Opening Day 2026: expectations and BOLD predictions

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Hi, This is Kyle Forber and welcome to the Philly Show.

00:00:08
Speaker 2: Opening day is Thursday against the Rangers at Citizens Bank Park. Lots going on for the Phillies, of course, Ruben Amar Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todds a lucky it's the Phillies Show. We are coming to you before opening day. We're all back in Philly. Flew back from Clearwater on Monday, all three of us, and we got a lot of stuff to talk about in the show.

00:00:29
Speaker 3: We're going to talk Zach Wheeler.

00:00:31
Speaker 2: What the opening day lineup is going to be, kind of like final thoughts on the Spring. And we got some bold predictions if you hang out until the very end, some bold predictions, they'll stay tuned for that. Let's just jump right into the news, guys, and that is this right here. This is from the last day of spring. Zach Wheeler will start a minor league rehab assignment on Saturday for Lehigh Valley.

00:01:01
Speaker 3: The clock a bold one.

00:01:03
Speaker 4: From mister James Steak Salisbury.

00:01:10
Speaker 3: That was a tweet sapping forward.

00:01:12
Speaker 4: He's big time Charlie again and he's back on there.

00:01:15
Speaker 1: He's back on there.

00:01:16
Speaker 2: So okay, guys, So Zach Wheeler is gonna make it begin a rehab assignment on Saturday. Now, afterwards, Zach said he probably needs about four ish starts before he's ready to rejoin the Phillies rotation. My question to you guys is he pitched a two inning simulated game on Monday on at the Carpenter Complex minor leaguers, couple infielders, no outfielders. Does that count as one of those starts or not? Because that changes the That changes the math. That changes the math changes the calculus, the calculus the cat's get it straight. Okay, well you went to Stanford. I went to a Minnesota.

00:02:05
Speaker 1: That's analytics speak. Now, get it tight.

00:02:09
Speaker 3: But what do we think here?

00:02:10
Speaker 2: He said four ish starts before he could rejoin the rotation. Are we counting Monday? I asked Rob Thompson that and Monday said, Eh, he didn't really seem to count Monday. But doesn't mean Zach Wheeler's not.

00:02:24
Speaker 5: Yeah, Zach's gonna be pushing to come back, you know, right after this one. But I would probably say, and again it can change, because I think if he feels great, he's like I was kidding, but I think he'll push to come back. But he's gonna go three innings on Saturday. I would say in this next one they'll try to push four innings, the one after that they'll try to get five innings, and then one after that they'll try to get six innings. A lot of variables how the game goes, how he feels, whereas pitch cone is a lot of variables. But I would assume so Lozarno made his final start the other day and he finished the eighty eight pitches, I would think they're gonna want to get Zach Wheeler around ninety ninety two ninety five pitches before they bring them. I also think they might air on the side of caution because he's so important, because it is such a long season, because he's older, and he's coming off a major surgery. So I could see again it could change. But I can see all four of those starts to build a workload, the innings, the ups and downs, and the pitch count. So I would say he'll take all four of those. But you know, read and react, as our old buddy gave Kapital.

00:03:35
Speaker 2: Used to say, read and react.

00:03:37
Speaker 1: That's so here's my prediction.

00:03:40
Speaker 4: I think he's going to be four starting on this Saturday. I do still think they over unders right around April twenty April twenty one, twenty two, something like that. I do believe that it's not going to take much more than probably five or six up and downs, so eighty pitches, I think eighty pitches, and he's going.

00:04:04
Speaker 1: To be ready to go and if they get him. If they get him, I think they feel like they have a little.

00:04:10
Speaker 4: Bit more bullpen depth, especially early in the season. So if he has to start a game and I only throw five or six innings in his first start, I think we'll be happy with that, and rather than eat up those innings during the course of a rehab assignment, I think that they'll if he knows and he feels and the staff feels that he's healthy, he'll just go ahead and roll.

00:04:33
Speaker 5: You know, those innings and rehab assignment are going to be different intensity in terms of how they wear on his body. I don't think they're going to say, let's we don't want to waste five more innings in triple A, because they're just different kinds of innings.

00:04:49
Speaker 1: But Zach is a different kind of a guy, dude.

