High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Take Bag: Jack's Top 5 Phillies For 2024

Episode Date: February 8, 2024

Jack Fritz ranks the top five most important Phillies for the upcoming season. 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

All-star closer, Kenley Jansen, we have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? Baseball Isn't Boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford, and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago and is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is.

Another fact, so jump aboard the B.I.B. Express. Follow and listen to Baseball Isn't Boring, presented by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, I feel like my take back. Oh, yeah, take back. I forgot about it. I forgot about it.

There we go. Oh. Oh, this is called producing. Do you do that? I haven't put together a top five in so long, you know. Almost forgot what to do. I know you. We've missed our host guy now.

It's like you never even produce. I know what to do. I know you're Mr. Host Guy now. It's like you never even produce. I know. I miss my drop board. I have seen some, I'll just say embarrassing top fives in your stead. Oh, yeah. No one knows how to do it. Some tragic, tragic 10 minutes of radio,

but that's fine. Yeah, well, let's talk about making it funny. I know. Yes, it is. The most important Phillies in 2024 for them to win the division. Do the thing. Yes.

Okay. I think there's no doubt about it. Rojas is one. Absolutely. Cannot be. He can't be one. He's the biggest question mark in the line, depending on this. He can't be one 50 hitter guy.

Can't be just defense. He can't be 220 hitter guy. And that's the line. He can be 220. That's the line. He can be 220. 220. With like five homers. Yeah. Yeah. And they can't all be defense. He can't be 220 hitter guy. And that's the line. He can be 220. That's the line. He can be 220. 220. With like five homers.

Yeah. And they can't all be off pitchers. Yeah. The one ball that Yohan Ross has ever crushed. No. He hit two homers, but the other one, that one barely got out.

That was an opposite field homer. It barely got out. The one off the pitcher, he smoked that, and then it was hilarious. I would have thrown the ball. Imagine having to apologize after hitting your first major game. He should not have counted home run i know it should not count it yeah he was like

i'm sorry yeah um of a hitter i kept thinking of a hitter no i know i said i said the other day on the air i was like yeah yoan rojas's first home run off a pitcher i just did i was like what do you mean and i was like you've been I was like, a hitter pitching. Sorry. Yes. It was pretty obvious. It was very obvious. I think too is Kirk ring.

I think everyone else pretty much has. That's very good. Has. Cause he could be the closer. Yeah. And Dave said that that was interesting too. Cause they asked, do you have a closer?

And he's like, you know, that's not my decision, but like we don't, it's like, it could be a bunch of guys, but he did throw Kirk in there. He's like, yeah, I could see Kirk getting a few saves,

like that kind of thing. I feel like by May, he's going to be the quarterback. I think so, too. Because I think they like having Alvarado work around. I think they like Sir Anthony to be able to jump around. I'm curious about, like, Hoffman was so good. So good. Can he do that again?

Dude, it's, he's as big a question mark as anyone in the sense that, I mean, how many times have we seen guys have a fricking awesome built in year and then just not be good the next year. It happens all the time. And Sir Anthony wasn't even good this year.

So like, ah, look, he was awesome last year and I'm not going to doubt that, that he could be awesome again, but I certainly can't, I'm not sure of it. I'm excited about him,

but you know know it's a little like uh it reminds me a lot of uh tyler matzik sure but the braves is like a red dick is like the best lefty reliever in postseason that was barely pitched since so uh i'm really curious about hoffman because he's just good like that's a he's awesome oh it's a game changer totally especially because they need a right hand and arm that they can count on in that part of the baseball game game one nlds not enough not enough not enough arm that they can count on in that part of the baseball game. Game one, NLDS. Not enough righties we can count on the bullpen, what we always thought would happen.

Hoffman in the fourth. Rob Thompson masterclass. Masterclass. Only in a masterclass in games four and five against the NLDS. Third most important affiliate, I think, is actually Alec Baum. I don't know where we're at with Alec Bone will he ever hit for power ever ever ever

him having 20 home runs last year feels shocking well it's funny because remember like spring training bulked up started the season spring training then the start of the season hitting tank shots and then he went two months down without many you know

but he like he ended the year last year as the cleanup hitter. Mm-hmm. He might be there on opening day again. Look, so that's an interesting one because I think you have three, assuming they- Put Harper third. Yeah. And have a lefty at the top of the line that's not Turner, you know,

and he wants a right lefty thing. Then it comes down to three options. You're either doing JT, you're doing Cassie, or you're doing Boehm there. And I think Boehm makes the most sense from the sense that he puts the bat on the ball the most i think you know i think cassianos is not the clear i think it's either jt or boom in the sense you need someone there who's going to put the bat on the ball a little more consistently but i look i think by the end of the season last year jt was the guy i counted on i trusted the most of those three by the end of the season. So I think it'll be one of those two.

Who could forget Boehm's home run in Game 7? I know. Well, especially after. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who could forget? I did until you said that. I know. Totally, totally, totally forgot it. So, yeah, just like – and defense was good at third base last year.

