High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The High Hopes Phillies Podcast: Tough Sleddin' in Atlanta and Looking Ahead to Pittsburgh

Episode Date: April 19, 2018

Jack Fritz is joined by Jon Marks to talk about the Phils tough times in Atlanta and what they learned in the Braves series. They also give their bullpen stock report and wonder if it's time to panic about Carlos Santana. The Pirates are coming to town starting Thursday night and the guys preview the series and more on this episode of High Hopes! 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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Meeting with friends before the show? We can book your reservation. And when you get to the main event, skip to the good bit using the card member entrance. Let's go seize the night. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Visit amex.ca slash yamex. Benefits vary by card. Other conditions apply. Welcome on in to the High Hopes podcast. It is Jack Fritz. It is John Marks, a groggy John Marks here in the middle of the night as the Phillies are coming off of a series loss in Atlanta.

The Braves took two of three. And that beady-eyed Ryan Flaherty torched us again, Johnny. Yeah, remember last year when the stat that was if the Phillies would have played just the Braves, they would have had like 110 wins or something like that. Well, they're getting back this year for the success that the Phillies have had. One of those games, frustrating games, a typical Vince Velasquez game tonight. Yeah, it was, but even though it was a typical Velasquez start,

there was some encouraging signs. Of course, when things went tough, Velasquez crumbled like he usually does, but there was some encouraging signs. There was some signs of his game down in Tampa. He showed some good off-speed early. Really, when he starts getting behind,

when he starts getting flustered, he starts relying on that fastball a little bit too much. And that's when he starts getting just ripped around because then guys aren't caught off guard at all by his curveball, by his changeup that I guess he's learning. There were some encouraging signs from Velasquez, but yeah, it turned into a classic Velasquez start pretty quickly. So, yeah, I'm looking at it and watching the game.

I'm thinking, man, maybe I was a little bit too hard on Vince. I think one of the last things we did or recently were, I was like, yeah, you know, he's got good stuff, but I never believed that he's going to be a starting pitcher in this league. I never actually have the confidence. And he was going through four at six strikeouts, gave up nothing through four, but then the fifth inning came. You know, listen, even despite the loss, he gave up the three earned runs.

Even despite that, he did look good. So it is encouraging but again if you if if we're talking about whether or not i think that he is ever going to develop into a bona fide starting picture in this league that we can count on and you're looking for a third guy in this lineup i still look at the vet is probably a guy i would i would lean on or think

it's going to be your guy more than Velasquez. But, again, he has looked good so far, so you do have to give him the credit because he has had a good start to the season. Yeah, and what did you make of Pavetta's start a couple nights ago? I mean, him and Velasquez have kind of been in the same conversation ever since the season started. They need one of those guys to really pop if they want to make a little run here towards a wild card. You buying into Pavetta?

I thought he looked really solid two nights ago, but I'm curious your thoughts. Yeah, he looked good. I think when he's striking out a lot of guys, it's great, and it's not good at the same time because he's now looking for strikeouts. He's now trying to strike out guys. And watching him this year, it seems like that even though he still has good strikeout numbers, he's okay with just getting guys out. So he's learning.

I think I'm guilty of this, as a lot of fans are. We want guys just to develop into starting pitchers, good starting pitchers in the majors immediately. And what you realize is that it can take some years for guys that have good stuff to really understand the mental aspect of their job. And I think Velasquez, it weaves perfectly into it. This is a mental thing with him. He's got the stuff, but he self-destructs in an inning,

or he gets into a jam, and you said it a couple minutes ago. He goes fastball, fastball. He's fastball heavy, becomes predictable, and that's where he gives up the big home runs. That's where he's walking guys. But, yeah, Pavetta looks good. Pavetta looks good. If you're looking for a third guy, he so far has been the guy that I think

that really can be the one to step up so far. Yeah, and what impressed me about Pavetta two nights ago was when things started going south for him in the past, it would just unravel just like that. I mean, it would be three innings of really solid stuff. You'd be like, wow, this guy could be really good. And then as soon as one little thing went wrong, Pavetta would fall apart. The other night, he wasn't really locating that well.

His curveball didn't have the same bite. He wasn't locating his fastball to either side of the plate. He was leaving a bunch of fastballs up and away. But by the fourth and fifth inning, he really, really settled in. And it was an important, I thought it was a bit of a moment watching him. And I was like, this is a guy who his stuff wasn't working early. He adjusted and ended up making a really, really solid start. And I feel like the Arietta effect has had the most effect on Nick Pivetta. Well, coincidence, it's really not helping or not hurting, that's for sure. But you're right.