00:04:51
Speaker 4: I mean he I think he almost looks as relaxed when he pitches in his bullpens is what he does when he's on the mound, So it's not like he he's a max effort guy anyway.

00:05:02
Speaker 1: And the fact that he pointed.

00:05:04
Speaker 4: Out to Larry Boa after he was throwing that he was only throwing like seventy percent. He was up to like ninety three, ninety four or seventy five percent or eighty whatever it is. It's a pretty good, pretty damn good sign. It's just a thought.

00:05:18
Speaker 2: So I went I went through the Iron Pig schedule, and if I did it correctly, if Wheeler stays on pitches every five days or pitches on his regular rest, the four to rehab start would be April twelfth, So then he could come back as early as that weekend series against his hometown Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. That would be April seventeenth, eighteenth nineteenth, right around that April twentieth mark that we've kind of thrown out there. If he does four rehab starts, and if I looked at the schedule correctly.

00:05:51
Speaker 4: And the weather cooperates, the weather has to cooperate, they may send him down the clear Water or somewhere else. If they feel like there's fear of some you know, serious weather, So he may be pitching some of those games in Clearwater somewhere.

00:06:06
Speaker 5: And one thing Rob pointed out the other day you were there, Todd, he's actually going to stay with the big league team between starts. He's gonna come back to Philly, get his between starts working, have his treatments, do his conditioning. So he's not going to be you know, out of sight, out of mind. He's going to be a Philly who goes and gets his work in Lehigh Valley comes.

00:06:26
Speaker 3: Back absolutely all right.

00:06:28
Speaker 2: So right after these words, we're going to talk about the opening day lineup. Rob Thompson gave some well, he basically said, Monday's lineup is probably the opening day lineup.

00:06:37
Speaker 1: We'll be right back.

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00:07:40
Speaker 2: We're back, don't forget. If you're watching us on YouTube to hit that subscribe button. Help support the show. We love you, Thank you appreciate it. You can also go to the Phillyshow shop dot com to pick up your Philly Show swag. Saw a couple shirts this springing clear Water. It was very exciting. It's very very exciting.

00:07:59
Speaker 1: There's a lot of guess too, Jim, a lot of smellers, a.

00:08:02
Speaker 5: Lot of smells and that low t commercial. I gotta look into that.

00:08:07
Speaker 3: Jim and all seriousness does talk about it.

00:08:09
Speaker 1: He's like, I got I'm load T. I'm load T.

00:08:14
Speaker 5: I mean I go to the gym, but the guns they don't get any bigger.

00:08:18
Speaker 1: We're gonna work. You gotta work on your flow.

00:08:21
Speaker 2: That's right, Jim, you gotta work on your flow. So Rob Thompson on Yeah Monday basically said, here you go. Here's a tweet. They put out the Monday's lineup probably is his opening day lineup with Kyle Schwarber hitting second and Bryce Harper hitting third. We had a lot of success with it last year. That could switch to it's just one game right now, we'll take a game by dam we're opening making some moves.

00:08:49
Speaker 3: Sure you are sure you.

00:08:52
Speaker 5: Are very very well? Can you started? Tweet? Good grammar and no you know shorthand good tweet Todd.

00:09:00
Speaker 3: Thanks, Thanks Jim. I appreciate that.

00:09:02
Speaker 4: Spelling issues like myself, I always have spelling problems, but my fingers are not very good.

00:09:08
Speaker 3: But what do we think of the lineup? They'd be really the big.

00:09:12
Speaker 2: I'm not even say news, but was that Schwarber is going to hit second and Harper is going to hit third. And again that's only because there was so much talk all off season, early in camp about who's going to protect Bryce Harper. He's not going to get pitches to hit if he doesn't have Kyle Schwarber hitting behind him, you know, blah blah blah blah blah. And I always I've been pointing out this number the past week or so last season. We've talked about it before. Bryce Harper pitches in the zone last season forty three point one percent. That was last out of like five hundred and thirty hitters in Major League Baseball, World Baseball Classic. Aaron Judge hitting behind him, Bryce Harper pitches in the zone forty percent. The protection does not seem to matter for Bryce Harper. They're gonna not They're not gonna throw them strike.

