High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The High Hopes Phillies Podcast: Immediate-ish Reaction to the Alec Bohm Pick

Episode Date: June 5, 2018

The Phils selected Alec Bohm with the third overall pick in the 2018 MLB First-Player Draft and Jack Fritz is here giving his immediate reaction. 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

Introducing TD Insurance for Business, with customized coverage options for your business. Because at TD Insurance, we understand that your business is unique, so your business insurance should be too. Contact a licensed TD Insurance advisor to learn more. This episode is brought to you a Mazda, you'll find out why our SUVs won more 2024 IIHS top safety picks than any other brand as of June 2024. Find out what makes Mazda different at Mazda.ca. Guess what time it is. It is time for a semi-emergency, immediate-ish, draft reaction edition of the High Hopes podcast. I am Jack Fritz, riding solo tonight because I would have felt like I was doing the listeners

of the High Hopes podcast an injustice by not coming on tonight, getting a podcast in your feeds, talking about Alec Boehm, who, in my opinion, should actually be going by the name Alec Baum, just so we can say it to another Baum from Baum. What the Phillies did tonight, and I don't think it's an understatement to say this, is that they drafted their next cornerstone third baseman. I, for most of the pre-draft process, I liked Alec Baum. I pretty much was convinced he was going to be the pick,

and I was cool with it. I think he's going to be a middle-of-the-order impact bat for a long time in the league. And the one thing that was kind of holding me back and this is just me being me is that i've grown up playing against guys like alec bomb they carry themselves the way that alec bomb carries himself in the field which is just like this classic baseball bro like not really worried about the fundamentals and i know that sounds so like old guy takey and whatever but he just he just carried himself in a way that i don't like going against that guy on the field like i never really respected that kind of player um but in watching him more in listening to some of his interviews. Some of that was probably just my preconceived notion.

I was not going to do a podcast tonight, but tonight at the station we were running the Stanley Cup Finals and instead of actually watching them, I basically just sat there and watched Alec Boehm highlights for three hours. Not even highlights. I was actually watching the full games and I was watching his at-bats. I think I watched five full at-bats or full game at-bats from Alec Boehm. And I was just getting more and more excited every single time I would watch something new because I legitimately think that this guy is going to be a high, high, high impact bat

for a long time here with the Phillies. And I know for most of the pre-draft process, I like Nick Madrigal. And I still do. I think Nick Madrigal is going to be really, really good. But the upside of Alec Boehm with the power numbers, the pure strength, he looks like a major leaguer already. And once you add, like, he's a little skinny, but he's skinny and also super strong.

Like, he's wiry strong. Like, mostly every single hit I saw tonight was hit hard the opposite way, which I think is just a really, really advanced approach for any hitter at any level, but especially a guy that you're bringing into your organization. I think that shows that you know what you're doing in the dish. And I think Alec Baum has a plan every single time he goes up to the plate in watching him. You can watch the highlights and you'll see him hit some balls over center field or go

the opposite way. And all that's great, but it's the approach leading up to the result that I am most excited by. And he has a really good approach at the dish. And I didn't see him chase one pitch in any of the game tape I was watching. He was spitting on balls in the dirt. I didn't see him chase one pitch in any of the game tape I was watching. He was spitting on balls in the dirt. I think he just knows exactly where his sweet spot is. He knows that there are certain parts of the strike zone that he can get to and he can crush balls out of.

For example, tonight I was watching a little bit, and he chased a slider that was a little bit down and didn't make as hard of a contact as he wanted to but it was in that certain zone that he knew that this is where i can do some damage and he seems like he goes up there has a plan every time he goes to the dish and in the probably five full game of at bats that i watched he made hard contact i would say say, 80% of the time. He was barreling up everything. It seems like he has really, really strong barrel-to-ball skills, which not a lot of

guys have. And the one thing I really wanted to see out of him was how he recognized curveballs. Perfectly fine recognizing curveballs. He has a really, really balanced, smart approach to the plate, and I don't think he's going to be overwhelmed at any level. I think he's going to rise really fast for the minor leagues. I don't think he's going to be much of a project at all. And I hate throwing out player comps just because when they don't live up to that hype,

then people will tweet you or say to you, like, oh, you said he was this guy. But when I watch him, he has swings that I've seen before. I've seen swings like Alec Bones before. And the three that jumped out immediately, and I actually thought of one on my drive home because this player also seems like all his power is opposite way he doesn't really pull the ball now bomb does pull the ball sometimes but it's usually

uh on the ground through the left side through the 5-4 hole um and not really for power like most of his power is center of the field to the right center of the field that's where most of his power is generated from which is good good. That's an advanced approach. But the one guy who, as I continue to study him more, that he reminds me the most of is J.D. Martinez. Now, J.D. Martinez is a guy that was a really, really late bloomer, was with the Astros for a little bit, and then went to the Tigers and really exploded,

then to the Diamondbacks, and now at the Red Sox. And he's completely changed that lineup. He is a middle-of-the-order impact bat that just lets everyone else settle into a role. And that's one of the problems with the Phillies right now offensively is that they can't really settle into roles because Reese Hoskins is out of the lineup.

