Phillies 2026 Spring Training Discussion

[phillychuck]

The Phils are one 850-900 OPS player away from a very good lineup, and their pitching, if healthy, is among the best in the league. Unfortunately, we got a 650-700 OPS player instead due to availability and budget constraints. There aren’t a lot of teams that have more than 3 or 4 premier hitters, and the Phils’ other 6 guys in the lineup are serviceable, not horrible, now that Casty has moved on. Look below, figuring Crawford’s average projection is around 720. It’s not as bad as we make it out to be in Philly. If Kemp is a good platoon OF and Crawford is decent it’s a solid lineup. Injuries could make things tough, though.

[EDmuch]

From here in Ohio I have not been able to follow to follow any individual player performances in Spring Training. So I would appreciate it if people could share their perceptions of how things are going for individual players in ST. Kemp in particular.

[phillychuck]

It’s hard to follow right now since the coverage is piecemeal. Stott has been scorching, Kemp is hitting the ball hard, Realmuto has been cold, Garcia has been spotty, which is to be expected, Bohm has been decent when I’ve seen him. Harper and Schwarber haven’t played much, and Turner is off to a slow start. Based on what I’ve seen and the boxscores I’ve checked, which isn’t all of them.

What I’ve seen of Crawford has been encouraging, especially defensively, where he’s made a couple of good plays. It looks like he’s hitting fewer grounders, which has been a developmental goal for him for years.

[julio]

From here in Ohio I have not been able to follow to follow any individual player performances in Spring Training. So I would appreciate it if people could share their perceptions of how things are going for individual players in ST. Kemp in particular.

Spring training stats are available on the Phillies website. www.phillies.com

Kemp is currently 1 for 10 (BA of .100). He's had 12 PA in 4 games. Hit his was a solo HR, so his OPS is .650. Ridiculously small sample, but...

If the game is carried locally (in Phllly) on radio, you can (at least usually) stream the radio broadcast from WIP's streaming site. https://www.audacy.com/94wip/listen#schedule

Some ST games are streamed (video) on mlb.com.

[phillychuck]

I saw Kemp 2 times I think, and his outs seemed to me to be hit hard. I think he’s had some bad BABIP luck, but time will tell us more.

[kmc1019]

Crawford tantalizing on today's broadcast game against the Blue Jays: Walk and a stolen base against Dylan Cease to start the game. In 2nd at bat, doubles down the left field line and ultimately scores.
I hope he succeeds, and if he does, I hope the Phillies give him a chance to bat lead off, because I think he has the potential to be the best in that role this team has had for a long time.

[Jazzhead]

If Crawford can successfully lead off, that would transform the Phillies lineup. Then Schwarber can bat cleanup and provide Harper with the protection he needs. Or bat Garcia or Marsh fourth and Schwarber fifth to break up the lefties. Bohm then slides to the 6 hole, where he should have a ton of RBI opportunities.

[zambonir]

Marsh is a lefty so he wouldn't break up the lefties. And as Murphy wrote today:

Kyle Schwarber is too good to bat cleanup, and other lineup conclusions | David...

Harper didn’t get any benefit from batting in front of Schwarber.

In fact, he was his least productive self with Schwarber behind him in the order. The splits are pretty drastic. Harper’s OPS was nearly 100 points higher when batting in front of Bohm vs. Schwarber.

All small sample but protection really is a myth. Lefty-righty stuff can be useful esp with starters going so short and three batter rule. But gving your highest OPS hitters the most ABs is still the best thing you can do. And in the end, over a single season, the difference any of it makes isn't even going to be that big, or necessarily greater than the benefit of letting guys be comfortable and consistent, even if that's intangible.

They are pretty much just out of luck in terms of having a great RHB hitting fourth unless Bohm or Garcia can deliver. The question of whether it should be Schwarber-Turner-Harper vs. Turner-Schwarber-Harper is more interesting to me. We already now both of those things have worked pretty much the same in past seasons.

[BaseballCat]

Painter - 2 innings, 20 pitches, 6 up & 6 down, 1K. So far so good. Excited, but willing to be cautious!

[Jazzhead]

Marsh is a lefty so he wouldn't break up the lefties

Whoops - my bad. But I do think Marsh could bat higher in the lineup than he does.

