negotiate to that similar length I would think.

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          1. Interesting that the leagues are taking this position. Putting aside deferrals, which are an entirely different thing altogether, I view longer term contracts as generally benefitting teams more than players, although there is some risk on both sides. I mean, the Phillies will benefit more from Harper’s long-term deal than he will. Why does the league want to stop that?

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67. Detect a little vindictiveness in Mead’s latest HR punch, has a pretty good series against us.

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68. You would think Phil’s if things go right including bats hot could conceivably win world series except I don’t think possible with this shortstop. JTs throw was where it was supposed to be on steal attempt

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69. Derek hill is en fuego. Hitting .333 last few weeks. He’s now at .250

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    1. This is a really good point and let me pick up on that. My questions, with someone like Derek Hill, typically are – is this a SSS blip or could this impressive performance, at some level, be real and sustainable? And my answer to this is that, at some level (obviously, he’s not going to hit homers every game), it’s possible with Hill that it might be (sustainable). And I say this for a few reasons. First, when a guy has a big breakout I look at his pedigree – does he have a ton of underlying raw skills? The answer for Hill is YES – like Mickey Moniak (another player who seems to be taking his game to another level), Hill is a former first round pick – so there is a good degree of raw talent in his body. Second, is there anything in his minor league numbers to suggest that he might be able to perform at a much higher level? And, again, the answer for Hill is YES. Hill had outstanding AAA numbers in both 2023 and 2024, but the problem was that, by that time, he had already developed a label as a journeyman player so nobody paid too much attention to what he was doing, but he was dominant in both seasons and, while neither was a full season, they also weren’t especially small sample sizes. Third, while, historically he has pretty significant platoon splits, they have been much better this year and last.

       Sooooooo . . . stayed tuned on Mr. Hill – he is a guy that bears watching, has some demonstrated ability, can clearly tattoo a baseball, and has more than a little underlying talent. It will be fun to see if he can use this running head start to, at least, get some platoon starts and regular playing time. Yet another example of DD and crew doing their best work with a hand tied behind their back.

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       1. Hopefully he’s this season’s Harrison Bader and not Austin Hays (just looking at OPS).

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          1. Jim, I had the same thought last night after the HR. He is on a Bader tear at the moment. Hopefully he can maintain it for the remainder of the season. Good comparison.

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70. It looks like Harper gave them the bird rounding the bases

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71. Fascinating article by Buster Olney. LH hitters have benefited from the ABS more than RH hitters because umpires are no longer incorrectly punching them out on outside pitches.

    https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49146594/mlb-2026-abs-impact-left-handed-hitting-resurgence-strike-zone

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    1. Never thought about ABS being the reason behind the LHB overall better metrics. But makes sense….the low and away to LHBs in the past was their downfall….incorrectly as it may have been called.

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    2. Good point v1. I told my son other day I think watching games the umps are doing better than before knowing they are being held accountable. I am sure there are numbers every game. Be interesting to see how the grades for them are compared to the past.

       One thing you need to do is have a challenge late in the game left. These early challenges if wrong kind of cook you for the end of the game some nights.

       Also, v1. Congrats to your son on school. I forgot to say that last week.

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       1. Thank you.

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72. Nice job against the Nats, love to see it. They got a real chance to make this Division an interesting race in the 2nd half. Let’s see it boys!

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73. Juan Villavison at Clearwater. looks like he is really improved. I know it’s spelled wrong.sorry. 21 yrs old any info?

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    1. Juan Villavicencio is an interesting guy that I haven’t been able to make heads or tails of until recently. I’d call him interesting at this point. He’s still only 21, he hits the ball hard, there’s not a ton of chase, but a little. He’s got a sweet little left-handed swing and has a good feel for the strikezone. He could be better defensively, and I still think he’s eventually a second baseman with his offensive profile. But I think at this point he’s probably a Top-20 prospect in the system with plenty of room to grow.

       His Prospect Savant page is a fun read.

       https://prospectsavant.com/player/800276

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       1. ty

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74. Saw a text from a friend last night that said Chris was having a clunker. I was at a special dinner with family so I wasn’t watching.

    My reply was what inning is it? To which I believe he said the 3rd or 4th. I said that’s fine the game won’t really start until the 9th anyway LOL. Sure enough we settled in and turned the game on in the 8th.

    Been watching Phillies baseball for the better part of 50 years and never saw that before. And if it happened I don’t remember it.

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75. any thoughts on S Gray from Red Sox. Sounds like he would not cost much in prospect capital because Sox do not want to pay 10 million buyout. He’s a craftier Nola. Veteran that won’t shrink in playoffs I think. Could give you a start or come out of bullpen in playoffs. Could wave no trade to be in playoff run

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    1. He shrunk under the NY pressure, so I’m not so sure. But we don’t need him for playoffs. Just a good arm to give us 90+ innings the next few months.

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76. CF Johan Rojas came off the restricted list today (6/26) and was immediately placed on the 60-day injured list. He had right elbow UCL repair a couple weeks ago. He had been working out independently at the Complex prior to that.

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    1. I’m curious when you state he had been working out independently, I assume you mean he was doing his own workout routine without coach supervision or direction? Is that normal for players with MLB service time, or is it a case where there just aren’t enough trainers/coaches to go around – especially for the suspended, fringe 5th outfielder type player?

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       1. There are plenty of development staff in Clearwater. He was on the restricted list and therefore not permitted to work with major league personnel. I’m not sure how far those restrictions extend throughout the rest of the organization. I would expect that they would preclude his working with affiliated staff. However, the Complex has the FCL coaching staff as well as the development staff. I don’t believe the FCL team is considered affiliated but I didn’t see him in any of their games. I’m sure he could find someone to have a catch with him and feed balls into a pitching machine. Maybe even toss a BP. But, he wouldn’t have been included in any scheduled workouts or live BPs. He might have been able to take part in an intrasquad game but I don’t know if any were held. The CBA is a little vague. I am pretty sure he was permitted to see the trainers. That would be how they found the elbow injury. The following is pure speculation on my part. I believe that after reinstatement and a brief trip to AAA, the plan was to bring him up to the Phillies. He is the best CF in the organization. He could have provided late inning defense, pinch running, and the occasional start when a LHP started who they didn’t want Crawford to face. I make this guess based on the Phillies acquiring Hill around the date that Rojas’ injury and surgery occurred. I know that feelings here are fairly tepid regarding Rojas. But that doesn’t mean the Phillies wouldn’t do/try something they perceived as for the good of the team.

