I'm also following individual performance and health of the younger players. Even there, the results are mainly disappointing. Altherr is a huge plus and the last several starts suggest that perhaps Appel is finally coming around, although I'm am not at all a fan of the 117 pitch count in his last start. It is impressive that Hoskins didn't skip a beat in moving to AAA and encouraging that after a month to adjust Cozens is doing very well. Beyond that, I find more downs than ups on the farm. Crawford's performance is huge, because expectations were high. Time will tell, but I'm not thrilled with this year's draft, although I like our first rounder, the DR pitcher, and our 11th rounder quite a lot. You know how I feel about our level of international spending.
At gut level, I really thought last season was the bottom for the MLB Phillies. That we are on such a wretched pace -- a pace to win less than 50 games -- is beyond discouraging. This year has to be bottom, but the rebuild is at least a season behind where I thought/hoped it was.