00:10:04
Speaker 3: So it's kind of up to him.

00:10:05
Speaker 1: Is what is that?

00:10:06
Speaker 2: What that lineup says to mean? What Bryce Harper's kind of been saying the last couple of weeks.

00:10:12
Speaker 5: Take the walk, Bryce, take the walk. If it's off the zone, take the walk. He throw out that number. He wants to walk one hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty times, an astronomical number, but at least the mindset is there. But Rob had to me the telling quote when Rob was talking about the lineup and saying that was probably a preview of the opening day lineup and they're gonna go that way for a while. He talked to the guys and this is where the guys feel comfortable. So to me, that's a manager saying this is the way you feel comfortable. Make it work, or else we'll have to make changes. So he's trusting his players out of the gate, and that's his m He's a guy who trusts his players.

00:10:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, a couple of things at work here. That's one.

00:10:52
Speaker 4: As you said, Todd, I mean, it's really up to the players to produce. How do you produce? You passed the baton. The best teams in the game are the ones that trust the rest of the lineup, and you sort of have to trust the bones, the adultst Garcias, the stats and the Marshes of the world to be able to pick up deeper in the lineup, and so even JT, who is going to be back there as well.

00:11:19
Speaker 1: So you just sort of have to trust your your neighbor.

00:11:23
Speaker 4: Right, you pass the baton, you take the walk you move it forward, and you know, you put pressure on the opposing pitcher by having a lot of traffic. And if you have traffic, anybody can do damage. And uh, and from what I've seen out of Alec Bohm as far as the protection is concerned, really like this approach, this off.

00:11:44
Speaker 1: This uh this spring.

00:11:46
Speaker 4: He came into camp in a great mindset and hopefully he carries it into the season.

00:11:53
Speaker 2: What do we think about stop hitting fifth Garcia six?

00:11:58
Speaker 3: I mean I like that.

00:11:59
Speaker 2: You know, it's kind of rewarding Stot for a good second half in a really really good spring. Stot this spring batted three sixty six, ten seventy two ops, two doubles, three homer six RBIs.

00:12:12
Speaker 3: So it gives you a sounds like their believers.

00:12:16
Speaker 5: Their believers, gives you some left right balance and he did swing it well. I was the last game in clear Water. I really watched this at bats against the Rays and his hands at his setup, I mean, obviously they're lower than they were, He's more directed the ball, but his hands at setup were so relaxed, and I watched him flick a ball down the left field line just kind of it was beautiful, just tension free as Charlie Manuel used to say, but noticeably his hands were noticeably relaxed in his setup. So that told me he was a confident hitter. And I think that's a good approach.

00:12:57
Speaker 4: He's a different hitter, He's a different hitter than he was before. And uh, I hope he continues to do that. I mean, it was obvious that he was a different hitter in the second half last year. The numbers ops well over eight hundred and uh he did, you know, he did a ton of damage. And and I think you're right. I think that it solidifies him in that five hole.

00:13:17
Speaker 1: Is he a prototypical five hole guy?

00:13:19
Speaker 4: Probably not, But you want to have your best hitters at the top of the lineup, and Rob Thompson sees him right now as one of the top hitters in this lineup.

00:13:28
Speaker 5: None of their middle of the art of guys are prototypical in those spots. But you're right, teams in these days, teams there these days are two and three hole, right, They're throwing their big guns up high and get him to the plate. So that's the way the game is nowadays.

00:13:42
Speaker 2: Absolutely So Okay, So let's camp wrapped up on Monday. They flew back, the team flew back to Philly. Let's one last look back at spring training. Guys, tell me something that really kind of jumped out to you that you liked, that has you encouraged. Maybe something that you woke up in the middle of the night last night and said, oh my gosh, maybe scared you to death. Don't be scared, Jim scared.

00:14:11
Speaker 3: Don't be scared. Scared, Yeah, don't be scared. Ye anything.

00:14:17
Speaker 2: When when you think back to what everything that you guys saw this spring, what was something that encouraged you, What was something that you like? I mean, spring is a time for optimism, after all, you lead it off, Todd, you know.

00:14:28
Speaker 3: Okay, so I will lead it off. The one thing that I.

