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Ricky Bo- Analyzing the Phillies Options on the Bench

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Author Ricky Bottalico
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 07: Darick Hall #25 of the Philadelphia Phillies rounds bases after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park on July 07, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Putting up numbers is great in Spring Training. Especially when you are trying to make a statement and make a roster. But numbers can also be a little deceiving. For players on the bubble in Phillies camp, now is the time to put up those numbers. Now is the time to look like you can help a team in the regular season.  The Phillies have some spots to fill on their bench. An interesting piece is Scott Kingery (.462 BA, .533 OBP).  He has had a stellar two weeks, with a new swing and some work with Kevin Long. But will it be enough?  Kingery is already under contract and due 8 million dollars this year. The issue, he is not on the 40-man roster. 

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Next Darick Hall (.310 BA, .286 BA, and HR vs LHP) the knock on him was hitting left-handed pitching.  He obviously worked on that and the early numbers show that.  He is a guy that was thrown into the fire in 2022 (Called up and put right in the cleanup hitter role). Hall is a guy with power that can be a left-handed asset off the bench and can give a breather to Rhys Hoskins at 1st. 

Dalton Guthrie, a player the Phillies wanted to step up and be the guy has had his struggles this Spring (.185 BA and .185 OBP).  Those numbers speak of a guy trying to find himself in a situation that has some pressure for him to perform now!

Jake Cave, also having a great spring, hitting over .400 and 2 HR’s is in the mix.  He is an outfielder by trade so this could only help out his situation. Being a LHH only sweetens the deal. 

With all the players in a mix for limited spots on the bench, it goes back to my original thought. Today (2 weeks from opening day) should be when judgment starts.  First, not everybody is 100% ready to go full bore on February 15th, but as a month has passed, there are players who are very close to opening day ready.  Now is the time we start to see true A+ play.  So with this being said, I believe now is the time to start the competition, let’s see where these players go from here.  If Kingery continues to hit and play at a high level, he may break with the team and make the bench!!!   That would be an accomplishment in itself from where he was two years ago! 

It’s now crunch time….for all…Time to get ready to Ring the Damn Bell!!! 

If you liked this, you may also enjoy…

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.

  • Listen to the full segment below...

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