High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Who Cares About the Phils? It's Brian Barber Season.

Episode Date: July 14, 2022

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz vent after a brutal week from the Phils. Luckily, the guys also talk MLB Draft and get Fritz to his happy place. Plus, a Brian Barber interaction and more. 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

This is the High Hopes podcast. High Hopes! It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies on Odyssey and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes podcast presented by Miller Lite and Jack Fritz. Yes.

There have been a real a, a real Ray. I'm going to use a word you might, or might not know what we'll find out after I use it. A real dearth of Miller lights for Philly's wins lately, my friend, it has not been a, a great week and we were riding high. We flew too close to the sun deck. It's all your fault. Honestly, like i know as soon i'm like the kiss of death for this team the moment i'm like the guy on board it's like i need to know my role and stick to it they're screwed all right yeah i mean listen i've had to listen to you on the radio this week oh they're so good they're so this or so that like what are you taking my talking points i dude i really didn't feel like you

and i know never feel like me that's a mistake dude ever since i went on the radio on monday and said i'll believe in this team they're good they haven't won so it's cool it's really a fun time to be me and be a phillies fan and oh by the way in case you know nick castellano still sucks so yeah awesome time to be me i don't even have the draft at least like the vast majority of this podcast because no one wants here as bitch for for you know 30 to 40 minutes or whatever we'd much rather hear the the youthful enthusiasm in your voice as you're talking about these guys that could become part of the philly system like that's way more fun than this but like man am i bummed about the phillies this week they're killing my

soul jack can i give you a little bit of a preview of how the draft talk is gonna go by the way let's just say i have more guys that i want late than i have guys i want oh buddy yeah like i'm more locked in on rounds three through uh five than i am oh look at you listen jackie sleepers yeah i'm just wondering how many veiled shots you're gonna take at castellanos when you mention oh a guy that you know might go in the second but if they get him in the third you know what what a miraculous job by barber like i and and everyone's gonna know that that's you saying yeah we don't have a second round pick as castellanos so because because you want your guy you're actually and people always say i'm a mush think of the tape the tie just starting to turn over there yeah it's i'll be honest it's not going

well for me right now it's really not you were predicting like 90 wins you were at you know i mean you've been going on the radio spouting nonsense about how good they are you go you want to cast the anos me schwarber guy um who by the way is like two for his last 21 so i know i know like the last two games hoskins and schwarber have gone oh for eight and it's like shocking the have gone 0 for 8. And it's like. Shocking. The Phillies have lost. Yeah. Yeah.

It's like you're screwed. All right. You know, like Bryson Stott accounted for every single run they scored in Toronto. They scored five runs. He had two two run homers and scored the other run. Like, you know, and shout out to Bryson. Like dude's putting it together. He's starting to look like a major league hitter.

But man, Jack, like and's putting it together. He's starting to look like a major league hitter, but man, Jack, like, and, and you know what, honestly, losing the last two in St. Louis, we were on after the last one and we were bummed about that particular game, but we were kind of, you know, you know, other than the bone injury, we were okay with where the team was the Toronto ones to lose the bullpen game in, in just like an annoying close game where, you know, good left fielder makes a catch and you know all that kind of stuff and and george springer makes an absurd catch that caused philly's runs and all that stuff to like i i was all right with that but then to go out with wheeler last night and obviously look wheeler's not gonna have it every time out but he stunk and he got

unlucky with you know balls hitting off the top of the wall and stuff but but man for that offense for that team to come out and just have no competitive at bats to let raw and we're both raw stripling guys you know on my fancy team but but to let him just like effort effortlessly mow you down for six straight innings one hit no could be he was like 55 pitches dude it was that was in i was embarrassed like last night was the first time i'm like wait a minute am i an idiot damn it like i shouldn't believe in this team what was i thinking you know yeah and i don't like honestly when when when they went down one nothing i think they viewed it as games over like and that's not a great spot for for a team to be at and you know and i think that they you know i i know ultimately it didn't they didn't miss many players with the with the

covid thing um but i do think that the idea that you're going into toronto down a couple guys i think that weighs on you and i think there and some guys try to do too much but you know last night yeah it was just like we're gonna lay down uh we're not gonna fight and it you know the thing that i the one thing i don't understand about this team and it's been like this most of the season you know when they when they fired Girardi the last like week or so uh after that you know I felt like they were putting together different kind of at bats and it's almost like when they want to put together good at bats they will and then there's some nights where they're just like eh we'll see

how tonight's good and tonight goes you know I tonight goes. I know it sounds simplistic and stupid, and it probably is, but that's how I feel watching them. It's like you just decided tonight's the night where you're like, eh, I'm not going to work any pitches. Schwarber is addicted to getting a 3-2, and then this series, he's just like, you know what? I'm going to swing first pitch. So that was frustrating, you know i'm trying to you know i guess where i'm at is that

i i believe more in what we saw the prior to the two games in st louis and the two games in toronto like toronto i'm kind of chalking up to they're down some guys. Baum was hurt. They were down after the injury on Monday or on Sunday. No, on Monday. And then it kind of carried over to Toronto, going from St. Louis to Toronto. They've been on the road a lot and now they're going down to Miami. It's almost like they knew it was a two-day trip, so they'll just get it out of the way.

I'm trying to believe more in a team that we saw heading into St. Louis, more than a team that is leaving Toronto. But really what I see is, and it's not like this isn't breaking news, but the loss of Bryce, the pieces that they don't have, having to rely on Derek Hall in the cleanup role, he's been good. He's helped them. But that's a massive ask.