00:14:32
Speaker 2: Like to see was at midway through camp the swing adjustment that A Doleys Garcia made, uh and the way he was kind of barreling up the ball little bit more but.

00:14:44
Speaker 3: Even more than that.

00:14:45
Speaker 2: So A Dooleys Garcia finished the spring batting two seventy five eight point fifty eight ops, two homer six RBIs okay, it's spring training. But he did finish the spring with eight walks and five strikeouts, and that, of course is notable because he was a heavy, heavy, heavy chase guy, a heavy, heavy swing and miss guy. His production had gone down the past few years with the Rangers to the point where this postseason hero from twenty twenty three got non tendered in November. They gave up on a Doulas Garcia basically and not basically, they gave up on a Doulas Garcia, and so I was encouraged to see that he talked. The last time we talked him was after he homered his second homer the spring, and he was talking about his ace swing. He's like, yeah, I'm just trying to get my A swing, trying to get my ACE swing. And I asked him, I said, well, what is your A swing in your mind? He says, swing at a pitch that you can hit, getting a good pitch and swinging at that pitch. So it's in his mind. Don't be swinging at everything out there. Just wait, be patient and if he can do that. We just talked about the prototypical four or five hitters. I know, maybe at some point, yeah, yeah, Adolee s. Garcia is that prototypical cleanup hair. He is that prototypical five hole hitter. So maybe if he does, if these changes are real, maybe at some point we'll see him move up in the lineup.

00:16:16
Speaker 3: Maybe not.

00:16:17
Speaker 2: Maybe, Bowman said, will continue to do a great job. But Adulas Scarcia, for me, was my the guy that kind of jumped out.

00:16:23
Speaker 4: As Camp went on, if I can expound on that just a little bit. My thing is this being a major League baseball player in this day and age, It's about it.

00:16:33
Speaker 1: It always has been. It's about adjustments.

00:16:36
Speaker 4: And when you have guys who are willing to make those adjustments, then you got a chance. And they have the makeup to do that. There's some guys you really stubborn. Listen, I'm gonna go and go about my business the way I normally do and I've been doing it for years and blah blah blah. Well, there's a couple of examples that the Phillies in particular, A guy like Trey Turner, for instance, becomes a much much better shortstop over the coast. Of course, for the last seat, he was well below average prior to last season, and then he had a well above average defensive year for him, that is impressive.

00:17:09
Speaker 1: A guy like go Dolas Garcia, can he do it? Can he make the adjustment.

00:17:13
Speaker 4: Can he go back to making an adjustment, which isn't easy to do with your setup to be able to be the type of hitter that he needs to be to be successful. And that's really the proof will be in the putting when the bell rings, and the excitement and the energy and all that stuff. If he can hone that and continue to do what he was doing during the course of spring training. It is different doing it for one hundred and sixty two at the highest level, but you love to have the guys who are interested in actually making those adjustments.

00:17:48
Speaker 1: Hopefully it works out for him.

00:17:50
Speaker 5: He in fact led the team in walks very encouraging down there for gout who swings and everything.

00:17:57
Speaker 2: Right, So who do you guys got, Jim, Why don't you go, oh, who's your sort?

00:18:02
Speaker 5: I mean, Garcia was one of them. Painter was one of them for me as well. I thought he looked really composed, not overwhelmed, confident and if you look at one of his bugaboos last year at Triple A, it was his command and control. You know, walked a lot of battles and he only walked to in like eleven and two thirds innings down in clay Water in Florida, finished with a really good one against the Braves. Pushed it a little bit, got a little fatigued, which is good in the middle innings. So I thought he had a good spring and comes in here as the number five starter, and I think he's in a good place. So I know it's only practiced, only spring training, but I thought he was in a sign of encouragement.

00:18:49
Speaker 4: So my my observation here, I you know, I really keyed on Justin Crawford and Jimmy Shore took a little bit of my thunder. But Justin Crawford's a kid that that I think is at the end of the day, is going to a solid major league baseball player. I think he's gonna be an exciting player. I like the way he made adjustments in the outfield. He played a very nice center field for me, and I was concerned about that.

