High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The Birth of Penvetta and Phillies First Round Pick Bryson Stott!

Episode Date: July 25, 2019

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are back as the Phils take two against the Tigers. They talk about the birth of Penvetta, some trade deadline rumblings and Chase Senior sits down with Phillies first round pick Bryson Stott.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information. 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

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slash yamex. Benefits vary by card. other conditions apply. Hi, this is Bryson Stott, first round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies, and you're listening to the High Hopes Podcast with James Seltzer and Jack Fritz. This is the High Hopes Podcast. High Hopes. It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Philadelphia Phillies on Radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP.

on radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. We're back in our studio, Jack. Well, it's about time they made room. It feels good. Yeah. It feels right.

Listen, as you can tell, the energy is already better in this room. You know? Well, that's only because of Penveta, let's be real. You're starting this early? Yeah, let's just go into it. That's what everyone's waiting for. We'll dive into the whole thing because of Penveta, let's be real. You're starting this early? Yeah, let's just go into it. That's what everyone's waiting for. We'll dive into the whole thing, but Penveta. What a showing from Penveta.

Nick Pavetta, what was it? Three and two thirds, five Ks. Looked awesome, Jack. Against the worst team in baseball. Let's not, you know. We don't care about that. We don't care about that, but he looked awesome. Uh-oh. Really?

It really feels good being dead right again about Nick Pavetta. We don't care about that. We regret that, but he looked awesome. Uh-oh. Really? Uh-oh. It really feels good being dead right again about Nick Pavetta. Right back to it, huh? We're never left. Dead right. Back like we never left. He was always going to be the idle pitcher. Well, honestly, if you want to go to the dead right,

I said if he was going to be a two-pitch pitcher, he was always going to work out the bullpen. You have said that multiple times. And he was a third pitch away from being a legitimately good starter. Craig Chilling, I think is what you said. Yeah. And a better version. That's the actual phrase.

A better version of Steven Strasburg. Yes. But now he's in the bullpen, and now he's just Josh Hader from the right side. So how much time you got on Penn? But it was absolutely, it was freaking dominant. It was like, dude, this is what we've been begging for. And I can't wait for a freaking outing from now when he's like, here's 92.

Here's 92. You know that's coming. Oh, my God. Frame series. It'll be when it gets important. It's going to be not so great. I'm going to be stampeding around my apartment angry at Nick Pavetta. But that upside is there.

I mean, I understand it was against the Tigers, but still he came into a 2-2 game and had to face Miggy and Castellanos, I'm pretty sure. They brought out Morgan after he got the lefty, and they brought in Pavetta to get a future Hall of Famer. And Nick Castellanos, who, like, Nick Castellanos is one of those guys that I think is going to get a big hit in a playoff series for some team. He just has that look to him.

Sure. He leads majors in doubles and all that. He's a good hitter. Nick Cassianos is the one good hitter on that team. Yes, and slap hitter Miggy. Not even slap. He's about like 280, so I guess that's okay. Yeah, slap hitter.

Singles, baby. Yeah, singles. Singles people to death. Yes. Death by a thousand papers cut. And not a single to right field because he might get thrown out of first base. Oh, man. Dude, Mike Alf Michael Franco made two plays

that like... Anyone else in baseball beats them out. Other than maybe Franco himself. I want to see Franco versus McGee in a foot race. That's what I'm saying. Come on.

It would have been must-see. Change out the freeze in Atlanta and just make it Franco versus Cabrera and see how it goes. The freeze is pretty impressive, by the way. It's a cool promotion.

It's a good bet. Never loses. No, he has lost. Has he lost cool promotion. It's a good bet. Never loses. Well, he has lost. Has he lost? Oh, yeah. Never loses when I'm watching. Oh, well, he's got... Always laps people

when I'm watching. Yeah, well, he's a freak. But it was like... It was 98 and it was aggressiveness and it was emotion and it was wipeout curveballs. It was like...

I'm... I'll just put this out there now. Uh-oh. Whenever you say that, anything could be coming next. No, no, this actually isn't good. I think they're going to trade him. I think they're going to trade him next week. Oh, no.

I think they would rather trade Pavetta than give up the prospects in the minor leagues. I think they'd rather trade Pavetta than give up, like, a Medina or give up a lower level guy. The guy's below Spencer Howard. I think Spencer Howard's untouchable. I agree with you. But I think they'd rather give up Pavetta than give up the other minor league pieces. And I just think that if they do that,

it is a colossal mistake, given what you saw on Tuesday night. Game one. Game one. You know what we do here. We saw on game one. I just think it is a colossal mistake because look at that.

You see that upside. And if you can be... Multi-inning guys are like... Incredibly valuable. It's so valuable. Very, very valuable in today's game. And instead of having to trade for relievers, maybe, hey, crazy idea.

Develop your own. You don't have to give up the farm for Kirby Yates if you can develop your own Kirby Yates. So I just... I don't like the idea. I would rather give up a prospect of Medina's caliber than give up Nick Pavetta, who's already proven that

he could at least be a dominant reliever in Major League Baseball. Actually, that's a little early to say. Two outings. One of them is dominant. Has the stuff to be a dominant reliever in Major League Baseball, and if he commits to it, could be one of the best in the game. I just, I don't, I have a bad

feeling that they're going to trade him in like a Stroman trade or a Ray trade or like a Miner trade. Wow. Very worried about it. Well, the funny thing is I think most people would say trade Pavetta instead of trading Medina. But I actually, I'm with you. I think that, and you've talked about for a while

that with those two pitches and the type of stuff that he has in the makeup, he could be a dominant multi-inning reliever. And guys like Josh Hader, guys like Vasquez, guys who can give you more than an inning and are dominant at the back of a bullpen are incredibly valuable. We saw

Andrew Miller almost carry the Indians to a World Series because of how dominant a middle multi-inning reliever he was. And listen, bad starters turn into dominant relievers all the time. It's what they do. Andrew Miller was a bad starter. It was crazy.

Josh Hader still could be a starter someday, but was a starter. It was crazy the reaction to like Pavetta in the bullpen. Everyone's like, wow, he's broken. It's like, well, not really.

Like this could be the best thing for him. Like when I saw Velasquez out of the bullpen, I thought it was okay. But when I watched Velasquez and the same thing happened yesterday,

like his all speed stuff is just not good. Like, he has a really good fastball. Like, a really good fastball that's heavy and it's hard to square up. But, like, the off-speed just leaves so much to be desired, whereas Pavetta, it's legit, like, two could-be-dominant pitches if he tries to throw as hard as he possibly can. Yeah, I mean, when that curveball is on, it is a dominant pitch. It is a wipeout-type curveball, especially when you mix it with 97-98

like you can when he's coming out of the pen like that with a consistent type of effort. What about the makeup, though? Because he did not handle the demotion well from a, you know, quotes type of perspective. What he had to say was not encouraging that Nick's going to go in there and just, you know, fill a role as it were.

But how he handled it on the mound was much better. Sure. Like the guy that we saw on the mound was, that was the most emotion I've seen from Pavetta really ever. I mean, he let out a vicious fist pump. Like it's, it's, if he can, that's what I'm saying. Like if he can just, if he can just commit to doing it, if he can just say, hey, I'm going to be dominant on the bullpen.

Like that's not a bad gig. No. It's not a bad gig at all. It's a great gig! And I understand the want to be a starter, but if you can be a bullpen, dominant bullpen piece for the next, you know, you'll be on this team for the next seven years or whatever, and then you go and get another contract, you get paid good money.