You have Stott batting fifth, who, thank God, is really starting to look like the player that we thought we were getting, which is good to see. I'd bat him third instead of Castellanos right now. Yeah, whatever, whatever at this point. But then you're relying on Vierling and Jairo Munoz. And then they have good depth, right? It's catching up with them.

It's catching up to them. But the thing is, the thing that's frustrating, I think I mentioned this last podcast, is they do have good depth right up with them it's catching up to them but the thing is like they have good the thing that's frustrating i think i mentioned this last podcast is like they do have good pieces it's just we don't have bryce and you don't have gene and you don't have you know the old castellanos and you don't have like jt and dd i just whatever i can't and you lose your depth like you lose camargo and maytonon and those extra guys who should be playing. And Jairo's been solid, but, like, you know, he shouldn't be playing as much as he is. You know, we shouldn't have to rely on Didi every single night.

You know, all that stuff. Like, those guys matter. Yeah, and I'm trying to – And boom out. Right, and I guess where I'm at is, like, I just – I kind of – I'm watching them, James. I'm watching them with my hands over my eyes. Like, honestly, this whole weekend is with my uh my hands over my eyes like honestly this whole

weekend is just going to be hands over my eyes i'm just begging them not to lose out and and it's on dave dembrowski at the all-star break you can't wait for the deadline you can't wait you can't do it this team is going to be four games back if we wait till the deadline i don't think he's going to wait till the deadline you gotta make a move as fast as you can i know it takes two to to make any deal possible i understand that i don't want you to have to overspend whatever you gotta get something done asap because this whole thing could fall apart and you can't lose the good vibes that you you you built up you know thank god they won the the the nine in a row and thank god they got over 500 and all this stuff because it's giving them some room to breathe here.

But it's only going to last so long because this thing, you're starting to see some leaks. Yeah, dude, you said everything I was going to say, like you kind of nailed it. And that was my take on the radio today. You know, obviously, after a couple of days of extolling the virtues of a team that let me down every night, you know, I said that even with the embarrassing loss last night, now's the time to buy. Now's the time. Like, you can't let this become a valley that you can't get out of. You know, baseball, we know it ebbs and flows. You know, this can't be an ebb that lasts too long you know and the only way that it's not going to is if Dombrowski goes out and adds and we've talked so much on this pot

about needing a starting pitcher more than anything and look that they need a bat now like it is what it is like they need a bat they got to go get a bat with the injuries the way it's played out either and the way the offense has been without Bryce you know it they they maintain for a while but you know, Julio put out that stat and it was before the game and I take it after they've scored three runs or less in nine of the 16 games without Bryce. I mean, that's, that's tough. You know, this is an offense is a team that needs to score more runs than that to win

competitively or to inconsistently. So yeah, I'm with you. Now's the time, especially with the second half schedule. And look, we know it's very easy to say the second half schedule is easy while also saying, oh yeah, the Phillies have not necessarily always beaten the teams they're supposed to beat the last few years, the team we're about to see this weekend being one of them. But you'd rather play bad teams than good teams. And you hope that if this team is different,

then it's going to be a team like they've done with the Nationals so far. And they've got 11 more against them that's going to go out and handle the Cubs, the Reds, the Pirates, and put themselves in a position to get Bryce back, to get Segura back. If you can add now and get through that stretch, then you can maybe be a team that gets some good juju heading into the playoffs and is kind of peaking at the right time. You don't want to be the best team on july 14th you want to be the best team on september 14th and october 14th also saying also crazy concept uh you can make your team you know they can add those guys and then when bryce and gene gets back you're even better you're that much better yeah so listen the center field problem doesn't go away when Bryce Harper comes back, you know?

I know. So, yeah, it's on Dave. I mean, this is why he's here. He's always been an aggressive GM. He has put together championship caliber teams. And, you know, it's just you start. It's really, really it's teetering here. And I can't lie to you.

I'm really nervous heading into this weekend in Miami. We know how long it's been since they've played competent baseball down in Miami. I would like, like if they were playing the way they were, if they were playing the way they were heading into St. Louis, I would have confidence in this team heading into miami and i want to still be there but when we're talking about trying to decipher if this team is different from the last couple years and i mostly still think it is um these are the ones that it's almost more important than having to beat the good teams like having to to beat the marlins of Miami, depleted, down some guys,

Contra on the mound. It's a tall task. And the Marlins aren't bad. The Marlins are only a few games behind the Phillies. This is another one of those series where it proves to me you're real. And it's one of those, listen, you want the city to not start dooming and glooming

like we feel like we got them out of in the last month and a half. This is one of those checkmark series that you have to come out and win, but I don't have a good feeling heading into it. It's been so long. They are starting to leak some oil here, and it's okay.

They built up some equity with the wins and getting six, seven games over 500. They built up some equity. That's important, but now it's like, all games over 500, they build up some equity. That's important. But now it's like, all right, well,

is water just finding his level or are we really going to go for this thing? And I, I just think that this team has shown too much so far this season to just throw in the towel. And I, I do want a difference making trade and it just has to be sooner rather than later, because again,

it's the clock's ticking on, on, on this whole thing. And it's has to be sooner rather than later because, again, the clock's ticking on this whole thing. And it's a scary part of the season to be at. And you're trying not to overreact to a valley in a season that we know is peaks and valleys. But not around this time, pal. Not around this time. No. Well, look, and there's not a single phillies fan alive who if they say it they're lying there's not one who said who can say they feel confident going into a series in

miami ever much less one coming off a four game losing streak where they're playing like crap so yeah totally agree with that and and to the point about trading now i i it's it's exactly right you know we're gonna look up at the end of the season and look it's you know we keep saying six teams for eight spots and i think it is but the mar of the season. And look, we keep saying six teams for eight spots. And I think it is. But the Marlins, you know, aren't that far. It's really nine teams for six spots. But, you know, it's going to be tight.