There's going to be starts that you go out there and you don't have your best stuff and you have to grind it through five or six innings to try to keep your team in it and he you know he did he did more than that he did he gave it five innings but he he not only kept in the game he he gave you the lead um so very encouraging sign they used to this is this is last night that pivetta it feels like it was so many nights ago, but it was just last night that he pitched. Yeah. And then the cap players, the entire bullpen, like literally for, I don't know, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven guys. He's made more double switches in the first, like,

three weeks of the season than I ever remember in the history of baseball. With the good comes the bad. It worked, by the way. They won the game. You can't argue with the results, but it makes for longer games. But hey, Pavetta gave you five innings, and Velasquez gave you some innings tonight, so the whole thing's

totally taxed. And obviously last night was another. Reese Hoskins is clutch, and I'm so glad he's on our team moment for the Phillies. He had a huge late inning bases clearing double. The guy, him, more than any in years past,

Reese Hoskins and Scott Kingery seem like two guys that when the pressure is on, they're going to come through for the team when they need them. I'm surprised. Kingery, we were talking briefly today when I was leaving and you were coming on, and I had Larry Anderson on today, and he was really kind of raving about Scott Kingery. No doubt my Mike Kingery is going to be the guy,

and it's going to be when we're doing this podcast for many years to come, he's going to be one of the guys that is featured. He's still a rookie. He's not totally lighting the world on fire. So I like the fact he plays multiple positions. I still don't know about him defensively. It's shortstop for entire games. I'm surprised Kapler goes to him as much as he does.

They clearly don't value defense. I mean, if we're looking at this objectively, they don't really care about defense. If they're moving Kingery all over the place, they're bringing in Carlos Santana to play first base and putting Hoskins out in left field. They're clearly taking the lineup depth over defense. Yeah.

The one position that you normally wouldn't mess with is shortstop when you're talking about bringing a guy in. Like, Kingery, I mean, he's just not a shortstop. In a pinch, in a bind, you can put him there, but Kepler has shown he does not care. He'll put him in there. Cesar Hernandez, he hasn't played a lot of short, but I guess he's another guy that could do it.

But, yeah, look, Kingery has showed to be adequate, certainly when he does play, but he's been called out of position in a lot of places because it's not his natural position. So when things break down and things out of the ordinary happen, he's going to be out of position. So we've seen it a couple times so far, but Kingery's a guy that can play multiple positions, which I guess is good. Cesar has been the most consistent player as far as base percentage and getting on base at the top of the lineup.

So, you know, I don't have complaints. Rhys Hoskins is, even when he's not hitting, he's getting walks. So he's even better than I think a lot of people think or thought he was going to be. He might start to the season. He might be

Joey Votto with power. The OBP, the hit tool, the walk tool, and the power. We might be underrating how good this guy could be. I agree. I think Votto's underrated. Just even mentioning him, I think the average fan would

say, oh yeah, Joey Votto's an all-star type player, but maybe the devil's in the details. Why is he an all-star type yeah, Joey Votto's an all-star type player, but maybe the devil's in the details. Well, why is he an all-star type player? Well, he's an all-star type player because he has a great approach to the plate. He does have some power, although he's not hitting 40, 45 home runs consistently anymore. But he just knows what he's doing at the plate, and Hoskins is that guy from the right side that every time he comes up,

you're going to get a professional at bat. And between him and Oduble, it's a pretty nice punch in the middle of that order. Yeah, and Oduble, I mean, he was in the news again this week. He had the rough game, I think it was Monday night, when he got thrown out at second base, trying to stretch a single into a double, didn't slide, but I don't know. I think people were just harping on that a little bit too much. When I saw it, he seemed like he was just caught in between

whether or not he wanted to slide or wanted to go in headfirst. I don't think it was a he's not hustling, he's trying to get thrown out thing. I thought people overblew that a little bit. But, I mean, people overblow everything with Abdubel. It's super frustrating. And then late in the game, it's probably his ball with the Aaron Altair play, but I'd rather Altair making that play. I just wish there was a better communication.

