Prior to signing with Philadelphia this offseason, Zack Wheeler spent the first five years of his career in the Big Apple. He was stellar there when healthy. Wheeler, 29, has been plagued by injuries and inconsistency in his career. Despite this, he possesses elite stuff — his 97-mph average velocity was fourth-best in the majors […]
Read more "Can Zack Wheeler rekindle the Phillies-Mets rivalry?"When the Phillies inked starting pitcher Zack Wheeler to a 5-year, $118M pact, it quickly became apparent that they envisioned him as a front-end starter- a tall order for the young hurler that has never amassed more than 12 wins in a single season. Not only is Wheeler not known for racking up a ton […]
Read more "How Zack Wheeler can evolve into a staff ace for the Phillies"Earlier in the week, Baseball America released its preseason top 100 prospect list. The Phillies found themselves with 2 players listed within the top 100. More importantly, both were listed among the top 30 prospects in all of baseball. Alec Bohm came in at the 28th top prospect in baseball and Spencer Howard came in […]
Read more "MLB.com ranks 3 Phillies among the Top 100 Prospects"According to Jon Heyman, the Colorado Rockies are willing to listen to trade inquiries on superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado. Yes, this is Jon Heyman, but according to Jon Morosi, this rumor was also confirmed. MLB.com immediately took to this, and listed the Phillies as potential suitors for the 28-year-old right handed bat. Due to […]
Read more "Nolan Arenado to the… Philadelphia Phillies? Why it makes sense"How many lefties would you guess are currently in the Phillies bullpen? One? Two? M a y b e Three? Right now there are four: Cole Irvin, Adam Morgan, Jose Alvarez, and Ranger Suarez. Funny thing is 3 of them began as starters for the Phillies. Ranger Suarez never relieved a minor league game past […]
Read more "Phillies’ lefties key to bullpen success"Entering the offseason with roughly $50M to spend without threatening the luxury tax, the typically-affluent Phillies weren’t flexing their financial prowess like they were last year. Although they reportedly had interest in the elite tier of free agents this winter- Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, and Madison Bumgarner, namely- nothing ever actually materialized. Unlike last winter […]
Read more "Lackluster farm system continues to plague the Phillies"If you’ve read the title of and clicked on this piece, I know what you’re probably thinking by now. “There’s no way the Phillies shouldn’t pursue Cole. He’s the top starter on the market and our pitching stunk last year!” Truthfully, the Phillies pitching staff was severely underwhelming last season. The unit recorded an abysmal […]
Read more "Making the Case Against the Phillies Pursuing SP Gerrit Cole"As I wrote yesterday, I was hoping that the Phillies fired John Malle and replaced him with a Charlie Manuel type hitting coach. Well, the Phillies did just that, only it was Uncle Charlie himself who will be the hitting coach. what great news. Lost in this is this news that Matt Klentak went out […]
Read more "What does the Phillies’ signing of veteran catcher mean for Andrew Knapp?"After a rough outing against the San Francisco Giants in which he allowed seven hits and five earned runs in just three innings of work, Phillies SP Jake Arrieta is mulling undergoing an elbow procedure that would sideline him for the rest of 2019. “I don’t necessarily want to make a decision right now,” Arrieta […]
Read more "For his and the Phillies’ sake, Jake Arrieta should opt for Elbow surgery"Who knew Tuesdays could be eventful? According to Todd Zolecki, John Mallee has been replaced with Charlie Manuel as the Phillies hitting coach. Charlie Manuel, of course, captained the ship in 2008 when the Phillies won their second-ever World Series. He managed the Phillies from 2004-2013 when Ryne Sandberg took the reigns. Manuel has exactly […]
Read more "Instant analysis: Charlie Manuel returns to the Phillies as hitting coach"