Maybe he focused so much on that. I just – I'm curious. He was great defensively last year. I mean, it's close to extension time for him. Like, do they want to extend Alec Boehm? And it's a legitimate question. It's close to extension time for him. Do they want to extend Alec Baum? It's a legitimate question. It's not a no-brainer. I like Alec Baum a lot.

We'll see what they do. What does he have? Two more years of RRB left? Three more years? I think it's two or three. He came up in 20, right? So he's got three more years of RRB left. He's getting there.

He's getting there. So that's going to be an interesting one. I think he's really important. Four is Nola. We know what Wheeler is going to be. Were the adjustments in the postseason real, or were they not? And I feel good about Nola heading into the year, because I think contract's self-settled.

He's here for life. He can just calm down and go out and do his thing, and maybe the adjustments are real maybe that he you know buys into the because he's not never been a huge analytic guy maybe this has him buying in more i have no idea so nola gets the contract can he live up to that and you know i he's he's huge because you have wheeler but they're only way they're winning 90 plus games i agree they have legit two, and they need Nola to be a tip. No doubt. I'm very bullish on Aaron Nola's season.

We'll make our season prediction all the time. But I would expect a bold prediction from me on Nola. I'm really, really, really bullish on Aaron Nola's year. For a tease. That's a tease. And the last one is Turner. Ah, your boy. Your guy.

Are we going to get an MVP type year from Turner? Can we get a full season? Can we get a top 10 MVP vote for Turner this year? I mean, we should. We should. Again, with the contract, we should. That is the type of player he should be considering what he got paid. Especially now in these early years of the contract

when you really need to make hay. And it's so funny because like, Boehm has turned into a guy I trust more defensively than Turner. It's unbelievable. Can he bounce back defensively? Because that's the really only hole defensively they have right now. Even Castellanos. Who would have thunk it?

Two straight years down there, man. Their only hole defensively is Trey Turner? What? Yeah. 26 errors last year. It's unbelievable. And look, Dombrowski did make it a point when they were talking about the Ross thing and Schwerber and all that. They care about defense.

They do. That has been a big organizational change. The whole defense doesn't matter. More homers. It does. Who would have thunk it? Quite disappointing by Dave Dombrowski. We learned that lesson in both baseball and football. Defense matters, turns out.

Yeah, so Turner's a big one. Are we going to get an MVP year from Turner, or is it going to be 275-280? It won't be as bad as it was until August 4th of last year, but is it going to be a 275-280 year with 20-some home runs? Or is it 315-330 with 25 plus? 315-330

would be nice. I'll take 300. I'll be good. Does Stott bat 300 this year? No, but I bet he bats, I'm going to say 294. Cook him. 294. I'm saying it's close. If he didn't essentially not feel like he didn't get a hit for September

that's what it was I mean he was batting 306 or something when September started I can't wait for 30

Stoddy Stoddy he would be very high on my list of players I'm most excited to watch this year

I agree I gotta be honest buddy I'm excited to see him all I know I know you're asking

the wrong guy you're asking the wrong guy Bryce at first for the year just a full're asking the wrong guy. Just Bryce at first for the year. Just a full season of Bryce Harper. Like start the year at first.

That's going to be exciting. It is funny how like Reese was so bad at playing first base. Yeah. And like that. Again, his first game

was better than Reese ever was. Immediately. Unbelievable. Yeah. So that's my top five. That's great stuff. I love it. Thank you.

A couple other things. Jimmy Williams passed away. Yeah five it's great stuff i love it thank you uh a couple other things uh jimmy williams passed away which yeah it's a shame big uh oh wait philly's guy yep great bench just a baseball man baseball jimmy williams yep so that was that was a shame plus the rare jim y i know rarely see it i know i know uh the city connect jerseys look horrible and dude what a disaster like they look like union jerseys. Why do we do this? What are we doing here? What are we doing? All we did. Inside baseball or inside baseball guys text thread

or thread with Elliot. Elliot sent us those when they leaked and Jack and I were both like, this is horrible. And Elliot, of course, was like, I like them. Of course. They're great. They're horrible. They're elite.

They are trash. They are about as bad I just don't know yeah who's the City Connect for it's the union it's like a union it looks like a union shirt

like what are we doing here am I just you know no one cares sorry sorry who who are you apologizing I'm sure someone oh the union

yeah I'm sorry no one cares yes they don't but they look like the one like the one union shirt yeah they look like the one the union manger yeah the union manger is, the one Union. Yeah, they look like the one.

Yeah, the Union manger is cool. The main kit they wear. It's cool. It's cool. It's a bad City Connect. Hey, fantasy football owners. The road to winning your fantasy football championship starts now. I'm Matt Harmon from Reception Perception.