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          1. Really appreciate the insight. It is a fascinating dynamic and something I had not considered until I saw your comment.

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77. Crazy last 3 games. One of the unique things about baseball is something you have not seen may happen if you attend or watch a game.

    Here is something I mentioned to Ruff this morning. Bet365 runs these ads on early payouts. Rocco, you may know this. I am not a bettor. So, on Tuesday and last night Nats go up 5-0. Baseball is 5 runs. So that is a win for those on Nats. Now I do not know if this can happen. Phillies then go up 14-8 and last night 10-5 before end of game. Did the Phillies bettors win as well on the same game early payout? I have no idea. But when do you see both teams in a game have 5 run leads for each team? Weird.

    Phillies also have some Lucky Charms who attended the last 3 games of the Nats series.

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78. See Mets let Mendoza go. Probably long overdue. Hope it does not energize team this weekend.

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79. Francisco Renteria so far today 2-3, 4 RBI … 3rd HR, it was a grand slam.

    up to .391 with an OPS of 1.114

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    1. And 2 SBs

       also seen parking cars and selling cotton candy between innings 😳

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80. Another high profile international signing, SS Juan Parra has had some early success as well. While not showing much pop (did hit his first HR today), his early stat line is 313/457/391/848 – 14 BB vs 14 Ks

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81. Can we please move Bohm down in the lineup so he can stop hitting into so many double plays?

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82. trying to think of a terrestrial mammal that might be slower then Phil’s third baseman

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    1. Armadillo or sleuth!

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       1. sleuth……..a sloth that is a detective?

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          1. Just checking to see if you were paying attention!😉

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83. If Derek Hill keeps this up he’s going to be a big, big folk hero in Philadelphia.

    Johan who?

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84. Phillies make all left hand pitchers look like , Randy Johnson

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85. That catch last night by Hill, reminded me of a catch Don made against ,Alabama in 1953. same play. Don was really great outfielder.

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86. sloths live in trees not terrestrial. Thankfully we got rid of one of the sloths last year. To be fair Bohm has worked really hard on defense. Would probably help if he hit more HRs

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87. Roomy pham signs minor league deal with Phils

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    1. Tommy

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       1. Steve, Glad you clarified that Pham isn’t your roomy.

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          1. Dont judge me. Love is hard to find.

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             1. You can do better than Pham.

                As can the Phillies, I hope.

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                1. I’d ride Hill as long as he’s hot. Who knows? Maybe this is his magic year. if he cools off he simply goes back to a bench role. Save reclamation projects like Pham for another day — or team. I’d rather they search for a fifth starter.

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88. A lot of Matt Chapman talk. If the Giants would throw in half of his salary for the next four years ($50M), and took Bohm for the rest of the year, would you make that trade?

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    1. You would definitely have to think about it – he’s 4-5 WAR player even when his hitting is just a little bit above average.

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       1. Also, on Trout. If the Angels were willing to listen and be reasonable, I have little doubt that Mike Trout would consider the possibility of returning to his hometown. Trout brings a lot of risk but, aside from Byron Buxton, he’s the perfect fit in this line-up if he continues to perform as he has thus far this year.

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          1. With that owner, Trout would need to demand a trade to get out. But he would fit nicely here in the Phillies lineup.

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             1. That may be – Arte Moreno has got to be among the top 3 or 5 worst owners in the sport. That team has a serious NY Jets kinda feel to it. They are ALWAYS on the road to nowhere.

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89. rocco……you up at Aqueduct for the final day in its racing history…132 years?

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    1. I should have went. I am doing Saragota instead.

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       1. ok….end of August i assume

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90. Herredia. Bineles. Ferrebus. Villavicencia.

    All with big games yesterday

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91. It’s easier to drive to Saratoga than Aqueduct. At least for your sanity and worth it

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92. it’s worth getting there early walk across street to Oklahoma training track and watch workouts.

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93. Turning point of the game if the Phillies lose….2nd and 3rd no outs in the 6th….JT strikes out on forkballs and Stott grounds out….that is all she wrote.

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    1. Thankfully Schwarber doesn’t care about what base you’re on when it comes to driving guys in.

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94. forgot to watch Lehigh Valley. But what little could see looks like less throwing down, more extension with landing on heal. I’d rather text then watch kerkering

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95. I just wonder, imo Painter doesn’t have that drop ofc the table breaking he had , when I first saw him.or maybe it’s my imagination.

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96. Herredia and Bineles multi hit games two days in a row.

    Both hitting .281 at reading.

    Bineles with 19 HR and 47 rbi.

    heredia with 14 HR and 43 rbi

    Bineles needs to be at LHV at his age

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97. Bowden proposing Adell to Phils for Nori, Marquez, and Craig. Thoughts?

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    1. Personally, trading Nori and Marquez for a guy on pace for 0.6 WAR this year, and for a guy with 1.0 WAR over his career? No thanks

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       1. Reminds me of 4/5 years ago……giving up a promising catcher, Logan O’Hoppe for Marsh. Sometimes prospects’ starburst shine bright. Nori will be blocked with Adell, Marsh and Crawford…and Marquez, the old adage, TINSTAAPP.

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          1. Wonder if Nori and MC Farlane is enough

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             1. Why are we giving up a ton of prospects for a player who has contributed 0.9 WAR for his entire career? Hard, hard no.

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                1. How about Randal Grichack for Marchan? Sox need a catcher bad. Raffy not used much in Philly.

                   Grichack still a solid power bat although he’s getting up there (34) can still play the OF though not spectacular, has his moments at the plate.

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          2. Nori is a better defensive CF than Crawford who might end up as a corner. Gonna need a CF when that happens. May as well be Nori. So, I don’t think Nori is really blocked and I do not like the trade at all. BTW, I think Marsh reaches free agency after next season.