00:19:17
Speaker 1: That was big. His routes were good. He threw the ball to the right spots.

00:19:21
Speaker 4: He has a decent arm, He's got an average to above average arm, and you know, he obviously can cover ground. But I thought his routes were excellent. I don't think he didn't see a lot of false steps and that kind of stuff. The one concern I did have with him late in the spring is I was really watching his bats. In the early part of the spring, I was really barren down on his outfield play. In the latter part of the spring, I've been barren down on his offense. It felt like to me that and I had gone through this as a rookie. It felt like to me that he was overswinging a little bit. And his game is to make contact, and when you get anxiety as a young player, and I had this in ninety two because I came out of the choot and had a couple of home runs and extra base hits, and I didn't really realize it. I didn't know what was happening in my body. But I was overswinging a lot, striking out. Strikeouts were not part of my game in the minor leagues, but I was overswinging so much. Even on two strike situations, I wasn't choking up and putting the ball in play. I saw a little bit of that in Justin Crawford at the end of spring, where he'd get to two strikes and he looked like he was maybe overswinging a little bit. I hope he doesn't get into that mode, because the anxiety can get you a little bit at the major league level, and he just goes back and goes back to himself and says to himself, Hey, I.

00:20:49
Speaker 1: Don't have to overswing.

00:20:51
Speaker 4: I don't have to I can relax, I can put the ball in play and let things happen. And I hope he gets to that point early because I know how it felt for me personally, when the anxiety starts to build, you start doing things. It's like an addle body experience. I can honestly tell you that that's how it felt for me. I hope he doesn't go through that and he can relax and just go play baseball.

00:21:13
Speaker 5: I hope some of his teammates have that approach as well. On two strikes, cut it down, spread it out, put it in play, you know, particularly Bryce Harper. I think he's strong enough that he can still hit balls over the wall off the wall with if he just cuts things down a little bit, and so his head's not moving, his feet out breaking down you know, in his swings, lower half's not moving so much. So I think that can be applied to a bunch of different guys.

00:21:41
Speaker 1: But yeah, you're right.

00:21:43
Speaker 2: Justin Crawford is going to wear number two for the Phillies. Andrew Painter is going to wear number twenty.

00:21:48
Speaker 3: Four for the Phillies.

00:21:51
Speaker 2: So there you go, and we will be right back and we're going to do our bold predictions. You're not gonna want to miss it.

00:21:57
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00:23:01
Speaker 3: But here we go. We're back. We're back.

00:23:06
Speaker 1: Just yeah.

00:23:08
Speaker 2: So before we get to bold predictions, so I do want to ask twenty twenty.

00:23:12
Speaker 3: Six Opening day is Thursday four fifteen.

00:23:15
Speaker 2: You got Christopher Sanchez on the mound for the Phillies. I think the weather is supposed to be okay, great, What.

00:23:22
Speaker 1: Are we supposed to be great? Seventy that's what we're hearing.

00:23:27
Speaker 3: That's that would be absolutely fantastic.

00:23:29
Speaker 2: So based off of everything that we've seen this spring, what are your general expectations about this about this team? Fangrafts, I'm going to get through out some projected win totals for you guys. Fangrafts projects the Phillies to win eighty seven games. Now that seems low, But there's only three other teams in baseball that I think they're predicted projected to win more than Dodgers Mets. Four teams, Braves, Mariners, Mets, Braves, Mariners at eighty eight, what do we think?

00:23:59
Speaker 3: What's win all night over? Under win total?

00:24:02
Speaker 2: What do you got?

00:24:06
Speaker 4: Is this a bold prediction because that's part of my bold prediction?

00:24:09
Speaker 2: All right, hold on, now, well let me ask you before then we get to the bold predictions.

00:24:18
Speaker 3: No, do what do you think that you know this team gonna win the division?

00:24:21
Speaker 2: Let's let's throw that predict projection out there before we get to Ruben's bold prediction.