Join me and James Coe as we take a deep dive into the position that's going to make or break your fantasy roster. Wide receivers. We analyze route running, target share deep dive into the position that's going to make or break your fantasy roster. Wide receivers. We analyze route running, target share, and all the metrics that matter, giving you the insights you need to draft the best wide receivers. As you prep for your draft, let us give you the coverage you need. Follow and listen to Reception Perception on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. And my final thing is not baseball related, but I wanted to bring it up with've been it's been on my mind for the last couple of days love this like is there like does anyone write good music when they enter like their 40s there's a good tag

like i feel like you're right is there any like everyone just writes writing stuff yeah and then they perform it all their 30s and by 40s it's like because no one's ever like oh i can't wait to hear the new whatever no it was your it's a great point there are not that many musicians i mean like the stones did they had songs into their 40s and stuff like they had some good albums in the 80s and stuff like that i would say um but not really like rare i mean fish obviously still pumping out new music that's great you know no they don't. New music, new albums. But their older stuff's better. I'm with you.

It's just so funny. What was why it was such a big deal at the Grammys? They're like, Billy Joel actually wrote a new song for the first time in 40 years. They didn't write it. They didn't even write it. They performed a new song

for the first time in 40 years, whatever, 30 years. Taylor's going to be an interesting test. Yeah, she is. She pumps stuff out, man. She's 34, I believe's 34 yeah she's heading in that direction does she does she hold up through her 40s with making new music i mean

there have been people like bob dylan like they're older people like prince wrote until he died like there are people did they have a hit i think they did i mean some some hits well it's just i guess what made me think of it is but it's rare it's a great point i've been listening to uh this guy named wyatt flores and he's like. It's a great point. I've been listening to this guy named Wyatt Flores, and he's like 24. He's writing about heartbreak and all this. And I figured out his age. I'm like, well, what do you know?

Yeah. You know what I mean? Are you kidding me? And then someone pointed out, it's like, well, I mean, like McCartney wrote Let It Be at 27. That's true. So, you know, it's just like,

no, everyone just puts it all in their 20s. And then after that, just, yeah, what happens now? If you had asked me what new artist am I listening to, some guy named Wyatt would have been like my third or fourth guest. It would have been a pretty high guest, a guy named Wyatt. Why? Because it's a country music sounding guy. Is it country music?

No, it's more like the, I don't know, Americana. It's not because It's not country, but it's USA country. I like folk. I like folk music. Alright, well listen. Big Jim Croce guy. Love Jim. There you go.

Yeah, listen. Do you want to make the admission on the pod that you made to me through text that really made my month? Yeah, please. I don't know because I might offend the... Do you want to make the admission on the pod that you made to me through text that really made my month? Yeah. Yeah, please. I don't know because I might offend the – I just – I'm not a big fan of – What's that?

The Grateful Dead as a band, not that. Thank you. Welcome aboard. Welcome aboard. You finally listen to a little music and you're like, oh, this doesn't suck. Okay. It's just everything around the Grateful Dead. I get that.

The scene. It's a lot. Believe it or not, not my scene. It's far from your scene as it could possibly be. Jack Walker, you're all like, what is this? Where am I? What is happening? Where am I?

Thank you. Grateful Dead, not bad. Okay. Good. John Mayer maybe didn't put them on the map. Well. Plays their music. Enthusiastically.

Okay. All right. Okay. You got anything else? Pitchers and catchers, baby. Damn. Next time. Okay. You got anything else? Pitchers and catchers, baby. Damn. Next time we do... Wait, hold on.

Is that right? Yeah, next time. Next time we do a pod... Well, truck day is tomorrow. Yeah. Pitchers and catchers will be there. Hell yeah. I will watch.

I believe I'll be able to finish every yearbook before pitchers and catchers. No, you didn't. No, I probably will be. I haven't done it yet. I'm on my track. So... That's what I do Saturday.

What do you mean every yearbook? When you say every yearbook when you say every year like 2018 all right that's better i think about i don't think i'm gonna watch 2000 and just you know i don't think i'm gonna watch 2020 okay so this this era like start 19 start with harvard oh yeah start with 19 i had to finish 2018 i had to i had to remember had to the operative term yeah well because i did and it did bring back the memory of sitting in Costa Rica. Oh, I remember you. Watching Scherzer versus Nola.

Yeah. That's worth it. That's a good point. I forgot 2018 Nola, buddy. That was a year, buddy. Struck out Mookie in the All-Star game. Dominated at Fenway. Maybe 2024 is going to be similar.

I don't know. I'm just saying. All right. It was good talking real baseball. Yeah, that was good. I feel like that's the most Phillies we've actually talked, even though there were large stretches there where we didn't. Just cut out the Tucker part. Not you. That was the best

portion of the bot easily. Five minutes on who's your go-to Tucker. Everything else is pretty good. Justin Tucker. That's a good one. Never said Justin Tucker. Justin Tuck? No, it's different. it doesn't count that's good all right do the tuck yeah your sans lamson uh the tuck rule oh there you go i like how you moved right past the sans lambs to the tuck that was good yeah because i almost

made a really dumb comment oh good and i was gonna say oh the tuck push and i realized it's the tush push i love it yeah all right we got nothing else ross tucker should take that yeah he should yeah the tug push i like that it doesn't flow as well no it doesn't or not all right uh we'll be back next week as will the freaking phillies baby let's go he's friends himself