Relievers get paid good money, and the way that, if you're not going to learn a third pitch, you're not going to be a good starter, and you're not going to make any money, and you're going to get DFA'd. So which would you rather have? Would you rather have a job in Major League Baseball and be good at it? Or would you rather not?

It's a great question. It's an obvious answer. But the point is, that's what it comes down to with Pavetta. And in his head, he has to accept these things. Or look, develop a third pitch in the offseason. Really work on it and do that. Go one way or the other. But he has to commit to it if it's going to work.

Interesting with the trade thing. We'll talk trades a little bit later. I just think that Salisbury threw it out there yesterday, kind of like they may want to put him in a deal. If they think he is, and listen, they're so obsessed with this clubhouse thing, which is,

it's a good thing. If they think he is hurting the clubhouse and they think that he is that like just head case and they want to get rid of him because they don't think that he's ever going to put it together mentally like i get it but you better be sure because he's a guy that can come back and bite you like he's a guy that could come back and absolutely bite you and it would be it would be a gm's worst nightmare giving away a guy like that yeah well it could be it could be yeah and i'm with you. Will be. I do think the clubhouse matters.

I'm a believer in that. We've talked a lot about that. The 2017 Eagles, I don't think they win that Super Bowl without that locker room and the way it was. It was magic there. But I do think that matters. I think you need to foster a group of guys who want to go out and play for each other. And it doesn't, it's not matters. You know, you need talent, you need guys who can play, but I do think that matters.

So I'm okay with them looking at it that way. All right, let's step back a little bit and talk about the other things. Obviously not the most important thing in Nick Pavetta, but the other things that happened. Swept the Tigers in like the most boring, awfully played two game series I've ever seen in my life. They survived, honestly. It's all series I've ever seen in my life. They survived, honestly. It's all, I just wanted them to win. And look, 4-0, you know, it's a handily, they won that game.

Yeah, but it was like, they're winning with no one. It was off, all right? It was that lineup. And in the first game, game one, the 15-inning affair, which we both stayed up until 12.40 in the morning or whatever it was for that. What an awful game. A 15-inning win should be fun, Jack. It was not fun.

It was like torture having to watch that game. 16 strikeouts, 11 runners left on. It was just awful. It was horrible. It was horrible. 30-plus for both teams, like just so many Ks. The most frustrating thing about extra inning baseball

is like players just try to end the game every single bit. And the other thing is, on the flip side, batters aren't working counts, working at bats because they just want to end the game every single bit. Yes. And the other thing is, on the flip side, batters aren't working counts, working at bats, because they just want to end it, too. So it's frustrating. Oh, it was not a fun win. It was like, thank God you guys won that freaking game.

Your boy Joe Giglio put out a poll, which was in the 12th or 13th inning, which was something about, is this going to be a fun win or a sad loss? And someone replied, can't they both be sad? I was like, yes, it's a sad loss. Yeah. I mean, it was a definition of that. It was not a fun win. Thank God they won.

Thank God. Because we're talking about this like, oh, it was not a fun win. What a brutal night. If they lose that game, think about how much more annoyed we are. How much more pissed off we are. And then if he sat Bryce the next day and had that lineup trotting out there,

it would have been meltdown city. How about just the idea that in back-to-back games, Roman Quinn and Nick Williams hit home runs. That should be the sign that the apocalypse is upon us, Jack. Well, Roman Quinn, it was like a no-doubter. A 400-plus foot bomb on Matt Boyd. You're like, I'm not trading for Matthew Boyd anymore.

He's off my trade list. Give up a 400-foot, I'm running Roman Quinn. That's a problem. It's a real problem. He definitely settled down. He did. He looked good. He looked pretty good.

I would take him. I would take him, too. I think that what's coming out and what it seems, and again, as we learn with the Bryce Harper stuff this offseason, that you can't believe anything you hear at this time of year. There are certain things you can see teams connected to people, and we'll talk about some of the names. And on Monday, we're going to do our perfect deadline show, which should be fun.

But while you can't believe really anything you hear about this type of stuff at this time of year, I don't get too carried away with it, but we'll see. There's a lot of names floating around here. And I think with Boyd, though, it seems like what they're asking for, it seems like they're asking for the moon for the guy. And I don't know. I would love to have Matthew Boyd. I'd love to have the three years of team control.

I'm not giving up my farm system for Matthew Boyd. No, he's not the right guy to do it for. And the thing that I think we should know about Klansback and we should know at this point is that his move

is coming out of nowhere. Like, think of the last move besides Bryce. Jay Bruce was out of nowhere. Well, I mean, we're going back to, we're going to JG

RealMuto trade. Yeah, that another, yeah. That day, remember, we're like doing the pod and all of a sudden

it's like, wait, they're trading for RealMuto? What's happening? Oh my God. And it was David Robertson came out of absolutely no. You're right.

It's a good point. They keep a tight front office. Wilson Ramos last year. Trouble Cabrera last year. Yeah. Like just moves. No names we heard. No names that we were

they were connected to or whatever. So Clem Tech does not let anything leak. But I agree. Cigar trade came out of nowhere. Really all of them. It's a great point.

Except for Harper but Harper was a lot. And Harper wasn't even it still they were pretty tight about what was happening with Harper. Harper was a lot and Harper wasn't even it we it still they were pretty tight about what was happening with Harper it was just that

we were obviously all talking about Harper no matter what so it was impossible for them not to be involved in those discussions or whatever but yeah

it's a really good point I don't think we can even with and we'll get to Klintak's comments from Tuesday too but you can't really take anything

they say seriously no and but I do I do agree with you with Boyd though because they've been connected for a while, the three years of team control,

and I think they want Baum, and I think the Phillies are trying to figure out a way to do a deal without Baum. I agree, and Howard. I think those that we've talked about it, but in my mind, the only two guys I really, truly will be floored if the Phillies trade is Baum and Howard.

Yeah, and there's no other guy on the market. There's no one with enough years of control that you're going to get those in person. So Boyd is like a 2-3 guy for the next four years. I know that Philly's Twitter and there are a lot of people who really don't like Trevor Bauer. I'm of the mind that, yeah, he's an ass but he's an awesome pitcher so I'll take him

on my team. He's a really good pitcher. If it were Trevor Boyd for three years of team control, Trevor Bauer instead of Matthew Boyd really good pitcher. If it were Trevor Boyd for three years of team control. Trevor Bauer for three years. Trevor Bauer instead of Matthew Boyd, thank you. If it's Trevor Bauer of three years of team control, or even if it's like, you know, Robbie Ray of three years of team control, then

maybe you're willing to give up a prospect like that because those guys have shown the ability for multiple years to have real, wipe out, legit type stuff, whereas Boyd is really good, but it's all deception. It's not like he's got just dominant, dominant stuff. And also, he gets a lot of strikeouts, no walks,

but he's also got an ERA over four, so it's not like he's been wiped out this year. Yeah, and he's a two-pitch pitcher. And a late bloomer, too, which not that that is a be-all, end-all, but there's just not as much evidence for us that Matthew Boyd is going to be good for the next three

four years as there is with Trevor Bauer or someone like that like Cliff Lee was a late bloomer too but Cliff Lee was coming off

of Cy Young's he won the Cy Young like literally the year before he won the Cy Young it's a little different Cliff Lee's year when he won the Cy Young

his light year is better than what Matthew Boyd is doing he was doing the strikeout to walk stuff better than Boyd

and everything else is better and it doesn't matter that he's on a bad team. I've seen that float around. It doesn't matter. It's pitching dependent. And they're not a horrendous defensive team. They're just bad at everything else. I watch them a lot. They're not good.

