2026 Phillies Thread
- Thread starter RyanSnyder
- Start date
You hope for the best with Painter, but wonder how effective he’ll be if they put him in the rotation to start the season.
It was similar to the past moments of Stott and Harper. You could feel the crowd lifting him up and you knew he was gonna hit one there.
They must really think highly of Luzardo for that kind of commitment. I don’t think he’s worth so much more than Sanchez. Interesting clubhouse dynamics now with Sanchez and Harper.
He's appealing and can play pending the final decision.
Random thoughts as we hit the half way point-
The Good -
1- Stott has been exceptional. A lot of chatter about him changing his stance (all spread no stride only with 2 strikes) and focus on hitting to the whole field. Stott said that he focused too much on hitting the other way and let too many hittable pitches pass by. I think they should seriously consider Stott in the 5 hole. Bohm has looked great hitting to all fields and has made solid contact consistently. I think both of these guys could be All Star players this year.
2- Painter and Nola have been effective but I still have some questions about them both. Painter has not produced a lot of swing and miss which is interesting and Nola gave up a number of tracers the last start out against guys who will not make the Jays roster. I’m cautiously optimistic that they are executing their programs. Luzardo has looked tremendous and I saw him throw a live BP on the main field before the games started where he dominated. Marsh was part of the hitting rotation in the BP and when asked how you hit a guy when he is executing like Luzardo was, Marsh said you don’t hit it.
3- So far so good with Crawford. The best thing is that Crawford is 100% focused on getting better. He does not handle himself like a rookie, you can just sense that he will do everything to get better. I keep thinking about how Bowa must feel about him. Bowa says he will keep doing it until he feels the players don’t listen to his messages. He doesn’t have to worry about that with Crawford. Just let him go out and play. I think he could be very good.
The Bad-
1- I thought the JT signing was bad optics in that they signed him immediately after Bichette pulled the rug out. I expect a decline each year but his throwing has been a bit alarming so far. He’s air mailed some throws and hasn’t looked like typical JT. Worth watching how he starts out of the gate.
2- I don’t know enough about Garcia but the thought was that Kevin Long could get a rebound year. So far I haven’t seen a guy that will produce what they want. Too small a sample size so far but he’s not produced much so far.
3- Most alarming point of camp for me so far is Aiden Miller. His back problems were not recent as he had back issues at the end of last year. Initially it was a one week setback which has turned into the entire spring. I’ve heard he will likely stay behind in Clearwater on an extended spring. Very alarming.
I’ll post again after the Spring season is complete.
The Good -
1- Stott has been exceptional. A lot of chatter about him changing his stance (all spread no stride only with 2 strikes) and focus on hitting to the whole field. Stott said that he focused too much on hitting the other way and let too many hittable pitches pass by. I think they should seriously consider Stott in the 5 hole. Bohm has looked great hitting to all fields and has made solid contact consistently. I think both of these guys could be All Star players this year.
2- Painter and Nola have been effective but I still have some questions about them both. Painter has not produced a lot of swing and miss which is interesting and Nola gave up a number of tracers the last start out against guys who will not make the Jays roster. I’m cautiously optimistic that they are executing their programs. Luzardo has looked tremendous and I saw him throw a live BP on the main field before the games started where he dominated. Marsh was part of the hitting rotation in the BP and when asked how you hit a guy when he is executing like Luzardo was, Marsh said you don’t hit it.
3- So far so good with Crawford. The best thing is that Crawford is 100% focused on getting better. He does not handle himself like a rookie, you can just sense that he will do everything to get better. I keep thinking about how Bowa must feel about him. Bowa says he will keep doing it until he feels the players don’t listen to his messages. He doesn’t have to worry about that with Crawford. Just let him go out and play. I think he could be very good.
The Bad-
1- I thought the JT signing was bad optics in that they signed him immediately after Bichette pulled the rug out. I expect a decline each year but his throwing has been a bit alarming so far. He’s air mailed some throws and hasn’t looked like typical JT. Worth watching how he starts out of the gate.
2- I don’t know enough about Garcia but the thought was that Kevin Long could get a rebound year. So far I haven’t seen a guy that will produce what they want. Too small a sample size so far but he’s not produced much so far.
3- Most alarming point of camp for me so far is Aiden Miller. His back problems were not recent as he had back issues at the end of last year. Initially it was a one week setback which has turned into the entire spring. I’ve heard he will likely stay behind in Clearwater on an extended spring. Very alarming.
I’ll post again after the Spring season is complete.
Great insight as usual, @MrTailgate ! Thanks for sharing.