15 Things to Watch in Phillies’ First Week of Spring Training Games

Baseball is back. 

It’s time to forget about the snow and blistering cold and make way for thoughts of spring training. A warm blast of sunshine hits you in the face, accompanied by the tranquilizing sounds of baseballs cracking bats, popping mitts and clearing fences. 

Spring training is here and as clubs begin to prepare for the Grapefruit League with various workouts, the thought finally dawns on you—we’re just about a week away from baseball. How in the world can I prepare in time? 

Don’t worry. We have you covered. 

It’s been a long offseason in particular for the Philadelphia Phillies, who finished the 2012 season with a disappointing third place finish. They’ve added some new pieces, however, and surely can’t wait to have the opportunity to erase one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history from recent memory.

It all begins with a week’s worth of spring training action, which for the sake of this article, we’ll classify as games spanning from February 23-March 2. With some of the early spring story lines in mind, watch closely as the Phillies prepare and compete against their early Grapefruit League foes. 

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Odds on Each Non-Roster Phillies Invitee Making the Team

Spring training isn’t a month to prepare for the upcoming season for everyone in camp. For some, it’s a fight to make the club. It’s a hard-fought battle to make sure that when the club heads north, their name is on the Opening Day roster. 

Players labeled as “non-roster invitees” are guys with something to prove. They have not been added to the 40-man roster. Their contracts are not guaranteed at the major league level. These are the players who have to play some of their best baseball coming right off of the offseason if they want to play in Major League Baseball when camp breaks. 

The Philadelphia Phillies will have quite a few non-roster players in camp this spring. They will be looking for the next Juan Pierre—a player that joined the Phillies on a minor league deal last spring to become one of their best performers that season.

With spring training officially underway, the Phillies have 20 non-roster players in camp this spring. In the following slideshow, we will break down each player’s chance to remain with the major league club once the regular season begins on a scale of zero to 100 percent. 

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Predictions for Phillies’ Opening-Day 25-Man Roster Entering Spring Training

Building a roster isn’t easy. 

Sure, some decisions are easier than others. You’ll take the All-Star over the career minor leaguer and not think twice about it. Players owed more guaranteed money often have a much better shot of making the team. 

Even after you make those simple decisions, however, they aren’t always the right ones. Building a club isn’t a linear thought process. Sometimes, the handsomely paid players are blocking a cheap, but productive player from making the roster.

Spring training gives clubs an opportunity to evaluate their team from head to toe. Some camps are more interesting than others, with the 2013 Philadelphia Phillies being a case in point. 

This Phillies club is one that has the potential to look quite different from what most people would expect of them come Opening Day. Two positions in the outfield are essentially up for grabs, and what happens there will define what the bench looks like. 

Much of the same could be said for the bullpen, where things seem black and white, but are actually much more gray. 

Here’s how the Phillies’ roster could look come Opening Day.

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What Phillies Fans Have to Look Forward to Most in Spring Training

Just when you thought that you couldn’t be excited by a large, corporate truck, one rolls out of Citizens Bank Park loaded with baseball equipment headed for Clearwater, Florida and all of the sudden you find yourself anxiously awaiting another round of Philadelphia Phillies spring training. 

Well hold on to your hats, folks. This spring is going to be a unique one for the Phillies, packed to the brim with big storylines, small nuances, players recovering from injury, guys with something to prove this season, position battles and anything else you can dream up. 

So what should you be looking forward to this spring? 

It’s almost easy to get lost in all of the spring happenings, but fear not. This slideshow will serve as a dandy guide to draw your attention to some of the biggest eye-catchers this spring. There is a lot to look forward to this spring. 

Blink and you may miss it.

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Ranking the Phillies’ 25 Best Series on the 2013 Schedule

The 2013 Major League Baseball season is going to be unlike any you’ve ever seen before. 

Sounds dramatic, but with the Houston Astros setting off on their voyage of the American League West, that’s a fact. With each league now housing a balanced number of teams, this season really will be unlike any of its predecessors, playing host to more interleague play than in years past. 

For the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans, however, that statement rings particularly true. Not only will they face more American League teams, highlighted by at least one bout against every team in the American League Central, but they’ll face other challenges closer to home. 

The National League East is only getting better. The Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves are two of the best teams in the National League. The Miami Marlins and New York Mets will have some young talent. 

The Phillies enter the 2013 season as a relative unknown. With an aging roster sprinkled with a few younger players, this could be a club that contends for a World Series, but it could also very well be a club “in transition.” 

But regardless of what happens, we’re looking forward to another season of baseball. Here are 25 of the best series the Phillies will play this upcoming season.

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Identifying Every Phillies’ Stock as Rising or Falling Heading into Spring Camp

With all but a few minor tweaks remaining, and not much spare room for even those minor adjustments, the Philadelphia Phillies are just about ready to make their annual journey to Clearwater, Fla to prepare for the upcoming season. 