They're not good. They're pretty brutal. They're not good but I'm saying they're not something where it should be like their pitchers ERAs are way higher than they should be because the defense has let them down so much. They're not the Phillies from last year. No team is the Phillies of last year. Oh my God.

One of the worst, one of the worst defense teams in MLB history. It's the worst I've ever watched on a consistent basis. There's no question about that. All right. Any other takeaways from the 15 inning affair? Obviously we all know Reese Hoskins unclutch, but outside of that. Finally, he's finally like I. Yeah. Guy never gets clutch hits. I can't believe it. where obviously we all know Reece Hoskins, unclutched, but outside of that? Finally. He's finally –

The guy never gets clutch hits. I can't believe it. Having two games in a row. Can you believe it? He went through a spell where he was not getting clutch hits and was not coming up big, which is all I was saying. Never clutch. No clutch hits from Reece.

Last week he's had like three. Yeah, back-to-back games, winning hits. He's had three clutch hits in the last – and then went in three of the last five wins. He's had big-time hits. So good for Reese. I mean, they need him to get going, and now Bryce is playing a little bit better.

So even though still, Bryce is just not lifting the ball. Not lifting the ball, man. I made a bet prior to the season with our boss, Mike Askin, and we're going to push because it was something like a 230 average, I think, was the bet. Over-under, but 31 home runs was the over-under, and I was like, oh, he's definitely going over 31. I got this

on lock. Not feeling great about that bet right now, Jack. Vegas is right. Did they say 28 and a half? They were right. I don't know how they do it. I don't either. We ripped them. We crapped all over Vegas when they said that. Mea culpa. It's crazy.

It's crazy. It's like the Eagles win total last year. They have like nine and a half or something. It's like, oh, I'm going to win 15. They won nine games. They always know. There's a reason that Vegas is Vegas. There's a reason why Vegas is still in business.

Yes. Brad Miller has his one big throw and then ended up on the aisle. Now out for 10 days. Yeah. Yeah, Brad. So Gabe said not to expect a long stay. It doesn't seem like that's a major injury, but also not a great throw. A great play by JT Romulo on that throw.

It was a okay throw. It was a great play. He put all his heart into it, though. That was, I mean, he did. Heart and hustle Brad Miller. He did. He did. But that was, I mean, Romulo, again, he is, and I know he had the homer in game two and

getting going maybe a little bit, we hope, offensively, but you can't underrate how great that guy is defensively. Oh. And to catch, I mean, that was in like the, what, 13th inning? To catch those many innings and still make that play? JT Romulo, per fan fan graphs Is the second most Valuable defensive player In the entire game

Wow Player Not just catcher Player In the entire And like I believe it Watching on a night to night basis

What he does It's not the craziest thing I've ever heard There's so much Now it's The trendy thing Is like Well

You know Jorge's offensive numbers It's like It's like Oh my god Like are we serious I believe he's been worth already two more wins

than Alfaro this season in terms of war. Yeah. Real Muto's war this season is.2 points below Jorge Alfaro's career war. There you go. I am so tired of it.

He's had a down offensive season and it's definitely not what we expected. But if you look at his hard hit percentage, he really is getting unlucky. And when you watch him every single night, obviously he had the seven strikeouts in a row, which you don't want to see at all. That's just brutal. But when you watch him every night, the guy is hitting the ball hard. Most of the time, he's just right at someone.

So hopefully it starts evening out and he can start figuring it out. But he's such a dominant defensive player that like, and Alfaro is just, Alfaro is just not, he was not a good player. He's probably, I haven't watched him every night, obviously. I haven't, I've watched so little Marlins. He's not a good baseball player. He is a stat cast baseball player. He is a, he is a huge tools.

Great arm, great power. Yep. Yeah. But like when you actually playing baseball, I don't think he's a good player. And again, there is no other position in the sport, maybe in all of sports, where one aspect of it is so much more important than the other. Your catcher theoretically can hit 200 if he's going to be the best defensive catcher in baseball.

It's that valuable at that position in terms of handling the staff and the defense stuff he does. Just an incredibly valuable player that I think that we have underrated his value to this team based on everything he does defensively. Also, if you take it out far as his numbers against the Phillies, he's probably not playing that well. That's a great point. It feels like his numbers against the Phillies are just

unbelievable. He's been like 400 against the Phillies. Probably always will. I feel like that's the way it works. You trade away a guy, they come back down. I'm not worried about... Now, Sixto, on the other hand, I'm very worried about. Sixto looks good. You see pitching in. Yeah.

Sixto. Sixto's great. Yeah. He's going to be good. Never a doubt. Sixto was always, will he stay healthy? We never doubted the skill, the talent. It was just, will he stay healthy?

And that's still a question. He's a little guy. He throws hard. All that type of stuff. But we always talked about the thing with Sixto is that it wasn't like he threw hard easy. It wasn't like the torque on the body. It wasn't like Oswald where you're like- Or Lincecum.

Or Lincecum. Better example. You're right. Lincecum. Where you're like, his arm's going to fall off. Like his arm's going to fall off if he keeps doing that. Sixto, it looks so much easier and so much more natural. Oh, Sixto's easy 100 with spotting it wherever he wants.

He's going to be good. He's going to be good, but they can't pay him. So he'll be here if they want him. Yeah, great point. And Romito, again, has been crazy, crazy valuable. Alright, Game 2. I mean, maybe the most boring win in the history of Phillies baseball. Game 2. It was horrible.

Can you think of one? First of all, Vinny, 5 two thirds 110 pitches Nine strikeouts He takes 110 pitches To get through five and two thirds And look Awesome Very happy with the outing

Granted against the Tigers But Oh my god I hate watching him I hate He's so Slow He's so boring

It's awful to watch He's the worst watch in baseball There was one sequence Where like Uh Uh Nap was like Slow. He's so boring. It's awful to watch. He's the worst watch in baseball. There was one sequence where like, uh, uh, uh, uh, nap was like holding down a three or whatever.

And I swear to God, it was 10 seconds till he said, yeah, okay, we'll go with the three. We'll go with the, we'll go with the slider or whatever. And like,

if he's playing, his fastball location was better. And they're, they're trying to work with like, first off, they just decided that it was a good time to try the string, the string drill to work on his fastball location was better and they're trying to work with, like, first off, they just decided that it was a good time to try the string,

the string drill to work on his fastball location. Like, the string drill, I'm doing that since I was like 14. Like, what are we doing here? Trying anything they got,

yeah. Yeah, and I mean, I thought his fastball location was decent. He really struggles and why he struggles so much with things against

left-handed pitchers or left-handed hitters is that he cannot, he cannot get his fastball up and into lefties. We saw it happen with Muncie last week, or against the Dodgers, really. Every time he tried to go up and in with a fastball to a lefty, he'd just leak it out over the plate, and they would just smoke it. So, the Tigers did not make him pay, and they didn't make him pay all afternoon. It was inefficient. It was 9Ks, 110 pitches, 5 and 2 thirds.

Like, I'll take it. Happy for you. Like, good. But I'm not like, oh my God, Vinny. No, again, this, and you kind of poo-pooed it before with Pavetta, obviously, but I mean, this Tigers lineup is among the worst I've ever seen. They have like three guys I had never heard of before. I mean, Bobby Wilson, apparently that guy's been in the majors for a long

time, up and down. No idea who he is. The Dixon dude? Never heard of him. I watch a lot of baseball. Like, I watch a lot of baseball. I play fantasy in multiple deep leagues. I know the majority of players in the league. I've never even heard of these guys. They have Jordy Mercer?