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             1. You believe the Phillies will let Marsh walk and not extend him?

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                1. I don’t see that. I think DD will try to lock up Marsh.

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                2. No. But, I believe that everything that Marsh does that makes us want to see him extended drives his cost up and increases the likelihood that he and his agent want to test free agency.

                   The impending lockout will come into play though. There were very few free agent and contract extensions before the December 1st deadline in 2021. They signed Knebel and Carmago on the 1st and there was no activity for three-and-a-half months until they signed Schwarber and Castellanos.

                   Maybe Marsh and his agent want to cash in before the new CBA greatly restricts spending with higher penalties or a cap. Maybe the Phillies want to wait to see what the new Competitive Tax Thresholds are and how close they are to paying increased penalties before signing any new players or extending current ones.

                   Maybe that works in the Phillies favor, maybe not. In a normal offseason, I’m pretty sure he would test the free agent market. It’s his one chance to cash in big.

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             2. My view is that you cannot waste a corner outfield spot on a hitter as weak as Crawford projects to be so, in the long run, it’s either Crawford or Nori in center. As a result, moving one of them appears to be inevitable to me – it’s just a matter of when and whether you think Nori can develop into a big league regular. As for Marsh, I think the team will extend him this winter. He’s the only good young-ish hitter they have right now and, frankly, they can’t afford to lose him. It’s remarkable (although, truly not surprising – we’ve seen this coming for quite some time) how poor the hitting on this team is after Schwarber, Harper and Marsh.

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                1. When I watch Brandon Marsh hit (this year, especially), I think about what Barry Bonds said about how he learned to hit at another level. What he said (I’m completely paraphrasing) is that he became a much better hitter when he stopped trying to “hit” the ball and just catch the ball with the bat. Basically he just learned that he was fast and strong enough that he just needed to make contact and that’s what I see with Brandon Marsh – the dude is so big, strong and coordinated that he doesn’t need to overswing – and he doesn’t. He just catches the ball with the bat and that’s enough. Also, Marsh has always reminded me of Charlie Blackmon – a wonderful player who looked, played and hit a lot like Marsh. He was quite a player.

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             3. I don’t think you can have an OF of Nori and Crawford. Just not enough hitting. Personally, I am not high on Nori as a hitter.

                Crawford isn’t far off where I thought he would be. Imo the biggest issue with Crawford is that he isn’t attempting enough SB. He should go every time he gets on base.

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    2. Adell is a very good hitter against LHP.
       2025: .277/.346/.585/.931
       2026: .278 /.323/.500/.823

       He is a below average hitter against RHP. So he is a platoon addition. Could KLong fix him against RHP like he did Marsh? Unclear. But if you want a RH OF that hits lefties well, it’s likely going to be a platoon player. There just aren’t a lot of great RH corner OF available.

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98. Phillies pitchers threw 195 pitches Sunday compared to 148 for the Mets. It was ugly to watch but they won the game and that’s the important thing.

    Tonight Nola is going to go six full innings. Are you feeling it, Moffo? Won’t need a helmet. It’ll be hot and sticky and that’s just how Nola likes it.

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99. Saw Tommy Pham at the Complex today. He was the DH in FCL game today. Batted second. Homered his first at bat to left center on Ashburn. Doubled his second at bat. Walked twice later.

    Talk down here is that he will travel to Lakeland for a game tomorrow then head to Lehigh Valley Wednesday.

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    1. Thanks for this, Jim.

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100. Looks like Harper is proving to someone that he is capable of having an ‘elite’ season.

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101. 7 more runs. then I think Nola has a chance

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102. He just plain stinks. 5 yrs of him. is just terrible. Watching Realmuto also make me sick

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     1. This is what happens when you keep on giving long term deals to players in their 30s. Sometimes they decline a lot faster than you think. And now you’re stuck with them.

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     2. OMFG – Rocco, you were so right!

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103. We got 3 guys in MLB ‘s top 100:

     Aidan Miller, Gage Wood and Francisco Rentería.

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     1. Renteria is the youngest member of the top 100.

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        1. Renteria is the single best outfield prospect that the Phillies have had in the last 40 years or so (yeah, sure, he’s got a long way to go, but he’s an elite talent who, I think, would go top 3 or 4, perhaps even 1 or 2, if he were drafted stateside – he’s stud). When I saw they signed him I was so excited and nothing he’s done thus far has made me reconsider. This is so smart because, with their FA spending, they aren’t getting first round picks now, so they need to get premier young talent from somewhere. SCORE!

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104. The prices of Robbie Ray, Casey Mize, and Sonny Gray are going up each time Nola makes a start.

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     1. We might need 2 SP, Nola is unplayable.

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     2. Spot on Dan

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105. Hard for me to see the argument that Shugart is a better pitcher than McFarlane. I have no confidence in Shugart. As soon as he came in I thought, “I guess we are giving up this game.”

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     1. I think putting Shugart in last night in a game that was still close was Mattingly giving him a do or die moment. He had some solid outings in April and May, though it seemed more a product of variance than “omg this guy is actually awesome” and then started to struggle. Kind of think last night was a “show us you can be a meaningful part of this bullpen” opportunity and he failed miserably. Would be shocked if hes not outrighted today.

        And yeah the McFarlane thing is getting annoying. Hes 25! Not like hes some 21 year old having success but they want to move him slowly. He belongs in the bigs. Seems like they just want to let him keep mowing down AA hitters to avoid any chance of him struggling with a promotion and killing his trade value.

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106. I am wondering? was our mgr. more worried about Nola getting in 5 innings for win? or winning the game. Two bombs just after a bomb double. no bullpen action. you know he loses what little velocity he has at start of game. In three or four innings . They got a real problem. Nola is now a mop up, spot starter at best.for 25 million a yr. throwing to a washed up 200 hitting catcher DD is living off his past..

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     1. rocco…..in your way you summed it up best. I remember the Nats having to endure Corbin for 4/5 years, now I know the feeling…though Corbin did win them a WS in ’19

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107. I need to understand how a 250 hitter, for almost 4yrs in minors. Is the answer? Rincones really stinks.

