Phillies: Breaking down the prospects fighting for an Opening Day spot

When the Philadelphia Phillies spring training camp opened this year in Clearwater, most observers felt there were only four available jobs to be won. As usual, however, far more than four were competing for those jobs — two bench seats, a bullpen slot, and the number five starter’s role.

So, those who might take those jobs, or perhaps an injured player’s slot, have to be broken into two parts, the pitchers’ jobs to be won, and the so-called bench players’ slots.

The Pitchers

As all Phillies fans now know, Andrew Painter will not be throwing at all for about three more weeks, minimally, and he is basically out of contention for the number 5 starter’s job. He has a sprained UCL that all local Philly fans hope doesn’t turn into a need for Tommy John surgery before 2024.

The Phillies competition for a handful of jobs is in limbo for pitchers, and intense for others.

Painter’s principal competition for the last starter’s slot was Bailey Falter. However, Falter has faltered, posting a 5.68 ERA and 2.37 WHIP in 6.1 innings (three losses) before play on Tuesday, when he was not scheduled to start. Perhaps the left-hander is merely working on pitches and will round into at least his form from last season (3.68 ERA, 1.21 WHIP).

Pitchers start so slowly in formal training camp it is difficult to know what’s going on without hearing, say, Falter’s discussions with pitching coach Caleb Cotham. But batters he has faced thus far are hitting .419.

Falter’s principal competition for the fifth starter’s designation at this point may be Cristopher Sanchez, who both relieved and opened last season, but he has thrown only two innings himself so far. A dark horse contender may well be Michael Plassmeyer.

The Phillies seem to be giving Plassmeyer an extended close examination, considering that the 26-year-old has thrown only 7.1 innings for the team after being traded three times since being drafted by the Rays in the fourth-round in ’18. However, he has kept opponents from touching home plate thus far in four appearances (three starts) in camp. In seven innings, he has weirdly posted a 1.71 WHIP to go with his 0.00 ERA.

Perhaps one of these three candidates will do something spectacular in the remaining games of the 31 the Phillies will have played in Florida this spring, but don’t be surprised if Philadelphia’s fifth starter is actually a mix-and-match matter to start the season.

As far as the bullpen slot that appears to be available, Todd Zolecki’s front-runner pick is probably the best: Yunior Marte. The 28-year-old posted forgettable stats for the Giants in ’22, but has opened eyes in camp this spring with a sinking fastball in the 98-99 mph range and a slider that looks for all the world to left-handed hitters like a low pitch to be clobbered … until it falls off the table.

The bench players

The Phillies competition for the bench jobs is a bit more interesting and intense. On March 9, there were six Phils hitting over .350 in Florida play, and only one of them, Trea Turner, was an assured starter. That was with 13 games in the books. Of the other five, three were still at .350 or above after play 3/12.

They were Jake Cave, Scott Kingery, and Weston Wilson. To this group, Kody Clemens, Carlos De La Cruz, and Darick Hall (.346, 4 HR, 7 RBI) should probably be added as strong candidates. However, by March 12, the .350 or better hitters list had grown to nine with only three players among them seemingly guaranteed slots on the roster.

Thus, saying the situation is fluid is an understatement.

For the Tuesday afternoon game against Atlanta, two of the six players above were in the starting lineup — Hall and Clemens.

Of the four least likely to make the team, considering the Phillies needs — some power in Bryce Harper’s post-op absence, a solid backup center fielder, and overall versatility — the strongest is probably Jake Cave. Obtained after being waived by both the Twins and Orioles last fall, Cave has put together a training camp so far that belies his .235 career batting average: Before play on March 14, a .458 batting average, including two doubles, two triples, two homers, a stolen base, and seven RBI.

That he can play all three outfield positions and bats left-handed may bump either of the top two candidates named below out of one of those last bench seats.

The other three potential also-rans in this race right now are Weston Wilson, Carlos De La Cruz, and Kody Clemens, probably in that order at this juncture.

Going into play Tuesday, Wilson was hitting .438 with two homers and six RBI. A nine-year veteran of college and minor league ball, Wilson is listed on the Phillies website as a shortstop, and by Baseball Reference as a first, second, and third baseman.

So, he’s a utility infielder if he makes the team although he has played in the outfield on occasion in the minors. On Tuesday, he was called out on strikes and flew out to center.

De La Cruz, a very tall but graceful outfielder and first baseman, was hitting .333 on Tuesday, with one homer and a single RBI. He seemingly deserved a few more at bats by this point, but had only nine in seven games.

Roger Clemens’ son, Kody, a reputed grinder, was hitting .292 with two homers and four RBI. He has good speed, and started at shortstop Tuesday against the Braves. He batted twice but grounded into a force play and into an out.

Which brings us to the two leading candidates for those bench positions.