Yes, they have Jordy Mercer. They got Nico Goodrum. It is a horrendous lineup. Terrible. Yeah. It's horrible. So it's hard to get too excited about it. Yes, but what he can take away is 98 with a hammer curveball. What he don't want to take away

from is 93 still missing fastball locations and a curveball that they were just spraying to left field all the time. Look, I'm very with you. Just eye tests, watching Pavetta, he looked dominant. It looked like it wouldn't have mattered who was up. Those pitches were nasty. He looked nasty.

So there is a difference. And even like, Laska's going to head like 1-2-0-2, and then he'll go like, I'll get a 3-2, and then he'll throw a fastball by someone. And then it's like as soon as a runner's on base, you know it's going to take that much longer to go. It's unbelievable. It's like a three-and-a-half-hour game last year. It was a 4-0 game that was three-and-a-half hours. 4-0!

How? I'm sitting there in the eighth inning. I'm like, I can't believe this game isn't over right now. This is ridiculous. It was never, ever going to end. So, I mean, Hoskins had a ball. There were so many balls in that series that just would have been bombs at Citizens Bank Park.

Hoskins stand up triple. Yeah, that was like in the bullpen. That's unbelievable. There was three balls in the game one. There were like three back to back. I know Harper and Hoskins had two back to back that were easy home runs in Citizens Bank Park that were fly outs in game one. I don't remember the Harper one. But the...

It was like the seventh inning, sixth inning, somewhere in there. All I know is that Segura would have had one, Kingery would have had one, and I'm pretty sure Hoskins would have had one as well. What do you think about the way Kapler, what do you think about Kapler giving Harper the day off? Harper essentially getting three days off this week, essentially, with that, with the two off days and the day off.

And just the way he, it seems like the way he's kind of constructed things was kind of with an eye on the Brave series. Do you feel that? Yeah, and it was nice that, it was first off, if you can win a game that Bryce doesn't play in, like I'll take it. Absolutely. First game all season he hasn't appeared in. Like second one he hasn't started,

but the first time Bryce Harper has not gotten into a game this year as a Philly State. If you can win that way, that's great. And just getting Reese off his feet for a day was good. And getting Real Muto off his feet was good. To be able to win a game like that.

Off his crouch. Yeah, out of his crouch. Still playing first base. Still playing first base. And who needs it? Yeah, I'm with you. It was good. It was a little,

if they lost game one, I would hope he wouldn't have gone, I would hope that he would not have done it for game two. Agree. Like you're just coming

off the all-star break, you have off Monday. Well, that was my thought. It's like you're just off the all-Star break. You have off Monday. Well, that was my thought. It's like you're just off the All-Star break, and you have two off days this week. Does Bryce really need it? I mean, I'm fine with it. They won the game, but it's a little eh. Yeah, I don't think he needed it.

It's a little weird. Unless Bryce asked for it. Which, we know Bryce Harper. I doubt he did. It doesn't seem like the Bryce Harper we know is asking for days off ever. No. So, glad they won. Don't totally get it.

I don't think he needs that much of a mental break heading to a Braves series. Totally agree. Just go ahead. Totally agree. All right. We'll look at the Braves series in a sec. I do have a couple questions there. Anything else from the Tigers series?

I mean, just that Penved is here for a week. Oh. For a week. How could I forget? I don't know if you noticed this, but do the Phillies... Now, I don't know if this is allowed, but do the Phillies have three viable lefty options out of the bullpen? It's unbelievable.

So, first of all, you and I, big Jose Alvarez fans now. We're in. Never doubted him. He's just good. He just gets outs. And I know that he needed Brad Miller to help out a little bit in that game, but Jose Alvarez just gets out. He's got a 3-1-2 ERA or something like that.

Ranger Suarez, all the guy does is win baseball games. 3-0 since the All-Star break. Just a winner. And we've always loved Adam Morgan. Obviously, I think Suarez is the one you're less sure about, but I feel really good about Adam Morgan and Jose Alvarez. And what I've seen from Suarez over the last few weeks, I feel really good about that, too.

Multi-innings, too, with all guys. What's nice about Suarez, and I think what they're starting to finally learn is that you need guys that can throw strikes. And guys who can go multiple innings is really helpful, too, as we're seeing. That's why Kyle Dowe got sent down back to AA, because guys can't throw strikes.

And I think Gabe came from the Dodgers and he came from a team that like you better fill the strike zone. Preaches that. I mean, it's unbelievable. You go and look at the walk rates

of Dodgers pitchers, it's unlike anything you've ever seen. Right. And that's why he's so frustrated. That's why he's so frustrated with Pavetta. Like,

Gabe, he only critiques two players and it's Nick Pavetta and Mike Offron. Yep. So, so, once in a while Vinny, once in a while, Vinny.

Once in a while, but same reason. Right. So, Ranger Suarez will come in, and sure, may not be white about stuff, but at least you know he will give you strikes. That's when Juan Acasio was bitching as a set-up guy, because he will come in and he will throw strikes. They want guys who can throw strikes. Now, do I wish those guys had upside?

Do I wish they threw harder? Do I wish they could strike out people? Yeah, but who needs it in 2019? Yeah, in 2019. Yeah, strikeouts aren't important. I think also, though, with Suarez, the thing that I think you're seeing that he's clearly as we've seen, I think he's not a starter,

but he's someone who, if he's only facing guys once, can get through the lineup a little bit. He's deceptive enough. He's got a weird enough delivery where it's hard to pick it up. And he seems unfazed. He seems unfazed. Yeah, he seems like he's got a little bit of nails in him. Right.

So I think Morgan's obviously their best option. Very clearly. Still really good. Especially against lefties. Really good against lefties. Still don't love him against righties, but he did strike out Castellanos yesterday. And then kind of, that was one of those classic things

that I've been through this before, where you get the big guy out in the lineup, and then it's that was one of those classic things that I've been through this before where like you get the big guy out in the lineup and then it's like so you get the five hole hitter and six through nine is just like

he's got stuck. And in this case it's really true with the tiger. Right. That's exactly what it was. It's like you got the

five hole hitter. He's like the last threat. Yeah. And he kind of like whatever I'll just throw whatever and then he walked to

got a little dicey and it's like come on Adam like just figure it out for a second. But I didn't know it was allowed for a Phillies team to have three viable options from the left side of the bullpen, but apparently it is. Left side, period.

We don't do left-handed pitching in Philly. Wasn't it like two months ago where they didn't have one? Like Morgan was hurt. Morgan was hurt and Alvarez was. It was just Alvarez. It was just Alvarez. But that was at the time where Alvarez was the worst pitcher on the team and we all hated him. They went to the Dodgers series with Jose Alvarez being the only lefty out there.

And it was when Alvarez was not great. It's pretty crazy. It's exciting. What an exciting thought. Oh, it's riveting. Yeah, I'm about it. This is what we're doing here, Jack. Love this modern baseball team.

