5 Reasons Phillies Fans Should Be Optimistic Heading into Spring Training

Spring training has been underway for the Philadelphia Phillies for just over a week and already things have been exciting. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins still believes the Phillies can win the NL East. Chase Utley will play in his first spring training games since 2010. And Cole Hamels will likely be the Phillies’ Opening Day starter (per CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury).

Even though division rivals such as the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves made significant upgrades to their respective rosters, the Phillies certainly didn’t stand pat over the offseason. They spent wisely and found more creative ways to fill holes via trades as opposed to lucrative free-agent signings. Not all of their moves were flashy, but the Phillies still have the roster to compete with the other guys.

For a number of reasons, Phillies fans should be ecstatic and optimistic about the team’s chances as spring training continues and games start tomorrow. Here are five reasons why that’s the case.

Begin Slideshow

Ben Revere Now the Center of Attention for Philadelphia Phillies

Ben Revere’s energy and enthusiasm has sparkled since the day the Phillies traded for their new center fielder back in December.

His Twitter account soon became a hit amongst fans, gaining a whole set of new followers from Philadelphia. He always seems to have an opinion about something.

Some are already saying that the addition of Revere makes it feel like the high-speed and exuberant personality of Shane Victorino never really left.

That may be true, but Phillies fans will soon see that on the field, the story will be a lot different.

After the trade of Victorino last July, the Phillies knew they would need a replacement for 2013.

The rest of 2012 saw John Mayberry, Jr. playing a lot in center, which the team knew wouldn’t be a viable option moving forward.

Enter Revere.

The Phillies acquired Revere on December 6, dealing pitchers Vance Worley and Trevor May to Minnesota to get their new center fielder.

If Revere feels like a third or fourth option, it’s because he probably was.

The Phillies were certainly interested in B.J. Upton, who ended up in Atlanta. They were interested in Angel Pagan, who ended up staying in the bay as a San Francisco Giant.  Michael Bourn waited the entire off-season out before signing with Cleveland.

 

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. knew he had to concoct a trade by some point in November.

Some will say the Phillies overpaid to get Revere.

Worley was a valuable option in the Phillies’ rotation, but he probably would have been a tad costly with regards to arbitration numbers coming up over the next few years. May was a highly touted prospect that flamed out in 2012 but still has some promise.

The general consensus seems to be that the Phillies might have overpaid a bit, but that the price was the going rate for a young center fielder, one that will be under team control through the 2017 season.

So what exactly can the Phillies expect from Revere?

Well, for starters, he won’t be a home-run hitter like Victorino was. In fact, Revere has yet to hit a homer in 989 career at-bats.

That said, the Phillies are not paying Revere to hit homers.

They’re paying him to be an above-average defensive player (something they couldn’t get with anybody on the roster before), a high-contact hitter and a base stealer.

 

Revere finished 2012 with a .294 average, .333 on-base percentage and a .342 slugging percentage. What jumps out there is the high-average and low on-base combination. Revere does not walk often, clocking in at 5.2 percent of the time, among the bottom of the barrel for qualified outfielders last year. On the flip side, Revere’s strikeout rate was fourth best amongst qualified outfielders. When Revere swings the bat, he makes contact 92.6 percent of the time, which was third highest amongst all players in 2012.

 

This was not a fluke, as he posted a very similar number in 2011.

When the Phillies acquired Revere, the debate obviously began about whether or not he would be the team’s leadoff hitter.

For now, that does not appear to be an option.

Jimmy Rollins is firmly cemented as the team’s leadoff man. Rollins saw 3.72 pitches per plate appearance last year, while Revere saw 3.61. Neither is really a heart-stopping number for a leadoff hitter, but Rollins has been there for pretty much all of his career, and a change does not seem to be coming any time soon.

What Revere also brings to the Phillies is youth.

That should not be a lost factor here.

Revere will turn 25 in May, and on a team with an aging core, that will help, since the Phillies are low on MLB-ready position prospects. Tommy Joseph and Roman Quinn come to mind, but neither would is likely to crack the starting lineup until 2015. The acquisition of Revere gives the Phillies a young guy that they can count on.

