High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Chapter 1: Where does Alec Bohm fit into the Phillies lineup?

Episode Date: March 20, 2023

James Seltzer (live from Clearwater) and Jack Fritz discuss some of the biggest stories in Spring Training so far and debate where the new-look Alec Bohm could fit in the Phillies lineup in 2023. Presented by Miller Lite. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

the nice part for you is that there's so many storylines when it comes to like it's like turner's awesome uh schwarmer's awesome jt is awesome but like even listening to bone today it was like that's one of our guys like bomer is is one of our guys so well real quick on bone before you move on jack because you were the one person and i guess the listeners but you're the one person who could really feel this when he came in and he did the interview and he was really good like he did a great job with joe and john like the whole time i'm thinking i'm like bro you were horrible when you were almost in the minors when we had holly boom on the pot it was like he had never spoken before in his

life and now he's cool calm collected you know what else i noticed too he doesn't look as young anymore like the baby fat's kind of gone like he's even getting a little chisel in the face he said he said with you guys today he's like uh i kind of just got stronger because i'm getting older yeah he's like i'm growing into my body essentially was what he was implying you know meanwhile i feel like uh it's going the opposite for me you know i feel like it's all taking a big old downturn yeah like now like now if i have a couple beers like like now it's just like i want to stop because i don't want to get too full yeah oh yeah you tell i think about well am i gonna be able to am i gonna be able to get to

wake up tomorrow exactly yeah exactly um but yeah like he's filling out and i you know so i don't totally agree with what he said about like. The swing stuff? Yeah, I just I don't I don't really buy it. You know, I think there is a more conscious effort to lift the ball a little bit. But at the same time, like what he said wasn't totally wrong either, which is like, I'm just a hitter. And, you know, if it goes over the fence, it goes over the fence. You know, but in just seeing how he's done so far in spring training and and seeing the ball kind of just jumping off the bat uh you know they have a really good mix

there with him you know he he should be 280 to 290 with like 25 homers and and that's like i think a realistic expectation not only just this year but i think think, you know, going forward as well. Yeah. And when you look at the lineup, like that's the exact kind of guy they need, you know, we've got, especially once Harper gets back, once Harper gets back, like you got some pop, man, you got Harper, you got Schwerber, you got Reese, you got guys who can get you a big home run in a big spot. You got some speed at the top of the line. I'm now a Turner and all that, but like a guy who can handle the bat and, and come in and, you know, poke the ball to right field. If you need it, the guy can come in and say, all right, we really need you to, to fly ball right now. Like, like that stuff matters. Being able to control the bat, come through in big situations, especially if we're going to play October

baseball again, which we all plan on doing like, you know, those guys matter that matters, you know, even the ability to, to hit a ground ball on the right side instead of the left side, like whatever that is. People who can handle the bat matter. And we got one in Trey Turner coming too, which is thrilling, obviously, and he'll just beat it out to either side anyway. But seriously, I do think that that is something.

Not only is it thrilling after watching his progression to see the type of hitter that we always thought Boehm could be, turning into that, but I actually think it's a bet that really is necessary for the way this lineup is constructed. Yeah, and I think as we go along

here, I'm sure at the beginning of the season they'll keep him down in the minors. Or not in the minors. They'll keep him down in the... You're distracted there for a second. Yeah, I know that. i think they'll keep them probably down maybe six seven ish in the lineup um but i i just have this feeling that as the

season goes along i think he's going to continue to work his way up um towards the top of it and i think he's going to be a real difference maker um and i keep trying to think of like what the lineup's going to look like like what the lineup's gonna look like when when harper's back and like selfishly i want harper batting too um you know because it would go turner harper and then whoever you want to put in three and then before it's like let's go like i think that makes sense yeah but like they don't seem very uh you know keen on the idea of doing that i think swerver is going to be the two hitter and unless it doesn't like work out like i think it's going

to be turner swerver yeah i think it's going to be um yeah i think it's gonna be turner swerver but until harper's back because like maybe maybe when harper's back you know they do put him there because like i i still i know lineup construction-wise, batting him four makes sense in a way. I just hate the idea that Harper's not going to bat in the first inning. Yeah. He has to bat two or three for me. He has to.

And I don't want to go lefty back-to-back, so I don't want to go Turner, Schwarber, Harper. So maybe they can go Turner, JT, someone else in the tool, and then Harper three. I think that could work. Boom down the road. Is that where you're going with this? Because I think boom in the tool is absolutely work. Well, and if we're looking for the correct mix of, you know, put the bat on the ball, not strike out with the ability to drive the ball

out of the ballpark. I mean, boom in-hole could eventually work. You know, I was actually thinking... Bowman, the three-hole? So you're thinking go Turner, Harper, Bowman, Schwartz. Yeah. And then because the fifth guy is going to be Reese or Cassius or whoever it is in that moment.