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     1. He can hit rightys. He should not be an every day player, but there is room for a Reyes/Rincones outfield platoon. If you can platoon them you probalby have a .230 hitter but should get solid power production.

        We really gotta stop ripping on guys who don’t set the league on fire in their first month. Social Media would have run Mike Schmidt out of town after his rookie season lol. But in general, a few generational prospects have tainted a fans view on how progression works. Also in Rincones case, he was kind of rushed since he was still getting his footing coming back from injury when Garcia went down.

        I don’t think hes the answer or anything and dont think hell ever be more than a platoon guy/4th OF but we gotta stop judging players based on their first few weeks

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        1. Dan, you’re not wrong about having to be patient with young hitters, especially these days when the pitching, on the whole, is much better than ever. But the issue is that this team is trying to compete for a championship so while they can carry an underperforming guy for a while (like Crawford), they cannot do it indefinitely and when they do it, they need to see enough (like with Crawford) to make them believe the guy will be fairly productive by the end of the year. It’s hard line to walk when you want to compete and I can’t fault the team for sending guys down when they really don’t hit at all.

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           1. My issue with Rincones, is that he just has the feel of a perpetual AAA slugger who can’t handle big league pitching, especially lefty pitching. Reyes’ issue is that he swings at too many bad pitches and doesn’t draw enough walks, but I think Reyes has much better contact skills than Rincones and the power is plus and very real. You could see Reyes becoming a legitimate MLB bat, but he’s got some work to do.

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           2. Yup, I get it. And of all positions, they really have no solid OF option who was ready when Adolis went down. They are hoping Pham can be that now I think but I don’t buy that at all. Personally I wish they somehow tried to make Keaton Anthony the solution. It would involve Bryce going back to RF but Id prefer Anthony 1b/Bryce RF to Bryce 1b/Rincones RF

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           3. We gave Rincones a chance before the trade deadline to see if he can be a RHP side of a platoon with Hill hitting LHP. We do need to give him more time, but he doesn’t inspire confidence.

              In the meantime, we are clearly a playoff team and have a real shot at winning the NL East again. When the trade deadline comes, I expect DD to acquire a corner OF that can hit LHP better than Hill. Rincones will be sent down.

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        2. Tell that to the people ripped Reyes.After just 38 at bats. Reyes hits in the minors Rincones hasnt

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           1. I agree. I would rather see Reyes in majors than Rincones.

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108. I get it, but you don’t move a future Hall of Famer out of position, back to a position where he was declining several years ago to make room for guys who aren’t even replacement level players yet. You’d need a flat out stud hitter to come in to even consider such a move.

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     1. I’d say move Marsh over to RF and have Harper patrol LF.

        All the great LFers we had in the past…Pat the Bat, Stinky Inky, Skates, the Bull, Roger Freedman, et al…..Harper would seem to be better defensively than that lot.

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        1. Agree ….. I remember that they ask Bowa if it scared him going out for a flyball in no man’s land with the Bull coming in …….. no he said, when he gets within 10′ of you the ground begins to “shake” and you know to get outta there!

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        2. Yeah, but why? Who goes to first base to give you more hitting? Still not seeing that.

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109. Rocco. I was telling Ruff during game last night that you were not going to be happy today. We talk back and forth during the game. Told Ruff hoped you took the early line when the Phillies went up 5. That is a game you should not lose. Last week probably several they should not maybe have won, or at least good fortune was on their side.

     We discussed needs and all other things. This is just me. I see lots of you still on the outfielders and hitters. For me this team is going to go as far as its pitching takes it. Ruff asked me why Hoosier Donnie did not have someone ready in 5th. My response is you cannot warm a guy up every inning that Nola pitches. He is either great or a disaster. I did mention to Ruff that is seems the last couple years Nola has had his most issues in innings 4 and 5. I may be totally wrong on that. Just seems that way to me. My next point was who do you have ready? Way too early for Duran in the 5th.

     Who do you really have confidence in out of the BP? Shugart?, Mayza?, Johnson? maybe down the line. Tough spot for him last night. Backus?, Boylan? None of those for me. Kerkering wow, Alvarado every pitch is an adventure. Reminds me of my teammate at South Alabama on each pitch. Duran cannot pitch every game.

     How long do they ride with Nola? I do not see an easy solution to this. I do think 2 SP may be in order in some manner. Phillies have 3 starters and Duran and then??????. Ruff made an excellent point last night. BP guys just not throwing enough strikes. Plain and simple. Even as bad as Nola was take away the last 2 walks in the 5th and Turner ole le throw to first Phillies would have led and it would have been Duran time.

     Philles for me need about 4 or 5 guys. See no way that happens.

     BTW just got my Baseball America. Draft copy. Kid who won Golden Spikes, Daniel Johnson is picked as 35th best prospect. BA does not have him going in 1st round. This is a nice magazine this time.

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     1. Don what time do you milk the cows. and feed the chicken. before 5 am? Never been on a farm

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        1. rocco……but you been close to a farm…FDR Park when they had the stables.

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           1. Romus. Thinking Rocco is a city slicker. Stables are similar to a farm.

              I glanced through my new Baseball America. Only 6 kids with Hoosier connections listed in the top 200. One though a ND pitcher is ranked in the area that the Phillies pick. Think he was 38 on the list.

              I mentioned to Ruff last night that maybe Rocco could swing by CBP and grab me one of those me one of those All-Star pennants. They look nice on tv.

              Are any of you guys going to attend any of the All-Star week festivities? Seems like there will be lots to do. Have fun if you do.

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              1. Rocco, ….. having cows and chickens for Don was the equivalent to those protection policies you sold baseball fans ……. “Hey, Mr. WATCH your car so nothing bad happens! Just $5.00”.

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110. Rocco. You are awesome. I did have cows and chickens on the farm. Those days are gone.

     Just saw an article that Nola may be the worst starting pitcher at the moment. That is sad. He seems like such a great guy. I told Ruff I really do not know what the Phillies can do at this point. Do they just keep running him out there every 5th day. He has always been able to take the ball. Seems they are now hoping for 5 innings. But that seems to be wishful thinking. I do not see any way they would consider putting him in the BP with his contract. Plus, always a starter. I mentioned to Ruff last night that Walker Buehler might not have been a bad fallback plan.

