High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Tyler Phillips The Stopper, A New Name For The Trade Deadline AND 10 Minutes Of Draft Talk

Episode Date: July 22, 2024

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz react to the Phillies winning on Sunday against the Pirates, preview next week's trade deadline and Jack gives his full thoughts on the team's 2024 draft class. Presented by Miller Lite. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the High hopes podcast on the Odyssey app in sports radio, 94 WIP. I feel a little less alone. Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes Pod, sponsored by Miller Lite, official sponsor of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Tastes like Miller time. Philadelphia celebrate responsibly. Jack can have a Miller Lite. I can't. I have to wake up at three in the morning again tomorrow. So no drinking for me today, buddy. How you doing pal?

I'm good. I'm glad that you started off talking about your sleep schedule. Well, it's the only thing I'm thinking about. All right. All right. I've been off for a week. My whole schedule is messed up.

I'm going to be a zombie this week, but okay. So you're not, you're not thrilled about, about salvaging a series against the Pirates? I mean, thank God for Tyler Phillips, the stopper. They only win games Tyler starts, it appears. It's good, man. He's definitely good.

It was a bit of an excruciating weekend coming off of – Yeah, Friday. I mean, Friday was just waiting for them to come back. I don't know if you remember this. I don't remember how long ago they changed. I feel like it's recent, but they used to play on Thursday, you know? But then they gave them the extra day, and that extra day with just nothing is the worst day of the year.

Like, it's horrible. Well, I mean, what about the off day after opening day? Yeah, that's pretty bad, too. At least there's other baseball games happening. You know, that's pretty bad. Pretty bad. There's other, you know, baseball games happening. You know, there's nothing. Oh, God. Anyway. Yeah.

Yeah. You wait for it. You're like, yeah, let's go. All right. No. Let's let's roll. Yeah. Friday night was the most like throwback Phillies game that we've experienced all year.

Like this has been such a blissful year of just, like, no worries, no panic, no meltdowns. I mean, people will melt down, but they're irrational. You know, like, this year more than almost any other year has been about as stress-free as it's gotten outside, like, the first two weeks of the season. And Friday night was like, oh, this is how it used to be for a majority of my fandom.

Just a dreadful night thing. Nolan not being able to hold a 3-0 lead. The whole game they couldn't hold a lead. It was like 3-0, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4. It was like whatever, 6-4, 6-6. It was just super annoying. Or 6-6-5, 7-5, 7-7, 8-7, you lose. It was just one of those really freaking annoying games i know well listen and i had to

like so i watched it was the first time ever buying plain wi-fi and the only thing that could get you to do that yeah exactly but i wasn't so you know dumb jack i bought the like cheaper one because i was like oh, it won't matter. And then, like, I tried using it, and it was like... It would work, yeah. It was like 2010 Wi-Fi. Like, you know how slow Wi-Fi used to be? It was brutal.

So I was like, all right. And then I bought the real Wi-Fi. I was able to basically stream the game. It was fantastic. So we had to get off the flight. Technology, man. What a wild world we're freaking living in we have to we have wi-fi on flights now you don't just sit there waiting what people are

texting you you know while you're on a flight for four hours but it's a excruciating but you know so i'm watching the game we get off we're trying to connect we're trying to catch our connecting flight because we are we had to go through customs and oh my god and it was funny because obviously the game's going on obviously there's one thing in the world i can't handle it's missing what's going on in the phillies game so we're talking to the customs agent or whoever he was and there was like a clear sign that said don't look at your phone and of course i whipped out my phone and he he, like, tapped the sign. He, like, tapped the sign and gave me, like, the meanest eye roll I've ever seen in my life.

He was like, I was like, all right, dude. Like, hold on. We're in a pennant chase, okay? Like, we're going to be okay. I brought some Canadian beers home. All right. We'll be okay. So, got through and still had my my connecting or got on the flight whatever

sitting down ninth inning starts flight's about to take off as soon as michael a taylor hit the ball to the left uh through the five six you're like i'm done i'm done i was like this is a loss and then i and then dude i so it's a 55 minute flight from toronto to philadelphia and the whole time i was just like, they lost. There's no way they won that game. There's just a 0% chance they won that game. So it was kind of nice being Phil's list for the week. And then just when it's like, oh, man, the boys are back,

they lay a big old stinker on us. I know. I know. And then yesterday sucked, too. Then yesterday, they just don't hit. You know, Sanchez was pretty good. You know, just can't get anything going, you know, ugly loss. And thank God they won today. I mean, I was coming and just starting off with a sweep here would have been like, I might've just separate recording tomorrow. Honestly, I thought about it.

I was like, if they lose today, I'm like, no, we got to talk draft. I mean, come on. Why else are we here, man? So I didn't want to text you preemptively because I could sense the tiredness. I could sense the – I was going to ask how long I have to talk about the draft. But I promise you it's going to be concise. It will be like the pre-draft talk. I promise you. The pre-draft dog i promise you great the pre-draft dog was was epic it was a honestly one of your great performances of all time one of many people say that no not just you the great performances of all time by many people

do say that yes yeah it's like watching mozart back in the 1700s or something you know yeah for sure for sure all right let's get to the weekend then we'll get to the all-star game we'll get to the draft you know? Yeah, for sure. For sure. All right, let's get to the weekend and we'll get to the all-star game. We'll get to the draft and all that. But I think like, like there's not too much for me. Like Tyler Phillips,

I want to get to in a sec, but I think if you come out of this weekend and you're looking at one thing, that's kind of like, okay, not great. I think it's clearly the Alvarado thing. You know, he just, he, you know, and look,

he got through it today, gave up that leadoff single, bared down, got a couple strikeouts, or that one strikeout looked good. But, you know, he's someone who Topper's going to trust in big spots. That's not going to change, it seems. So where are you at with the Alvarado thing? And obviously, you know, the all-star game,

everyone sees Mason Miller. It's like, Oh, hi. Yeah. Freaking awesome. He is. No,

this guy, it's like, yeah, no bleep. Yeah. He's absurd. And now everyone's based Miller. Where are you at though?