We're going to look back at the season and say the Phillies either made or missed the playoffs by a game, two games maybe, three games. And we can look back at so many moments throughout the season. And a good example of that is us yelling, you know, really before the season. But two weeks into the season, three weeks, four weeks, fire Joe Girardi, fire Joe Girardi. And they waited too long and look, I'm happy. They ultimately did it. It made a clear difference, but who knows how many more games they win. If they fired Joe Girardi earlier, learn from that mistake. Look at the blue Jays just fired montoyo and they were playoff team they were one of the wild card spots they're four games over 500 and and they canned him like like don't

let a season like fritter away especially a season that you have so much invested in organizationally like financially emotionally as a fan base the core of your team the guys on the team like like you have to make the playoffs this year. You have to, and you have to do everything you can to gain every inch to do it. And the, the all-star break is still like two weeks worth of baseball games away or a week and a half of baseball games away.

Like you can't just wait to our trade, a trade break. I mean, trade deadline, like you can't just wait. You can't wait. So I'm so with you all right and honestly james yeah at this point where they are uh they're gaming out from the cardinals joe jarari's been fired we understand that if they miss the playoffs it's because david imbrowski waited too long and he waited too long to make a move. If we're talking about them waiting until August 1st or July 31st or July 30th, he has waited too long.

And if they miss the playoffs, it's because he waited too long. That's pretty much where I'm at. Because this is not going to end well if you continue to wait. And I know you don't want to have to give up more than you need to, but you've got to be aggressive here. And I want to see, like, selfishly, I want to see a vintage Dombrowski move. When was the last time we had a cool Phillies trade? We haven't.

None. We haven't had a cool Phillies trade at all. No, they haven't had the prospects to do it really the last couple years. I mean, like, the JT trade, but that was, like the jt trade but that was like very standard yeah yeah it wasn't like super cool yeah i mean like tyler anderson last year you know and by the way i mean tyler is pretty good for the dodgers phil's wrong or something um i mean i guess spencer howard for gibson but like that gibson and and Kennedy Didn't do anything for me No it's not exciting it's not anything special That was a good trade

It was a good trade because Spencer Howard sucks And you got something for nothing I think ultimately that's the way That's going to play out but it wasn't Anything special No and I don't need like a big splash I need something like interesting though Again like we've talked about many times,

like, and it's annoying to talk about, but the, the three moves that won the braves, the world series last year, the jock Peterson trade, the Eddie Rosario trade, Noria Soler,

either. I can't remember if it was a release in signing or a trade. They got a Soler and Rosario for just money and they trade a low level prospect for jock. Like, well, it trades Sandoval on one of those deals. I think it was Sandoval for jock because i could no i think it was i think it was sandoval for rosario no rosario was cash i think i'm almost positive either way i mean either way like you

need to be able to find those pablo said you're right but that was like a cash dump i think wasn't the sandoval thing maybe yeah it was something like that whatever the point is i mean like they they literally got him for nothing yes and those were the he was the nlcs mvp and then soler was the world series mvp and jock was like the heart of the team like you know yeah and they didn't wait by the way i mean those oh the jock trade was like two weeks before the deadline yeah so that's what we're talking about and i i just i really believe that if they miss the playoffs at this point, they are in a position to make the playoffs. That Cardinals team I do not believe in.

By the way, well, I'm extra mad at the Cardinals because, like, you know, I bet on them to beat the Dodgers last night. They have a 6-0 lead. And they blew it, first of all. Like, why is, a this is a completely pointless conversation but like Giovanni or uh uh they don't they're not putting they're not putting Ryan Helsey as a closer it's like that guy's one of the nastiest pitchers in the sport like what are we wasting our time for here anyway uh it's a good point and I Jack are you saying like it's

something doesn't matter whatever that's like the whole heart of what we do here so yeah well it's frustrating how do you blow a 6-0 lead in the 7th? I mean, come on. You can grow up a little bit. Yeah, I'm with you. But seriously, tangent aside, that Cardinals team isn't special to me. The Giants

have completely fallen apart. And the Phillies are right there with them. So if they miss the playoffs at this point of being game back right now, it's on the Browski. Like it's, it's, it's on him now. All right.

In a minute, we're going to get to the more important stuff. You know, we actually probably spent too much time talking about the actual baseball team. Fritzie's draft guys. Plus Fritzie Fritz. Yeah.

Interacting with a hero. We'll get to that in a second too but uh shout out to miller light you know really the biggest takeaway from our whole conversation so far is the phillies need to win so we can have more miller lights for phil's wins but never a bad time to have miller light even when the phil's are losing we just don't tweet about it um and shout out to our restaurant of the week from miller light the jacks tap room uh as uh we love the jacks tap room formerly uh from pensport um jacks tap room offering more than 500 beers by the bottle and eight available on draft you can stay in and drink

and match it to go back open uh every day from noon uh they open at noon and you can come and i wasn't sure if it was i saw the 12 and i thought am i'm like you open it my bad that's on me guys at 12 p.m uh come and enjoy a beer and a delicious sandwich from charlie's roast pork situated right behind the tap room and you can register to register you can register wow break out the ambulance for the register. Damn it, dude. Damn it. Like you never say anything wrong, Jack.