The Phillies may have added the younger version of a guy who was on their roster last year: Juan Pierre.

The similarities are evident.

Revere’s last two years (his age 23 and 24 seasons), he hit .281/.322/.327 and averaged 37 steals. Pierre had stronger on-base numbers and a bit more power, hitting .307/.358/.377 from 2001-2003, while averaging 53 steals. That said, it’s an easy (and maybe somewhat lazy) comparison. Revere, like Pierre in his prime, is a fast outfielder that can cover a lot of ground, steal bases and hit the ball without striking out a lot.

 

 

Revere has played all three outfield spots but will undoubtedly play in center for the Phillies. He doesn’t have a rocket arm and sometimes takes a bad route to a ball here and there, but he should be competent enough to man the position. His UZR/150 last year in center was -2.1, but he rated very well in center in 2011 when he played a larger set of games there, with a 15.1 number.

Maybe the most interesting aspect of the trade is that Revere posted a 3.4 WAR last year, while B.J. Upton, the man the Braves have given $75.25 million to, had a 3.3 WAR last year in Tampa Bay.

The Phillies were certainly very happy to deal from a position of strength (pitching) to get something they desperately needed (a young, controllable outfielder).

Now it’s time to see if Ben will become a revered figure in Philadelphia.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Phillies Rewarding Their Homegrown Ace with Likely Opening Day Start

Of the Philadelphia Phillies‘ decorated “Big Three” starting pitchers, just one has accomplished the ultimate baseball goal of leading his team to a World Series title. His name is Cole Hamels.

Now, it seems the Phillies will finally reward their only homegrown ace with a long-deserved Opening Day start in 2013. 

Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee announced Wednesday that Hamels would start Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Houston Astros—a sign that the Phillies also plan to align their starting rotation so that Hamels is the starter on Opening Day in Atlanta, according to CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury.

If that is the case, Hamels, 29, will make his first career Opening Day start April 1 against the rival Atlanta Braves after signing a six-year, $144 million contract extension to remain a member of the Phillies’ starting rotation last July. 

For a lot of fans, the general opinion about this news seems to be something along the lines of, “It’s about time.” 

Hamels made his MLB debut as a 22-year-old phenom back in 2006 after the Phillies drafted him in the first round (17th overall pick) of the 2002 draft. Over the seven seasons that would follow, Hamels would blossom into one of the league’s elite left-handed starting pitchers. 

The lefty has dazzled spectators and confused hitters with an excellent changeup and a pair of fastballs that he can run at or away from hitters of either handedness. The 2012 season, as a result, was arguably the best of his career as he posted a record of 17-6 and a 3.05 ERA.

But anyone who has ever had even a small taste of Philly sports knows that it’s the 2008 season that will leave a lasting mark on Hamels’ legacy. In that year he did what fellow rotation members Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee have been unable to do—capture a World Series title. 

And he was excellent in the process, earning the honors of National League Championship Series MVP and World Series MVP in a postseason that saw him go 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA. 

Hamels is moving into the prime of his career following one of his greatest statistical seasons on record, but following the contract extension and a few years of studying under guys like Halladay, Lee and Jamie Moyer—veterans who have helped him develop into more of a leader—the time is right for Hamels to take over the reins. 

The fact of the matter here is that the future is now for this Phillies’ rotation. Halladay is 35 years old and will turn 36 in May. Lee is 34 and will turn 35 in August. When you consider that the youngest member of this starting rotation is a 28-year-old John Lannan, it isn’t hard to come to the realization that there are no spring chickens here. 

In the long run, however, an Opening Day start may be nothing more than a nice topic to bring up during a conversation when you’re old and retired and reminiscing about your glory days. Hell, Lannan was once the Opening Day starter for the Washington Nationals. 

But Hamels’ Opening Day start is more symbolic. He’ll lead names like Halladay and Lee into a regular-season, uphill battle against younger teams like the Braves and Nationals. This is the moment when Hamels stops being the student and becomes the teacher. 