I mean, Hector Neris, K'd the side in game two. Very exciting. Did he yell FU to the Dodgers? He scared the crap out of me in gameis caved the side in game two. Very exciting. Did he yell F-U to the Dodgers? He scared the crap out of me in game one, in the 15 inning game. Yeah, not great. Heart attack Hector. Okay, we'll talk about the Braves here in a sec, but speaking of Hector, speaking of trades,

and we're going to do our perfect deadline, but right now, you just said you expect, or don't expect, but you're worried that Pavetta will get traded in a deal. We've heard a lot of names attached. We haven't heard any really relief names other than names attached with starters, like we've heard Stroman and Giles or Stroman and Hudson. We've heard Boyd and Green as options,

but we haven't heard them really attacking the pen market. Trevor Bauer, as we mentioned, kind of the new name added to that list of names we've heard. Right now, and we'll do our perfect deadline, but what's your feel on starter reliever do they end up with either of those types of pitchers and and what level they end up with i think that i think they'll get a controllable starter and so whether one of the minor minor ray stroman boyd uh cranky or bauer or bauer yep those are the six names and it is

interesting they're all signed past the season. So I think that's why you're connected. I think Granke, personally, I don't think Granke's coming here. I don't think Granke wants to come here. And I think ultimately that's what will happen. But obviously I would love him. Then they better not go too far down that road and miss out on other pitchers. I agree.

You better figure it out now. I agree. And I think they know. I think they know. I think that they're involved. It keeps coming out. Well, that's what, I can't remember, I think it was Morosi who said

that they've been engaged in talks with the Diamondbacks about Greinke, but that they're not at the front burner right now, that it's not something they're expecting. But they're also the only team that's been named multiple times with Greinke. That's a good point, too. Look, I would love Greinke,

and again, I think that it all comes down to Greinke. They have to have a feel for whether Greinke is going to be willing to come here. I mean, again, there's a guy who has said multiple times, I don't want to pitch in a big city. I have anxiety. He pitched in LA. He's talked about his anxiety.

He pitched for the Dodgers. Yeah, he did. He did. But that's a soft sports town. It's a different thing, man. Can you imagine Angelo's first tweet when he's- Oh my God. One bad start and people are on him and then Greinke's like, screw you, I'm out.

And his next two years are just turmoil. Yes. So, look, I would love the Granke deal. We both agree that in terms of if he's willing to come here, that's the guy we want the most because he costs the least and he's a great pitcher and it's just money. I would be prized. So do I.

So you think a controllable starter comes here? You think one of those six guys or someone of that ilk, if it's a name that we haven't heard for some reason. But who else? I can't think of many. All I do is look over depth charts. I know. I can't,

I can't find another one. The thing with Bauer though, it's like the next level down. It's guys like, you know, I could see a Tanner Roark. Tanner Roark or someone like that. Mike Leak,

Samarja, Roark, those types of guys. The thing with Bauer, and like, I think Bauer's a really good pitcher. Super strange guy. Don't love him.

I, I, I hate him. As a human being, I'm not a fan. Not a fan strange guy. Don't love him. I hate him. As a human being, I'm not a fan. Not a fan at all. He's nasty, though. He is nasty. When he's locked in.

But, but, but, but. They've been so invested in this clubhouse thing. I would be surprised. That's a great point. I mean, I'm sure there are people in the clubhouse who would like him. I mean, seems like a Jake Arrieta kind of guy, if I had to guess. Yeah, but not. It's not even that.

No, I know. He's a volatile person. Well, he and Garrett Cole haven't even talked together. They played in college. Dude, I mean, look. Trevor Bauer's an ass. He just is. All you have to do is

Google Trevor Bauer and read some of the stuff about him. I mean, he gets into fights with women on Twitter. Bad dude. He's not a good dude. I don't want him. You don't want him?

Yeah. I think he's just too much. Look, I hope that because of all that and because of the fact that he said he's going to sign one-year contracts after next season, you know, when his contract is up, and mercenary and all that,

that maybe you can get him for less. That would be my thought, is that maybe he has a smaller market because of what an ass he is. Yeah, maybe. But, yeah, if I had to go over it, I think— For what it's worth, he would be the one I would expect them to trade for the least just based on the whole situation. Yeah. I just think they're gonna go and they're gonna controllable and I just the comments the other day were so frustrating by Klintak oh yeah let's get into

that because like basically if you haven't heard the comments Klintak essentially did what McPhail did poo-pooed the idea that they're going all in this year, which we've discussed, but poo-pooed the idea. Basically said, hey, if you're up seven games in the division, you're going to be a lot more likely to make a big trade like they did in 09 than if you're down seven games in the division, which at the time they were. So he was kind of saying, hey, and again,

take it with a grain of salt because we've seen many GMs, including him, lie and do the opposite of what he says. But he did poo-poo the idea that a big trade would be coming. Right. Which is annoying from the standpoint of, like, you don't want to give up these prospects, and you don't want to go all in. You don't want to go to the luxury tax.

You don't want to do all this stuff. Like, if you don't want to do all that stuff, why didn't you just sign Keichel? It's a great point. That's a great point, Jack. When we're stepping back, like, why wouldn't you just sign Keuchel? It's a great point. That's a great point, Jack. When we're stepping back, why wouldn't you just sign the guy that wouldn't have done any of those things?

It would have been a one year. They're 13 million. They're under the cap still. And then it keeps you in it until the deadline. And then the deadline comes up. And hey, if you're closer to it, then you could give him more and go for it. Yep.

And like, I just, this like, he said something like, you know, we're coming into the season, we're only projected to win 80-some games, and guess what? We're still only going to win, like, 80-some games. It's like, dude, like. All right, objectively great offseason. Yeah, like, what are you. What happened to that guy?

And taking it a step further, when you look at it, like, okay, fine. Look at it that way, but what are you going to do next season? There's only one great starting pitcher on the market this offseason, and it's Garrett Cole, and he's going to cost $200 million or whatever he will. And look, love Garrett Cole. If they want to go sign Garrett Cole, bring him on over. I'm very happy about that. But, like, you can't put all your eggs in that basket,

so you're going to have to trade for somebody at some point, right? You have to do something to bring a pitcher in here for next season. Why not do it now? Why? I know, that's what I'm saying. They have no choice but to go after a minor, Stroman, Ray. They have no choice but to go after the big names because you're trying to compete next year

too. Yep. And my goal out of this trade deadline is trade for a guy that you've envisioned can be here for the next four years. Yes, as we talked about. Someone you could actually sign further than that or whatever. So I just, this defeatist attitude of like, well, maybe more of a Loesch or a Blanton type of move.

Like, then you just should have signed Dallas Keuchel. And I was not the biggest Keuchel guy in the world, but like it was basically the back end of the rotation. Guys, Velasquez at that point, Pavetta at that point, or just let Keuchel go do Keuchel things. Now we're all gung-ho about Drew Smiley. I would love for Drew Smiley to figure it out. I'm not confident in Drew Smiley figuring it out. That was Keuchel a way, way, way, way better bet than Drew Smiley.

Right. Like, way better. It's not even comparable. One guy pitched in the major leagues last year. Yeah. One guy won a Cy Young a few years ago. And plus, if they brought in Dallas Keuchel, this would have been the best 2015 team of all time.

Harper, Arrieta, Keuchel, Smiley. You got both Cy Youngs. And the MVP. Both 2015 Cy Youngs and the MVP. Would have been the best 2015 team of all time um yeah i'm with you and i'm hoping that clintac is is doing a little rope dope type action oh i'm i'm sure they're giving the pitching decisions they've made in the last two years i didn't expect it i'm sure i'm sure he's scouring the market you know they cooked they could have picked up the option on charlie morgan for nine and a half

million dollars and they chose the one million dollar buyout and let him go to the Astros. You're killing me right now. I was watching Charlie You mean the guy who's going to win the Cy Young in the American League this year, Charlie Morton? That Charlie Morton? I kid you not, James. I was watching Charlie Morton Philly's highlights this morning. Oh no. Actually, last night. Why would you do that to yourself?

Because, first off, I want to make sure it was real. It was real. Did he pitch on his team? It was real. And I was watching him. That was freaking nasty. We said it. Okay. That was nasty. Even though he tore his hamstring.