Like, where are you at on the double? Like, are you on the side of he's a good player, you've got to live with the mistakes, or are you get him out of town, he can't win with this guy? Oh, no, that's silly. Thank you. Listen, you watch him every night, and he can be frustrating sometimes.

Sometimes he's a double being a double. That's what he is., and he can be frustrating sometimes. Sometimes he's Oduble being Oduble. That's what he is. He can be a bubblehead sometimes. There's no doubt about it. But this whole thing where, oh, he got his contract, and now he's done. Sounds like the Covington stuff. But, yeah, I mean, you really get it. This is not lack of hustle.

This is not lack of trying. This is I got my contract, and I got my contract and I'm out. He is a talented player that can really start this lineup up. When Oduble is going and he's going well, you can see the difference, what he brings to this lineup. Defensively, he's still an above-average, at the very least, defensive center fielder who's going to make knucklehead plays from time to time. It's frustrating.

You hope as he gets older that he reduces and eliminates those. They're still going to be there. I think that's just going to be part of his game. But you live with those things when he's doing the other things that he does. So, I know I'm a big Oduble fan, and there's a reason why that he's one of the – he's as talented as he is. I'm a big fan. Yeah, and it's just super frustrating.

Like, when you hear the broadcast team, and he does one thing wrong, and they act like it's World War III. It is infuriating. The guy is batting.328 with a.381 OBP. He's getting on base. He's working counts. He has one bad game and everyone's just like, well, see, can't win with this guy. All the Dubois haters

come out of the woodworks and they're like, well, see, this is a guy you can't win with. Here's the thing. If a guy's going to give me .328 with a.381 OBP, maybe 15-20 homers, hopefully 15-20 steals, and gold glove caliber defense in center field, I will take the maybe one or two miscues a week that people just can't seem to get over.

Yeah, you're going to be fine with Oduble. You can win with him. Sometimes it's the guys like Carlos Santana and other guys, veterans on the teams, need to reel him back in. You're still talking about a guy that's going to play the season at 26. He's going to play the whole season, the whole entire season at 26 years old. Remember that. He's still a mid-20s guy that has a great approach to the plate.

So you're not just talking about a guy that's swinging out of his cleats trying to hit home runs when he makes contact, Matt Franco. He's not like that. It's the guy that has a great approach to the plate. So yeah, you're going to have to deal with some, some, maybe some extra nonsense with them sometimes,

but it's well worth it. Yeah. And one of the things that I thought was really good this week is, is I, I feel as if this Phillies team has handled a double in a better way. Whereas like, I feel like Pete McKinnon last year would have been like, yeah,

just a double being a double. And he just, he wouldn't have done anything about it. I like how Kapler approached it. And what I really liked was how Reese Hoskins came up to him in the outfield and was just like, hey, man, keep being you. We got your back. There was a whole we got your back thing with Abduble.

And keeping him in the right state of mind will get you the consistency you need out of Abduble. Because when he's consistent, when he's working pitches, when he's fouling off and being a pest, I mean, the guy was an all-star two years ago. So I've been really impressed with how the team has handled Abdubal from Kapler to his teammates. Yeah, and it's funny. When you look at it, the Phillies are coming out with an Oduble Herrera hat for, is it coming up this weekend?

I think so, yeah. They advertised it tonight, so I'm pretty sure. Is it? So, Cindy Webster of our WIP came by with some hats. And for kids 12 and under, you remember, they keep going to the ballpark and getting the shirt or the hat or the bat or whatever. But it's an Oduble Herrera hat with kind of an Oduble emoji on the front of it, cartoon face on the back. It says Oduble. And it really, like you look at it, it's like, you know what, he's an emoji. He is.

He's just a – I don't think that – he certainly doesn't mean any harm. And I don't think his teammates look at him and are like, oh, my God, this guy is just killing the team, and guys don't like him. But he really is, if you think of him like that, he's an emoji with Duval Herrera. You can't get angry and take it too seriously. He's got to learn. He's hopefully going to learn. He's still making mistakes, and maybe he makes more mistakes than an average guy, but

you know, he's a fun, exciting player, and I'll take that every day of the week over a guy that maybe is a little bit steadier, but doesn't have the upside. It's kind of like having Shane Victorino be your best player,

the best player in your team. Shane Victorino was a knucklehead for most of his career here. It's just that he was masked by the Utley, Howard, Worth, Rollins, those guys. Yeah. Yeah, he definitely was. You were able to see with Victorino, you were able to

see or really pay attention to a lot of the great stuff that he did. Rather than getting thrown out trying to steal base, trying to steal second base with you know a runner on third or or trying to go first to third with with with two outs and getting thrown out a third base used to make mistakes like that all the time he never really learned he didn't and I love Shane hopefully a doable starts learning some of these things yeah where's your Where's your confidence meter at the one struggling Carlos Santana?