     On June 30th I think pitching is the big issue going forward. 3 top starters. 1 top closer. Everything else is everything else.

     BTW I was only a baby in 1953. LOL

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111. Shugart sent down. Trivino recalled.

     Still dont understand McFarlane not being called up.

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     1. My dad made me go to the stables to get Horse poop for his tomatoes plants

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        1. All the hay from the stalls at racetracks are usually sent to mushroom farms as fertilizer

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           1. My moms family owned mushroom farm. In Kenneth Square I never ate a mushroom. After seeing what the grown in

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              1. Kennett Square…mushroom capital of the world….and home of HoF pitcher Herb Pennock.

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              2. I grew up in Kennett Square – my wife and I raised all four of our children there also. My father was a mushroom grower. Small world eh

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        2. So, you were a wanna be farmer!!!

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112. Mike Schmidt who is attending the Reading game announced that he will be throwing out the first pitch at the All Star game.

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113. Woods 5 Inn. 70/48 3 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BBs 6 Ks 2 HR

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114. what a crazy season so far.

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115. Renteria went 3-4, 1 Run, 2 RBI, 10th SB, now sitting at .386 ave, 1.054 ops.

     They also have 18 year old Deivis Velasquez who was the DH, went 2-4, he’s sitting at .314 ave, .944 ops

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     1. He was rated highly out of the Ven……the catcher signed for a $620K bonus….at the time the 17-year old, in January, was heavily scouted, with a very promising mix of hitting ability and power, standing out for his work in the batter’s box and short right-handed stroke. The Phillies are really doing a better job of identifying Latin talent, especially now in the Ven where the country is now more accessible to base balll scouting.

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116. Rinconon on base streak up to 25 games now. He hit his 12th home run of the season last night,

     https://x.com/FuturePhils/status/2072124323532263788

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     1. Steve. If this is Rincon at Reading, they had a piece on him in Baseball America yesterday. I sent a copy to Ruff. Says he has made huge progress. That is a bright spot.

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117. I am still really high on Justin Crawford. I think that he is going to be a long time starting CF at the MLB level. He started hot, went through a slump but made adjustments:

     • Batting .362 in his last 15 games
     • Batting .306 in his last 30 games

     His K% is down to 21% and trending down. His Swinging Strike % is only 8.6% (same as Brice Turang). His contact % is in the top 30 in baseball. And I think that his CF defense has improved. It started out poor, but has been good lately.

     My one criticism of his play is that he hasn’t attempted enough stolen bases. I don’t blame him for that as our org philosophy is don’t try to steal in front of Schwarber and Harper. But I hope that changes.

     Overall, I am happy with how he has started his rookie season and the adjustments that he has made. What’s your take?

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     1. Agreed…..by the numbers he is coming around, showing what he did in the minors. Maybe they can get him to steal more often if they move him up in the linup…to say the 7th or 8th hole….at least in front of JTR, so maybe JTR can see more FB and start pickig up his batting.

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     2. No, I generally agree with this. It was always going to take him time to adjust and they needed to get him at bats until he did – and he has. His hit tool is probably like 60 or 65 – as you can see from his AB last night, his ability to put the bat on the ball can be next level. Also, and the metrics and eye test bear this out, after struggling in the field earlier this year, he has really come on strong and been solid since May or so. If he can be above average to plus in the field, that would help his value. My only overall comments long term include that he is not a corner outfielder – he doesn’t hit enough for that – but he is a solid young outfielder who is fine in center and should improve. Also, we need to be realistic about him – it’s pretty unlikely that he’s a future star. That’s not his profile. But if he can grow to be a first division regular or close to that (3-4 WAR player) that would be just fine. I will reiterate, however, that, again long term, I don’t see an outfield with him and Nori – it will almost certainly be one or the other.

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        1. Agreed. Nori and Crawford can not be in same OF. Personally, I am not high on Nori.

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     3. He’s pretty much been what I expected. A lot of those infield hits we saw in the minors aren’t there because of better defense. I’d like to see his OBP up 20-30 points being a little more selective. But he’s been perfectly fine as the nine-hole hitter in your lineup. You want to see more stolen bases, I want to see him bunt more, especially to the pull side because they are crashing hard on the third-base side.

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        1. Agree

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     4. v1. I think he is doing fine. He is starting to use the whole field better. It takes time. He fought off some 100+ pitches and then got a pitch he could handle. Few weeks ago, maybe not the same result.

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     5. Great to see him turn things around lately, what about his defense? As I know it was an issue early in the season where him and Harper were said to have rough defensive #’s but I never looked them up myself.

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        1. By the numbers, Crawford is below average and Harper is awful defensively. You can take that with a grain of salt, because defensive stats take a LONG time to stabilize. But the eye test also suggests Crawford is a little below average right now.

           His speed makes up for a lot of mistakes, but he often gets bad reads. That said, there’s something about CBP that makes OF defense difficult, because even very good defenders tend to struggle here at times. So it’s entirely possible he’ll improve over time just by getting used to the field.

           As for Harper, I think he’s a better defender than his numbers this year show. He was overly aggressive early this year which I think has dinged him a lot (lots of plays where he roamed way too far toward 2B). He’s got pretty good range for a 1B and he’s come a long way on his ability to pick it. Don’t think I expect him to ever win a Gold Glove, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him grade out as average over time.

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     6. There’s growing pains as I expected. I’m perfectly fine with where he’s at in his development. The staff has been working with him on adjustments and he seems receptive to coaching which is all you can really ask.

        But there is absolutely one thing other than SBs that I want changed immediately: his use of challenges. Maybe he just needs to be told not to challenge, or maybe just that he should only challenge blatantly wrong calls. But he’s one for NINE. That’s just an unacceptable rate for a bottom of the order hitter.

        Now it’s not just him. Most of our hitters are awful at challenging calls (Schwarber being the ONLY one above 50% among those with 2+ challenges). But with how good JT is at challenging behind the plate, we need to stop wasting one so he’s forced to be economical with them.

