Jayson Stark Discusses If Nick Castellanos Can Bounce Back This Season
Nick Castellanos did not have a great season last year. His power was way down, and he was swinging through everything. He even talked about that himself earlier in the…
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – MAY 20: Nick Castellanos #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts to a call during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park on May 20, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)Nick Castellanos did not have a great season last year. His power was way down, and he was swinging through everything. He even talked about that himself earlier in the week. But with an offseason to work on his game, could he bounce back? Jayson Stark joined The Best Show Ever and discussed just that. Does he like what he has seen from the Phillies' Right Fielder? Is he taking the right steps to have a bounce-back year? Or is Jayson Stark seeing more of the troubling signs he saw from the right-handed slugger as we saw last year? See what Jayson Stark had to say below.
"The good news is his at-bats look better. 8 walks in 11 games going to today. That's a lot different. He actually took 8 pitches ina row. I don't know if we saw that at any point last year. The bad news is, his swing path doesn't look a whole lot better. Here is what I would be concerned about. He is willing to try stuff now... What happens if the season starts and he is hitting .160 after two weeks? I think we know what will happen. We have seen this movie. I personally think if he sticks to the plan, he will have way better pitch recognition. I don't know how that can do anything but help him. But I have been watching Nick for a long time. Way before he got to Philly. I need to see him carry this through into the season to believe it."
Jayson Stark also discussed is Nick Castellanos is perhaps just not a great fit for Philadelphia.
"The more I have seen of Nick, the more I think he likes the group but is not too sure to think of the rest of it. It might be he is just not a good fit for Philadelphia."
Stark is not one to sugarcoat things. And it seemed he was not super confident in Nick Castellanos bouncing back. You can listen to the full conversation with Jayson Stark, including his thought on Andrew Painter, and more, below...
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The Audio Vault-10 Best Moments From The Phillies 2022 Postseason
See what Andrew Salciunas found in The Audio Vault today. Andrew and Anthony Gargano are live from Clearwater this week. So all week they are celebrating the Phillies in The Audio Vault. Yesterday he played the best moments from the Phillies' regular season last year. And today they moved on to the Phillies' magical Post-Season run.
It was the run no one saw coming. As they talked about in yesterday's Vault, the Phillies limped into the playoffs. But then something clicked. They beat the Cardinals, the Braves, and then the Padres to get all the way to the World Series. And while the run sadly ended there, it was still a great ride. they lost just two games combined between those 3 series and none at home. The fans showed up, and the team gave them a show. Big comebacks, bat spikes, massive Hrs. We had missed Phillies post-season baseball for over a decade. But they more than made up for that lost time.
But what were the best moments? Andrew made his list. And since he is in Clearwater, he asked Dylan MacKinnon to help pull them from the Vault so they could play them for you all today. Join Andrew and Anthony below as the relived the best moments from the Phillies 2022 Post-season.
10) Marsh HR Off of Morton
Brandon Marsh got Game 4 vs the Braves started with a bang. He gave the Phillies a quick 3-0 lead hitting it into the outfield seats in the 2nd inning.
9) JT Realmuto Inside the Park HR
You dont see many inside the park HRs. You definitely didn't see many from catchers. And before JT Realmuto, we have never seen an inside-the-park HR by a catcher in the playoffs. That all changed in a series-clinching game 4 vs the Braves.
8) Harper's HR vs the Cardinals
Harper had a post-season for the ages. And it all started in game 2 vs the Cardinals. He led off the inning with what would eventually be the game-winning, and series-winning HR.
7) Segura Go Ahead RBI vs the Cardinals in Game 1
The post-season run may not have happened were it not for this hit by Jean Segura in game 1 vs the Cardinals. He completed the 9thing inning comeback, which eventually gave the Phillies the win.
6) JT Realmuto Go Ahead HR in Extras vs Astros
That was not the only big HR off the bat of The Best Catcher in Baseball though in the post-season. It was Realmuto's 10th-inning blast vs the Astros that helped the Phillies win game 1.
5) Stott Battles Spencer Strider
Before the Hoskins Bat Spike, there was the 9-pitch at-bat by Stott. He fouled off pitch after pitch vs Spencer Strider. And eventually, he won, sending a double into right field to drive in Brandon Marsh, setting up a massive inning for the Phillies.
4) Rhys Hoskins Bat Spike
Speaking of unforgettable moments, there was Rhy Hoskins emphatic bat spike. What made it great was not just the play itself, which was a 3-run HR that blew game 3 vs the Braves wide open. But also because of everything that led up to it. Rhys was not a popular man in Philly before the hit. His errors (they were not recorded as errors but lets face it, they were errors) cost them game 2. And he was not hitting in the post-season before that. But with one swing, he won the hearts and minds of Philly fans back.
3) Final Out vs Braves
And you cant have a list of the best moments and leave out the moment they made beat the Braves to make it to the NLCS.
2) Final Out vs Padres
Likewise, you can't leave out the moment they beat the Padres to make it to the World Series.
1) Bryce Harper Go Ahead HR vs Padres
The moment none of us will soon forget is Bryce Harpers' go-ahead HR in game 5 vs the Padres. The Phillies had just blown a lead due to inclement weather. They were in danger of having to take the series back to San Diego. But Harper was having none of that. With JT Realmuto on the bases, Harper clubbed a go-ahead 2-run shot into left field, which would eventually give them the win and clinch the series.