The big money, $60 million. So far this year, he's batting 136 with a 260 OBP, two homers. But I will say in his defense, he's been also probably the most unlucky hitter in baseball. He's had a couple wind-batted down-home runs that if it was warmer out, they'd go out at Citizens Bank Park. Are you worried about Carlos Santana, or he's been one of the most

consistent offensive players in the sport for the last 10 years. He'll figure it out. Yeah, I'm not worried. And the Oduble emoji cap is Sunday, April 22nd. So yeah, this Sunday against the Pirates. Children 14 and under get the hat. Anyway,

I'm not worried about Santana at all. And it doesn't mean that he's going to hit 250 with 30 home runs this season. We'll see how it plays out. But I said this to LA today. We had Larry Anderson on the show every Wednesday at 3. And he's talking about like, oh, you know, they're averaging six hits, and if you take out the 20 runs

that they had in that one game, and, you know, I kind of said, well, you know, LA, it's not hitting weather yet, as Charlie Emanuel used to say. I think when you play games in 35, 40-degree weather, on average, in the first however many games of the season, some guys just aren't comfortable. Some guys just, I think as a whole, the lineup, you're going up there and it's a 30-degree night, and you're going up against a guy that throws 95, 96, 97, and he's bringing it in on your hands.

You want to be up there hitting with a guy throwing near 100 when it's 30 degrees out. I think that's part of it. But like you said, the other thing, he's made good contact. He's just been hitting the ball at guys. The approach of the play is still good. He's going to be fine. I'm not worried about it. I still am very firmly behind. I think it was a

great signing by Klintak. Three years. You're not talking about huge, huge money. A consistent player. It's baseball. It's 162 games, so you've got to wait. Last year with Oduble, he was brutal. He was brutal for a stretch.

By the end of the season, he put up Oduble numbers. Let's see what happens with Santana. I'm not all that worried. I'm not either. It's just that it has been a super frustrating start double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double double completely lost at the plate. I feel like it's either a strikeout or a home run. That's pretty much what we're getting at this point. He had obviously the two late hits in the Rays series, but he's clearly struggling right now, and I think he was

almost in tears last night on the bench. Were you worried about the Ks? Do you think he's ready? I don't know. I'm starting to waver on my Jorge Alfaro love. Well, if you follow his minor league career, he was never a guy that you raved about his approach to the plate.

I know last year when he came up, he looked better with that. He did have more walks. We've seen the great raw power. Again, I'm more concerned about what he's doing behind the plate defensively right now than I am with anything else. I want to see what he's doing calling his staff. I have an Arrieta back there having a veteran starter as opposed to a bunch of young guys. It helps because you have two young starting catchers.

You don't have the old guy that is in there and is hitting 150, but he's in there because he knows how to handle a staff. You have two young guys, so you have a bunch of young starters. So Arietta really helps with that. But with Alfaro, you just have to realize that sometimes you've just got to let a guy figure it out. You've got to let him go up there and have his struggles. And by game 130, you're hoping that he's figured it out

and he's a streaky hitter. He might also be one of these guys that once it gets hot out, once it gets June, July, that's where he's starting to really get hot. I'll tell you this. I'm not breaking any news with this. I would never throw him a fastball. I would go up there all speed pitch, left and right. The league knows what to do with guys.

It's the adjustment that he's going to need to make. So can he make guys throw him fastballs? He's going to have to learn at the plate right now. He's struggling a little bit. All right, so before we preview the Pirates series, let's get a quick bullpen stock report. Let me give you some names, and you give me your trust in these guys. Yaxar Rios, do you trust him yet?

Well, I'm not going to give full trust. Definitely has a live arm, has some good stuff. He's getting there. He's getting there. Let's see what his secondary pitch is, if he can consistently do it. I know his changeup the other night was kind of flat. Kapler likes him against left-handed batters because he's got a good changeup. Didn't have a good feel for it the other night.

