2/3/26 : High Performance Camp - Day Thirteen
- Steve Potter
- 4 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Workouts continued for camp participants. While the emphasis is on strength training and conditioning the winter version of HP Camp has more baseball practice activities that the Fall version.
HP Camp workouts were held on the complex training fields. Position players fielding drills were conducted on Ashburn field while pitchers did their fielding drills on Carlton field. BP took place on Roberts Field. No side bullpens today.
I watched batting practice - Felix Reyes continues to hit rockets - was impressed with Anderson Araujo - compact swing - Keaton Anthony hit a couple off the scoreboard. Dante Nori is in tremendous shape and consistently hit the ball hard. Aroon Escobar has easy power - ball jumps off his bat - he’s also in tremendous shape.
Camp Spotlight : Dante Nori - 21 years old (22 on 10/7/26) - drafted in 1st round of the 2024 draft from Northville HS, Northville, MI
2025 Stats : LH hitter/thrower - played at three levels in his first full pro season - began with Clearwater - 109 games - 502 plate appearances - .262/.363/.381 slash line and .744 OPS with 63 runs, 16 doubles, 11 triples, 4 home runs, 43 RBIs, 66 walks, 75 strikeouts and 37 stolen bases. Promoted to Jersey Shore 8/26 - 11 games played - 53 plate appearances - .279/.396/.326 slash line, .722 OPS with 8 runs scored, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, 8 walks, 8 strikeouts and 13 stolen bases. Promoted to Reading on 9/8 - played in 5 games - 22 plate appearances - 1 double, 2 stolen bases. Overall regular season numbers - .261/.361/.372 slash line in 577 plate appearances - 18 doubles, 12 triples, 4 home runs, 47 RBIs, 75 walks, 85 strikeouts and 52 stolen bases. Finished 3rd in the Florida State League in hits (111), second in doubles, seventh in stolen bases, seventh in BA, OBP and OPS and 9th in OPS amongst qualifiers. Defensively played CF in 98 games and LF - 4 games. Was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League and did very well - finished the regular season there with a .308/.386/.436 slash line with a .822 OPS in 44 plate appearances with 2 doubles, 1 home run, 7 RBIs, 5 walks, 7 strikeouts and 2 stolen bases.
Notes : I first met Dante’s dad Micah Nori at Roberts Field watching Dante in one of his initial workouts after signing - Dante then introduced himself later - both very down to earth folks who are cordial and respectful - when they chat or correspond about baseball their love of the game shines thru - my kind of people. My very first impression of Dante in his build, carry and play was that I was watching Lenny Dykstra play again - Dante didn’t know who that was when I told him but their games are very similar - speed, defense, works counts, take walks, puts the ball in play, hates to strikeout and plays with unbridled passion to win. That’s what I see in Dante - his confidence in his abilities and want to succeed is top drawer. The first couple months of the this past season were a bit of a struggle but he never stopped posting up, a switch to the infamous “Torpedo” bat brought success, he lets the ball get deep and the extra girth of those bats allows him to make a more solid impact than a thin handled one. He had a strong month of June (.304/.387/.391 in 106 plate appearances) and an even better July (.324/.446/.541 and .986 OPS in 93 plate appearances) winning the organization’s co-player of the month award. The young man is a hard worker, there were times when I saw him in the morning hours taking extra BP at either the complex or stadium when he was at Clearwater. Defensively he’s a very good center fielder with strong reads and routes. He has excellent speed and utilizes it both on the base paths and defense - 52 stolen bases was quite a feat in his first year - there’s capabilities for more, is a true burner with instincts and a desire to run. He went to the AFL and continued to shine. I really enjoy watching the young man play and getting his feedback afterwards - very advanced approach for a fella so young. He will be playing for Team Italy in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
Dante’s 2025 reflections : “I learned that I still had a lot more in the tank as the season went on than I anticipated. I was happy with my progression, especially playing three levels in a one year span. Each off season I make sure to keep getting stronger and stronger. This year I will shoot for the same goal. Also relax the body from the past year.”
Winter League Roundup :
Notes on Phillies and former Phillies participating in winter leagues from games played on 2/2 and 2/3.
Venezuela Winter League : Championship Series :
2/2 : Navegantes del Magallanes 14 (4-2) Caribes de Anzoategui 6 (2-4) - the Navegantes win the league championship - Magallanes won 13 of their last 16 games played since January 14th to become champions - it’s their 14th championship in their history.
Caribbean Series :
2/2 results :
Dominican Republic (Leones del Escogido) 5 (2-0) Puerto Rico (Cangrejeros de Santurce) 3 (1-1) - RHP Andrew Baker pitched two innings (1 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K’s) in relief for Puerto Rico.
Mexico Red (Charros de Jalisco) 11 (1-1) Panama 4 (0-1)
2/3 results :
Mexico Green (Tomateros de Culiacán) 2 (1-1) Panama 1 (0-2)
Mexico Red (Charros de Jalisco) 3 (2-1) Puerto Rico (Cangrejeros de Santurce) 0 (1-2)
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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