World Series hero, Charlie Morton, yeah. Cy Young winner after this season, Charlie Morton. Didn't either. Be nice to have that guy here. Nine and a half million. Be nice to have that guy here. Nine and a half million. Oh, and only 15 this offseason.

All right. Glenn Zach. Love the pitching decisions. Pretty nice to have that guy here. Nine and a half million. And only 15 this offseason. All right. Clemsack. Love the pitching decisions. Quickly, do you think they trade for a closer? I mean, obviously bullpen, arms, we can assume they'll add an arm or whatever. But do they trade for someone who will be their closer? I don't want Giles. I just think if you're going to the clubhouse thing and think that guy can't handle a big city,

I have no interest in bringing back 100-mile drives. We also saw what happened with him in the playoffs with the Astros. He lost a job in the playoffs. It couldn't close for them in the World Series. They said, we're good. If they do the Boyd trade, I'd like to see Shane Green add it to the mix. I would like to see them trade for a controllable start and then go somewhere else for a closure.

Honestly, I like the idea of trading something small for like a Michael Givens and having another back end of the bullpen guy. Or like an Alex Colombe or something like that. Keeleman. Is it Colombe? Is it really? Is it Colombe? I thought it was Colombe.

You could be right. I don't know. Either way, it's a guy who's... I said Keeleman because I was thinking of Franklin Keeleman for... Yeah. Yeah. That type of trade. But I would like a smaller trade for a Michael Gibbons kind of guy.

Same idea with Colomé. It's like closing for the White Sox. That type of guy who's maybe not a wipeout awesome closer, but someone who's a really good back of the bullpen guy who's pitched in good bullpen. Colomé's had four or five years of really solid success. Right. And those guys are always available. Always available.

And available generally for cheap. And like Kirby Yates would cost a lot. I think he would cost a lot. A lot, a lot. Yeah. He's still signed through next season at least. And plus San Diego Padres viewership is up 81% from last year. Is it really?

Yeah. Good for them. So I don't think they want to move pieces. I think they want to try to compete. And look, they're a team where they don't think they want to move pieces. You know, I think they want to try to compete. And look, they're a team where they don't really need more young talent. Like,

they don't need to trade for young talent. They've got it all already. So, alright. Big series coming up, Jack. Five and a half out.

Like, that's a great, I mean, it's great. Shout out to the Royals, man. Well, that's,

yeah, shout out to the Royals. They did the opposite of what the Tigers couldn't do against the Phillies, which is great. Ian Kennedy?

You want him? I don't particularly, but that type of name, you could put him in that conversation with Givens. I mean, Jake Diekman, I'd take Diekman back. We don't really need lefties as the crazy thing anymore. We're good. We got the guys. But it is crazy because, and look, we owe two or three.

That's what we always say. And I'm certainly not on any level expecting them to sweep the Braves. But we've talked about the NL East just being over. It's done. We're only worried about the wild card. If somehow, someway, at home, they can sweep the Braves, they're two and a half games back, Jack. And we're back.

Can you imagine? I can't even process it. If they sweep the Braves, Matthew Boyd will be here for Alec Baum. When you think about it that way, it is a massive series in the sense that if they can sweep them or even take two or three, even if they can make the NL East a realistic thing, that has to put more pressure on Klintac to consider at least adding to this team because then all of a sudden you're not just playing for that one game anymore.

And the opposite of that, if they get swept, then they lose two or three, they're seven and a half out at that point with 60 games left. Again, we've said it like 30 times this season, but this is definitely the most important series of the season up until this point.

No doubt about it. It literally changes the direction of the team. Yeah. If they go out and take two or three or sweep, God forbid, it'd be awesome. They don't do that. No. Oh, they did already this year.

I know. Our first time in that building. Back when we were at Lockford. God, back when the offense was awesome. Anyway. Not anymore. So, yeah, I just think it changes everything. If they play like a competent baseball team

and take two or three, they are definitely monitoring this series from a trade deadline standpoint. I think it's surprising it's this late, but I know that they are looking at this like, if we play well, we'll buy more into this team. I agree with you. It's more information to make an informed decision with,

and it really matters. One question about the series, it doesn't seem at least so far like Gabe is going to move Nola up. No, he's starting Sunday. Okay, they said it. Okay, because I was perplexed by that. I was like, why would you not move him up? So at the cost of who, Arietta or Affleck?

Smiley. Really? I would have thought they'd roll Smiley out there. Cliff Lee is on your team. You're not going to roll him out there? In a big series? I would rather see Smiley than Eflin right now. I just would.

Arrieta, Eflin, Nola. Okay. I'd rather see Smiley than Eflin, but that's fine. We got Soroka, Freed, Gosman. Get out of here, Gosman. Yeah. I mean, Soroka's the only one who scares you. I mean, Freed's a really good pitcher, but Soroka's...

Oh, Freed against this lineup? Come on. It's game over. Yeah, let's relax. What are we saying here? Vers you. I mean, Freed's a really good pitcher, but Soroka's... Oh, Freed against this lineup? Come on, it's game over. Yeah, let's relax. What are we saying here? Versus feeling heavy Zach Eflin. What are we saying here? Yeah, well, that's the problem. All right.

Eflin hasn't fooled a guy in six starts? I'd rather... I mean, this is something I never thought I would say this season after what we've seen already, but I'd much rather have bone spurs Arrieta out there than Eflin right now. You got him Friday, so... I'll Arrieta out there than Eflin right now. You got him Friday. I'll take it over heavy body Eflin. I mean... I would love for Arrieta to set a tone.

If Arrieta... I know we always say, like, big game pitcher, this is why he's here, theoretically. Can you imagine if he went out and just dealt? And listen, dealt is five innings. To a point, yes.

What Bone Spurs Arrieta can give us? It'd be crazy. It'd be crazy. Big series, man. I'm excited. And obviously we'll talk about it on Monday when we get back. It's one of those series that you're 7-0-5 right in front of my TV.

Oh my god. I'm canceling weekend plans. It's a show me series. It's a real show me series. This team has a chance to show a lot of people who have not believed in them for a while now in this city or believed in them to the point of like, oh, they could be a real playoff team that matters. If they can sweep the Braves, people will pay attention.

Yeah. Winning five or six against the Pirates and Tigers is not exciting. Nothing. It does literally nothing. Staying afloat. It's the definition of staying afloat. So four or five. Well, they've won five or six.

Five or six. Correct. Yes. So, yeah, it's massive. And hopefully Segura can play. Yeah, and I do get the feeling that, again, going back to Gabe saving up, it felt like, look, he pinched it in Pittsburgh. Like pinch hit on game one.

Yeah. So I feel like he's close. I feel like it's one of those things Where if he had to go He could go And I feel like In the Brave series He's gotta go And it's a Bryce series Yeah

It's a Bryce series Oh it's gotta be Bryce series He's got the rest He's played well He played well in the Dodgers series Single handedly One of those games And this is

This is what we paid you for man And you've been You've been better Could you please lift the ball Please Bryce Can you give me a homer or two this series? Him and Real Muto are both at the lowest launch. Here's what I don't get.

I'm watching the Yankees and Twins last night. Oh, my God. Don't even go there. Two nights ago, you're talking about. Both, both, both games. Two nights ago, it's like, of course, we have our 15 inning game going on. The best game in baseball this season is going on against them. It's like, that game is what I wish our game were.

I had both TVs on. Phillies on one. Yankees twins on the other. And I'm like, why can't our game be this game? Because this is awesome. They're both launching baseballs. I know. I know.