But Rios, I like what I see so far out of Rios. Live arm, good stuff. Definitely got a live arm. His fastball looks like it's hard to pick up. It's only 94, but the way his arm action is, it seems like hitters can't pick up on it that well. Definitely needs to learn some off-speed pitches. Would you think he'd be the odd man out once Tommy Hunter is back in the fold here? I mean, I know he had a rehab start, I guess, yesterday. Do you think at the moment Rios will be the odd man out? Seems that way, right?

He'd be the first one out. I'm trying to think. Yeah, it would have to be Rios. I think they want Hutchinson in there for long relief if a starter can't go deep into a game. I think Rios will probably be the odd man out. Hobie Milner came in tonight hit Freddie Freeman. Looks like Freeman might be out for a while just because it hit him right in the wrist. That's exactly where he got hit last year.

And I know Cape Kepler said he's nasty, brother, but, man, Hobie Milner, against lefties, I guess he's okay. You can't leave him in there against righties. That's an issue. That's going to be an issue if he's okay. You can't leave him in there against righties. That's an issue. That's going to be an issue if he can't take it. Because the whole reason why managers stack their lineups left, right, left, or they'll throw a switch hitter in there is to prevent bringing in guys like Kobe Milner that lefties have a really tough time picking up.

So Milner's going to have to get right-handed batters at him. He's just going to have to. There's not a lot of teams out there where you just have left, left, left, and you can bring them in there. And I agree with you. No, I guess he really continues to blow up. He's going to be here. But do I feel confident with him coming in the game?

Absolutely not. I do not. And he's still a relatively young pitcher, but he's not that young. So he's got to figure out how to get those righties out. Edebra Ramos, he shows flashes every single time he pitches. He has one pitch where I'm like, man, he could be so good. But I tell you what, I just don't trust him yet. I don't trust Edebra Ramos just yet in high-leverage situations.

Well, remember last year? It seemed like he lost every decision that came up. And like you said, high-leverage, eighth inning. Do you feel confident bringing him in? I agree with you. I don't feel confident. But so far he's passed the test. And you're talking about

back of the bullpen guys, and they're going to be getting their veterans back, so I don't think you're going to have to rely on him as much in the eighth inning. But back of the bullpen, back of the bullpen guys need swing and miss stuff. He's got swing and miss stuff. He's got electric stuff. It's just whether or not mentally

he can come in there and not self-destruct. And I'm not there yet with him. I'm with you. But at least I know he's got the stuff, and he has looked electric at times this year. 100%. I buried the lead here. I buried the lead. Victor Arano, who I am growing an affection for very fast

because this guy, he's thrown a perfect game so far this year. He looks like he can locate his fastball at 94 both sides of the plate. He's got a really nice slider slash curveball. He kind of looks, Mike Angelina said this earlier, he looks like Roberto Asuna from the Toronto Blue Jays. He looks like a guy that can come out of the bullpen and stop a fire. I hope they start putting him in in more high leverage situations. I'm all aboard the Victor Arano hype train.

Well, when the Phillies signed Hunter in the offseason, one of the reasons I was kind of a little bit disappointed that they spent money and they brought back Neshek was because I liked what I saw out of Arano last year. And I remember someone said to me on Twitter, it was like, well, what's your problem with signing Hunter? What's your problem with bringing Neshek back? I'm like, well, I like seeing the young guys in September. Well, which one guy are you talking about?

It was Arano. It was. I really liked what I saw out of Arano. The Phillies did too. They protected him. They put him on the 40-man roster. And you're seeing the reason why right now. Now, is he going to be a guy that has three pitches that he can throw at any time for strikes?

No, he's probably going to be, like you said, he's got that curve slider. And he's got a fastball. He knows how to pitch. He knows how to pitch. So, again, you want to wait until the rest of the league gets a book on him and then says, okay, well, this is how we're going to react to him. But I wouldn't expect Arano. I mean, I don't think he's going to be dead.

Just like with a lot of relievers, you go through stretches where you struggle a little bit. You come back down to earth. I expect that to happen, but I don't expect him to fall apart. Arano is a guy you're going to be able to count on for many years. I'm a fan. Yeah, and his mechanics are consistent. They're not overwhelming. It doesn't seem like it's a very stressful mechanics-wise.