Wow. You can register to win a $25 gift card to Jack's Taproom. Go to the contest page at 94wip.com. Reminder, we also still have a $25 gift card From Screwballs there as well In King of Prussia Go to the contest page to check that out And also Let's see

Event alert coming up Hey yo Thursday June 28th At 7pm Our first High Hopes Phillies watch party courtesy of Miller Lite and Time Out Sports Bar

and Skipik PA off Skipik Pike Skipik Skipik Skipik I'm a Philly guy Jack I live here and I will go out Skipik where you once belong

not bad not bad. Not bad. Right. Not bad. Join us as the Phil's take on the pirates, a game. They better win. We'll be enjoying $3 Miller light drafts or Miller light specials and a

special appearance from a Phillies. Oh, wow. How about that? The Phillies alums come out for I hopes pretty cool pretty cool stay tuned for more details but July 28th at

timeout in Skipback do you think it's Chase Utley I mean you know Utley Schmidt Rollins Howard yeah maybe they'll fly Steve Carl carlton in from colorado wherever he lives something important i would you would think right great whoever it is it's

honestly if we're talking this podcast ethos and what we do it would be way better if it's like mickey morandini than if it's chase outley let's be honest am i right yeah or ethan martin yeah give me ethan martin anyone but adam eaton that's that's really my only qualification for this whole thing i will be ecstatic with any phillies alum showing up who is not adam eaton all right well i will only be i will only be all in if it's jay subtly just kidding um it's gonna be pretty uncomfortable when adam Eaton shows up. Yeah. Yeah. All I'll say is this, is that, James, you know me very well. I do. I don't really get nervous very much, but being around real big leaguers.

Trust me. When, like, I'm me. You become like a 10-year-old kid. Like, I think we told the Jason Kelsey story on here, but you know, even to like talk to people on a zoom like that, you'll get a little like, I'm just kind of nervous to ask a question or it's like, Jack,

like relax. Yeah. I can't. It's just a person. No, I get, I get like, especially around baseball people.

Like I don't want them to think I'm an idiot, you know? So, so yeah, obviously the classic example, which I'm sure long-time listeners remember is rich duby at the hall of fame when jack was actually too scared to go up to talk to rich duby and he was he was too intimidated by rich duby um that is a real

thing that happened is that not is that not normal i mean the guy was the architect of the best pitching staff in my life i was there to see it so uh so honestly it's worth coming just to time out at skip back pike just to see how awkward jack is around whichever philly's player comes it's gonna be great if it's more indeedy it's not a big deal um but yeah well here's the thing it's not a shot at nick i've met him before yeah we've talked and he's an awesome awesome guy unbelievable dude so unbelievable guy like Well, here's the thing. It's not a shot at Mick. I've met Mick. Mick Morandini is an awesome, awesome guy. Unbelievable, dude.

Unbelievable guy. Like, really, truly one of the nicest people I've met in this industry. He's a really great dude. So hopefully it's Mick. He'll have a good time and we'll hang out and maybe we can start a new hashtag. Maybe why not Mick? That's very original. Alright, speaking of and shout out to Millerer light uh official partner

the philadelphia phillies all right um now that we've uh perfectly segued into this uh speaking of jack getting nervous to talk to people on a zoom uh jack comes out to me yesterday and is like barbara zoom's coming up i'm like oh man you excited for the brian barbara zoom he's like yeah i get i got some questions but you know a little nervous to ask him i'm like dude you you're nervous to ask brian barbara question in a zoom press conference i'm like no jack and it's because he's your hero and you asked your question tell us all about it yeah so i'm proud of you by the way i'm proud of you yeah yeah you went for it yeah thanks yeah i guess here's my issue is that like you know i'm me you know and i don't

i mean i'm sitting there on a zoom with like gelb and lobs and zalecki and salisbury it's like i don't need those guys like snickering behind, you know, behind their, their, their cameras. Like, Oh, look at this idiot. He's not, not even a real journalist. And then also like, you know, I'm asking the question, Brian Barber, I want to sound like smart and like insider baseball guy, but also like, what if I say something stupid? So, you know, I really wasn't going to ask a question. Um, but we were about like nine minutes in and i didn't hear what i wanted to hear so um you know i like i raised i raised i like this your your need to know took over your fear and said enough yeah i have to i have to find out yeah well you know all these people just with the generic draft questions

i need to yeah we need it we need a baseballman in there exactly so um yes i raised my hand on the zoom and dude i kid you not like my heart started pounding like i could feel it i could i i'm sure i was on video it was actually it was on video and you talk on the radio for a living dude i know this is great stuff hearts pounding and i'm just sitting there yelling at myself internally like like what are you doing you do this all it's this is don't bleep this up yeah and it's also like why are you doing this like you're fine i thought like you're fine on the radio for a living like hundreds of thousands of people listen to you every day you know what a mistake um but yeah so then they came to me i was after uram and uh and i asked like you know what traits do you look for in hitters and uh do you

worry about college strikeout rates because I was thinking about a couple prospects. And I asked if they use blast data and he gave me a little like, hmm. So I felt like that was a win for me. You had to have the little extra nod. You're going to ask a good question. You had to throw in something where it's like, I know what I'm talking about, bro.