I mean, Reese Hoskins is a guy that is here to be depended upon by everyone else in that lineup. And then everyone else starts feeling a little bit like they got to press. And that's how you score one run in a series against the Giants, which is super frustrating. But what J.D. Martinez has done for that Red Sox team is just let everyone settle into a role that they haven't had since David Ortiz was there. So watching his swing, it reminds me a lot of J.D. Martinez in the fact that the power is through the middle.

Also, I see a little bit of Nick Castellanos. Now, Nick Castellanos isn't a fantastic player. He's a good player. And maybe his floor is Nick Castellanos. I just think that his approach is his floor is Nick Castellanos. I just think that his approach is a little better than Castellanos. And then obviously the one that if you just close your eyes,

that's not possible to close your eyes and watch him, but if you watched him and really said to yourself, and I feel weird saying it, but it's just like the ICs with the ICs. It looks a lot like Chris Bryant, and I don't think he's going to be Chris Bryant because that's just unfair to put on anyone,

but the swing looks pretty similar to Chris Bryant's. They have the same kind of swing down on the ball to create backspin, and it doesn't look like they always crush the ball, but the ball just jumps off of their bat. I don't want to put the Chris Bryant comp on them, but when you see their swings and you remember Chris Bryant coming out, it's hard not to make the comp.

So while it may be unfair to Alec Baum, I can't just lie and say that I don't see Chris Bryant or like a middleman's Chris Bryant. So the more that I watch Alec Baum tonight, the more excited I got. And I really do firmly believe that they got a game changer.

I like Adam Haseley. I think he's going to be, I compared him to Andrew Benintendi more times than I can count. But I didn't feel the same way about Adam Hazley like I do about Alec Baum. I didn't feel the same way about Mickey Moniak as I do about Alec Baum. bat that is going to hopefully bat around 300 and give you 25 to 30 and just be consistent. He does things right now that I have never seen Mike Alfranco be able to do. Alec Baum, most of his hits, most of his power, most of his home runs have been pitches that he

lets come all the way into him like he has no problem letting the ball travel and if you know anything about hitting letting the ball travel and getting it as close to you not as close to you but you know as close to your power as possible the ball just flies off your back and he does a really good job of letting the ball travel get as deep as possible before firing and and using all of the strength as close to his the ball as possible basically and he does things right now that i've never seen michael franco do maybe since like his rookie season which which sometimes he would put balls out to right center field and he'd be like wow that guy's strong whereas you see michael franco opening up on

everything on the outside part of the plate alec bomb lets that ball travel and has no problem taking it the opposite way he also does a really good job of spoiling off pitches and in one two or or oh two counts he has no his hands are so quick he's so strong that he'll let the ball travel and just flick it foul and continue the at bat which is which is, I'm sure, something the Phillies were like, all right, 100% in. He is going to be really, really good. I'm interested to see how quickly he moves up because I think if he's not here at the start of the 2020 season as a consistent third baseman, then something went wrong because I think he's going to be a fast riser.

And the one thing that is the knock on him is that a lot of people don't think he is athletic enough to stick at third base, which I don't totally disagree with. I don't like the way he throws from third base. It looks weird. I don't see many third basemen be successful throwing the way he does. Maybe he can stick in an outfield spot. Maybe he moves over to first base, but then you're thinking, well, what happens with Reese Hoskins? Or he sticks at third and he hit Franco and then maybe Machado at short. So it could create a log jam. It could create a potential problem.

But at the same time, like you've got to kind of just take the impact bat and figure it out down the road and hope he turns into a stud before worrying about free agency this offseason or Michael Franco or Hoskins. So perfectly fine with the approach. I don't know if he's a third baseman going forward. He may come over and be a first baseman. He may be a corner outfield guy, which I'm cool with. I think he's more athletic or a better runner than Reese Hoskins is in left field. So

if Reese Hoskins can look semi-adequate in left field, I see no reason why Alec Baum can't be. But either way, the Phillies tonight, I think, made the right decision when I looked back at it. I think made the right decision when I looked back at it. I think they got a game changer at the third base position. And listen, if he turns out to be J.D. Martinez, we're ecstatic. If he turns out to be Chris Bryant, we're fawning. And even Nick Castellanos is a nice player. He's a fine player.

But I can't help but see what the eye sees and tell you what the eye sees. And what the eye sees is basically what Chris Bryant looked at at the University of San Diego. So, exciting times. All in on the Alec Baum pick. You know, you take the bat and you figure it out later. It's not that they give a deal. I'm interested. So, Alec Baum, the third pick in the draft tonight for the Phillies, and yes, I firmly believe that they got a high-impact middle-of-the-wooder bat

that is going to be here for a long time driving in major, major runs for this team. So exciting night. Excited to see where he gets started at the beginning of, well, I guess he'll be in Williamsport in less than 12 days. So fun times ahead, and we'll be definitely talking about it on the High House podcast. Talk to you soon.

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