It doesn't seem like he's putting that much pressure on his arms. So easy mechanics, repeatable mechanics, easy mechanics lead to consistency and good health. So, yeah, all aboard the Victor Arano hype train. Adam Morgan, I can't believe he's good. Like, Adam Morgan is a guy that I completely trust right now, and I can't believe I'm actually saying that sentence. Yeah, the success he had last year, and actually, if you're a listener to baseball in Philadelphia,

baseball sports talk in Philadelphia, baseball George, who passed away in the offseason, if you didn't hear this, everybody, baseball George, passed in the end of the Philly season or the offseason. But anyway, he was in the final out last year, the post-game show that I hosted, he used to call in and say that Adam Morgan should be a starting pitcher in 2018. You need a left-handed starter since the

Phillies haven't had a left-handed starter in a couple years. Morgan should be the guy. I totally disagree. What he has figured out that he can be in the majors as a left-handed reliever is he's almost like a power arm in the back of that bullpen. He's throwing 95. Yeah, and you know, Jack, the 95 I think is even faster

when it's coming up on guys. And I'm amazed, too. I don't know where it came from. I don't know. Some guys from. I don't know. Some guys, you just put in the bullpen, and that fastball jumps just enough to make them a little bit of a difference maker. It seems like that happened with Adam

Morgan. The other thing is, he just figured it out. He said, all right. I know what I need to do. I know what I need to do to get guys out. He has been... He had a rough outing or two this year, but as far as everything that I've seen out of him, absolutely go multiple innings. He's a guy that you're

not afraid to throw in there in the sixth inning, the seventh inning, if you want him in the eighth, you want him seventh and eighth, and he's going to get a lot of appearances and a lot of innings this year with Gabe Kapler being the manager. So this bullpen has a real chance to be a strength of the team, and they've looked pretty good so far. Yeah, and Adam Morgan's a guy where if your starter gets in trouble or it's a high-leverage spot and a lefty's coming up and you're trying to protect a one-run lead, here comes Adam Morgan.

He's developed into a wipeout slider, which, again, I didn't see coming. But 94-96 with a wipeout slider which again i didn't see coming but 94 to 96 with a wipeout slider and he's also developing this little two scene that's starting to go underneath the bats of left-handed hitters at like 92 which i mean if he can if he can master that adam morgan is going to be a force for this philly's team which again can't believe i'm saying uh luis garcia is is a is a guy who has all the stuff. It seems like his mechanics are a little out of whack. His velocity has been there, but the accuracy hasn't really been there. He is a super wild card because when he's on, he could be an all-star level reliever. And when he's off, he is all over the place. He is off. So Luis, I'm kind of in a holding pattern on his stock.

I'm a Lou guy. I'm a big Lou Garcia guy. You know, when the Phillies brought him in, he was pitching in the independent league. He was, I guess he might have been in Long Island, Long Island Ducks, where Camden River Sharks were in that same league. But Lou Garcia has, you had said it, you'll go through stretches where you're like, wow, man, like he's got heavy fastballs, got good stuff.

You feel good putting him out there. And then something goes wrong with him, and he's just the last guy that you want in there. But he's in his 30s now, so he's not one of these young guys that you're bringing up. You're like, oh, he's still a young pitcher. I think he kind of is what he is. He's one of those guys where he's going right, use him, and use him frequently. If he's off, eh, be ready to pull him.

Be ready to bring him in for a batter and make sure you have somebody else warming up there. But he's going to be another guy that I think Kapler's going to use. And if he knows when to bring him in and he's pushing the right buttons with these guys in the bullpen, I think he can be an effective guy to use. But calling him a wild card is a pretty good term for him because he really is a wild card. If you had to rank these three guys in a high-leverage spot, it's a one-run lead in the eighth inning, who are you bringing in first between Arano, Ramos, or Luis Garcia? Probably Ramos and Garcia are in the same boat with me, and Arano hasn't done it as

long, but he just seems like the most consistent, easy delivery, knows what he's trying to do, is not trying to do too much. Arano, man, I guess I've got to go Ramos and then Garcia. Interesting. But it's pretty close between Garcia and Ramos. But Arano's one of my guys right now. Yeah, agreed. How do you feel about the closer?

Are you nervous every time he comes in the game? Because I am. Yeah, he doesn't have a lot of confidence in that fastball on some nights, and you see that. Last one, it was just splitter, splitter, splitter, splitter. Got out of it. They ended up winning an extra innings, but I would

imagine that Gabe Kapler agrees with us. He's not your prototypical closer. He's not a guy that you say, like, oh, well, he's on, he's coming in, he's blowing guys away. I think Neres will go through periods where he does have more confidence in his pitches, but right now he isn't. I do not feel great when he comes in the game.