This is what the Phillies envisioned for Hamels on draft day back in 2002. Sure, they may not have known that he would eventually sign the most lucrative deal for a starting pitcher in franchise history or get the nod over a pair of former Cy Young Award winners—those things are impossible to predict on day one. 

But for Hamels to make his first of what should be many Opening Day starts as one of the most respected Phillies starting pitchers of all time? That was all according to plan. 

Note: The Phillies have not officially announced Hamels as the Opening Day starter. By setting their rotation in this manner for spring training, the Phillies are strongly indicating that Hamels will be the Opening Day starter.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Odds of Every Notable Phillies Prospect in Camp Making the Roster

When you’re a prospect, cracking your club’s Opening Day roster out of spring training is no simple task. 

Nowadays, clubs aren’t concerned about the here and now with prospects; they’re concerned about the future. Rushing a prospect to MLB could stunt his development and hurt the team in the long-run, and there is a lot on the line for prospects in this day and age. 

But not every prospect follows the rules. The perfect storm of development and circumstance could certainly lead to a player reaching the major leagues before he is supposed to and the Philadelphia Phillies will have a number of players in camp trying to do just that. 

Being realistic, this isn’t an going to be an easy spring for most Phillies prospects. This is an older club with very few openings available. For most of these guys, making the club means that they’ll have done something spectacular in the spring. 

The possibility exists for some of them to make the club, however, and that is the point of this slideshow. We’ll break down the odds of making the Opening Day roster for every prospect in camp with the Phillies this spring, based on a scale of one to 100 percent.

Begin Slideshow

Philadelphia Phillies: Chase Utley, Team Finally Healthy

Apparently Chase Utley feels “pretty damn good right now.” Unfortunately, many Phillies fans feel as if the club is a sitting duck primed to be overwhelmed by the rising tide of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals.

In all fairness, Utley was referring to his overall health. It’s no secret that Utley has been dealing with lingering hip and knee issues over the last several years. The 34-year-old second baseman is likely to enter this season the healthiest he has been since 2010. 

In all honesty, I have been back and forth on the idea of the sky falling in Philadelphia. While anyone with an IQ larger than a cheesesteak can see, the Phillies are no longer the cream of the crop in the National League. They are in a state of flux, awash with aging veterans who are more prone than ever to injuries.

To put it nicely, the talent pool beneath the Big Show is shallow. Baseball America just released its Top 100 Prospects list for 2013. Guess what? Only two Phillies make the list—No. 89 LHP Jessie Biddle and No. 100 SS Roman Quinn. 

Talk about taking one on the chin. The gurus at Baseball America found it evident that they could find 88 better prospects elsewhere than in Philadelphia.

Still, I still feel pretty good about the Phillies this spring.

The team is apparently at full health for the start of the season, something they missed out on last year when they tiptoed into last season relying on Ty Wigginton, Laynce Nix and Juan Pierre.

While first baseman Ryan Howard will always struggle against left-handed pitching, the ability to hit 30-plus home runs is still there. Count on him to add another 100 or more RBI in this full season as well.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins proved last year that he is not on his last leg either. Statistically, Rollins had his best year at age 33 since he won the NL MVP in 2007. No one can count on him repeating last year’s numbers but anything close will help in adverting disaster early on.

Utley is who he is. We can only hope for a full season of strength and health at second base for the Phillies. If that happens, Utley can rebound in his contract year.

At his age, he is playing for reputable longevity at a position that has not been kind to 30-somethings in recent years.

Believing that Michael Young can shore up the third-base position is hazardous. Let’s be honest, he is just keeping the seat warm for Cody Asche.

The outfield is a major question mark though. While no one hopes to see anyone get injured, Delmon Young beginning the season on the disabled list could be more of a gift than a curse.

Why—because we should finally get an extended look at both Darin Ruf and Domonic Brown.

The rotation and bullpen remain the strong suits of this organization. While it makes sense to see a further decrease in the overall production of Roy Halladay, he can still be a successful top-of-the-rotation pitcher if he adjusts his pitching to account for a decline in velocity. 

