THE BASICS
Home stadium: Spectrum Field, 601 Old Coachman Road, Clearwater, FL 33765
Directions: From Tampa — Go west on Route 60; turn right at Old Coachman Road (the first light after Route 19); field is on right after the Drew Street intersection. From Route 19 — Take Route 60 West exit; turn right at Old Coachman
Road (the next light); the field is on right after Drew Street intersection.
Information: 727-467-4457; Phillies.com/spring
Prospect to watch: Spencer Howard, RHP. Howard, 23, has an advanced four-pitch mix anchored by a swingand-miss fastball, a diving change-up and a two-plane slider.
Will Rhys Hoskins return to form?
Bryce Harper’s arrival was supposed to take some pressure off of young first baseman Rhys Hoskins entering his second full season in 2019.
But as Harper tallied 35 homers and a career-high 114 RBI, Hoskins’ struggles helped prevent the team’s offense from taking the next step, especially in the second half as the Phillies faded from contention. Hoskins’ .819 OPS was 31 points lower than it was in 2018. He batted .180 in the second half and had just nine of his 29 home runs in his last 255 plate appearances. He spent time before camp working with new hitting coach Joe Dillon and showed up sporting a new batting stance. The Phillies have plenty of talent around him in the lineup, but a return to form for the soon-to-be-27year-old would go a long way toward the team competing for a playoff spot.
Who will get outs in the bullpen?
Sure, many teams have this same issue heading into camp, but the Phillies faced so much injury trouble from their bullpen in 2019 that figuring out its configuration in February is pretty difficult.
Hector Neris, who collected 28 saves and carried a 2.93 ERA in 2019, figures to be the top high-leverage and save option, and lefties Jose Alvarez and Adam Morgan should have prominent roles alongside Seranthony Dominguez in the late innings, but beyond that it’s a toss-up. Left-handed reliever Ranger Suarez may compete to start games, and the Phillies could have a few rotational casualties turn into long-relief options used to support a top-heavy starting staff. – Jeff Neiburg, Delaware News Journal