I'm assuming the manager doesn't either. When I saw the stat that he had saved, I think, 21 or 22 straight games, I thought it was fake news. Like, there's no way that's true. But I guess it is true. I couldn't trust Hector Neres less. And I think he's good in, like, a setup role. But him as a closer is just like, no, I don't see it.

Yeah, well, given the opportunity to really give a ringing endorsement, it hasn't happened with, well, at least it didn't happen in spring training where you kind of get the feeling that it could be a closer by committee type thing, but listen, he had a pretty good season last year, and so far not off to the greatest start. But here's the thing. If he's not pitching well, it's not going to take Kapler long before you're seeing Arano in there as the closer for all we know. We'll see.

Yep. All right, moving on to the Pirates, the Pirates series. The Pirates are coming into town tomorrow night. The Phils are wearing the baby blues. It's going to be an exciting night down at the ballpark. I love the baby blues. Arrieta in baby blue, it's a good look. It's a good look.

It's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing. You know, the baby blues people didn't like when they were wearing them in the 80s. Right. It was an ugly uniform, but now that we're in 2018, it's like, oh, love the uniform, love the uniform. And I do, too. The Pirates really, the Pirates uniform hasn't been that different, right?

Pretty much the same uniform it's been for, God knows how long. They didn't change it up much. The hats used to be really crazy in the 70s in the We Are Family Pirates. But other than that, no, they've been pretty much the same. Maybe they will wear the We Are Family Pirates uniform tomorrow. than that, no. They've been pretty much the same. Maybe they will wear the We Are Family Pirates uniform tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised. Tomorrow we have a super

fun matchup. Arrieta versus Jameson Tyon. I was one year off on the Jameson Tyon breakout. I overdrafted him last year in Fantasy. He has come back to burn me this year. He has a.89 ERA, John. One complete game, one complete game, shutout.

The guy's allowed nine hits in the entire year. Jamison Tyon is in the middle of a full-out breakout, so tomorrow him versus Arrieta is one to definitely keep your eye on. Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing what Jake looks like coming out there, where

he's had a couple starts behind him, didn't have spring training. So I'm curious to see how he looks pitching at home, got some juice going, probably feeling better about everything. So good matchup. Pirates have been good this year. And, you know, I think a lot of people expected, oh, well, they got rid of their big players and this is going to be a rebuilding year. Still early in the season, but the returns on them are pretty good.

I mean, they look like they have a real chance to win some games this year. So we'll see what happens. Yeah, and it's definitely helped that I was also one year off of the Gregory Polanco breakout. Gregory Polanco has been unbelievable this year. Arrieta, not striking out too many guys. He only struck out one guy on the raise, which isn't great. But I feel like he's still in spring training where he's just trying to pitch to contact,

trust his infield, and we'll see the Ks start piling up maybe in two or three starts. Is that where you're at with Arrieta? Ks start piling up maybe in two or three starts. Is that where you're at with Arrieta? Well, I mean, he definitely the Ks per nine, he's not the Arrieta of three years ago. I don't think

it's going to be. No, definitely not. I don't see a massive change in his velocity. I know it's been down some, I'm not going to say considerably, but a couple ticks. At this point, he may need to turn into a pitcher that doesn't rely on the strikeout as much,

and I think he can do that because he knows what he's doing and he's a pitcher, not just a thrower. But I'm with you. I'm kind of waiting to see that breakout game. And he's probably still getting a feel for his pitches and his location, being that he didn't have spring training. But, hey, we're approaching the end of April here. It's already April, what is it, 18th, 19th?

But the Pirates series we're talking about in the 20s, the last week of April. So it's time to start getting a feel, and I think he's going to start feeling better about things. So it'd be great to see an Arrieta breakout start, especially at home. I think the fans could use it. Yeah, and he's owned the Pirates in his career, so it'd be nice to see him face a team that he's familiar with. His fastball velocity has pretty much

been maintaining. He's around 92.6 the last time I checked. I'm pretty sure. About where he's been for the last two years, I think it's just a matter of his stuff moves so much that it takes a little bit for a guy who relies on precision like he does to find it.