Then you got to write it there. Probably JT. So many hitters. We got so many hitters, dude. This is unbelievable. Well, and I was thinking about this last night, actually. So I've done this thing when watching Trey Turner, where I keep forgetting he's a Philly.

And he hits the ball in the ballpark in the game Saturday night. And it was like, dude, that's our guy for the next 11 years. But when I keep looking at the lineup and I look at the roster top to bottom and I look at the rotation, bullpen, what they have assembled on paper is what I believe is the best Phillies roster I've ever seen.

I know 11 had the three aces, but it was Stutes, Bastardo, Madsen in the back of the bullpen. You had a lineup at that point that was kind of starting to taper off. I mean, they weren't as lethal as they were in 07 to 10 right now it was the last year of ryan howard's career essentially you know last year peak howard um you know so you look at the bullpen the bullpen's way better the lineup i think is comparable if not better and i think harder there i think you could argue it's better i do i know it's crazy but we just mentioned i mean like you're getting to like the eight hitter before you're not you're getting to like a guy who isn't an

like an all-star or boom you know it's it's this is nuts i mean just you run off the guys i mean turner schwarber harper romuto hoskins you know castellanos we'll see but if you can pass me like all six of those guys are like all-star caliber players or all-star caliber bats you know and then you got boom you got i mean it's it's so deep and so good jack i know i know uh and and you know when you say something like castellanos batting eighth is like some big you you know, slap in the face in a way like, sure. But at the same time,

like it's, it's sort of where it all, where it all makes sense. Like if, if you round of the lineup with Scott Castellanos, Marsh, and then back to Turner, that's probably the,

like, that's probably the best lineup from day one. Um, like hall, we'll make his way up there. Cause he probably went on lefty a little bit earlier. Um, Reese will be up there there but like the fact that realistically they could have castellanos bet eight or whatnot as a 309 34 home run guy before the year before last you know is uh is is just insane

and um in the haven article the other day where he talked about, you know, there's people around baseball that think Harper's me back in May. And it was another like longtime scout that said when, when he's back, like that lineup is just insane. I mean, we,

we had earlier in the off seasons, someone said that compared it to the nineties Cleveland Indians teams, which is such a big comp. comp that's a massive comp I mean it's all big comps but you know like hopefully it all works out but man it's hard not to to have that feeling when you just look at these these guys on paper and you look at the back of the baseball card and look what they've done before and you look at how they can get better like Marsh could get better stock could get better Marsh will yeah I think those guys will get better they will you know and the one thing that it's going to be interesting for me is

like let's say Castellanos gets off to a cold start like I think I think batting him in the eighth hole like from day one would be a mistake just because he seems like a confidence guy oh yeah you gotta you gotta put him higher to start you just have to just just just let him bat for and hope that he can He was a good confidence guy. Oh, yeah. You got to put him higher to start. You just have to. I agree with you.

Just let him bat forward and hope that he can. He's starting to turn around a little bit in spring training. I'll say that. But, you know, I think this whole idea of, like, let's start Castellanos in the eight hole, I think that would do more harm than good. And I don't think Topper will do that. I think we saw it through the playoffs last year.

Look, I mean, everyone on the planet was saying back Castellanos eight or ninth, and he still didn't do it in the playoffs even last season. So I think coming into this season with the pedigree and the resume, I think he'll absolutely be more towards the top of the lineup. But, you know, I mean, again, it is, it's thrilling. It's thrilling to think about this lineup and turning it over and no weak spots. And, you know, when you're talking about, you know, Stott, Castellanos, and Marsh potentially as the very bottom of your order,

I mean, and the way these guys complement each other, I mean, you have, you know, pure hitters. You've got power hitters. You've got speed. It just, this lineup gives you everything you could look for in a lineup, you know, and I think that's incredibly important, the way the team is constructed. And then, oh, by the way, you know, what we keep talking's, that's incredibly important the way the team is constructed. And then, oh, by the way, you know what we keep talking about it, something

bone talked about again today, but all these dudes love each other and all these dudes like playing with each other and they're going to fuel up each other. They're going to feed off each other and they're gonna be fans in the stands that they're feeding off of. I just think, I think that the potential for this team, Jack is obviously it's winning the world series, but like, I do think it's really, really high for