2026 Phillies Thread
- Thread starter RyanSnyder
- Start date
Spring Training Wrap-
As we put a bow on Spring Training 2026, random thoughts-
Given the WBC, there were so many moving pieces that it’s hard to really get a read. There are so many “if’s” this year.
What can go right? The offense adopts most of what K Long has preached. They worked with Adolis to lower his hands and bat angle and he hit the ball hard this past week. It’s up to KL and Garcia to keep at this; if he does, he will be a big contributor. I think Day Care is the key to where this team goes this year. Bohm and Stott were both solid the whole spring. I hope Bohm just goes out and plays. How he handles playing in a walk year is critical to this team. I think Stott puts together a year like his second half and makes the AS team. I would love to see Marsh make Topper play him full time by hitting LHP well enough. I’m not crazy with the Marsh/Kemp platoon. Right now, Sosa figures to play 2B against some LHP. I think Crawford will be fine and hope he just takes his time adjusting to the bigs. There will be be ups and downs, but he has shown flashes of being a good player.
My biggest concern is the rotation which is crazy to say. They have to play through April before Wheeler rejoins the staff. There are tons of questions behind Sanchez and Zeus. What version of Wheeler returns? Nola was more encouraging from the limited time I saw him. His velocity was better and he hit the corners consistently. I think he’s between vintage Nolan and what you saw last year. If Zach is back, Nola becomes a really good 4. I’m still searching for what Painter is. I know they adjusted his arm angle a bit since his fastball was too flat. He didn’t command his 4 seam too well which was a concern. He needs to work off the fastball and too many 4 seamers were not competitive pitches. Walker is good insurance and will be needed early. I think the pen should be improved. You’ve got 3 from the right side and Alvarado and Banks from the left side. Alvarado is a proud man and wants to make up for hurting them last year. I think he’s going to have a big year as the lefty hammer.
What can go wrong? Just reverse the what can go right. They clearly have a lot more questions in year 5 of this window. Bryce needs to stay in the zone and he’s very aware of this. I think Topper eventually puts Schwarber 3rd in the lineup to help Bryce stay in the zone more. I think they need Schwarber to get 40+ and Bryce to get 35 to be formidable.
This group is very aware of where they are in their window. There is a lot of pressure on them to get it done but also a lot of focus. Can they get the trophy back? Absolutely. Can this go south? Yes, but I’d bet on the upside over going south.
I will say 91-71 and if Zach is good by the end of the year, they will be a tough out with Zach, Sanchez, and Luzardo in October. They are not afraid of the Dodgers and a 7 game NLCS against LA would be epic.
If you made it down, hope you enjoyed yourselves. Let’s get it going.
As we put a bow on Spring Training 2026, random thoughts-
Given the WBC, there were so many moving pieces that it’s hard to really get a read. There are so many “if’s” this year.
What can go right? The offense adopts most of what K Long has preached. They worked with Adolis to lower his hands and bat angle and he hit the ball hard this past week. It’s up to KL and Garcia to keep at this; if he does, he will be a big contributor. I think Day Care is the key to where this team goes this year. Bohm and Stott were both solid the whole spring. I hope Bohm just goes out and plays. How he handles playing in a walk year is critical to this team. I think Stott puts together a year like his second half and makes the AS team. I would love to see Marsh make Topper play him full time by hitting LHP well enough. I’m not crazy with the Marsh/Kemp platoon. Right now, Sosa figures to play 2B against some LHP. I think Crawford will be fine and hope he just takes his time adjusting to the bigs. There will be be ups and downs, but he has shown flashes of being a good player.
My biggest concern is the rotation which is crazy to say. They have to play through April before Wheeler rejoins the staff. There are tons of questions behind Sanchez and Zeus. What version of Wheeler returns? Nola was more encouraging from the limited time I saw him. His velocity was better and he hit the corners consistently. I think he’s between vintage Nolan and what you saw last year. If Zach is back, Nola becomes a really good 4. I’m still searching for what Painter is. I know they adjusted his arm angle a bit since his fastball was too flat. He didn’t command his 4 seam too well which was a concern. He needs to work off the fastball and too many 4 seamers were not competitive pitches. Walker is good insurance and will be needed early. I think the pen should be improved. You’ve got 3 from the right side and Alvarado and Banks from the left side. Alvarado is a proud man and wants to make up for hurting them last year. I think he’s going to have a big year as the lefty hammer.