If the significant reduction in his strikeout rate last year is real, he could make for a good 2-hole hitter, surrounding Crawford at lead-off and followed by Turner. Then the lefty mashers Harper and Schwarber, with Bohm or Garcia batting sixth. R-L-R-L-L-R.

[Jazzhead]

If Painter's ready it sure cures a lot of uncertainty. Unfortunately, I missed his innings on TV but I like the stat line.

[zambonir]

If the significant reduction in his strikeout rate last year is real, he could make for a good 2-hole hitter, surrounding Crawford at lead-off and followed by Turner.

The only problem there is then you need a completely different batting order for the days Kemp plays.

But in any case Crawford won't be leading off any time this season IMO. It would be great if we're still arguing for it in June. We could also be wondering if he'll be sent down by then. Happened to Bohm, happened to Stott, happened to Rojas, only didn't happen to Kingery because of his contract, also happened to Marsh on his previous team. And AAA numbers haven't translated in the bigs for any our journeymen vets (or, at this point, Kemp) the past few years. So, just as easy, for me at least, to be skeptical than rose-colored. I will settle for the middle ground where Crawford is merely a good-enough 9 hitter and better-than-good CF (and even that isn't certain).

[andyb]

The issue with Marsh near the top of the lineup is the need to platoon him. It forces decisions to leave him in the game with a subpar matchup or removing him which could hurt the defense and later on produce a subpar matchup.

Generally you want your top hitters to be immune from platooning so they can stay in the game around pitching switches. The top of the lineup usually bats 5 times so those last 2 at bats are an issue.

Marsh also seems to prosper when there is less pressure on him. What is enticing about Crawford down the road is that he has really not shown big platoon splits. Hopefully that remains true in the majors though guessing he'll have to hit a whole lot to get out of the end of the lineup other than on rare days when the top is rested or injured.

[Jazzhead]

You're right that's a more likely initial outcome, but forgive me the rose-colored glasses. Crawford's potential is that he can transform the look of the lineup, and its overall effectiveness.

Leading off a.280-plus hitter with 40-plus steals means a lot of ducks on the pond. Marshie and Turner right behind him further create a target-rich environment for Harper and Schwarbs.

Crawford
Marsh
Turner
Harper
Schwarber
Bohm
Stott
Garcia
Realmuto turns the lineup over

[andyb]

That lineup has our best hitter hitting 5th. Maybe in a few years, but not now. 4 out of 5 lefties in a row also.

[zambonir]

I'm just not moving our two best hitters down to 4-5 which equals fewer ABs. And Turner no lower than 2nd either.

It would be great if Crawford shows up and is ROTY material. Last year Roman Anthony didn't even get called up until June and was under .700 OPS for a month. His teammate Kristian Campbell was red-hot in April but eventually got sent back to AAA. Both considered better prospects than Crawford at the time.

[LegoDoom]

Painter - 2 innings, 20 pitches, 6 up & 6 down, 1K. So far so good. Excited, but willing to be cautious!

97mph fastballs. His change was up in the zone. Slider was at 90.

It didn't seem like a lot of movement, but also a lot of not solid sounds when hitters made contact (including one broken bat)

[LoneStarPhan]

Pop gives up 4 in the seventh. A one out walk and then with two outs, he gives up a single, double and triple, brfore being pulled. He probably doesn’t make the opening roster.

[schillingfan]

And batting 2 lefties in a row is a potential issue for us unless Schwarber continues his domination of them.

I sound like a broken record I’m sure, but the problem isn’t Schwarber, it’s Harper. It late innings, when you get relievers and probably weaker pitchers, every single manager puts in a lefty reliever when they are coming up. I’m sure there is a statistic out there about how many lefties versus righties Harper faced in innings 7-9, but I’d put money on it being an outlier to other heavy hitting lefties batting 2, 3 or 4 in the line-up.

It would hurt us less if there was a bashing righty behind Harper. And if Schwarber hits lefties well, he should be batting behind Harper instead of in front of him.

[phillychuck]

I don’t think that problem is fixable with the current personnel unless Bohm or Garcia hit a bit better, productive enough to discourage pitching around our dominant lefties. Every team, even world champions, had this problem. Combs, Ruth, and Gehrig were all lefty hitters for the ’27 Yankees and batted 1, 3, and 4. Foster, Bench, and Perez were all righties for the big red machine. There aren’t a lot of teams that have a great L/R balance.