00:24:27
Speaker 5: I think, Jim, I think they're going to win the division. I think, you know, the brains are already getting hurt in their staff, and the Mets have a heck of a lineup. They got Peralta, that's a big get. But I like the Phillies personnel and I like their I think they're starting rotation as a separator with the Mets, So I think they can win the division. But you know, it's all incumbent on staying healthy. It's a high mileage team, it's an older team, it's a team, it doesn't have a lot of depth. There's not a lot of depth in the starting rotation. I mean it's like one breakdown can really scuttle this thing. So they need to stay healthy. But I like them around ninety two or ninety three wins win the division, and then you got to play good in October. You can't boot the ball around, you can't have bad at bats, and you can't go zero for eleven with runners in scoring position, and you got to have a lot of contact. Contact is big in the postseason. And then the bullpen. The bullpen the last two postseasons six and a half ERA five blown saves out of eight game. So the bullpen's got to be better too. But ninety two, ninety three wins division title, that's what I got. What do you got?

00:25:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's funny you mentioned ninety three. That was the number I gave. Ninety three. I think they're going to win the division. The Braves rotation, it's just kind of a mess right now. They've got so many injuries, striders down now. So that's Mets are a good team, but you know, they got to prove it. They got to the actually got to beat the Phillies in last. So until they they do, I'm sticking. I'm sticking with the Phillies. So Ruben, all right, so you were you said, do you want to go bult prediction?

00:26:06
Speaker 3: You hinted at it.

00:26:07
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go. This is part of it.

00:26:09
Speaker 4: My bold preditions are that the Phillies are gonna win one hundred games this year. One hundred games. And uh, my concern early was the Atlanta Braves. That was my biggest concern because I thought that they if they're healthy, they're they're they would compete with the Phillies as the most talented team I think in the in the NL East. I'm not as concerned. I think the Mets are gonna have a good team. I'm concerned about Mets lineup in this regard. Yes, they can hit the baseball, No, they don't hit the ball out of the ballpark and so, and they don't have enough like team speed to sort of be the Milwaukee Brewers. So while they have pretty good hitters, really good hitters, I just don't know that they have enough overall speed and power production to be able to overtake the Braves or the.

00:26:56
Speaker 1: Phillies in that division. That's just me. I am impressed, impressed by their rotation.

00:27:02
Speaker 4: McClain's a stud. Uh, they got Peralta. I think the McLean's could end up being their number one. But but I still think that it is a team that's very, very beatable, and I think that the Phillies are going to rush through this NL East, especially late. They're gonna win a hundred games and uh, they're going to again compete for.

00:27:21
Speaker 1: The World Series.

00:27:23
Speaker 3: That's a bold prediction.

00:27:26
Speaker 1: Bold prediction, one hundred percent.

00:27:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is, that's that is. That is a very bold prediction. We're not trying to be safe here though. Safe predictions like Kyle Schwarber hits fifty home runs this year. Yeah, that's not that's a safe predictions that he did that last year.

00:27:41
Speaker 1: You know, I went bold. I went bold with one hundred wins. That's that's where you got to be.

00:27:46
Speaker 2: Jim, what do you got Do you get a bold prediction?

00:27:49
Speaker 1: Well?

00:27:49
Speaker 5: I gave my bold prediction back. We did a little New Year's thing, remember, Yeah, and mine was very bold, and knowing that you know, the mandate is to be bold, I will I will replay my bold prediction. I had the Phillies winning the World Series. I had Orion Kirkering getting the clinching save in the NLCS. I had Bryce Harper finish top five in the MVP voting, proving once again that he is an elite talent and lifting then you know, Dave Debroski lifting the World Series trophy and saying that's three World Series. I'm going home. I'm not dealing with this lockout and calling it a Hall of Fame career. And I will acknowledge that's a very bold prediction. But some of that is for entertainment value, but not completely beyond the realm of possibility.

00:28:50
Speaker 1: So I do have a.

00:28:51
Speaker 5: More realistic or less bold prediction, which let's get that later.

00:28:56
Speaker 1: He God's bold.

00:28:58
Speaker 3: No, that's all right, that's all right.

00:29:00
Speaker 2: I mean, you guys went bold team wise, I kind of went. I kind of drilled down on something more specific, and that is Bryce. And Stott makes his first NL All Star team, which is not super bold, but he finishes top five for the NL batting title. He has as an absolute career year and turns into a star player for the Phillies. I guess you could say I'm a believer. And the way he finished last spring and our last season and has looked so far this spring. But that's that's a little bit more that's a little bit more specific than player specific than you guys saying one hundred wins World Series titles. I feel like I'm kind of coming up short here for you guys.