What can go wrong? Just reverse the what can go right. They clearly have a lot more questions in year 5 of this window. Bryce needs to stay in the zone and he’s very aware of this. I think Topper eventually puts Schwarber 3rd in the lineup to help Bryce stay in the zone more. I think they need Schwarber to get 40+ and Bryce to get 35 to be formidable.
This group is very aware of where they are in their window. There is a lot of pressure on them to get it done but also a lot of focus. Can they get the trophy back? Absolutely. Can this go south? Yes, but I’d bet on the upside over going south.
I will say 91-71 and if Zach is good by the end of the year, they will be a tough out with Zach, Sanchez, and Luzardo in October. They are not afraid of the Dodgers and a 7 game NLCS against LA would be epic.
If you made it down, hope you enjoyed yourselves. Let’s get it going.
A couple of additional randoms-
1- I am intrigued by Nori. My friend goes to the Arizona Fall League every year and he was sending me notes about him. He’s more stout than I imagined considering how fast he is. He can flat out fly. Where he figures in down the road in a couple years will be interesting to see.
2- No shocker but the man child for the Pirates just leaps out to you. When you see Griffin, you can’t believe his age. There are very few kids who make this impression. I think the last kid I saw that just jumped out like this the first time was Vladdy Jr. You immediately think superstar when you see them. Our friends in Western PA will have a fun summer. The Pirates will be VERY interesting and if they get in, they have the #1 hammer and enough arms behind him to make it really interesting. I think they get in.
3- The Phillies farm system is very thin. Their next couple drafts are critical. There is not much in the way of high end potential.
1- I am intrigued by Nori. My friend goes to the Arizona Fall League every year and he was sending me notes about him. He’s more stout than I imagined considering how fast he is. He can flat out fly. Where he figures in down the road in a couple years will be interesting to see.
2- No shocker but the man child for the Pirates just leaps out to you. When you see Griffin, you can’t believe his age. There are very few kids who make this impression. I think the last kid I saw that just jumped out like this the first time was Vladdy Jr. You immediately think superstar when you see them. Our friends in Western PA will have a fun summer. The Pirates will be VERY interesting and if they get in, they have the #1 hammer and enough arms behind him to make it really interesting. I think they get in.
3- The Phillies farm system is very thin. Their next couple drafts are critical. There is not much in the way of high end potential.
@MrTailgate -- your comments on the farm system are rather distressing, though along the lines of what I thought was the case.
I'm curious about the 2025 draft picks. The 1st five were pitchers, and from college, which can lead to short timeframes before the bigs. What (if any) were your impressions this spring for the following from the 2025 draft:
1. Gage Wood (RHP)
2. Cade Obermueller (LHP)
3. Cody Bowker (RHP)
4. Sean Youngerman (RHP)
5. Gabe Craig (RHP)
I'm curious about the 2025 draft picks. The 1st five were pitchers, and from college, which can lead to short timeframes before the bigs. What (if any) were your impressions this spring for the following from the 2025 draft:
1. Gage Wood (RHP)
2. Cade Obermueller (LHP)
3. Cody Bowker (RHP)
4. Sean Youngerman (RHP)
5. Gabe Craig (RHP)
Hard to say given the small sample size. Obviously, everyone who attended the breakout game on Saturday was focused on Wood. There was a lot of chatter that he could be like Kerkering and rocket through the system and maybe make the big club at some point this season.
Just watching him solely on Saturday, I’d be SHOCKED and disappointed if the plans are to get him to the bigs this year. He threw it around a bit on Saturday and I think walked 2 and struck out 2 the first inning if memory is correct. He’s got a big arm and sat 96/97 on his fastball but everyone seems to throw that now. Just on first impression, I think he needs a lot more of development on secondary pitches. Nobody survives on just throwing gas at the bigs as a starter. He seems to feature fastball and curve and maybe he threw a slider once too (I think) but I think he’d really benefit from adding a change if they see him as a starter (which I think he will be). I’ll watch him more at Clearwater before I head North. I personally don’t see him close to being ready at the big league level but maybe I’m being harsh. Obermueller and Bowker had clean innings but I think that was the only time I saw them pitch and can’t say much.
Reyes got a lot of playing time and hit pretty well but I was disappointed that Miller and Rincones Jr had no playing time. Escobar played only a little which surprised me given his rating in the system. My comments on their system focused more on the offensive players; they didn’t impress me.
I will get over to at least a couple games in April for the Threshers before I get back.