Ultimately, only a homer oblivious to the challenges the Phillies must overcome would predict an NL East title for Philadelphia in 2013. Washington and Atlanta are two young and extremely talented clubs standing in the way of this aging lineup and rotation. 

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: Top 7 Storylines to Watch for at Start of Spring Training

As the weather warms in Philadelphia signaling the ever impending start of spring, the city’s baseball team has already taken to the field hurriedly preparing for the season’s first spring training game. There is excitement and anxious anticipation of course, but also a fair bit of nervousness and uncertainty.

Entering the spring of 2013, the Phillies have a lot of questions that need to be answered and a fair amount of positions that need to be filled. Injuries, which loomed large last season, are once again going to be under the microscope and young rookies will get a chance to make a impression and perhaps even earn a role on the Opening Day roster that in the past may not have existed.

It will be a spring training of storylines.

Who will make up the starting outfield?

How will Utley’s knees survive a full season?

Who will back up Kratz during Ruiz’s suspension?

How does the rotation fill out?

Among others, these are some of the questions that the Phillies hope they will be able to answer based on spring performances. They also provide some of the most intriguing spring storylines to follow.

Unlike in the past, this year’s spring training will really decide quite a bit about the outlook for 2013. It will also give fans an idea of who will be taking the field and what they will be bringing. Ultimately, the goal is still to win another World Series and it is fair to say that what happens this spring might give an idea of if this goal is realistic.

Here are the top seven storylines you are sure to want to keep your eye on this spring. 

 

Follow @MGallagher17

Begin Slideshow

Scouting the Highest-Upside Phillies Pitching Prospects at Spring Training

Pitching prospects will not decide the Philadelphia Phillies‘ fate in 2013.

If Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon do not perform as expected, the Phillies have virtually no chance to contend.

But the emergence of a young arm or three could mean the difference between just contending and a return to the playoffs.

Antonio Bastardo was a question mark coming into the 2011 season. He made 64 appearances, posted a gaudy 6-1 record with a WHIP under one and an ERA of 2.54. Bastardo‘s performance was a huge factor in the Phillies’ fifth consecutive National League East crown that year.

So while you have likely heard of the following pitchers, none is as of yet an established member of the Phillies’ staff for 2013.

By the season’s end, though, any one of them might become a key contributor.

As indicated above, the first three slots in the starting rotation are locked down, and Kyle Kendrick would basically have to implode in Clearwater, Fla. not to be the fourth starter. The fifth spot in the rotation, though, is an open position.

Pressed into service due to Cole Hamels’ sudden illness last season, Tyler Cloyd ended up making six starts, winning twice and losing twice.

Cloyd‘s sample size at the major league level is thus limited, but the 30 strikeouts against just seven walks were certainly encouraging.

Cloyd and former Washington National John Lannan are likely to battle for the fifth spot in the rotation and may end up sharing it in 2013.

As per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, there is just not much room for young players in the Phillies’ bullpen. 

“Papelbon, Mike Adams, Antonio Bastardo and Chad Durbin are locks, which leaves a good group of talented pitchers fighting for three spots,” Zolecki correctly noted.

Zolecki‘s piece profiles Jake Diekman, who is definitely one to watch in camp. 

Diekman combined two very good months with two bad months, leading to pedestrian numbers for 2012.

Here were Diekman‘s earned run averages per month for May, June, July and September (he did not pitch in August): 5.68, 2.08, 7.11, 1.80.

Diekman will need to show the Phillies much more consistency to make the team out of spring training given the addition of Adams and the presumed health of Bastardo.

Another young left-handed reliever worth a look is Jeremy Horst.

Horst’s 2012 was a revelation for the Phillies, who can use all the good left-handed relief pitching they can find.

Horst’s numbers in 2012 were high-quality, though the sample size was limited. In 31.1 innings, Horst struck out 40 batters. His earned run average (1.15) and walks and hits per innings pitched (1.12) were outstanding.

From the right side, the relief pitcher who most bears monitoring is Philippe Aumont.