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     7. A few weeks back I noted that he was mostly getting himself out on his own scouting report which was throw him hard above the zone to get ahead then switch to soft down and away.

        I’m impressed that he finally caught up with that report and started being more disciplined.

        Never was I worried just impatient.

        At every level he went through long funks and ended up getting it all figured out.

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118. Some things from last night. Sanchez was great as usual. One point the guys made during the game that got my attention was that during the 50+ inning streak team made NO errors behind him. They made some really nice plays last night as well. Point I wanted to make is it is much easier to play defense for a pitcher who throws strikes. Sanchez does exactly that. When guys are all over the place it is easy to get lazy out of focus and then you make an error on a simple play. This happens at all levels. Throw strikes and your team most likely will help you out.

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     1. I suspect it’s also feeling less like you need to be perfect. With Sanchez and Wheeler on the mound, the thought never crosses your mind that a mistake might lead to 4+ runs.

        When Nola is up there, any extra out you give a team could be opening the flood gates.

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        1. Dan….flood gates! That is an understatement….more like a tsunami. Whatever he is doing to correct things does not seem to consistently work. Third time thru the lineup he gets pulverized. Perhaps force himself, after the third or fourth inning, to move to the third base side of the rubber…..change up the angle for the batters.

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        2. Excellent point. You cannot give teams in most situations 4 or 5 or 6 outs in an inning.

           Romus. I do not know what they can do with Nola. You are the person who looks up things. Seems to me it is the 4th or 5th inning that bites Nola the most. As I said the other day, I have no facts on that. Just watching games. Aaron simply makes too many pitches that say Hit Me and they do. Usually, hard as well.

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           1. Unfortunately, there’s no useful information to be gleaned from his inning splits.

              This year, he’s great in the 1st inning (3.18 ERA), and then terrible every inning thereafter (his next lowest ERA being the 4th at 5.40). The fact that he immediately goes from a low-3 ERA in the first inning to over SEVEN in the second inning is baffling, honestly. It’s clearly not an issue of hitters seeing him multiple times, because he’s not even getting through the lineup once before he starts getting pummeled.

              Maybe he’s tipping pitches? That’s the best thing we can hope for. The first inning he’s fine because they haven’t figured out his tell, but then around the 4th or 5th batters they see it and start teeing off.

              Regrettably, we probably just need to resign ourselves to the fact that we have the most expensive opener in the history of baseball. Where we will get the pitcher for the bulk innings, I have no clue.

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     2. On Sanchez, it’s almost impossible to overstate how far above his projected ceiling Sanchez’s performance has climbed. He started out as a guy who was going to be like a 7th inning reliever or 5th starter or AAAA pitcher, who has developed essentially into the best pitcher in baseball with HOF potential.. For an analogy, it would be as if Gabriel Rincones, Jr. developed into Juan Soto. What Sanchez has become is nothing short of staggering.

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119. Romus and Rocco. Ruff and I are wondering if the two of you may be the Grand Marshall’s for the 4th parade. Cheesesteak hats and PP shirts to promote the site. Plus, a huge fan for air. Really hot here now.

     Also, guys I think of the two of you every time they show the fisherman ad. Romus starts with the lobster and then Rocco chimes in with the octopus. Omelets on me boys.

     Should be a really good game tonight. Hope for good results.

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     1. Don Hot in the barn with all that horse and cow ? How big are the flies?

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        1. rocco….go easy now. The weather is getting to all of us. Even the best of Hoosiers can welt under triple digit heat.

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           1. Giant horse flies!!!! Romus. I will email you about those of granddaughter.

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              1. Romus can pick up package. He delivers for Amazon

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           2. Just sent email. You may check to see if you got others.

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120. Stott will be a free agent after next year. Could be that Rincon plays this year at Reading and next year at LHV. If he continues to show promise, maybe he replaces Stott….or the Phillies trade him.

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     1. Stott and Marsh may be getting into the big money now……my guess Escobar or Rincon move up to 2B, and Stott coud be traded.

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        1. You actually think the “Elite One” would sanction that trade!🤔

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           1. Hah…….not if he is traded to the Vegas A’s.

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        2. I am on the fence on Stott. Depends on yrs and money.if I bring him back

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        3. Aroon has been a big disappointment for me this season. He could find his way out of it as Rincon appears to have done (he is just 21)

           Who knows at this juncture how much baseball is going to be played in 2027. Pretty sure Bohm won’t be back and I would keep Stott til the end (his glove is so good) and he can have periods where he is really clutch at the plate.

           Rincon might be the answer at 3B once Alec moves on. He’s athletic enough to do it.

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           1. Miller is still there , if he recovers well, to go back into the infield somewhere.

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              1. Re: Aroon, I’m no prospect expert, but if you recall Aidan Miller had a pretty crappy start to last year too before really turning it on in the summer/second half. There’s still time. Maybe Aidan’s underlying peripherals were better or something, but hopefully the talent that caused Aroon to be a highly rated prospect carries through and he still emerges.

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121. You make a point! Nice day if it would warm up a little!😉

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122. Funnily enough, a writer over at Fangraphs just posted something about Harper’s defense today. He noted a couple issues, including one I already hit on.

     First, Harper isn’t good at making diving stops. Makes sense considering he never played an infield position prior to moving to 1B. He might never be good at that those plays.

     Second, he tends to be flat footed and out of position any time he has to hold a man on. That should be teachable. It’s not all that hard getting into a rhythm where you’re getting set as the batter swings.

     And third, as I mentioned earlier, he’s too aggressive toward the 2B side. Another thing that should be teachable. And I think he has already adjusted, to be fair. It’s been a couple weeks since I yelled at him for stealing Stott’s play for no reason.

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     1. Oh, and he also mentioned Harper IS good at coming in on balls. So he could likely ease the pain of his inability to dive for balls by just playing further back than most 1B. Give himself more time to react by leaning on one of his strong suits.

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        1. Well he is certainly better than Dick Stuart, Dr Strangeglove, was over there..

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           1. omg Dick Stuart? How old are you?

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123. I hate this bullpen

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124. Omg Realmuto is terrible. 3 yrs of him ?