It’s going to be a tough season for the Phillies. This is a club mired in question marks, playing in a division that is only getting better—and that’s with the Miami Marlins‘ fire sale this winter in mind. The Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals are two of the best teams in the National League. 

What does that mean for the Phillies? It’s time to take stock. This could very well be a “transition year” for the Phillies—one that sees them move some of their aging veterans in favor of younger players. It could also be one of the few “last shots” at a World Series ring. 

A lot of that evaluation begins in spring training, although it is a relatively small sample size. The Phillies will be taking stock of their players and we’ll be doing the same thing here. A player whose stock is rising is a player set to be more valuable this season, in a variety of manners that will vary from player to player, than he was in years past. A player whose stock is falling is a player who is set to be less valuable this season. 

Some players will be labeled as holding steady. These are players whose stock will either not improve or decline significantly. 

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25 Things to Watch Very Closely at the Phillies Spring Training Camp

It’s time to blow the dust off of that old microscope that you keep locked away in a cardboard box somewhere in your basement or attic—you’re going to need it to follow all of the Philadelphia Phillies storylines this spring. 

Gone are the days where the Phillies arrive in Clearwater, Fla. with a roster that is neatly filled in and camp is merely players taking the necessary repetitions to prepare for a full regular season. That would be a fantasy camp for Phillies players this spring. 

Instead, fate will stack the road with every obstacle that you can think up: Position battles, age, injuries, inconsistent performances, surprises, bad decision making, etc. With the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves only getting better, the Phillies are under more pressure this spring than in any other recent season. 

Still can’t find that microscope? Don’t worry about it. Allow this slideshow to be a primer for all of the nuances and storylines of Phillies spring training that you should be following when camp opens in just a few weeks.

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One Goal for Each Philadelphia Phillies Player in Spring Training

Thinking conservatively, the Philadelphia Phillies‘ spring training is going to be “interesting” this year. And I use the word “interesting” because there are a number of words that can be used to describe this upcoming March in Clearwater, Florida, and not all of them are kind. One variable can tip in the wrong direction and all of the sudden this club’s spring training is “horrendous”—just for example.

So when the Phillies arrive to camp this spring, they’ll have specific goals that need to be accomplished if they’re going to be successful. They need Roy Halladay to be healthy. They need guys like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley to drive the outfield, and that’s said without mentioning the outfield situation. 

The fact of the matter is that the Phillies are at a crossroads this season. The Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves are both very good, young teams, and only getting better. The Phillies are an older team with younger reinforcements on the way, although not readily available. 

Those are the kind of factors that this club needs to be aware of this spring. The following slideshow will list one, major goal for every player and outline what they need to do to have a successful season both for themselves and the team. 

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Profiles on Phillies’ Non-Roster and Under-the-Radar Players in Spring Training

After five straight division titles that produced two trips to the World Series and one parade, the Philadelphia Phillies are coming off one of their most disappointing seasons in recent memory—a lackluster third place finish, nestled in behind a pair of division rivals with young rosters.

And also, there is the realization that the following few seasons will be an uphill battle, regardless of the overall age of the Phillies’ roster. 

The fact of the matter here is that the Phillies aren’t getting any younger. Their window to compete for another championship may not be “closing” per se, but with the core of this roster quickly deteriorating, it certainly is not as wide open as it has been in years past. 

That’s why, in this spring more than any other in recent memory, the Phillies may have to rely on a few unlikely names. Each spring, teams invite “non-roster players”—or players not on the 40-man roster—to MLB camp to participate in spring training.

This way, they can get a look at their minor league depth and give players a chance to win a position battle. 

Those players are going to be important for the Phillies this season. They are in older team who needs to create depth in certain areas of the club. In this slideshow, I will give profiles on all of the Phillies’ non-roster invitees as well as a few “under-the-radar” players who can help the club in 2013.

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25 Bold Predictions for the Philadelphia Phillies in Spring Training

It wasn’t easy, and it certainly didn’t go according to plan, but the Philadelphia Phillies somehow managed to cross off all of the items on their offseason shopping list before spring training arrived, adding a center fielder, third baseman, starting pitcher, setup man and corner outfielder. 

Now as January rolls into its final weeks and the month of February rounds into focus, it’s time to dust off the good old crystal ball and offer up some bold predictions for this Phillies club during spring training—and it is going to be an eventful one. 

The Phillies will have all of the good storylines this spring. Players returning from injury like Roy Halladay and Chase Utley will be a big focus. How about players competing for jobs, like the trio of Darin Ruf, Domonic Brown and Delmon Young? Then there is always the favorite question—what can the new guys offer? 

Yes, it is certainly going to be an eventful spring for this Phillies club eager to climb back to the top of the division, but why wait? Here are 25 bold predictions for spring training in Clearwater, Florida. 

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