Aumont made 18 appearances for the Phillies in 2012, even saving two games along the way. His 3.68 earned run average and his 1.295 walks and hits per innings pitched were reasonably competent.

Unfortunately, Aumont also walked nine batters in his 14.2 innings, muting some of the effect of his 14 strikeouts in that same amount of work.

Again, the Phillies’ chances to return to the playoffs hinge in the main on the performances of Hamels, Lee, Halladay and Papelbon. Those four pitchers will earn over $77 million in 2013.

But some cheap, young help would be welcomed enthusiastically.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: Hope Springs Eternal in Face of Heavy Odds Against Phils

Eighty-one and a half.

That is the over/under win projection by the Atlantis Casino Resort sports book for the 2013 Philadelphia Phillies, per yardbarker.com.

With the Phillies in Clearwater, and Opening Day more than a month away, optimism for a bounce-back season from the Phillies after an 81-81 disappointment in 2012 is rampant.

Over here is Ryan Howard admonishing the media and the fans to stop dwelling on the imminently-shutting window of opportunity for his team. 

“For us, the window closes when the window closes, but right now the window is still open, so we have to go out and take advantage of this nice breeze while we can,” breezed Howard last week, per csnphilly.com.

Next we hear Chase Utley doing his “expletives for emphasis” thing (recalling his f-bomb-laden address to the assembled fans at the 2008 World Series parade.)

“I feel pretty damn good right now,” Utley said last week, as though simply saying that his knees are OK would not convince you (per nbcsports.com).

Then we have Roy Halladay, whose 11-8 record in 2012 masked an earned run average that was just shy of 4.5 runs per nine innings.

Halladay is so bullish on his health and his team’s fortunes that he wants to pitch 320 innings if that is what it takes to get the Phillies back to the top of the mountain, per the Philadelphia Daily News.

Much was made last season of how any team would struggle without healthy, effective play from its three- and four-hole hitters in the lineup and without its ace. Without Utley, Howard and Halladay, that is essentially what the Phillies were.

All three of them are back and if you listen to them talk, they are all healthy. Further, the Phillies’ 13 blown eighth-inning leads (per the New York Times) should be a problem left behind following the acquisitions of Mike Adams and Chad Durbin. Those two figure to do a better job of getting the ball to Jonathan Papelbon than did, say, Joe Savery.

And yet, despite all of the foregoing, at least one sports book has set the Phillies’ over/under win total at 81.5.

One-half game better than they had in an injury-plagued, severely-underachieving 2012 season.

Apparently, the sharps think Father Time is going to have yet another undefeated season, and that the Phillies will suffer as a result.

Only the aging core of the Phillies can say (and do) otherwise.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Roy Halladay Hoping to Return to Ace Form for Philadelphia Phillies in 2013

For the first two years in Philadelphia, Phillies fans grew to know Roy Halladay as nothing other than a perfectionist with a robot-like work ethic and steely determination that few pitchers in Major League history have possessed. Suffice to say, 2012 was a lot different for Halladay, who struggled through a season wrought with injuries and performance not up to the high standards Halladay has set for himself throughout his career.

Halladay and his fellow pitchers (and catchers) took to the field for the first time last week in Clearwater, Florida, with the rest of the squad joining this past weekend. It’s safe to say that Halladay expects 2013 to be a lot different than 2012. Yes, he will turn 36 in May, and yes, unless he goes on some sort of wild tear, the option in his contract will not vest and he will not be under contract for 2014, but those things don’t bother the right-hander.

Halladay was the first player to step to the microphone in camp last Wednesday, and he is committed to making this season a bit different.

Reports piled up last spring that Halladay’s velocity was down across the board and he just didn’t seem to have a feel for his pitches. Many didn’t want to believe the reports at first, but as the calendar flipped to May, it was obvious Halladay just did not have his best stuff. He had a 6.11 ERA in the month of May, while opponents hit .312 against him. Halladay went on the disabled list on May 29, with a strain in his lat muscle. He explained to reporters in Clearwater on Wednesday that he had trouble in his lower back heading into spring training last season, which may have led to him over-compensating and causing the injury to the latissimus dorsi, which is more of a shoulder injury than a back injury.