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125. Hope johnson is cut tonight. 4 run lead you start walking guys

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     1. Rocco, …… did you know that there is a yellowish button on the phone to the bullpen that says ……. “NEXT”! Honest, I just heard that.

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126. The other night I was poking some fun at Ricones Jr. with a buddy that I didn’t know you could have a negative OPS+

     And that we only had 3 regulars with an OPS+ above 100 (I mean Kyle Bryce and Marsh are well above)

     Hill is at 130 in his weak side platoon role which is fantastic

     And then the last two nights Gabby starts to show some signs of getting comfortable. Great ABs really solid takes and signs of maturity. I’d keep going with this set-up.

     And kudos to Bohm on his defense. He’s gone through a lot here. Some self inflicted some not.

     And as I watched Skenes last night I kept thinking about Painter and how elusive success in the league can be.

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     1. I was at the game and was thinking about Painter too. While at the game, I emailed a bunch of guys in my family and said that the Phillies were jumping all over Skenes and pointed to the fact that, instead of throwing 98-102, Skenes was sitting at 96-98, which makes him like basically every right-handed reliever in the major leagues, which is barely an exaggeration. But that’s what’s going on – he lost a few MPH on his fastball and now he’s hittable and he’s reeling. But it does make you realize what a good pure pitcher Zack Wheeler is – he’s not getting guys out just because he throws 96-97 – the dude is an incredible pitcher.

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     2. Maybe it was the oppressive hit for the big guy, Skenes, but when hi-velo pitchers start losing control along with command…the first symptoms of an UCL issue may be rearing its head up

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127. I watched a lot of Painters games in AAA last year and his secondary stuff looked good to me. I think he lost all of it this year when fastball got rocked and then his head started spinning out of control. Hoping he will be back in August. Hoping Phil’s can get S Gray. Most teams do not want to take that dead 10 million that comes with him next year but Phil’s may be able to eat and save prospects. Adding him turns Luzardo into quasi swing man in playoffs ala ranger.

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     1. Thats what I said the other day. What happen to his. Secondary stuff?

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     2. Are any of you ready yet to include Painter in a trade for an established MLB pitcher with an average resume?

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        1. I trade don and two chickens up for sonny gray.

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        2. No, I’m not ready to do that. Give up your future for a guy who might start one game in the postseason (or none?). Nope, not doing it.

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128. Hi guys. For some good news on this nice warm summer day. At one point the Braves had 40 wins. The Phillies had 30 wins. If you look today the Phillies almost beat the Braves to 50 wins. 50 and 49. That is a pretty good stretch.

     Also, the other night the guys’ said Sanchez is 13-1 now 14-1 in his last 30/31 starts at CBP. That is outstanding but the thing that caught my attention was 16 no decisions in that stretch.

     Ben mentioned last night regarding Skenes that he felt from the field level he was not throwing enough fastballs. Said he was using all of his pitches. One other thing I told Ruff it appeared to me on tv that the ump last night was one of the worst on balls and strikes for a while. He missed several pitches early for Skenes. Seemed like Davis challenged the balls and let several strikes go by. I bet the ump received a very low grade for his performance last night. Just from my seat 10 feet from the tv.

     Rocco. That is 3 straight early wins for the 5 run lead. Today could be 4. It is pretty easy to see at the moment that the Phillies have Sanchez, Wheeler, Luzardo, Duran and “Next” as Ruff told me last night. I wonder if the bus was waiting for Backus last night. Phillies at this point really need starters to go at least 7. 8 would be better. BP is simply an adventure. No way other to describe. Now to find some way to make starters 4 and 5 better.

     But team is winning and possibly may catch Braves by the 4th. Who would have thought that at the end of April.

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     1.  BP is simply an adventure.….why not McFarlane for a 10 game stretch, until the break

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129. I’m planning on taking a deeper dive into this in the next article, but adding $10M for Sonny Gray (or anyone for that matter) will push the Phillies over THIS SEASON’S Competitive Balance Tax Threshold ($244M) for next season.

     Even with Walker and Castellanos coming off the books, the Phillies will be at roughly $246.5M with just NINE players plus the “Gray or other acquisition” under contract. Every dollar they have to spend to fill out the rest of the 40-man roster will count against the CBT.

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     1. With bated breath …… have felt for some time what we got is what we got for “our” playoffs run and the acquisition of Pham more or less cements that in my mind.

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     2. Which is why I wouldn’t trade anyone that remotely looks like an MLB player.

        I’d much rather take some risks on the prospect side and hand out some tickets to the big boy club and see what might stick.

        Looking at the pitchers on the 40 man there are probably several maybe nine out of 23 I could DFA and not lose sleep over it in favor of Ramon Marquez.

        Most would say I’m crazy and most will say they will never do it and I’m sure they would be right on both accounts.

        Ramon reminds me so much of Ranger from the right I don’t think he would be phased by that kind of promotion in the least. And the bar is so extremely low how bad could it be.

        The numbers say a guy will get an opportunity and seize it.

        McFarlane is already on the 40 so he should be getting the next “Next”

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        1. Well said …… I get it!

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        2. When I was like 15 my uncle took me to the annual season tickets holder event in the winter when they had fun stuff at the ballpark, and they had like a kids press conference with Ed Wade and most of it was like 4 year olds asking what Pat Burrells favorite color is and stuff like that.

           I raise my hand and say “hey ed, over the offseason we lost miguel ascensio in the rule 5 draft. last year we lost derrick turnbow in the rule 5 draft. Why are the phillies so willing to lose guys with potential when the 40 man roster has plenty of expendable pitchers”

           I swear his jaw hit the floor. He gave me some BS answer about how every decision is taken seriously by the front office and the 40 man roster yada yada yada. I wanted to say “if our 40 man is too good to make rooms for young pitchers, then why are we trash?” but instead i just said “thank you mr wade”

           My uncle still tells this story to everyone and we continue to joke about it

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     3. Lets hope for a lock-out next season and a re-do of the financial structures toward a ‘cap’

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130. It is going to be interesting to see what they do. Phillies seem to be like several of the NBA teams who are trying to avoid what they call the 2nd Apron. Team does have some holes though to fill.