It's like 14 or 12-10. It was crazy. Watching that game. Watching that game. And seeing what Wes Johnson, the twins pitching coach, has done. A former pitching coach at Vanderbilt, brought to Twins and just changed the whole rotation, and seeing the way that they launch,

I have never been more committed to the fired John Mayley. Like, I just have never... Like, watching teams that know how to do it and then watching the Phillies... Especially after that 15-inning game. Like, that was as much an indictment of John Mayley. And again, we always say, who knows what hitting coaches really

do and what really involvement they have. But that game felt like an indictment of John Maley to me. They were just non-competitive at bats against a bad team in a game you need to win. With bad plans over. For 15 freaking innings! I honestly

think the Dodgers would have would have crushed matthew boy that's what i'm worried about like because he's such a two-pitch guy and his fastball is not overwhelming they're just gonna wait for those spots yeah yeah i'm worried about that so um yeah the twins twins yaki's game is like this is what it's supposed to look like meanwhile meanwhile our guys like bryce is the lowest launch in his career can't launch anything like it's it's just terrible. It's terrible. Absolutely terrible. All right.

Notebag. I think it's hilarious that the Mets traded Mike Trout of the East for Edwin Diaz, and they're already putting him on the block. I was going to say that, dude. Diaz is on the block. It's awesome. Thank you. Again, I can't thank the Mets enough for hiring Brody Van Wagenen over Kyan Bloom.

Kyan Bloom was the second place finisher in that job. Gotta bring in an agent. Thank you, New York Mets. You are the best. Keep being you. They're unbelievable at this. It's awesome. You didn't have to do that trade.

No. Although Cano did. Yeah, he had three overs in the game. Wow. His first good moment as a Met. I'm sure they're super psyched. You didn't have to do that trade. No. Although Cano did. Yeah, he had three overs in the game. Wow. His first good moment is met. I'm sure they're super psyched as they watch Jared Kalinic be like a top 10 prospect in baseball.

Yeah, for sure. And my final note bag thing is Spencer Howard is getting promoted to Reading. That's good. Eventually getting promoted to Reading. If not today, then tomorrow. So that's super exciting. And honestly, I don't think he's going to be there long.

I think they want to get him with the Major League Balls and AAA. And I think if he pitches well, it is not out of the realm that he could be here in September. He is that polished of a pitcher. He is that dominant. And what he's doing in Clearwater is freaking amazing. That's what I want to hear. Spencer Howard. I can't wait. My favorite. I love that guy. I'm so

in on Spencer Howard. And here's the thing. This is the God's honest truth. They have freaking developed two good pitchers in 30 years. Yeah. Hamels and Nola. That's it. For the love of God. Just give us one. Let's try to develop another pitcher. It would be glorious. Speaking of developing, other side of the ball, final thoughts coming up. But first, our good buddy, Chase Senior. Shout out to Chase Senior.

The new open that you've heard with Bryson Stott as a result of Chase Senior and Chase, our good friend, had a chance to catch up with the number one pick overall himself. No. 1 Phillies pick overall. No. 14. Bryson Stott, Julian Chase Sr. Here's a little bit of that interview. So the High Hopes podcast is on the road. We are coming to you from Bowman Field in Williamsport. And we have a great guest for you guys.

You probably know him pretty well already. It's Phillilly's first round pick, number 14th overall out of UNLV, shortstop Bryson Stott. And Bryson, you go from playing college ball at UNLV to then getting drafted, going down to the Florida Gulf Coast League to now playing low A ball in the New York Penn League here in Williamsport. If you could come up with one word to describe the last few months, what would you say? My one word would be crazy. Just everything that, how fast everything kind of moves, but yeah, crazy would explain it. So you toured up, down in Florida in the Gulf Coast League. You haven't been in Williamsport long, but we're going to start this off with some

trivia and true or false questions about Williamsport to see how well you know Billtown. You ready to go? Yeah. All right. True or false, Bowman Field is the second oldest operating minor league baseball stadium in the United States. I'm going to go true. You sure? Yeah.

You got that right. One for one. Number two, true or false, during the 1800s, at one point, Williamsport had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States. 1800s. I think I'm going to go true again. Your instincts are right on. Two for two, off to a 1,000 batting average, kind of close to what you're batting right now um man you talk about this ride being crazy you're what we call a fast riser in high

school you weren't a highly touted prospect but you end up committing to unlv and you progress and develop there and really turn yourself into a top tier prospect in high school when you weren't getting all of the Division I offers and you weren't getting noticed. You had that chip on your shoulder. Why did you stay hungry, and when did you realize, hey, I can make a career out of being a professional baseball player? Yeah, I mean, I was very small. My first two years, I was 5'2 in high school,

and then I kind of hit my growth spurt going into my junior year. So to hit my growth spurt, I mean, it's kind of with how early these guys are committing now, it was kind of a lot of schools were not interested since I was such a late bloomer. So I mean, Coach Stolt and Higgins, they were on me. so it was nice to know that the school in your backyard had a lot of interest in you. So, I mean, I still went out and did all the scout ball stuff just to explore, but I think deep down I knew I was going to UNLV from the start once they started talking to me. So just to be able to stay home and play for that school was awesome. Yeah.

A lot of athletes want to be known as more than just athletes. So tell the people out there who Bryson Stott is, what are some of your interests, and what are you about as a person? Well, probably my hobby outside of baseball is I love to bowl. I think that's really fun. I mean, it takes your mind off the game, and you can just go have fun with a couple friends. I mean, I like to make people, like, just be themselves around me.

I mean, I'm never going to, just because you're maybe one of the teammates is quiet and one is outgoing, you're never going to treat one different than the other. I mean, they're both your teammates, and you both want to make them feel as comfortable as they can. And I think that's my biggest thing, and I've kind of noticed that with some of the guys here is everyone welcomes everybody with open arms. So kind of making those transitions into the minors is awesome. I see some of the tattoos on the left arm.

What's the significance behind them? I mean, I got the Las Vegas sign where I'm from, and then I got all my family's names, and my best friend passed away, so I got his name on the inside of my arm, and I have two flowers on the back for my mom and sister. What's the story behind your best friend, if you don't mind sharing? Our senior year, he passed away from leukemia, so that was probably the hardest thing I'll ever go through,

but seeing his battle and the way he went through that and carried himself through that, nothing's ever I mean, nothing's ever that big. So you could lose a baseball game and it's like my thought process is like you saw what he went through. There's nothing in the world that could even compare to what he did. So, I mean, coming out here every day and just having fun and giving everything you had is what I learned from his couple years fighting that. So, I mean, we miss him every day.

And that serves as everyday motivation for you, I assume. Absolutely. I mean, he would always be at our high school games. He would come out and support us in everything we did. He was a basketball player, so we'd go support him. I mean, his favorite things were home runs. So every time I hit one, I just think of him and how happy he would be. My mom passed away of cancer last year.

