Morning practice on Bowa Field included the usual everyday infield drills however there was also a base running session with the position players as coach Paco Figueroa put them thru the paces around the bags.
A lot of live BP action in the afternoon sessions at the Complex on both Roberts and Carlton fields, held simultaneously. Here’s what we saw ...
Roberts Field :
Zach Wheeler took the hill first, he threw two simulated innings with a pause in between akin to what Aaron Nola did yesterday. It’s the second time we’ve watched Wheeler, he looks really strong and locked in, a seemingly very good outing today. Hector Neris threw the interim inning as Wheeler sat and watched. Hector seemed to throw all his pitches, from our observation spot beyond the fences in left center field we could noticeably differentiate the break on the splitter from the heater, we’ve watched Hector a lot over the past few years and when that’s the case it’s usually a strong outing ... it was again today.
Jose Alvarado, Michael Ynoa, Spencer Howard and Connor Brogdon followed on Roberts Field. Ynoa did two simulated innings like Wheeler while the others threw a single session. We believe each pitcher threw between 20 to 25 pitches per “inning” by design. Alvarado’s release point and delivery seems to project the baseball on a downward slope to the plate, it looks like a “heavy ball” that he throws and it’s quick. The majority of his pitches today were down in the zone ... ground ball makers or bat breakers 🤓. Brogdon dominated ... threw 20 pitches ... mostly strikes and nothing was put in play that we saw, his fastball/slider/change up mix was seemingly on full display, the young man is very talented.
Carlton Field :
From our vantage point behind Roberts Field we couldn’t see the batter or catcher so can’t really state how it went other than to say who pitched. Brandon Kintzler did the simulated two inning session as did Ramon Rosso. Archie Bradley, Chase Anderson, Sam Coonrad and Jo Jo Romero each tossed a single frame.
Today’s hitters included Jean Segura, Rhys Hoskins, Ronald Torreyes, CJ Chatham, Mickey Moniak, Adam Haseley and Travis Jankowksi. If ya haven’t seen photos of Moniak he’s noticeably stronger looking ... we’ve watched him grow from the first summer when he arrived as a teenager and have probably remarked how he’s grown each year 🤦♂️ but today I initially thought he was Bryce Harper ... that’s how his frame has grown ... 💪.
A Fan’s View contributing photographers Mark Wylie and Joe Stinger were on hand today ... we should have some great photos from each to share later today.
Phillies pitchers for Sunday : Ivan Nova, David Hale, Bryan Mitchell, Enyel De Los Santos, J.D. Hammer and Tyler Carr - Grapefruit League opener.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️