     Rocco. Just my take on JT. His value is on the defensive side of things and his handling of the staff. I do not think you will see his offensive numbers change much one way or the other going forward. He has the stride back to the dugout down well now. But he like so many of the catchers take such a beating almost every game behind the plate. I think we just need to appreciate what the Phillies have. Marchan/Stubbs. Think not.

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     1. My gripe with JTR….is his pitch calling with two strikes on a batter. There seems to be more HRs and hits by a batter with two strikes than is normal. What is worrisome, The average MLB hitter hits around .180 to .185 with two strikes. Because the count drastically favors the pitcher, hitters often adjust their mechanics with two strikes. For instance, bat speeds across the league typically decrease by about 1.6 mph as players trade raw power for more contact….but when JTR is behind the plate, the guys have a chance to just pummeled the ball for a HR, especially with Nola on the mound…..go figure

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        1. Well you’re right that we give up more HRs than you’d expect with 2 strikes (lead the league with 40)… but considering 6 of those are from Nola alone, I’m not sure you can blame that on JT.

           Especially considering we’re middle of the pack in BA (.180, 22nd) and OBP (.244, 13th) against, while being second in baseball in K/9.

           The best pitch calling in the world won’t help a pitcher (NOLA) who hangs a curveball middle-middle.

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           1. Agree Dan. JT has nothing to do with Nola or BP guy laying right in the middle of the hitting zone. Actually BP guys have issue finding the strike zone. He can only call the pitches. I thought one night I saw Nola had the thing the pitchers wear that when they call the pitch. I may be wrong there.

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131. Who would have thought that a Skenes-Wheeler match up would end in a 10-6 score. I’m sure the heat had something to do with it. Speaking of heat, I’m hoping Rangel being from Mexico will use it as an advantage in this afternoon’s game. Or will it be for the players as the Wicked Witch of the West cried, “I’m melting!”.

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132. I am laughing my ? Off. Just went to bank ay Broad Hartraft. Came out people are parking on 19th and 20 and hartraft which is about 10 blocks from stadium

     they spend 25 for a can of warm beer , 18 on a hotdog. But won’t paid to park.rather take a heat stroke. If you park at my old church it’s 25 00 and a black from stadium

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     1. Hah…we use to go to Popi’s for lunch or dinner….and walk from there, which is a distance for sure…they lets us leave the car in their lot…..but would not do that on days like today.

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     2. Those who sat in the sun yesterday for 9 innings flat roasted, I felt for them here in Indiana where it was only 94.

        Rocco how close do you live to CBP? I would go a lot if I lived close. I think I am like 800 miles give or take a few one way or the other.

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133. Alan Rangel has looked decent every chance hes gotten in the majors…why does he tend to get lit up in AAA lol. He kind of seems like a good guy to have on the team who can come in and eat up 2-3 innings in either a blowout or even a game that is still somewhat close. Hell never be a high leverage guy but if this is what he is, theres value there

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134. Got to fix bullpen.

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     1. rocco….team scores 10 runs one nite, next game they get a whopping one. Bullpen is an issue…..but offense consistency also needs to be addressed as a concern.

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        1. Romus. I disagree. BP and 4th and 5th starters are the issue. Lineup is what it is. It is not going to change. There will be great offensive games. There will be average offensive games. There will be clunkers like yesterday. That is what happens in baseball.

           But the BP being bad basically every day is for me the most urgent issue and listening to Jim yesterday may not be able to be addressed with current payroll situation.

           I shared an idea with Ruff yesterday but that seems to have already gone out the door. My suggestion was to take Nola, Rangel and Painter and try to figure out a way to get at least 5 preferably 6 innings on the 2 days the 4th and 5th start. If Phillies got 5 those 2 starts that is less than 4 innings per guy. It might work. They have to figure out something. Ruff liked my thought.

           BTW Phillies are now 40-20 since Hoosier Donnie took over. I would take that over the next 60 games right now. Hoosier/Buckeye Kyle must continue to hit moon shots as well. One major thing this team must avoid key guys getting injured. That is a must.

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135. Can’t decide if slow drip death by bullpen or immediate execution by Nola 5th inning is worse

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136. Apparently Zach Wheeler and Hoosier Don did not see eye to eye on his removal last night. Wheels wanted to stay a little longer. Don M. may have remembered Nola’s staying a little longer from his previous start and did not want a repeat. Who knows.

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     1. Romus. The next 2 guys getting HBP by Backus on 2 pitches probably made it simmer more.

        How did the BP do Thursday. Believe something like 5 innings, 6 runs and around 11 hits. Not even counting the walks.

        Pirates believe it was 0 runs, 5 innings, and 1 power hit.

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137. Felix Reyes with a moonshot for his 19th HR. 445 Feet, 110 MPH,

     https://x.com/FuturePhils/status/2072866498821964182

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138. Romus Thinking Seattle has two players I would target. Miller, bazardo. Wonder what they would want, Two prospect for each or more. Would Nori and Cabrera get Bazardo?

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     1. rocco…..Bazardo may not cost that much….do not think they will trade Miller.

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        1. Romus when you get time. Can you tell me about this kid To ar.at Dsl phillies?

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139. Another bullpen option is Levi Stoudt. His numbers in 22 innings in Reading and Lehigh Valley look great — ERA of 0.79 and WHIP of 0.794. Per Statcast, this year his fastball is 94-98, so pretty normal for a right-handed reliever, slider 88-90, and sweeper 82-86.

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140. Marquez 5 inn. 1 ER. 1BB. 9 Ks

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141. Heredia 2-3 2 dbl… .283

     Bineles 2-3 HR #16 .290

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142. I looked at Marquez stats. What was amazing 6 players in Jersey shore lineup are hitting under 190. Now that is a great offense

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143. If Felix Reyes is blocked by Harper, why are the Pigs playing him at first base? Must be he’ll be on the move come the trade deadline.

     Keller’s first game back at LHV on rehab he gave up 2 ERs and 2 hits in one inning. Think it’s twenty two mill down the drain??

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144. A new discussion can be found at https://phuturephillies.com/2026/07/04/phillies-discussion-7-3-2026/

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