Yeah, not like one of these other schmucks. All right. I know blast data, pal. No one of these other schmucks all right you know i know blast data pal uh no offense to the other yeah no offense to these other guys phillies reporters yeah no uh they don't really know hopefully no offense is taken please you know and i would like to just quickly say that that i am not responsible for what my partner says yeah just that out there yeah but you agree with me though like total no i'm just kidding um yeah so like i was like ah blast data um anyway so you know i gave i gave like a really thoughtful answer on it honestly i forget what he said

because like i was just so like blacked out you know i just like was not focused and i was trying to think like should i follow up and i was like nah i'm not gonna do that smart so then yeah he gave the answer and he finished it with like uh you know he said jack at the end which felt like a win for me oh buddy yeah yeah i know it's big stuff it really is oh the thing that hurts is that like i wanted to ask about prospects but i don't think you can because i think it's like tampering or something so that's why you got to be there for the the post-draft press conference and then you can really dive in and be like everyone else is oh so uh is that a good college program and you're like so have you looked at his his launch angle and do you guys think you can

you know anyway it's good stuff. I'm really happy for you. I'm proud of you. Thanks. So, hey, maybe we can get Brian Barber on the podcast, and then I won't be nervous. Yeah, you will be, though. It's different on the phone. Oh, you're good now, though?

Like, you've got the nerves out now that he called you Jack. You feel like peers. So you're like, I'm good now. Yeah, well, I'm waiting for the text of, like, all right, you're hired. You know? If I got, real question, if I get waiting for the text of like, all right, you're hired. You know? Real question. If I get hired by the Phillies, would our listeners be pumped or scared?

I think they'd be pumped for you. Yeah, I think they'd be happy. I think they'd be, I mean, a little scared for sure. Hard not. Yeah, it'd be hard not. Yeah, for sure. But I mean, you know, look, look we you know and it can't be any worse than ann mcphail right i mean if that's the bar yeah yeah so you know could have been worse yeah well at least i have someone there that loves the team you know maybe a little bit true what a

good point i like that yeah thanks someone who will live and die with their decision so you so you officially endorse me right or no yeah well i don't want you to leave me, but yes, if it would make you happy, I would endorse it. All right. Thanks. You're welcome, buddy. Now, why don't you, if you really want to go that way, resume time. Prove your worth. Brian Barber, if you're listening, if you have any last minute doubts on whether you should go with one guy or the other,

your new future employee has some thoughts. Jack, I'm just going to lay out. This is your possession. Go for it, buddy. Yeah, especially when you're factoring in that I want a Shoreburn, you want a Castellanos. Like this. Oh, yeah. This is.

You're just going right in. Got it. This is good. This is good. Yeah. This is good. And my guy didn't cost me a second round pick uh good i was expecting a little more subtlety but i like that you just head on direct

well i'll try to be more subtle as we go along here um okay so i know i've laid out my guys you know uh drew gilbert chase chase the lottery zach nito water yeah but apparently there's jace Drew Gilbert, Chase DeLotter, Zach Neal. DeLotter. But apparently, Jace Jung could be falling who is one of the best pure hitters in the class. I'm not totally sure why he's falling. I think it's because he's probably just a second baseman or whatever. He's got a

really, really interesting swing. It reminds me a lot of Matt Olsen but more like he's like a shorter matt olsen but really strong bad to ball skills if he if they take him at 17 like i just like i'll just quit the podcast out of happiness like like seems like a weird decision yeah i was like how about how about we just talk about him a lot yeah well listen i'll be very excited jay strong it seems like he's falling i didn't have him in my top uh in my guys because i didn't think he's

gonna be there. But, yeah, so Drew Gilbert, DeLauder, and Nito, they're not going anywhere. So real quick, real quick, real quick, before you move on from the four guys, would Jung be the top? Because Gilbert's been, I believe, your top guy, right? Is Jung ahead of him?

Yes, if he's there, he's ahead of him. I still don't think he's going to be there because I don't really understand how he's falling. Like, he should be a top 10 pick. Baseball draft's weird, though, man. We know that. Yeah. Weird stuff happens, man. Weird stuff does happen.

Gilbert makes really good swing decisions. His chase rate was down to 14% this year. Hits the ball hard. Seems to have clutch home runs. He has like a little bit of an edge to him. He's thrown 93 off the mound. So in the outfield, he's got a hose. So to me, like a 5'9 center fielder that I think is going to rise pretty fast is a win to me that makes good swing decisions and hit the ball hard. That's what I want. I know he's 5'9", but other than that, I don't care.

Chase DeLauder. My biggest comp for him is Jay Bruce. I think he's Jay Bruce. He's great, Jay Bruce. Yeah, Jay Bruce. So I think DeLauder is him. Zach Nito is a tough comp just because he

is shorter. He has a huge leg kick, but was top five in WOBA against the power conferences this year. So he was good against every opponent. It's not just because he went to a little school, Campbell, that he's all of a sudden not good. He raked in the cape. Frankly, I'm shocked.

He's probably going to be there at 17, but I think he's going to be there. So those four are my guys. And if they walk out of the draft with any of them i'll be very very happy yeah i'm in now you've got me convinced yeah totally and i'm gonna be devastated if it's not one of those four now these are the guys that so i did this last year and i thought it was a proper way to rank them so i have the guys i would. And then here are the guys I'd be happy with. And, you know, I really don't want another prep pitcher. Like, I don't. You know, Brian Barber talks about how they're definitely good at it.