Medical reports aside, Halladay simply wasn’t himself. He finished the year with an 11-8 record and 4.49 ERA in 156.1 innings pitched, starting 25 games. I suppose a lot of No. 4 pitchers would be content with those numbers, but Halladay hasn’t been a backend-of-the-rotation starter in his career. His job is to be at the forefront of a Major League rotation.

The biggest sign that Halladay wasn’t himself (besides the velocity) was his control. His 2.1 BB/9 ratio didn’t match his 1.3 number from the year before, or the 1.1 number he posted in 2010. His walk rate had not been that high since 2004. He also wasn’t able to finish off hitters the way he had in the past. In 0-2 counts, opponents had a .586 OPS against Halladay. While that number doesn’t exactly jump out at you, you’d have to understand that opponents had just a .277 OPS against him in 0-2 counts in 2011. In other words, get down against Halladay in 2011, and you didn’t have a chance. Last year, you at least had a chance.

So, what about that velocity? According to Fangraphs, Halladay’s fastball averaged 90.6 MPH last year, after being at 92 MPH in 2011 and 92.6 in 2010. Last spring, Halladay was hovering around 89-90 MPH in Grapefruit League action. Suffice to say, many will be watching closely to see if Halladay can ramp it up once game action starts. If he has trouble, the questions will start to come, and if the answers are hazy, it won’t be the pain-free spring training Phillies coaches and management desire.

Close watchers of Halladay will also be watching his groundball/flyball rate. Last season, 44.7 percent of balls in play were grounders, a number that Halladay can’t repeat and expect to find success. For his career, his average is at 54.4 percent. While Citizens Bank Park isn’t exactly the bandbox everyone thinks it is (the numbers have changed significantly since the team moved the fences back), it’s still not Petco Park or Safeco Field. (Coincidentally, those parks have been moving some fences this off-season, so maybe we’re just going to see more offense across the board in 2013.)

Off the field, there’s plenty to be thinking about in regards to Halladay as well. He is in the final year of his three-year, $60-million extension he signed prior to the 2010 campaign. He would need 259 regular season innings to hit the vesting option, which just doesn’t seem likely, although 259 innings in the regular season and playoffs would be a nice number, because it would probably mean the Phillies made it deep into the postseason.

That’s where Halladay wants to be.

He’s made it clear that he doesn’t want to go anywhere. He would prefer to retire as a Phillie. That said, this season will be the ultimate wait-and-see approach, in regards to Halladay’s future. Any sort of talk, contractually, likely won’t come up until after the season, but Halladay’s fine with that.

On the field, he is trying to return to his old form. He wants to be the centerpiece of the Phillies rotation once more. The goal for Halladay now is to have a collective amnesia about last season. Even if he does return to his previous form, the Phillies need a lot of things to go right to make the playoffs. That said, they know full well they aren’t going very far without a healthy version of their workhorse right-hander.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

One Weakness of Each Phillies Player to Watch out for This Spring

Throughout this spring, you will hear folks tell you that results don’t matter in spring training, and to a certain extent, that is very true. It’s a time of readiness and preparation and not elite competition between clubs at their best. 

For the Philadelphia Phillies, however, this is a unique spring, and results will matter on some levels. This is a club that needs to excel in health and physical conditioning. It’s a club that needs to be mentally strong, leaving the 2012 season where it belongs—in the past. 

This is a team with a lot of obvious weaknesses. They’re not getting any younger and will host one of the oldest infields in all of baseball this season. Will that be their undoing? How is the outfield situation going to shake out, where the experience dilemma is the exact opposite? 

Can the starting rotation stay healthy over a full season? How about the bullpen, and will they improve their success rate in 2013? 

And those are just some of the obvious concerns. Getting this club to move in the right direction is all about addressing weaknesses on a personal level. This slideshow will analyze each member of the projected 25-man roster and highlight the biggest weakness needing correction in 2013. 

Begin Slideshow

« Previous Page — Next Page »