This afternoon there will be Phillies baseball. Sure, they played an exhibition against the University of Tampa the other day, but this is the first game of the spring that counts but doesn’t really count but you still want to see something positive to come out of it anyway. Did you follow that?
When the Phillies open up the Grapefruit League schedule this afternoon this afternoon in Clearwater against the Toronto Blue Jays, it will be the first chance many of us get to see the new look Phillies get started with a fresh slate and a young roster ready to set the blueprint for what we all hope will be another championship run in the years to come. I have said on multiple occasions the 2016 Phillies are going to be fun for me to watch because I won’t be getting caught up in the wins and (many) losses. Instead, this season will be about player development. Rather than waste time worrying about how many games the Phillies will win or blow, this season will present a worthy exercise in scouting and evaluating the development of some of the younger players the Phillies hope will be the faces of the franchise for years to come.
I resigned myself to approaching the 2015 season in a similar fashion, but last year the Phillies still had players like Chase Utley and Cole Hamels (and Cliff Lee) on the roster in spring training, leading me to prepare to soak up the final days of seeing those future Phillies Wall of Fame players play their final games in red pinstripes without the knowledge of just when those last games would be. This year the Phillies still have Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz representing the last pieces of the 2008 World Series championship team (man, that was eight years ago). In time we will pay our last respects to each and thank them for the memories, but spring is a time for starting something new, and this year’s Phillies team will offer plenty of young talent to get excited about over time.
So, here are the five things I am most looking forward to watching this Grapefruit League season.
1. Is Aaron Nola ready to lead the starting rotation?
I have my hopes set high for Aaron Nola’s future as a top-of-the-rotation type pitcher for the Phillies, but is he ready to take the lead right now? Drafted with the seventh pick of the 2014 Amateur Draft, Nola was sent straight to Reading after playing college baseball at LSU and he made the jump to Lehigh Valley in mid-June last summer. After six starts with the IronPigs, Nola got the call to join the Phillies in July and he stayed there for the remainder of the season. Having played for a college program like LSU helped put Nola on a relative fast track to the big leagues, but given the state of the starting rotation he will be relied on to prove he is ready to be taking on a leading role in the rotation. Until we can see how he handles that responsibility, it is fair to question if he is ready for it.
The starting rotation was awful last season, Cole Hamels aside. With the bar set so low, it would not be unreasonable to expect this year’s rotation, with Nola developing into a top-of-the-rotation type, that this year’s rotation sees at least some marginal improvement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkqE3ZMZ5Uk
2. Who ends up closing games?
After trading away Jonathan Papelbon last season to Washington, it looked clear as day the Phillies were ready to move forward using Ken Giles as their closer. That was, of course, until the Phillies traded Giles away this offseason to the Houston Astros for a handful of prospects and a probable back-of-the-rotation pitcher in Vincent Velasquez. Considering the Phillies were not built for making any sort of a playoff run this season, the need for a closer was way down on the list of necessities. Trading Giles was a fine move, but who becomes the closer now? It looks like David Hernandez will be the leading candidate for the job, but he is in his second season back from a Tommy John surgery. We’ll see how that plays out.
3. Who will be this year’s Odubel Herrera?
Every spring there seems to be one player that starts to impress and become a bit of a fan favorite during the spring. Last season it was Odubel Herrera. I am nowhere close to being able to pick out a player from the farm system that could come out of nowhere to make some noise, so I will go into spring just waiting for someone to stand out and take advantage of the opportunity. Keep in mind I would not throw J.P. Crawford into this conversation given his optimistic outlook, which brings me to…
4. How close does J.P. Crawford look to being major league ready?
Crawford is the top prospect in the Phillies organization right now, and many are expecting him to be the next wave’s Jimmy Rollins. Rollins was an all-time great within the Phillies franchise, so it may be best not to put that kind of weight on Crawford’s shoulders, but it is fun to read those kind of scouting reviews of what should be the next franchise shortstop of the Phillies. How close is he to being ready to make the leap to the Phillies? We should get a little bit better of an idea this spring. The 21-year old ended his 2015 season in Reading after getting a bump up from Clearwater during the season. He then headed to Arizona for some fall baseball but had to leave early due to a thumb injury after just five games (Crawford was 3-for-20 in those five games with two walks and six strikeouts).
Crawford will most likely start the regular season in the minor league system, and I would guess he will be moved to Lehigh Valley when he does come north with a decent showing in the spring. If he struggles though, he could end up starting the year at Reading. I do think we will see him suit up in a Phillies uniform at some point this season. It is just a matter of when that will happen and whether or not he will be ready when he does get the call.
5. Is Aaron Altherr an everyday outfielder?
The Phillies called up Aaron Altherr last season and he had quite the impact, when he connected with the baseball. In his 39 games up with the Phillies in 2015, Altherr hit five home runs and drove in 22 runs while hitting .241. His power was demonstrated at times, but he will have to prove he can be counted on for a larger role in 2016 to be a part of the youth movement on the team. He is a player I would like to see a little more out of this spring, but I have no idea whether that should be expected or not.
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