I can kind of relate because before she passed, I told her, everything I do from here on out is going to be for you. And every single day when you say that and when you know you have that pressure on you to make that loved one proud, it kind of helps you out and serves as everyday motivation. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I could go for five and it's still the same. He was the same Cooper. So just when I hit those home runs, it makes him even better

because he's up there watching, and that was his favorite thing to watch in baseball. So you're a Vegas kid. Coming from the West Coast, before you got drafted, what did you hear about Philadelphia? Because there's that national perception that Philly is a tough, tough rugged blue-collar town that can be tough on their sports teams which they can but I will tell you it's mostly about passion absolutely I mean I went when I went up and signed it was a it was a day game and it was pretty much sold out so you could just just by that you could see how how passionate about their their teams they are and they're

they're really true baseball fans and and and really want the best for the team. I was talking to Josh Bonifay a couple of weeks ago here at Bowman Field. We broadcast one of the games, and he was saying, he's the director of player personnel for those of you not familiar, he was saying that he thinks you're ready to go, major league ready right now in the field. Would you agree with that assessment? Because you're 21 years old, and you're really coming into your own right now. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you got to have that

mindset if you're going to make it in the minors and get to the majors one day is every time you go out there, you're the best player on the field. So, I mean, it's that borderline cocky and confidence. I mean, you can't be cocky. You can't strut around out there. You just go out and play every pitch like it's your last. Do you kind of get that swagger, that confidence from Bryce Harper? Because he might be a little bit more out loud with it, but he has the right to because he's backed it up throughout his entire major league career. I know you guys are really good friends.

Yeah, I mean, you see what he does. And, I mean, even him, you see how hard he works in the offseason, how passionate he is about every at-bat, every throw, every catch he's making on the outfield. It's never taking plays off. And, I mean, I would say that he's one of the people I get that play every pitch like it's your last mentality from. He's a rare breed.

Him, guys like LeBron James, they've been superstars, all eyes on them since they were teenagers. I'm sure he was able to help you a lot throughout this process. If so, how? His big thing to me was just always have fun. Whatever happens really happens. And as long as you're having fun, enjoying what you're doing, everything's going to work out just fine. That familiarity with him, I imagine, is going to help you out too as you come through the system. That familiarity with him, I imagine, is going to help you out too as you come through the system. Yeah, just having somebody like that that you could really pick up the phone and say,

hey, this is going on right now. What should I do to get through this? And how'd you go about it is unbelievable to have kind of a mentor like that. And it's the funny thing that we ended up in the same organization. It's pretty crazy. But just having someone like that to ask any question I need is awesome. I mentioned the Philadelphia sports fans are very intense. They are. They're also very knowledgeable, and they understand what's going on.

There are a lot of baseball fans out there who are already looking at your numbers, and fans in Philly are very, very excited. They're especially excited about the potential power that you're developing. Where are you at in that process? I mean, I've never really been a home run hitter. I mean, I'll backspin some out and they'll go, but I've never really been one to try to just let them rip and try to hit over scoreboards and stuff like that.

But, I mean, I'd say as I've gotten older, the pitch is up that I was just hitting over the shortstop's head or hitting somewhere else. Now I'm starting to drive those balls out of the yard and into all fields. If you could project yourself forward, where do you see yourself being as a Major League Baseball player? I know a lot of people, including yourself, have compared you to Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants. Yeah, I've heard that since I was in high school. Yeah, I've heard that since I was in high school. So just being in high school, watching his highlights and how he really goes about his business is something that I've done

for the last couple of years, and I could see some of the comparisons, especially the hair, that some people think we are similar. The biggest adjustment from UNLV to playing Gulf Coast League and A-ball is what? I just say that every day that you're out here with the NCAA, there's so many rules. I mean, not a lot of people are familiar with them, but there's times in December that you can't even, your coaches can't even be out there. I think it's like a month, month and a half that your coaches literally can't even help you. So it's all on your own and how you want to move forward with your career. And lastly, what have the discussions been like with the Phillies in terms of

what they want you to work on this summer? Just giving everything I have and going out and really getting better every day. It's not, you never want to leave the park saying, well, I'm the same as I was yesterday or I went backwards. So you always want to keep getting better and keep progressing.

In this analytical age where numbers, analytics, they're soaring, you've also got all this technology in baseball right now that has really been beneficial to players. As you train, as you practice, as you play, do you use any of those methods? Because they're pretty prevalent in the Phillies organization right now. Yeah, well, I mean, we'll have iPads and stuff going around during BP and stuff like that. So you could just, if you want to see something,

you go ahead and you just peek over and you see what you're doing and the numbers that you're producing. Bryson Stott. Thank you, man. Appreciate you. Absolutely. Thank you. Again, thank you, Chase, for thinking of us.

That was super cool. We love you, Chase. Completely unexpected. We're at the Hall of Fame and we get a text from Chase with the open and we're like, you rule, man. That was awesome. And also, thank you to Bry. Completely unexpected. We're at the Hall of Fame and we get a text from Chase with the open and we're like, you rule, man. That was awesome. And also,

thank you to Bryson Stott, clearly a huge fan of the High Hopes podcast. He said it in our intro. He's our guy. He knows our names. We are, he has to.

He said them. We knew for a fact he said our names once. All right, Fritzy, final thoughts. Well, first final thought is High Hopes night. Yes. Oh, bad job by me. me again we always let you guys inside we never lie to the iops audience um every single

time we're like oh we got to mention iops night beginning of the pod like let's not forget and we forget never do it's always we always forget so come hang out with us august 17th it's gonna be awesome august 17th hang out Hang out. I think we'll just plan on Jetro. Yeah, I think we're going to do Jetro. And we'll get the details, but I think that'll be the easiest place to meet up, get everyone together. And cheapest parking. And the cheapest parking. And

beers. Beers. Beers. Ah, beers. Can't wait. Beers. Beers. And my second final thought is that this is directly for Jason O'Chart. Adam Haisley's leg kick's too high, and I would like it for it to come down. Okay.

So my- Jason! Pay attention! I like- Friend of the pod, Jason O'Chart. I like Adam Haisley. Get it right. I think he's going to be a good, solid major leaguer.

But for him to consistently be able to catch up to 97 or catch up to higher velocities, I just think his leg kick's too high because it comes up super, super high. And I just think that for him to consistently catch up to those velocities, he needs more of an abbreviated one that he can be quicker to get his foot down

and let the swing work from there. So I would like Adam Haysley to get as many as bats as possible. But eventually, I think, honestly, his swing, he should just watch what Utley did. It's so funny. Sometimes it looks like Utley. That homer he hit in the Pirates series, it was like an Utley swing. You said that.

The double off the wall. The double off the wall in the ninth inning was like, that's Utley. It's compact. It's tight. It's to the ball. I like that. All right, my final thought, of course, rate and review the podcast. It makes Shaq so happy.

Do it for him. Plus, the closer we get to 1,000, we're going to come out with something fun to do for everybody when we get to 1,000. So let's start that process now. My second final thought, and I just saw this, and I have been a Bud Selig defender for the most part. Compared to most people, I know that most people hate Bud Selig. I don't. I think he's underrated what he defender for the most part. Compared to most people, I know that most people hate Bud Selig. I don't. I think he's

underrated, what he did for the game, but for him, this guy, who presided over the whole steroid era thing, to have the goal to come out and say that Hank Aaron and not Barry Bonds is the true home run champion of baseball?

Get the F out of here bud are you serious are you serious with that you you of all people bud i can't even really mad about it's just so ridiculous like get the f out of here bud all right uh sweep the braves screw it jack we always say two or three no sweep the braves a message back. Let's make this thing interesting, all right? Let's make the NL East a thing again. How about that? Let's come in with an overly excited podcast on Monday.

Yes. Oh, my God. We will be out of control. We'll be training for Baumgartner. Oh, it's going to be great. Oh, it's going to be great. It's totally going to change my perfect deadline. All we need is playoff Baumgartner to get us over the pump.

It's going to be awesome. Yeah. All right. So, again, thank you, Chase senior. And of course, thank you to Bryson Stott,

newest friend of the show. So until Monday sweep, he's Fritz. I'm Seltzer. We'll talk to you later. 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

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