00:29:42
Speaker 1: All right, what do you got? You got, Jim?

00:29:45
Speaker 5: This is my realistic prediction, sure, yeah, all right. My realistic position prediction is Hey, sus Lozardo, Christopher Sanchez, Zach Wheeler all finish in the top seven of NL CY Young voting. If that happens, Rubin, he might be pushing that triple digit.

00:30:12
Speaker 1: That's exactly right. I like that.

00:30:15
Speaker 4: That's a good one and a realistic one and a good prediction because there are three of the finest starters in the National League. I will break out another bold one, totally out of my I will predict that in his leap year, Alec Bohm is going to be voted top five in NL MVP voting.

00:30:41
Speaker 1: Wow. I think he's going to hit three hundred.

00:30:44
Speaker 4: I think he's going to drive in one hundred and ten runs, and I think he's going to have for the first time in his career a twenty home run. I think it's its first time. I think he's gonna have at least twenty to twenty five home runs this season.

00:30:57
Speaker 5: Interesting, I.

00:31:00
Speaker 1: Went double bold.

00:31:01
Speaker 5: What what? What kind of money is he getting with that season next year?

00:31:05
Speaker 3: That's a great question.

00:31:07
Speaker 4: He's walking away with two hundred million dollars because there's no there's no third basement out there.

00:31:13
Speaker 1: The only third beaf is gonna be Bishitt if he can play third base well enough for the Mets. Is there another third basement out there? I don't even know.

00:31:21
Speaker 2: Just the hitters on the market next year in general, are pretty pretty low light.

00:31:26
Speaker 1: It's light light light. He's gonna make some money.

00:31:29
Speaker 3: Scott Boris is smelling payday.

00:31:32
Speaker 5: Oh yes, if he If he has that season Rubin, no one's questioning his presence in the forehole.

00:31:42
Speaker 4: That's correct. That's why I'm dropping it in there. I mean, it's bold, there's no question about it. But this is a guy that has the ability to do that.

00:31:50
Speaker 1: I think it's going to be his breakouts.

00:31:52
Speaker 3: How about how about this? I think JT.

00:31:54
Speaker 2: Real Muto is going to win a Gold Glove, his first gold since twenty twenty two. And here's that's why I say it, not just because he's got a great pop time, guys, and oh he does have a great pop time. He's great at controlling the running game, he's great at controlling the pitching staff and game planning and all that. But because he is going to be an absolute standout with the new ABS challenge system, and he is going to swing so many games in big moments, because JT is going to be top tap in the top of his helmet, and he showed that skill already this spring. He won five of six challenges this spring, not a lot. There's a lot of catchers that challenge at least twice as much, but their success rate was in the sixty percent. I'm taking a hundred Goodman. Specifically, of the Rockies, JT was five for six this spring. He overturned Of the five challenges he won, three got his pitcher a strikeout, and two overturned a walk. So all five challenges had big impacts on it at bat. And I looked at all the other catchers in spring training this year. A lot of guys like uh Pedro Pahes from the Cardinals, for instance, he was eight eight for eight. He didn't I think, I don't think he overturned one strikeout or one walk. They were just kind of like pitches during it at bat. Maybe it led to something eventually, But JT knows that strike zone and I think he's gonna be very good and I think that's gonna become a real weapon for the Phillies this year. And so I think as a result of that, people are going to look at the gold Glove.

00:33:33
Speaker 3: A little bit different.

00:33:33
Speaker 2: They're gonna give him a gold Glove for his knowledge of the strike zone.

00:33:37
Speaker 5: It's a great point, another factor into the gold Glove decision. Making a great point.

00:33:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, nice, nice Todd.

00:33:44
Speaker 8: So's he's a savvy, savvy player. I can almost see like like that. You know they have the fanatic dangle hat with the dangles down. I can almost see them making a fanatic dangle hat and you have a couple of little strings where it taps its head on our JT.

