Twenty two High Performance Camp pitchers were on the seven mounds this morning throwing side bullpens - participants included Enrique Segura, Griff McGarry, Danyony Pulido, Ethan Chenault, Eli Trop, Titan Hayes, Zack Tukis, Camron Hill, Marcus Morgan, Kyler Carmack, Luis Avila, Erik Ritchie, Ryan Dromboski, Ryan Degges, AJ Wilson, Erubiel Armenta, Kevin Warunek, Angel Liranzo, Marty Gair, Jaydenn Estanista, Kevin Warunek and Cody Stashak.
I watched RHP Marcus Morgan a bit today -looked like he was working specifically on off speed stuff specifically to corner targets, ball moved a lot - he’s also got some good pop on his fastball.
Batting Practice :
All of the position players in camp took BP on Carlton Field. Tjayy Walton stood out - very powerful right-handed hitter with thunder in his bat - drove multiple baseballs over the left field fence. Otto Kemp impressed with his opposite field hitting prowess - hit a couple long high drives that cleared the right center field fence, he’s just a pure hitter that’s gonna impress in big league camp. Aidan Miller is really fun to watch hit, great mechanics and consistently hits the ball hard - a lot of line drives and gap to gap today, also showed the power as he drove a few out of the yard. Bryan Rincon has pop from the left side (he’s a switch hitter) - good hands and drove a few over the right field fence from the left hand box. Alirio Ferrebus, Eduardo Tait, Leandro Pineda, Dante Nori and Griffin Burkholderall had good rounds from my view and perspective as well - consistent deliveries in regards to training expectations (hitting opposite field/line drives/power) in their work this morning.
Fielding Drills :
Infield and outfield work continued on Roberts Field - one player who’s perhaps under the general fan’s radar a bit is infielder Juan Villavicencio - he’s likely to see a good bit of action this summer as the Clearwater shortstop - is a solid all around defender that checks all the boxes as an infielder - the twenty year old is a line drive hitter as a lefty bat. He’s grown into his body more, has added strength and is a very enthusiastic player who’s love of playing the game shines thru. Just someone to watch - might just blossom before our eyes.
Big League Early Work :
Aaron Nola threw his first outdoor side bullpen - he’s been working at the complex since mid December. Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm, Seth Johnson and Mick Abel all threw side bullpens. Nola threw about 25 or so pitches - not surprising as he’s been here a bit. Kerkering’s ball pops the mitt - I was able to stand behind the catcher when he threw - fastball explodes into the mitt - he broke off a couple sweepers - thing breaks like crazy - to me looked unhitable. Btw I posted videos of both Nola and Kerkering on Twitter, Facebook and Blue Sky on my pages on each of those outlets. Skipper Rob Thomson was on hand today and watched the bullpen sessions. He’s an early riser - got here at 3 AM this morning 😳👀.
When I have watched Jordan Romano’s bullpens this month I’ve noted how his breaking pitch gets to the dish with little to no spin as it darts from side to side and drops downward. Thanks to Minor League Pitching Director Travis Hergert for explaining to me that it’s a “Gyro Slider” - it’s by design that the pitch has what’s referred to as a gyroscopic or "bullet spin". As Coach explained it’s a hard pitch delivery (meaning it’s thrown hard). I’ve learned it’s thrown by spinning the ball out of the hand similar to a football and is intended to have no back, top or side spin - from what I’ve seen as I watch behind the catcher it has a knuckle ball like vertical tumble but much quicker and doesn’t float like a knuckler does. It looks very difficult to hit and even sometimes we’ve seen that it catches the receiver off guard with the movement. Mr. Romano has a very good one which when coupled with his fastball it’s evident as to why he’s had such great success in his career. It’s really cool to see the pitches from behind the catcher - sometimes I think my eyes are deceiving me as to what I see as I’m able to see spin and movement - thanks to Travis for the clarity on understanding this type of pitch - good stuff!
Other Notes - Winter Tournaments :
Serie de las Americas :
Panama defeated Nicaragua 3-1 the championship game to win the initial Serie de las Americas. Former Phillies who participated in the tournament included Didi Gregorius and Jhiandido Tromp for Curacao and pitchers Harold Arauz and Severino Gonzalez for Panama.
Caribbean Series :
The five team (Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico & Japan) opens play today. Phillies and former Phillies on rosters include pitchers Carlos Francisco and Julian Garcia for Puerto Rico, pitcher Max Castillo for Venezuela, pitchers Jimmy Cordero, Ulises Joaquin and Fernando Abad along with shortstop Jonathan Guzman for the Dominican Republic.
Kid Stuff :
There was a group of young ball players here today with their coaches - they spotted Aaron Nola and asked him for a photo with them - he’s a really good fella and accommodated. Those kids will likely remember that experience for quite a while. It’s kid interactions like this that grows and maintains baseball fan-dome. Really good stuff!
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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