Not super worried about Arrieta, but whatever. We'll move on. So, Friday night, we have Ben Lively versus Ivan Nova. Ivan Nova is just a guy. I mean, he's not that much there. Ben Lively, he is, to me, he's a guy that I can rely

on to get me five innings. He may allow three or four runs, but it's going to be five innings. I may allow three or four runs, but it's going to be five innings. I'm going to be in the ballgame and hopefully we can score more runs than the opponent that night. Yeah. Let's hope so. I'm with you.

The Phillies need to keep winning series and they need to get wins and they're going to start to face teams that maybe not as when you looked at the beginning of the season you're like, start to face teams that you're maybe not as – when you look at the beginning of the season, you're like, oh, the Pirates, that'll be an easy one. Maybe not so much.

So, you know, let's get the series started on the right foot Thursday night. And then, like you said, on Friday night, just go out there. And that might need to be the night that the offense comes out and does big things. Yeah, and we do have a second Nola start. Nola versus Steven Brault on Saturday. Nola, it's amazing. Nola, we've gotten to the point where it's like, oh, he'll give us seven innings, but two runs or less.

It's incredible. Nola's already gotten to that point with us, and he's playing in his age 24 season. I mean, Nola is one of the best 15 pitchers in baseball. Yeah, it doesn't feel like he's been around for a lot longer than he has been. And one of the reasons is that because he came up, he's 21 years old, coming up here starting because he was, you remember when they drafted him, he was the most, I guess the most major league ready of the guys.

He was viewed as a quick riser. Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, and you can see right now, mature approach on the mound. And he's also got really good stuff. He does. He has, for not being an overpowering pitcher, boy can he get swings and misses.

And when he's on, he's on. And even when he's not on, he still can get you six innings and keep you in the game. So, yeah, no, Nola, I think everybody looks at this team and says, oh, we got Arrieta, and Nola's pretty good. No, no, no, Nola's very good. And that's a pretty good one-two punch at the top of your rotation. And if they can just figure out a third guy, and maybe that's Pavetta,

maybe it's Velasquez, maybe it's somebody you've got to trade for, but Nola's going to be just fine. He'll be good to see him pitch this weekend. Yeah, I think it's his first home start. So really excited to see what Nola's going to bring us. And then finally on Sunday, the Phillies have not announced a starter yet. But they will be facing Trevor Williams, who is another guy who has been a part of this Pirates kind of surprise to start the season.

He has a 1-9-3 ERA to start the year. So it's going to be a tough pitching matchups against the Phils this weekend. Hopefully the bats will awake a little bit. They were asleep in Atlanta. It wasn't great. But hopefully they can get back on track. John, any final thoughts before I let you go back to bed?

Yeah. Philly fans enjoy this weekend. Hopefully the warm weather is coming. And with warm weather down at Citizens Bank Park comes home runs and hit weather. And, you know, offense, some of the guys, like you mentioned earlier, Santana, everybody's going to get going here. And, you know, looking at last time I was on with James, I was talking about J.P.

Crawford a little bit at the end, and I said, let's get him going. Let's see how he does. Don't commit to Freddie Galvis stuff for the people out there. There's a reason why they traded Freddie Galvis is because J.P. Crawford is your future. You saw some things from him in the last seven

days or so. The Cano drill. The Cano drill has changed him. John, I'm not even lying to you. What is today? Today's Wednesday? I spent all Monday thinking about J.P. Crawford. I couldn't get J.P. Crawford out of my head just because of the Cano drill and how he's now hitting bombs into the second deck. I couldn't believe it. Yeah, he showed a little bit of power. He's been hitting the ball hard. And as you're probably listening to us here on Thursday or Friday or maybe even Saturday, the Wednesday night game,

he also struggled quite a bit, did not have a good game. So we'll talk about a young player. But, you know, let's enjoy these young guys. Let's enjoy the lineup. And let's beat the Pirates this weekend. Yeah, and I don't like that Gabe keeps pulling him against lefties. Eventually he's going to have to face lefties if he's going to be your everyday shortstop. So let him figure it out, Gabe.

That's what I would say to him. Well, thanks for listening to High Hopes, the High Hopes podcast. Make sure you go on iTunes and leave us a rating or a review. We're just getting started on the high hopes podcast so we're curious to see what you guys think of the pod and uh we'll be back sunday night into monday morning with another episode to start off your work week because there isn't a better way to start your work week than with high hopes we'll talk to you 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

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