You know, Alvarado bullpen closer situation, by the way, Jeff Hoffman in the eighth was a massive mistake. I think we all, everyone tweeted, everyone knew it. It was like,

what are you doing? You got to tell, like, go to Hoffman in the eighth was a massive mistake. I think we all – everyone tweeted. Everyone knew it. It was like, what are you doing? You got to tell – go to Hoffman in the ninth, but go ahead. Yes. This might be getting a little out there. No, you? Never. We sure Jeff Hoffman's not better than Mason Miller? I mean, are we sure?

Are we 100% sure he's not better than Mason Miller? I just want to point that one out. He's got a 1.12 ERA or whatever. Are we sure? Are we 100% sure he's not better than Mason Miller? Just want to point that one out. Is that a 1.12 ERA or whatever? Mason's in the 2.3s. I mean, we're ERAs, man. We always have been. It's the most important stat.

Everyone agrees. It's the most important stat there is. So, yeah. All right. So, this is going to sound mean. Great. Yes, good. I promise I'm not going to sound mean. Great. Yes. Good.

I promise I'm not trying to sound mean, but it's the only way I can explain it. Like, the WIP listening audience figured out who Mason Miller was on Tuesday night. And they have not stopped spamming my mentions with Mason Miller talk since. And Brent Rooker things. Brent Rooker. By the way. Brent Rooker just put on Rooker by the way that Rooker just put on those two homers I mean those were like it's like Mike Stanton was back and yeah like what the hell was that like they were moon shots dude like you're going Ashford Alley like what are we doing

you're going Parisian Carlo you're going back to Mike that's a deep pull that's when he had like like pure pop. Yeah. I mean, dude, that felt like Mike's. Dude, it was. And the fact that he's wearing 25, the fact that I could see his quads through his pants. You know, this is McGuire. And I mean, again, his second home run. We've seen a lot of home runs at CBP. I think poo holes hit one that was like 700 feet i mean brett

hit maybe the furthest home run dude dude poor michael mercado oh my god just got murdered i mean hitting it to ashburn alley like that's as a righty too like i think yeah exactly that's what i mean we've all been to this ballpark. Like, that is a home run, man. That is a gargantuan shot, dude. Yes. And he did it twice. Like, it's just nuts. Yeah.

So it was a – it's definitely a tough week for the I don't want Mason Miller or – Also, yeah. And also, can we just quickly – before we move on from the A's, like, I mean, 18-3 for the run differential. Can you have a little pride, guys? Can you care a little bit? Anyone gives any crap about the run differential at the end of the season? I'm like, no. I don't care how many blowouts they had. They lost the game 18-3.

Go ahead. Obviously, you know me. The listeners know me. I would do anything in my power to watch Philly's game at the airport. Can I just... Just two seconds on my experience at the airport. And so can I just, all right, just two seconds on my experience at the airport on Sunday. Like I'm not a complain about the airlines guy,

but it was a long day at the airport. So our flight was at 6 a.m. It got pushed back to 1, 1.30. Oh God. We get there, it gets pushed back to 4.30. We get on the flight. And you're traveling with a young30. We get on the flight. And you're traveling with a young child.

We get on the flight. We're heading to the place to take off, whatever, the lane, whatever. The runway. There it is. Toronto shuts down their airport. They're closed for an hour. We go back

to the stall. No! We go back to the stall. No! We go back to the stall. Oh, no! Toronto is up and ready to go. We ran out of gas. What? Are you serious?

I've never heard of that happening. I've never heard of that happening. It's something. I've never heard of that happening, ever. So we go back. We're getting refueled. Thank God they let us deplane. By the way, it was like a 50-person plane so that there was no one on it. to that happening ever so so we go back we we are getting our get we're getting refueled thank god they let us be playing by the way it was like a 50 person plane so that there was no one on it

like it was really small yeah which made it like i thought i was getting claustrophobic in the back yeah to begin with those are yeah so all of that get off come back on and i was like oh well at least if i get off i can you know watch the fills yeah it was like 11 3 and i was like i turned it off i turned it off at 11 3 i was like all right i'm good now it's like i'm done i'm good i'm out i'm one day from vacation like i don't i don't need this that's what i did 11 3 that was my moment that's somebody's at 11 3 i was like nope nope not doing it not doing it so yeah and then when i found i was 18 to 3 i was furious i was like really like come on. Not doing it. Not doing it. So, yeah. And then when I found out it was 18-3, I was furious. I was like, really?

Like, come on. It was bad. It was really bad. It was really tough. It was really tough losing the A's and Pirates back-to-back, but it's okay. Yeah, losing series. Yes, yes. Again, Tyler Phillips.

If Tyler Phillips doesn't pitch, they don't win against the A's and the Pirates. There you go. I mean, it's so reminiscent of what bailey falter did two years ago yeah i mean obviously the original stopper it wasn't as dire like when bailey falter did it was like oh my god we're we're teetering here yes and they were like fighting for a playoff spot yeah yeah and and tyler phillips it's so funny man because i watch him first off i i just love i i love the yelling. Well, no, but yelling at people.

Yeah. I mean, you want to talk about what I thought I was on the mound? It was that guy. Yeah. Fire. You know, just a bulldog. But he also just reminds me so much of a combination of, like, Jared Eikhoff and Vance Worley. Sure.

Like, Eikhoff, same number, by the way, 48. If Jared Eikhoff, and I know this is a sickening bull, but if Jared Eikhoff pitched with the modern Repsoto cameras and all this stuff, I probably would have had a different career. I still believe

in Jared Eikhoff. Staying healthy would help, too. Pre-neck nerve damage was was something i i like you know i'm with you we we were we were eickhoff men on this dude people don't talk enough about peak jared eickhoff so i know but he's like he's a he's a bulldog out there i'm not sure how how long it's gonna last i mean like again it's so funny because and it's so baseball i guess mercado had a 1.7 era in triple a meanwhile it's so funny because, and it's so baseball, I guess. Mercado had a 1.7 ERA in AAA. Meanwhile, Tyler Phillips.

Yeah, Phillips like the fours, right, or something like that? 4.78. I mean, it's so baseball. Like, what is that? It makes no sense. And it was so funny, too, because the first time I watched him pitch in that game down at Atlanta, it's like, he's obviously better. Oh, immediately.

I mean, again, he set a freaking freaking record Like seven strikeouts and relief In his first performance I mean 1901 Bill Duggery Your boy I watched him pitch that's how I knew the name So it's He's really helping him

Chris Sanchez was fine yesterday The Matt Strom once a month Home run was annoying but whatever it happens and nola was about as about as 2019 through 2022 it was classic nola class it was so old school it was so old school i can't even talk about friday because it brings up such painful memories of what it used to be. It was such a classic Phillies game. It really was. It really was. It's sickening. It really was. Everyone couldn't wait for the day to be back.

It's just Nola pitching the whole thing. It was just across the board. It was remarkable. It was remarkable. Remarkable is the word. All right. A couple other things from the weekend and then we'll move on. I saw you tweet about it. I know you've been pounding the table or fighting back against the Marshawn men out there. Do you want to comment on the record?

I know you've tweeted and whatnot, but your official response. I've gotten multiple texts of, you know, a real baseball team would keep Marshawn over stubs. People are – shout out to Phillies fans for caring so much about the backup catcher. I really do respect and appreciate that. Go ahead. The floor is yours. Thank you. I would just

like to say this because there's people that I've learned this, James. I've learned this about my mentions and my Twitter game. There are people who listen to the podcast and then there's there are people who listen to the podcast and then there's people who don't listen to the podcast. Ah, yes. So for the people that listen to the podcast,

I think you understand. The record thing with Gareth Subbs is obviously a bit. That I find funny and people really don't find funny, which I don't care about. If I think it's funny, I'm probably just going to keep doing it. You should. That's the right way to do it. Thank you.

And, dude, so inside Jack's brain, when, so I tweeted on Friday before we took off, it's like, don't love Hoffman and the 8th. Hope it doesn't come back to bite them. Whatever. Had it set up perfectly. Because if they won, I had the the garrett subs record ready to go if they lost it's like oh classic called it you know so i did not tweet today because jt's back and when jt's back everything's fine we can all calm down but marshall got sent down by the way went three for three today up at lehigh valley. Of course he didn't. Because of course he didn't. Why wouldn't he?

But hold on. Stubbs got hit by a pitch, had two hits, had a big hit early. Yeah, Stubbs was good today. Yeah, so it was good. Go ahead and shut up. So I just, they were never, you could tell by the way, you could tell by the amount that they were starting to play Stubbs that they knew there was a growing, like, they can't send down Marshawn thing.

And they just kept playing Stubbs. We're like, we're not sending him down. And, like, I think, I don't think Stubbs is some, like, fantastic hitter. I'm not, like, I think we can agree that Marshawn's the better player. It's just, like, people act like he's such a liability that, like, he doesn't belong on a baseball field. I mean, the guy was the best catcher in college baseball at one point. He's not a phenomenal hitter.

And again, there's multiple times where it's like, that might be gone, and it's caught in the short right field. But he's just a backup catcher. He plays once a week. JT's going to play a lot down the stretch here and and and it sounds like us talking about him beat because like you know it's like well and beat had two months off so he's gonna be even in better shape at the end of the postseason it didn't work but that is the optimistic mindset is that jt you also can't compare i mean jt you're literally talking about a guy who has not made it through two rounds of the playoffs physically, and legitimately maybe the toughest Philadelphia athlete of my lifetime.

Certainly in the – like, if I think who are the toughest athletes I've seen play in this city, like JT Romito would be one of the first names that pops in my head, honestly. Yeah. So – That one game where he took the shots, the nuts, and then whatever else. Play to play. Play to play.

Hit pitch to play at the plate and a hit pitch. It was just like, dude, this guy is a robot. He's like a warrior. It's unbelievable. Yeah, so I'm so surprised by the meltdown about it. And Marshawn has to play. He's a 25-year-old catcher. I think that was your – in the tweet you put out,

the point that I thought that not enough people – it's like that's the best point of the whole thing is that this is what's best for Marshawn. Just him sitting on the bench to play one day a week. What's the point when you can get this guy every day at bats and, and even bigger point, this guy will never see the field in the playoffs. Garrett Stubbs will, unless they're up 10,

nothing. And he comes in to catch the ninth inning. Like, like this doesn't matter. Like it is a position that in all inning, like, this doesn't matter. Like, it is a position that, in all honesty, like, the vibes thing actually matters more than how good a player he is. I'm sorry. It's true.

And I'm just so blown away by it, you know? Like, if JT gets hurt, okay, then they'll call up Marshawn. He's probably going to play more. And even in the playoffs, if JT gets hurt in the playoffs, you could change the roster. You can bring Marshawn right up like up like that like there's no issue here it's it just it's not it was not worth it so it's over whatever you know if marshall maybe next year is the backup catcher i don't know you know i mean could he play his way into an everyday spot maybe he's a trade

chip maybe they just you know played so well right now. I'm just saying in general. I doubt he gets traded this deadline. But I do think he's, like, raised his value a little bit, you know? Yeah. And the only thing that has ever really held back Marshawn, outside, like, the home runs. Injuries. Is injuries.

Yeah. He's a phenomenal catcher. Like, he is a super talented defensive player. Like, he really is. And that's the other thing. It's like, all right, I think Marshawn is probably a better talented defensive player. He really is. And that's the other thing. It's like, all right, I think Marshawn is probably a better defensive catcher, but Stubbs is a hoes too. Stubbs is good, dude.

Again, that's the other thing too, is I think the difference between them is not nearly – if Marshawn were light years a better player, maybe it's like, all right, well, he's so much better. He's not that much better. He's been good in a small sample size, but I guarantee you Marshawn's not going to hit 300 if you play him all year, you know? By the way, so great to get JT back.

You know, that is their biggest struggles of the season. Not that they've struggled really at all, but the biggest struggles have coordinated or coincided with JT being out, whether that's the biggest reason or not. And Harper was out and Schwarber was out and stuff. But, you know, JT, I think is, you know, and all the metrics that matter, giving you the insights you need to draft the best wide receivers.

As you prep for your draft, let us give you the coverage you need. Follow and listen to Reception Perception on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, one last thing from the weekend and then take bag, draft, the whole thing. Stoddard.

Yeah. I mean, it's starting to get to the defensively still you know elite a gold glove caliber second baseman he matters he's important you know and he helps the team but like i didn't quite realize just how bad the numbers have gotten i watch and i'm like he's struggling but then i looked at the numbers i mean it's it's really bad i mean he's been one of the worst hitters on the team uh where you at with Stotter offensively yeah yeah I mean I just I still love the belief like I refuse to believe he's a 240 hitter like I just I believe in the bat more it might just be you know year three

year so he came up his rookie year you know they they obviously figured him out in the world series whatever and then last year he was mostly fine it feels like the league kind of adjusting to him a little bit and he's got to adjust back you know in the world series obviously got just you know fastballs were his his main problem and he spent all off season working on that i just the swing to me looks a little a little loopy like he's he's trying to almost lift it rather than drive it. And I just, the nice part is that Edmundo is still continuing to play really well. You don't really have a, you don't have a drop off at second base if you want to play more Edmundo. And I think that's starting to transition into more of a natural platoon until he kind of gets himself out of it because I don't know if he can keep playing them as much as they have

when he's been as kind of brutal. Now, even yesterday or Saturday, yeah, he had like two balls to the wall, but they were kind of, I mean, it was like weak than a left field line. Like you're not a left field line power guy. No, you're hitting them into the right field seats. And it's like every time every time it's like all right so i was pulling himself out of it pulling himself out of it then he goes back into this like week-long slump where it's like man what is going on here so like i i haven't given up on like him as a hitter i just it's been more weak contact than than anything like he's not driving

the baseball at all i mean hit the ball like 450 feet or whatever on the on the one home run but oh that was a tank shot yeah at this point like i think you have to play it has to be treated more like a natural platoon because edmundo has even when trey's come back like has continued to play pretty well um like he's got he's had some more bad at-bats, but he's been mostly fine. I just, the Stubbs thing is definitely a concern. I just, there's still moments where I trust him with Ron's scoring position. Like, I think he's still going to come through. But it's been more strikeouts this year.

Like, what made him so good last year, he never struck out. Like, he would get to two strikes, and he's fouled off 1,000 pitches. It's not happening this year you know so he's down like what 200 i think since yeah june 1st or even before that yeah um the ops is like 600-ish it's like well it's just it's it's maybe it's a little that actually and like cassianos has been pretty good for a month month month and a half today and a classic home run today dude i i can't like we were joking about like the bit is just full force today it was the most it's been in so long obvious reasons like the fact that he actually homered it's especially because he hit that one

like the double was like a shot it was just a little too low and you know kind of not enough trajectory to get out but it was like oh is this it and it was like nah it's not gonna get out and then for him to actually in the last at bat you know in the ninth to actually put one out it's just it's ridiculous is what it is it's it's it's it is ridiculous it's something so you know you look at the line up top to bottom and it's like well okay is stock going to be a 600 ops guy is? I mean, you already have a 500 OPS guy. He's a 669 he's at, so not quite as bad, but it's been bad recently. Right, and then you have a 500 OPS guy with Rojas in center field. You have Marsh who can't hit lefties at all.

And then you have inconsistency with guys like we just talked about with Casianos where you just don't really know what you're going to get tonight in the playoffs. And it's why I've seen all the talk. And believe me, Friday was annoying with Alvarado, and I get it. And Alvarado, I mean, we'll see here. Today was a step in the right direction. Stuff still looks a little bit flat. I thought today was a better sign from that standpoint.

But, like, are people really prioritizing a closer over another bat? It's crazy to me. I just don't get it. I mean, Jeff Hoffman should be the closer. If we're being honest, at this point where we're at, he makes more sense as it goes. They need another righty arm. I mean, Kirk Green, I like Kirk Green.

I trust him for sure. But if they can get someone else who can do the Hoffman things now, at least not to that level, but some level, and then have Alvarado and Strom for those other situations, I think that's the best version of the bullpen. And to the Mason Miller thing, look, I get it. He's nasty. Do people understand you have to give up Painter, Crawford, another prospect.

Mason Miller will cost as much as anyone on the market this whole season, especially because teams will probably want to turn him back into a starter down the road. He is a valuable asset with six years of control left or whatever. So he would cost more than Luis Robert. Do people get that? Do they understand how much he's going to cost? So I'm with you.

I think a bat is paramount right now. Well, and the thing about Mason Miller is, like, all right, I totally get it if you want him. You know what I mean? Like, he is sick. And I think the best case for it is that if Rob Thompson, if he's going to be the aggressive guy in the postseason, you know, where it's, okay,

we want to pull our starter after three and a third. Just have as many dudes as you can get kind of thing. Sure. Like Mason Miller completely changes that. And I get it. I just, it's just not my priority. You know, I think you can get, you know, this is like, it's going to sound a little – like Finnegan,

if you want to get Finnegan from the Nats, it's not going to be as good as Mason Miller, but it's another interesting arm. You can go Tanner Scott. You can go Fairbanks from the Rays if you want. There's other guys out there that are also really good that you can add to that that won't cost you your entire farm system. He's sick. I understand it, but I i just it doesn't really compete with me and it's same thing with brent rooker like brent rooker has three years left and he's sitting like i just can't and he can't play the field you know like 400 in the month of july so i get it but it's also three

years of control of that kind of bat that's going to cost you a ton so i know they're the a's but we need to calm down but you know i just i I just – they need another kind of bat there. And you look at left field, you look at what they've done with Marsh, you want Rojas out there for defense, fine. I mean, he made it. The play last night was fine. Oh, that was a – The little finger wag at the end.

Yeah, yeah. Pretty cocky, which I appreciate. I'm usually not pro finger wag, but that catch was finger wag. I agree. I agree. So, yeah, it's just they need a bat. And it's funny, man. So even when they lose now, I kid you not, man.

All I think about is the trade deadline. It's all I think about. And I'm equally parts like nervous and excited and i i i'm about as nervous as a as a human being could possibly be about a team that's like 27 28 games over 500 and like clearly in first place i'm eight every day yeah every day i'm nervous i want to trade from the draft nerves to now just trade deadline nerves because it's so crucial and it's like how how far are they going to go in how many guys are they going to trade who's really untouchable you know i just there's been this and i like justin crawford there's been a little bit too much of the whole like justin crawford's

untouchable thing for me um like we'll get into the draft they freaking just drafted three fast center fielders i mean like there probably won't be as good as Justin Crawford, but, like, I don't buy that he's untouchable at all. You know, I think if they have to make a move and have to use him for an upgrade on the major league roster, I think they would. But, like... We all remember the classic Ben Brown and who was the other one? Logan Hoppy.

Yeah, they're not getting traded. Absolutely not. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so that doesn't really, again, much like Nightingale came out and said today that Rooker doesn't really seem like a fit for the Phillies. The Justin Crawford untouchable thing doesn't really pass my smell test. I think Painter and Miller are their true untouchables.

But yeah, a bat for me is just so much more imperative than having another bullpen arm. Like I want another bullpen arm. Like if you can get Tanner Scott, if you can get some of these other guys. Yeah, it's more of a luxury. 100%. But like a bat is absolutely, absolutely imperative to this team. Yeah.

I have 100% on the same page. All right. Take back. Speaking of the bat, the name that I have been more and more intrigued by, and I think he's my number one target. Luis Robert's my number one. I still want him. If you can get him, get him.

Whatever. But, like, a Rosarania is really good, man. And hit another home run today. He's hitting, like, 295 since June 1st with a 9-something OPS. Good. Plays left field. We know that. Can stand in center field, but not really a natural center fielder.

But he's a good left fielder. If you can go Marsh and him center field, left field, and if you want to put Rojas out there for defensive stuff, I understand it. But like Randy has two years left after this. I assume they don't really want to pay him. His arbitration numbers are going to be pretty high

because of all the success that he's had with the Rays. So I'm sure the Rays don't want to pay him. The Rays, I feel like if they can get something for him, would rather do that than compete because that's what they traditionally do. They don't love competing. They just have a really good team. And you just look at the postseason numbers. you look at a guy that's like a riser and that you know is going to

be good in that moment like randy rosarania at citizens bank park like i can just see it now it's place is jumping he rips a ball into the left center field gap he gets on second base and he does his like the the arms folded thing and the place goes wild like he is for me he is like the classic dave nebrowski let me go get randy rosarania he's a playoff riser and someone that you could trust in the big moment at cbp and and can really help this team and if you go again if you can just have your lineup against varieties of of of schwarber and by the way, I mean, Trey is just like, he's awesome. Trey's unbelievable, dude.

He is. We're, we're seeing what we like paid for. Yeah. I know we saw it from August 4th on last year, but like, this is the Trey Turner that we, that we're,

I think he's one of the best players in baseball. If he, if he, if he did not get hurt, we're talking about an MVP game. Oh yeah. I think without a doubt. And he might actually, so he's, he's not. He still has an MVP game. Oh, yeah. I think without a doubt. And he might actually.

So he's. He still has a chance. So I threw a dollar to win 250 on him because it was like plus 2,500 or whatever, 25,000 or whatever it was. It was like, why not? The dollar went 250 or $2? 250. $250.

It was one. He was plus 25,000 odds or something like that. I was like, that's crazy. I was like, that seems way too – I mean, I don't think he's going to win MVP, but I think there's a world where he could. Well, there is a world where he could win the batting title. I mean, he's got to play a lot, but he has a chance to win the batting title if he can catch up games-wise and meet the minimum.

But if he can go he can you know catch up games wise and meet the minimum but you know if you can go those two harper you want to keep bowman in the cleanup spot sure you know and then like rosarania cassianos you know stott marsh whatever like it just again it lengthens it with another name so he's a big name he's got two years left but if they are committed to this whole marsh can't hit against lefties thing, Rosarania is a really, really interesting one. I mean, on top of that, they have an opportunity here to kind of create packages if they want. If you want to go Lane Thomas and Brandon Finnegan, you can do that.

If you want to do Randy Rosarania and Pete Fairbanks, you could possibly do that. There's some good options here where they can get a bullpen piece and they can get an outfielder if they want but like they're gonna need to make two moves like for me it's oh yeah they need three i mean they might even need a a bench outfielder to replace someone like pache or whatever you know i mean there's someone probably go when they bring in a rosarania but you know i mean like to to strengthen the bench like it's not it's not crazy i mean west wilson i like west wilson but like is wes wilson definitely on your roster is pache definitely on your roster like i don't know

you know well pache can't be here like i i agree i like wes wilson better now that's why i mentioned pache first like i'd rather i would i know the defense thing i think i'd rather i trust wes wilson to take it a bat more than i trust christ Pache. Without a doubt. If we're doing the defense thing, like I have robots, I'll play raw. Yeah. And I'll bat West. Well,

someone I need to pin. I mean, I'd rather get someone. That's my point though, is like, go get someone better. By the way, quickly before we move on from a Rosarania,

uh, 33 career playoff games, slash line three 36, four 14, six 90. He's got a career 11, Oh in the playoffs dude's a baller in the playoffs so he just always has been yep i mean his 2020 was he must won world series mvp and though they lost like he was yeah good it's crazy you get a 1273 ops that playoffs he's so good like he's and he's gotten off to a horrible start like if you look at the average, it's like 214.

But, man. He's been better the last month. Yes, and hopefully he's coming out of it. I think as of today, he's my number one target. I'm intrigued by Elaine and Dylan Floro package from the Nationals. If you want to do that, you know me. I'm a Dylan Floro guy. I do know you, buddy.

I do know you. Dylan Floro has just ate in the Phil's lunch for like 10 years, going back to the Dodgers and the Marlins. And then I'm shocked. I mean, he might have been a brave, frankly, for all I know. He might have been a brave at one point. Probably was, yeah. But, I mean, Finnegan's obviously kind of the prize down there.

They have a lot of pretty good options. I think reliever wise, like Kirby Yates continues to kind of pop. I mean, so like a 0.83 or a whatever, which is, which is good. It doesn't,

let me just like, can I put the disclaimer out there? Like, it probably doesn't make sense, but like personally, I need it. Like if they can find a way to get Nathan Evaldi, I just,

he's on the market. They're saying he's such a big game pitcher, dude dude and he has come out of the bullpen before obviously with the 2018 red sox 2018 red sox he can't start you know if tyler phillips isn't the best pitcher in baseball a month from now like they they could go to nathan avaldi and not have to go back to taiwan he could start a playoff game if you wanted. But, like, I don't know, man. I just – we're, like, we're nine days away. We're nine days away from the trade deadline.

It's crazy. It's so fast approaching. And, by the way, obviously we'll have you covered. We went on vacation last year. Oh, yeah, we're back now. Last week. Last week, yeah. We might as well hunker down now, you know. Oh, yeah.

We are here at all times. Yeah, we're not going anywhereunker down now you know oh yeah we are we are here and all yeah we're not going anywhere yeah so we're not going anywhere we're just refreshing twitter all the time trying to see yeah who they're going to go after so it's going to be a really long nine days i'm just letting you know it's going to be for you more than most it feels like i just i need to know what they're going to do i'm not a surprise guy i don't want to do that you know like people are like oh you know you're going to wait until the baby's born to like figure out if it's a boy or a girl and i can't do it like i'm not i'm not a surprise guy i need to know early it's as fast as possible i need to know what's gonna happen so it's gonna be an excruciating

nine days for me but um either way i think i think randy or rosarania is a really really really i think it's a great name yeah i think look when, look, when we're talking about, like, and I like Ian Happ, and I like some of these other names, Rob Taylor Ward. Like, I like these guys. Like, Rosario is the, I think, of that group, you know, because of the playoff success, probably the most exciting name just because we know we've seen him do it in the biggest moments over and over again.

And like we've said all year, that's what this boils down to. You know, that's what we've, all year long, since our first pod, you're that's what we've all year long since our first pod you're like yeah i'm just thinking about october man what's gonna happen then you know so you know it's what it is yep but as i said last podcast they're uh they're gonna lose okay they'll just get it out of the way now they're gonna lose they're gonna lose thank you but they better not but they better not um all right so i tweeted this and i want to uh expound upon what I was trying to say. Because, again, like, you can't always explain everything on Twitter. You know, even though you have, like, the more characters, it's easier to explain here.

So Jose Verado with JT, his ERA was, like, 1.3 after opening day. And opening day was debacle, whatever. And his ERA before today was 7.5, pitching to the backups, both Marchand and Garrett Stubbs. And I just wonder if he's a little bit afraid to cut it loose with those guys. Like, Garrett Stubbs, I think, is a good catcher. But I think he struggles against,

I think he struggles with high-velocity guys. Like, Wheeler, it seems like he pulls a lot of balls out of the strike zone yeah there was a there was an alvarado pitch on friday it was like 95 nine hour cutter down that he should have stuck and he took it out of the strike zone so i'm not sure how much alvarado like trusts garrett stubbs but i think he trusts jt to at least get there block it and he can he can let it loose and and he won't be hurt. It's an interesting thought.

And I just wonder, and I hope, because he's a really important piece. I think he could use definitely a break. They keep pitching him, which is crazy. I'm surprised they keep pitching him. He looks like a classic. Give him a week and see what happens. But whatever, they keep pitching him. Kirkering, I think, needs a little bit of a break. Kirkering on friday i thought his velocity was down a little bit no doubt so but like with like maybe just maybe he has more trust in jt so he

feels like he can let it loose because this stuff looks a little flat looks like he doesn't want to fully go alvarado like you know 101 and you know let it loose a little bit I just I wonder if JT being back having trust in JT knowing he'll be able to block balls in the dirt knowing he'll be able to catch whatever pitch he throws I wonder if that gets Alvarado back into a good rhythm now today was a good start you know he hit 99 a couple times he flashed a pretty good cutter to both to both O'Neal Cruz and Briannolds but that was what i was thinking yesterday because i i can't give up on jose alvarado the good's too good and i think we're over i think we're overreacting a little bit to the bad and and trying to label him something he's not which

is like he's a really good valuable reliever some guys go through hot zones some guys go through cold spells i think he's in a cold spell but um that i just wonder if jt coming back kind of gets him back into a rhythm a little bit and lets him kind of trust these guys it's a great thought and hopefully and i i agree i think people look we've seen alvarado have this before like even with him and you know i'm not concerned long term even long term this season about alvarado but i would give him a week off, personally. So I hope the JT thing makes a difference. What else you got? It was cool seeing everyone in the All-Star game.

The home run derby was cool. Nice to see them all out there supporting Boehm. I thought that was cool. Yeah. If you would have said one more home run. That's so annoying. I know. I know.

It was brutal. It was brutal. But having all three being mic'd up and Trey making the play and Harper leading off the game or having his first and bat be a double. That was cool. It was good, man. And Hoffman being Hoffman, Strom being Strom was nice. It was a good night for the Phils.

So Chris Sanchez, again, toward the pillow. Two pitches, two outs. I know. It's unbelievable. Whatever. I didn't want him pitching a lot anyway. It's fine. Me either. Me either.. I know, it's unbelievable. Whatever, I didn't want him pitching a lot anyway. It's fine. Me either, me either.

But either way, that's good. The Phillies are dodging a bit of a bullet here with the Twins. You know, Jose Miranda, who is on fire, is on the IL. Carlos Correa is on the IL. I am beyond curious to see how Ranger and Wheeler look tomorrow. Or Ranger goes tomorrow. Ranger tomorrow, Wheeler on Tuesday, yep. I'm really, really curious to see how Ranger looks. how ranger and wheeler look tomorrow you know or ranger goes tomorrow ranger tomorrow wheeler on tuesday yep like i'm really really curious to see how ranger looks like jt being back like his also

his era also ballooned with jt being out we'll see how much that really matters i don't know but i i just getting him back to anything close to what he was obviously with the 1.5 era is it's huge but like it's really important for us for the rest of the season like it also kind of changes it could factor in deadline plans of like all right oh absolutely it could yeah go get another start here these guys running out of gas so i'm i it's a really really big start for for him tomorrow but they are kind of dodging a bullet with some of the big twins guys out of line. Cause I think the twins. Yeah.

You're in on the twins. Dude, they rake man. They are. They, they rake. So we'll see. But I, I,

it's a, it's a really important Ranger start tomorrow. Just kind of, all right. Is he, is he back or is this now a thing? Yeah, no,

I agree. And it's, he's, you know, his comments are good. It says, it sounds like he feels really good. So I agree.

Yeah. You hope that, that he's had a nice long layoff now. i agree it should be interesting and wheeler obviously at the back not as concerned about that that was more the heat than anything but i've given you 40 i've given you yeah let's go buddy it's all you giving you 40 yes 41 minutes i'm sitting back like this just letting you know had this gone a different way, we probably would have recorded earlier. It was a fine draft. I wasn't as pumped up like Aiden Miller last year.

I was fired by Aiden Miller. Dante Nori, we'll see. Here's my thing. He was a below slot guy, just to clarify. Probably is. Is he a below slot guy? Just to clarify. Probably. I mean, probably he's going to be a below slot guy. You'd think so because they took Griffin Burkholder, which I'm very excited about in the second round.

But we'll get to him. So the draft happens, by the way, obviously stuck in Toronto, having to stay over in Toronto. And it's like, okay, well, what's he going to do for me? And he drafts a Toronto kid, which is funny. And it's a pretty good bit. It's a pretty good bit by Brian. Yes, I appreciate it.

And here's the thing. All right, so he's going to be 20, which means he's like a super old high school kid. So how is he against that competition when he's almost a year? He's older and stronger. And yeah, I know. Yeah, like the Schwarber. It always concerns me.

It's a little bit of a concern. He has a good connection with Schwarber and his family. I just don't know what the upside is. You know me. I'm a comps guy. I like trying to find comps. I mean, you hope he's Corbin Carroll? I mean, that would be amazing if he's Corbin Carroll.

Of course it would be. Of course it would be. But the upside wasn't really there for me. He's shorter. He's a hit over power guy. He can play center field. He's really fast. Like, I have no doubts about that.

But it's just, like, I don't know what he is. Like, I don't know. Listen, they seem fired up. They said they targeted him the whole time. I would be very curious to see who got taken to where they pivoted to taking Dante Nori. I just hope I'm wrong, and I was wrong about Payner, but that was about one video that I wasn't a huge fan of. And Justin Crawford, I wasn't a huge fan of when they drafted,

and he certainly blossomed into a good player. So as of right now, I'm not a big Dante Norrie guy. Hope he's great. I just don't see the upside. Like Crawford, you see the upside. 6'3", he's huge, he's fast, he hits the ball hard, he can square it up, and he can lift with power. With him, it's like you hope he hits a bunch of

singles, but where's the pop coming from? It's not a first round pick type of thing you'd think normally, yes. He's ripped, so maybe we'll see. I don't know. But it was not exactly sprinting through the Toronto airport because they drafted Dante Nori. I hope

he's good. Griffin Burkholder, I'm pretty pumped about. Griffin Burkholder, I looked pretty pumped about. Like, Griffin Burkholder, I looked at, like, when I started first going through the draft stuff, he was a late riser, and I was like, I mean, if it comes together, you got a really special package here. He's strong. He's big. He's physical.

I mean, can he be Tyler O'Neal? He's big. He hits a lot of pop. And, again, like, seems like, between Norrie and Burkholder, like, they're both all, like, fantastic, you know, guys it seems like. You know, from that standpoint, they don't seem like an issue at all. But Burkholder just – there's – if they just swapped him, I think – You'd feel better about it.

Yeah. If you took him at 27, it's like I wouldn't have taken him there. Like, I would have taken one of the prep arms. But, you know, like him at 63 is a pretty damn good outcome here. So I'm pretty fired up about him. He can play center field. It's interesting. Their first three picks are all fast center fielders.

Again, that's why they buy the Justin Crawford thing. Like they're all fast. They all can play center field. So we'll see what happens. But Griffin Burke holder, I think there's legitimate upside there. And, uh,

the, of all the, the, the early picks, he's the one that I'm probably the most fired up about. Love it. It's a good name. I'm in on the name.

That's good. What do you think about that? It's my main comment on this. What do you think about the name? John? What do you think about the name? John Spikerman? Oh, a phenomenal name. Are you kidding me spikerman yes yeah i don't know if it's a great

baseball name i don't know it's more of a football name it feels like you're right it's a good point yeah but he is also a pure center fielder uh really fast and his exit velocity numbers not great you know you would like your exit velocity numbers to be good and high for a college player with metal bats. But he also had a handmaid bone, so maybe they think there's some upside there. My eye looks better from the right side. I wonder if that's something that they kind of lean into. Carson Demartini, I think, was on his way to being a first-round pick before he got hurt. So it seems like a bit of a value there in the fourth round.

He got hurt a little bit. He has some questions about zone contact, which I know you're a big fan of. Zone contact percentage. Cody Clemons with more talent? Thrilling. You're really selling us here.

I like how fair you are with your comps, except when you say ridiculous stuff well I did compare Griffin Burkholder and Mike Drought the first time I saw them who would ever do that Carter Matheson was their fifth round pick out of Iowa

a lot of the data people love him, he's a data darling he hit.260 in the Big Ten which I don't really love again, you would like a little bit of a higher average. But he reminds me of. Now, I want you to get excited. I want you to maybe name the podcast after this.

Carter Matheson reminds me of Cole Calhoun. Oh, my God. Here's the thing. A fifth-round pick turning cole calhoun is is a good pick like that's like sure you know if you can get cole calhoun have a fifth round pick you're like that was a that was a good fifth round pick it's just so unexciting cole calhoun man yeah uh next two picks uh uh they took a kid out of kansas that is like a play everywhere guy but can barely hit they think he might catch we'll see what happens there Joel Drago

Joel Drago that's a good name there you can see the dragon if he makes it Joel Drago oh god sorry Joel we'll see we'll see this We'll see.

This is where it gets exciting. They took Cameron Hill, who dominated the Cape. He's a Wake Forest kid. Up to 95 from the left side and has a wipeout slider. It was not great for Wake, but obviously

dominating the Cape means something. I'm going to be more in on him. This is my favorite pick in the draft. If there's one Fritz guy that's like, Griffin Burkholder is my guy, and this is my guy. Marcus Morgan. Marcus Morgan is a pitcher out of Iowa.

Iowa, they get a bunch of guys with stuff, and then sometimes they don't know what to do with them. From my eye, he reminds me of Luis Castillo. Wow, so there we go. There's a real doubt. So we'll see. But he's smooth.

It's an effortless, just effortless 98 with a pretty good changeup. I could not be more fired up about him. So I know that Bernie Brecht was the first-round pick, the second-round pick he ended up going. Marcus Morgan with this pitching staff, with the guy Matt Klaassen, what they've gotten out of these guys. You hand them Marcus Morgan,

and it might be over for the rest of baseball. Brady Day, not talking about, his second baseman, Kansas State, whatever. They legitimately, for day three of the draft, they walked into it and said, do you throw 98 and do you have control issues? Do you have a sweeper? We'll take you.

And we're going to take you. So, dude, all right. I'm just letting everyone know. Titan Hayes. Great. I mean, that's the best name they took I mean Titan let's go So he pitched in the Cape

Like someone who covered all his games That he's hilarious He like makes all his antics on the mound Like to get everyone fired up Like he's going to have a big moment Since he's been parking the playoffs It's gonna be memorable I'm just letting you know.

Like, Titan Hayes. I give you such credit for your reasonable comps, and then you just go and say, make a prediction like that. Love it. Dude, the 11th through 16th rounds were about the most exhilarating things that have happened in a long time. Titan Hayes is going to be a legend here. A legend here.

A.J. Wilson is this funky little lefty from UNC Charlotte. This sweeper moves, I don't know, across the whole plate. I think he could get big league outs right now. He seems like he reminds me of who is that little lefty? JP Howe. He reminds me of JP Howe. Okay, JP Howe. He reminds me of J.P. Howe. Okay, J.P. Howe. Sweet.

Tegan Kane is a reliever from Kansas who the Giants have a bunch of guys that just have randomly good stuff from like a billion different angles. They have Tyler Rodgers. They have Taylor Rodgers. They have Randy Rodriguez. If the Phillies can trade for Randy Rodriguez, I'd be thrilled. They have Camilo Duvall. Like, all these guys.

Like, Tegan Kane's that guy. Like, he drops down. He's 95 from the side with a pretty good slide he's gross tegan kane is 100 gross jared spencer jared spencer's up in 97 from the left side a really tough look he does this funky thing with his hand where he like bends it all the way back and then whips 97 at you he is absolutely sick uh luke gabrish is all right so so my good buddy ty daubert wrote this on uh on philly's nation but luke gabrish he was a uh section over from the bedlam at the bank home run so he oh i saw it on twitter he had the ball right yep yep that was cool st joe's good st joe's good so obviously rooting for him we'll see how it goes had like a six era at st joe's and then went to the draft league and was sick

for the thunder so uh we'll see what happens and then last one here i promise is is eli drop who pitched a pen like elite extension just elite extension you get so low ball rises so much i'm beyond fired up so eli trope jared spencer teagan kane aj wilson titan hayes marcus morgan cameron hill like they're gonna have they're gonna have the best bullpen in the history of baseball like i just maybe it might take three years but they're gonna have they're gonna have an unbelievable bullpen as long as they don't as long as they don't trade guys so um we'll see hopefully uh hopefully brian bar Barber gets in the podcast and we can just nerd out about the...

Go on this. Yes! And you can just sit there. I'll sit there. Nothing's happening. I will just hang out, chime in every once in a while, maybe call him Bill.

They drafted so many relievers and it's all I care about. I mean... I know. You just want guys who throw hard and throw nasty stuff i'm just i'm so happy they're gonna be they're going to be sick in a couple years and they might try and then they could they can move some of those guys into the starting rotation if they want i mean they've done that awesome no for sure so good stuff good stuff i'm so excited for you buddy this. This is thrilling. Thrilling.

First five rounds? First five rounds? I was like, I don't know. And then they redeemed themselves. You dropped 98 with command issues. You got me back in. I can see the videos. It's just perfect.

It's just perfect. So many like Kirk Green kind of guys that they dropped. Love it. I love that. Oh, yeah. We got to get Barbara on the kind of guys that they draft. Love it. I love that. Oh, yeah. We got to get Barbara on the pod. That'll be fun.

All right. So we'll be back later in the week. We got the perfect deadline pod. Figure we do that like one week from today, right before the deadline. Does that make sense? Our like next Sunday pod. Or do you want to do it earlier? We'll figure it out.

It's Tuesday, right? I know. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. So a week from today. Alright, cool. So get ready for that. Randy or Rosa or Rania? Rosa. That's the early lead. We'll see if Jack changes in the next week. Alright. Nathan of Aldi. And let me just throw this one out there. Sure. Because monitoring the situation might be cooked.

Oh, a lot of money, but it's also a postseason god. George Springer. Oh, really? I take George Springer in the playoffs. I didn't say I want him. Just say I'm monitoring the situation. All right. Thank you.

We'll get an update on that soon. All right. I'm going to bed. Seriously. It's 5.30. I know. we'll get an update on that soon I'm going to bed seriously it's 5.30 I know you try getting off waking up at 3 in the morning for a week and waking up and sleeping late and all that

and then getting back on schedule it's horrible I'm going to be out of it all week but I'll be here because that's what I do Jack I love you thank you I just want a little props you've been asking for it you survived Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. I just want a little props. That's all. Yeah. Just a little props. You've been, you've been,

you've been asking for it. You survived. I'm a guy about it. Yeah. I made very clear what I want here. You've survived eight minutes of draft talk. Yeah, that was good.

You did good again. I'm really proud of you. You're, you're really coming into your own. Taking cane. Marcus Morgan. I'm going to get a Jersey. I'm going to get a Jersey. I'm going to get a jersey.

All right. We'll be back later in the week. Get Fritz a jersey. He's Fritz himself. We'll be you next time.