Like, they're good at it now. And they could just take another prep pitcher and it'd probably work out. I need some bats in the system. So Brock Porter is a a right hander uh maybe the best right-handed prep arm in the draft um he basically just reminds me a ton of tyler glass now um like similar mechanics all of that so super tall he's tall um not as tall as glass now but six seven most or not no he's not so uh porter like i'd be again i'd be happy with these guys i just wouldn't take him because i want to name too brock porter's great strong name uh dylan lesko who i believe is the best right-handed pitching

prospect in the draft um he just got tommy john though um so he would be out for a little while but when you're talking about just betting on upside he is i thought he was ridiculous every time i watched him pitch like an unbelievable change up um he is pretty much a clone of chris paddock except with like a actually good uh breaking ball so uh dylan lesko is disgusting uh brandon barria is a guy who's been linked to them a ton i think he's i think he's good he's got good traits he's athletic he's up to 100 from the left side but again don't really love a prep arm and then jet williams i love a lot i just don't think they're gonna take him he's a short stop a prep short stop um but i don't like it even better name than yeah jet williams is strong

for a short stop great name yeah another short guy, but good bat path and all that stuff. So Brock Porter, Dylan Lesko, Bram Maria, and, uh, Jack Williams are the guys I'd be happy with. This was the,

the next tier is the next tier is what Andrew painter was in last year, which I ended up being wrong about like way, way, way better, um, than I thought. Um, so good job I thought. Um, so good job by Brian Barber,

but pay attention to this tier is what we're saying. Yeah. The guy I would talk myself into, and I really only have one. And that's because it's Kumar rocker. Oh buddy. And it's just the, the,

the people that he's just that he's such a big name that that's like the one draft guy that everyone knows. So it's like, all right, Kumar Rocker. I like Kumar Rocker. You know, he seems like one of those. Apparently he's being talked about as a guy that you would draft right now and then he'd be in your bullpen by September and he'd help a team down the stretch run

and then you could transition him back to being a starter, which makes sense. The Phillies need bullpen options, I guess. So if they wanted to do that, I guess I'd be in. My problem with Kamar Rocker is the fastball. He throws hard, but it's one of those flat fastballs. It didn't grade out very well. Still has plus-plus slider, all of that.

And I guess the concern for me also is the shoulder. I guess one of the athletic guys wrote that, yeah, it could be a massive problem or it could be nothing for 15 years and he could go dominate. So it's just like it's a pretty risky proposition. It's not a slam dunk. If it was a slam dunk, he would have been a top five pick last year. Obviously, that didn't happen.

And if it was a slam dunk this year, it would be going higher than where he's projected to go right now. So the shoulders are concerned. But when you're talking about a bulldog, competitive, fiery, a guy that could definitely rise fast, that could be in the big leagues in September out of the bullpen, yeah, then Kumar Rock is your pick. definitely rise fast i could be in the big leagues in september out of the bullpen yeah then kumar rock is your pick i would a hundred million thousand percent talk myself into him being an ace

um but that's why he's in my guy i would talk myself into love it yeah i uh i would definitely be fine with that i'm with you though is in a you know macro sense as you know without knowing the prospects the way you do ideally i would like them to draft a bat you know then to sense as, you know, without knowing the prospects the way you do, ideally, I would like them to draft a bat, you know, to your point. I mean, you know, Hoppy's the only top, top prospect bat they really have. And, you know, he's at a position that's blocked for the next three years, unless you make a trade. So, um, and again, he's top bat for a catcher. He's a good bat, But, you know, so I'm with you, man. If they can get like a real deal bat in the system,

I think that would be the best case scenario. Yeah. So, and actually, Howie Lee is coming along very soon. He's going to be their top hitting prospect in a little bit. But to your point, yeah, no, he's going to be insane. I can't. I'm very much looking forward to him. Here's three guys that I'm out on.

That would be Cole Young, who is a shortstop from Western PA. Like, I frankly, I don't understand how he's, I don't get it. I don't get why he's a top 25 prospect. You know, he's an okay defender. He's an okay hitter. Committed to Vandy. You know, I think there's better. I's an okay hitter, committed to Vandy. You know, I think there's better. I would take Jet Williams over him, all that.

So it would be out on him. Dylan Beavers is an outfielder from Cal. Like, literally just reminds me of Adam Haseley. And just, I can't get over Hase. And then Daniel. That's so tough. Haseley was, what, eighth pick in the draft? Yep, yep, yep. Daniel Susak is a catcher from Arizona. Hazer was eighth pick in the draft. Yeah.

Yeah. Daniel Susak is a catcher from Arizona. I just don't want to catch her. And I don't see any way that I would be. I mean, you never know. But I would be surprised if they drafted a catcher. Yes. I guess, you know, if you drafted one now, theoretically, they wouldn't be ready.

Don't change his contract. Well, Susak should be. He would be up faster. Okay. Because he's a college catcher. Yeah. It'd be dumb. Be very. Especially with change his contract. Well, Sousak should be. He would be up faster. Okay. Because he's a college catcher. Yeah, it'd be dumb. Be very, especially with a hoppy and whatever. All right.