00:34:04
Speaker 4: The other thing that that that I think that makes sense is he's going to be hitting probably deeper in the lineup seven or eight, and probably rightfully so based on how he's where he's been offensively over the last few years. But I think he's going to really bear down and concentrate even more so on his contribution to this team, and how can he do that by being the best catcher he can possibly be and just knowing him as a team player, as a leader, he's going to not that he hasn't not that he hasn't really beared down on it over the last several years, but I think he's going to be even more in tune to making sure that he is contributing in the you know, the maximum way, contribute to the team's wins.

00:34:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, I let you know. JT thinks he'll be better offensively as well.

00:34:56
Speaker 3: We'll see, but there we go, guys. That was a lot of fun.

00:34:59
Speaker 2: Opening day is Thursday, Citizens Bank Park four fifteen pm Eastern. I'm looking forward to look forward to seeing you guys on Thursday at the ballpark.

00:35:10
Speaker 1: Same here, my brother.

00:35:11
Speaker 5: Ruben, you're gonna wear a tie, You're gonna suit up.

00:35:14
Speaker 1: I'm suiting up, baby, because I'm doing pre and post babe.

00:35:18
Speaker 3: Jim, are you suiting up?

00:35:20
Speaker 1: Jim? Are you suiting up? What? What about you?

00:35:24
Speaker 5: I'll probably I'll probably do some layering because it gets chili the after dark.

00:35:28
Speaker 4: I understand we have a whole new system there for our aeron mark is no longer there. I don't think in the in the lunch room, it's a whole new system there.

00:35:39
Speaker 1: You're gonna be.

00:35:40
Speaker 2: Blown away, Jimmy, you're gonna be eating dinner with us. Jim never eats Ruben. Did you know that Jim never eats dinner.

00:35:48
Speaker 1: You know, he fires it up.

00:35:51
Speaker 5: I can't work on a full stomach. I need to have that empty stomach exactly.

00:35:57
Speaker 1: You fill it up at noon and then you settle in.

00:36:00
Speaker 5: Then I then I have to drive by five wah wahs on their way home, and I usually hit three of.

00:36:03
Speaker 2: Them because because that ice cream Snickers, Reuben doesn't make it all the way home. It makes it to the next wallah, and then you go get your ice cream twigs and then you make it. Then you finally make it home.

00:36:16
Speaker 3: Right, Jim, there's.

00:36:19
Speaker 5: Nothing nothing better than ice cream Snickers. They are so good.

00:36:24
Speaker 1: Nice.

00:36:26
Speaker 3: All right, guys, that was fun. Hopefully we'll be back.

00:36:29
Speaker 2: We'll come back with you after opening day and do an Opening day over reaction, because if we've learned anything over the years, guys, opening day, you lose Opening Day, cancel it, it's over.

00:36:42
Speaker 3: It's over.

00:36:43
Speaker 5: It's like the Winter meetings.

00:36:46
Speaker 1: They lose Opening Day it's fire everybody.

00:36:49
Speaker 5: There's so much attention on the winter meetings, like if you don't make a deal, it's a failure. It's just three days in the off season, you know. Opening Day. Same way anyway, Todd, if you don't mind if I go teeny bit extra time here, No, I'll go for it three on three overtime. I think this is our third anniversary.

00:37:08
Speaker 4: You correct, the third anniversary of the Philly Show the night before the Todd Pod started three seasons.

00:37:16
Speaker 5: Ago, the night before Opening Day in twenty four.

00:37:20
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, so is that three year anniversary? That three years every are third.

00:37:25
Speaker 1: Opening Day, Third.

00:37:27
Speaker 3: Opening Day at the Philly Show, third day.

00:37:30
Speaker 1: So that's pretty.

00:37:31
Speaker 5: Cool way to go. Congratulations could being with Ken.

00:37:35
Speaker 1: Thanks to the fans who keep us on.

00:37:36
Speaker 5: Yeah, absolutely, thanks to the watchers of the Todd Pod, and uh, enjoy the season, Enjoy opening Day and I will smell you boys later.

00:37:45
Speaker 1: Smell you, Jimmy.

00:37:47
Speaker 2: The Philly Show is brought to you by the Foul Territory Network. Subscribe to The Philly Show on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast.