Each day the repetition of drills is embedded into practice. Success in baseball is tied to good fundamentals and the best way to learn is repetitive actions of both body and mind. This morning I watched as the drills continued ... but every now and again a curve ball is needed to break up the monotony.
One new drill I witnessed was on the pitching mounds adjacent to Bowa Field. The coach was using a tennis racket standing at home plate and smoking rubber baseballs towards the mound as pitchers took turns attempting to field the fast flying liners or hard grounders ... there were plenty of smiles and laughs it seemed and some even made great plays ! Inventive ways to keep drills fresh I think are keys to good camps ... the Phillies staff does a good job at that ... plus it’s fun to watch 🤓
Intra squad Games :
The Tigers were originally scheduled to scrimmage with the Phillies today but plans changed and instead Intra squad scrimmages were held at BayCare Ballpark and on Ashburn Field in the complex. We watched the contest in BayCare Ballpark, there’s shade to be found there 😎.
Here’s a recap of the action. Team Williams ( run by Reading skipper Shawn Williams ) faced off against Team Adamson ( run by Jersey Shore Skipper Chris Adamson ). Team Williams won the six and 1/2 inning contest by a count of 6-0 holding Team Adamson to just one hit.
On The Hill :
Team Adamson :
RHP Ben Brown ( 21 yrs old ) started and went two innings with the first being rolled due to pitch count. He allowed one hit, struck out two, walked two and hit a batter and yielded an unearned run. Good to see the big fella back out there after coming back from TJ surgery in 2019.
RHP Kevin Gowdy ( 23 yrs old ) followed with two frames with one being rolled. Kevin battled command with four walks. The stuff played, just seemed to have trouble gripping the baseball and finding a rhythm.
RHP Jonathan Hughes ( 24 yrs old ) had a rough day going two frames with both being rolled ... he was tagged for four runs on five hits and a walk with one strikeout. Velocity seemed good ... location of pitches were the issue.
RHP Andre Brown ( 23 yrs old ) finished ... he faced three batters and produced two 6-3 ground outs with the third batter getting an infield single ... the inning was rolled. Andrew looked strong and seemed to have a heavy sink on his deliveries.
Team Williams :
LHP Ethan Lindow ( 22 yrs old ) started and went two full innings facing seven batters ...he walked one and struck out one as both frames were scoreless. He seemed to battle command early but settled in thereafter and made short work of his innings.
RHP Julian Garcia ( 25 yrs old ) also went two full frames ... actually he was so efficient in his first inning of work he stayed out there to make it a four out inning 😳. Julian pounded the strike zone and produced four strikeouts and retired all seven batters that he faced ... dominate performance.
LHP Jeff Singer ( 27 yrs old ) tossed a scoreless frame, no hits, one K and one BB. I really enjoy watching him pitch, hides the ball exceptionally well which seemingly must make it very difficult to pick up as a hitter.
RHP Joel Cesar ( 25 yrs old ) finished with a solid inning, he walked one batter but Catcher Colby Fitch made a strong throw to second base to erase a steal attempt. Cesar faced only three batters and coaxed two ground ball outs. He looks to have high velocity and the ball seems to come out just behind his ear with his delivery ... we saw him in instructs also ... good arm.
At The Plate :
Team Adamson :
Third baseman McCarthy Tatum had the team’s sole hit, a solid single to center field. Center fielder Corbin Williams walked in his second PA and stole two bases ... the young man is super quick.
Team Williams :
Big day for second baseman Cole Stobbe as he went 3 for 3 with a single, double and triple and also scored a run. We’ve noticed he’s hit the ball solidly in the BP’s we’ve seen thus far in camp. Results from those sessions came thru today ... 👍
Third baseman Madison Stokes hit a solo home run onto the left center field berm in the fifth inning.
Bryson Stott had a double and a triple in three AB’s ... turned on an inside fastball in the fifth inning and hit a rocket down the right field line for his triple.
Shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa tripled in the sixth inning ... it was rolled thereafter.
First baseman Luke Miller singled and walked in two plate appearances.
Defensive Gems :
Luke Miller stood out on a couple plays at first base, he made a strong throw to third base to record an out in the first inning after an errant pickoff throw sailed past him. He retrieved the ball down the line and threw a strike to third baseman Madison Stokes who applied the tag on Luis Garcia. Later in the game Miller made a great stop of a hard hit ball down the line off the bat of Rudy Rott and then flipped to the pitcher covering to get the out. Good job today Luke 👏.
That’s a wrap ... tomorrow scrimmages are once again scheduled with the Tigers ... two contests in Lakeland ( AA & Low A ) and two in Clearwater ( High A & Rookie ).
Till then ...
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
We will have some photos of today’s scrimmage as taken by Mark Wylie in the near future ... the highlight of our coverage 🤓.
Photo of Cole Stobbe taken earlier in camp shown below.
(Steve Potter is the co-author with Larry Shenk of “Life In The Minors, 5th annual Phillies Minor League Digest” now available on amazon.com. He can be followed on www.PhilliesBaseballFan.com).