So that wraps up 17. Here are the list of guys that I want late. Famously, last year, it was Griff McGarry, who I don't know if you've heard, is now a top 100 prospect, James. Oh, buddy. And once again, we don't have a second round pick. they got him in the fourth round so they got them later they got him in the fifth they got him yeah fifth round yeah fit it was a fit even better yeah steal steal best fifth

round pick in philly sports history um all right uh so these i'll try to rattle through these as fast as I can because I know that your eyes are already... Real quick, who is the best fifth-round pick in Philly sports history? It's obviously Neagle of some kind, I would think. Well, Trent Cole. Trent Cole was the first one to pop in my head, too. Yeah, well, because Kelsey was a sixth-round pick,

and Kelsey's the best sixth-round pick in football history. I can't think of a of another sixth round pick that was any good so anyway that train call was the first one i thought of so we'll go with that until someone tells us we're wrong yeah um all right i will i'll try to run through these as fast as possible but my general philosophy james at this point is like you know there's gonna be some interesting college relievers that they can probably keep, uh,

get for cheap. Um, but every single year there is elite ish, uh, prep players that, that fall, um, just over money concerns.

And I want the Phillies to be all in on those kinds of guys. So, um, you know, they'll, they'll, they'll do a, a saving money pick in the third or fourth or fifth or whatever.

But, um, regardless, yeah, then we draft again. Makes no sense. Um fourth or fifth or whatever. But regardless, yeah. Then we draft again. Makes no sense. I'm with you. I'm with you. All right. So Tyler Locklear is this third baseman from VCU.

He probably won't be a third baseman long term. He's strictly just there to hit. You know, he's kind of like your boy who's only here. He doesn't have a college degree. He just hits baseball. Projects to be probably a first baseman in a long time. Just hit against every single competition he went up against this year. Reminds me of Austin Riley at the plate.

Is that a compliment? Well, I used to hate Austin Riley, but I guess he's good now. I know, that's what I'm saying, but Austin Riley's really good now. I didn't know if you had turned yet. I know that you've long refused to say that Austin Riley's good. So I just didn't know where you were at with him. He continues to be very, very, very good. Yeah.

Austin Riley stinks. But yeah, he's going to hit for a long time. So whatever. Ivan Melendez was the best hitter in college baseball this year. The only reason he's going to be there in the third round is strictly because he's first base only. But if they don't want to pay Reese, I need Ivan Melendez. The guy is going to hit 330 homers, all this.

He's going to be ridiculous at the next level. He's falling because of first base only, that kind of stuff. He might go in the second because he's that good. But yeah, I need that to happen if they're not going to pay Reese. Nazir. I love it. Nazir Mool is a two way guy.

He's up to like 96 on the mound and is also nasty at shortstop. Very clean prospect has a really pretty swing. The, the number he's a numbers darling. So he seems like a guy that could possibly one of these late round guys that can turn into a steal anthony hall spent all offseason and driveline he was an outfielder from oregon um seems like an ethan wilson type guy i know ethan's had like a bit of a slow start this year but he's also playing at jersey short so it's kind of hard to evaluate

any hitters there but um anthony hall just screams like a Brian Barber, toolsy, hit tool kind of pick. So he would be fun. Jason Jones is my personal, like, I would, I guess he's like my griff of this year's draft. He's a third baseman, first baseman, definitely a hit first guy. But just like, I think his swing is gorgeous. I think that he's being severely underrated

in the draft process. And like every time I watched one of these prospect games, like his bat always stuck out and I'm just shocked that he's falling so far. So I think he's going to be there in the third, fourth, maybe even fifth. So I would be in on him. Caden Dana is a prospect,

as a pitching prospect who, for some reason, isn't in the first, second round pick consideration. But when I watched him, I thought he was nasty. So I would definitely take a prep bomber and try to develop him. Andrew Walters is a relief pitcher from Miami who threw 90% fastballs last year and was the best reliever in the sport.

Like didn't walk anyone. He walked people, but you know what I mean. Like struck out a ton of guys, didn't walk anyone, had an ERA under one. So he's a guy where you look at him, fastballs elite. If you can teach him a secondary pitch, you're looking at a wipeout weapon there. J.R. Ritch a is a prep pitcher that

i think is a richie yeah jr richie he's a prep pitcher that i think should be a first rounder and i can't believe he's falling again um but another one of those guys that you know if he keeps falling i'll probably just go to school but i would just spend the money on him and and get a good armor reminds me a ton of ton of Joe Kelly, but with better strike throwing capabilities. Xavier Isaac is a prep prospect that he's, again, a numbers darling, hits the ball hard, makes good contact, not bad contact. And if things go right, I think Xavier Isaac could be, I can't put the comp this high,

but I think he could be a light Jordan Alvarez. Whoa, buddy! I'm just telling you. I think he's disgusting. And he's just a really nice swing from the left side. Two more here. Owen Murphy is another prep arm. He can actually go two-way if you want.

He's a guy that played both ways so i think his pitching hasn't really been uh figured out yet when i see him on the mound he screams first round talent i would take him the third if he's there and then last one jacob mizorowski who is a juco arm who lit up the combine um with like 3 000 rpm sliders and stuff so you, you know me, I'm a sucker for, for any 3000 RPM. Those RPM. So, uh, yeah,

some big arms, some big chances. If you have only one first round, you only have the first round pick and a second round pick. Hopefully they can, uh, you know, spend some money they would have had in the second round on some of the

players that fall late, but I can't wait. Um, although I realized I'm going to be in the woods in Virginia on Monday when the rest of the draft is going on oh buddy I might need to go find some good service

so you're going dark well in the description of the Airbnb it was like yeah service is bad but if I get the Airbnb person was like yeah but if you go out on the road it's good yeah we're in a

yurt in the woods in the Shenandoah Valley look at you outdoorsman I mean kinda yeah kinda I mean I didn't want to do the whole real camping thing but it's in the woods yes

well that was good stuff i think you did a great job i'm i'm more excited for the draft now because of that that's usually what happens is that no one cares about the draft and then by draft night it's like oh i'm gonna lose it if they don't get one of those guys so yeah i mean i already am like i mean honestly if it's not gilbert the lauder or this new guy jung i'm i'm pretty much out i've already decided i don't like your other guy so those are my three that i'm in on all right but i'll be happy for you if they get if they get your fourth guy it's mostly because i can't remember his name right now if we're going to be completely honest about neato it's because it's because it's a bad name. Nah, he's going to be nasty.

Makes me think of the Mets guy. Not good. Yeah, that's fair. Yeah. Yeah. And it's just not great. I mean, you have to chase the lauder. Like, I hear that.

I remember it. It's locked in. I got chased the lauder. So that's all I'm saying. Yeah. You know? I got you, man. I can't wait.

It'll be fun. Unlike you, Andrew Painter was the guy I wanted the most in the last draft Yeah? You're a draft guy Yeah Other than the three you had already told me It's the first time I've heard every single name you said today

Other than Kumar Rocker That's what we do here pal We do You got anything else you got take back or is that like the take back uh i think i wrote some stuff down oh yeah well start i just i'm you know i'm down obviously about the phillies but like bryson stop being good right now is uh is definitely keeping my hopes high a little bit um i guess if you looked at his stats like the rolling stats or whatever he's like making better swing decisions um not chasing as much hitting the ball

harder i guess k long and him had a little session about how he's not a pop i know uh about how he's not a pop-up hitter he needs to be he needs to be a line drive hitter crazy concept he's been a much better player since he's been focusing more on driving the baseball and not trying to hit a home run all the time. So, yeah, it's good to see him. Glad that I, and frankly, like they need him. And I hope that it keeps going. Desperately.

He batted fifth last night. Let's, let's remember that. Yep. I think it's totally unfair. The Blue Jays couldn't wait at least another day to fire Charlie Montoya. Like the Phillies were always going to lose a game that they fired the manager in. Frankly, they had no shot heading into the game, especially

when the whole talk was like, oh, they need a new voice in the clubhouse. Come on. Come on, Blue Jays. You already had the Joe Carter home run. He couldn't just wait another day to fire Charlie Montoya? They hate us, man. They hate us. There's something deep-seated in this, and I don't know what to do. Whatever.

And finally, this weekend, James, I will be doing my favorite thing in the world, and that is watching the fills of the beach this weekend. Oh, it is your favorite thing in the world. I know. I'll be down in – Busting out the laptop. Yeah. So I'll be down in Wildwood for the first time, which will be interesting because I've never been there before.

So I'm excited. I'm excited. And then Sunday night we'll do the pod. And I hope it's one of my guys. And then we'll have a little bit of a freak out. And then you won't hear from me until Thursday. Yeah. Next Sunday, really, because we're both off this week.

Yeah. I don't know if I'll be texting anyone until Thursday. Yeah, oh, I got you. So yeah, we will be back Sunday night to react to the draft, whatever time it is. It'll be out because, you know, we gotta. And then

probably the next time we probably like the following Sunday or Monday, depending on the schedule after that series or whatever, because we'll both be off that week. So that'll be sweet, buddy. Hey, look at us. Look at us finally wisening up and taking off for All-Star Week. I know. I know. Dude, it's it's one of the great decisions you can make in sports radio.

It really is, man. I mean, even honestly, this week, as you know, I've been in for the camera for, I'm going to be in for the five days tomorrow being the last one. It's like, like pulling teeth to come up with topics that are original or new or whatever. It's tough right now, buddy. It's tough. Oh, well I'll send you a couple. Yeah. Hook it up. I actually have an interesting idea for tomorrow that I want to ask your

thoughts on. I don't, I actually don't think it's going to work, but if it did work, it would be like a super fun. It could play out super fun, but I really don't think it can work, but I'm going to get your thoughts on it. Okay. Anyway. Sounds good.

All right. Any final thoughts, buddy? No final thoughts. Just, I guess, please don't get swept this weekend. It's really all I ask. If I could ask for two things this weekend, like, don't get swept and bring me Drew Gilbert. Like, that's pretty much all I can ask for this weekend. Yeah, I will go with don't get swept.

And I agree. Get one of Jack's guys. Yeah, please. Come on, Brian. You called me Jack. You called me Jack on the Zoom call. We all, we shared a moment. And I mean, you live and die, Brian. You called me Jack. You called me Jack on the Zoom call. We shared a moment. I mean, you live and die with this.

I actually do. It's bad. I know. It's actually not bad. It's not bad. I genuinely, like, I love it. It's probably my favorite thing. It really is.

So, Brian, you have a chance to make your new friend, Jack, really, really happy. Just get it done for him. Yeah. That's all I'm saying. No no big deal and if you want to come on the podcast we'll have you on yeah i mean we would be magnanimous enough to do that i think yeah yeah yeah we're open to it brian we're open to it all right uh sunday night the pod of pods it'll either be sad or happy. Let's root for happy because we got a lot to react to. So it'll be fun. Fingers crossed, Jack. We need it, definitely.

So please, I need a good yo. Can I get a good yo on Sunday night, guys? Can we please do this? All right. The sad yo, I didn't even know what to do. I'm like, I don't know what to do. They're crushing my soul. All right. Nick Cassiano, stop sucking. even know what to do. I'm like, I don't know what to do. They're crushing my soul. All right.

Nick Cassiano, stop sucking. He's hurting himself. See you later.