Sunday, March 23

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- It’s finally going to happen.

The Phillies say they are going to give Brandon Marsh runway early this season as the everyday center fielder, starting him against left-handed pitching. It is something the Phillies have said Marsh can do, although he has not had more than 110 plate appearances against lefties in any season since joining the organization in 2022. 

Comparatively, fellow left-handed hitters Kyle Schwarber (248 PAs), Bryce Harper (226) and Bryson Stott (129) faced lefties more last year.

Marsh is batting .290 (9-for-31) with one homer, one double, four RBIs, 12 walks, six strikeouts and a .907 OPS overall this spring. He is 3-for-7 (.429) with one double, three walks and one strikeout against lefties. Marsh doubled and walked against Yankees lefty Carlos Rodón on Feb. 27, struck out looking against Red Sox lefty Garrett Crochet on Feb. 28, walked against Rays lefty Shane McClanahan on March 6 and singled twice against reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal last Saturday at BayCare Ballpark. 

“I see the offseason work paying off a little bit,” Marsh said.

“Those are really good tests for him,” Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long said. “And he’s answered it.”

Marsh was surprised to learn he had walked three times against lefties.

“I do my best not to look at the numbers,” he said. “Because you know how it goes, you start to look at the numbers, you start to feel yourself, then the game punches you right in the face. But I’ve noticed the at-bats have been better. I’ve noticed that I feel like I have more control when I’m in the box.”

Marsh said he did not pick up a bat until after New Year’s Day. Then, four days a week, he drove from his Arizona home to Phillies special assistant to the general manager Howie Kendrick’s house, where he met Long.

They worked from about 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

“He got after it,” Long said. “And he’s never let off the throttle.”

Every day, Long set up the pitching machine to mimic left-handed pitching. He threw to Marsh as well.

Marsh took anywhere from 100-150 swings.

“We did a lot more machine work because of breaking balls,” Long said. “I wanted him to get really comfortable with the spin. I wasn’t worried about the fastball, although we also did a lot of high fastball stuff because that was a hole [in his game]. But I was worried about the spin -- curveballs, sliders.”

Marsh said he’s never done as much machine work as he did this offseason.

He’s just never been a fan of it.

“Just because … I guess you could say I was soft in that aspect,” Marsh said. “I didn’t like getting jammed and hurting the hands every day. But we used the soft balls -- the foamy balls -- that shoot up and have a bunch of break. One day, we had [Clayton] Kershaw’s curveball going, and it was a whole lot of fun. It was difficult. There were 10 swings in a row where it didn’t feel right, but then we found it and kept chugging until we got the feel for consistent reps. Yeah, it’s tough, left on left. But it’s also tough for the righties hitting right on right. They just do it a lot more.”

If Marsh handles lefties early in the season, the assumption is he will continue to play against them. If he struggles, the Phillies could turn to Johan Rojas, who could make the team as the fourth outfielder.

“I feel like the work has transferred well into the spring,” Marsh said. “I’ve just got to transfer it into the 27th [Opening Day in D.C. on March 27]. And then from there on out.”

Zack Wheeler will start his second consecutive Opening Day on March 27 against the Nationals. Which of these four pitchers has started the fewest Opening Days for the Phillies?

A. Cliff Lee

B. Jeremy Hellickson

C. Jon Lieber

D. Cole Hamels

José Alvarado’s enticing spring continues.

He has thrown 35 pitches at 100 mph or more, which is the most by any pitcher in Spring Training.

His sinker-cutter combination has been ridiculously effective on his way to striking out 17 and walking three over eight scoreless innings. Alvarado has allowed only two hits. The lefty is throwing a nasty curveball, too. He used his breaking ball to strike out Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham looking in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss in Bradenton.

Pham looked absolutely baffled by the pitch.

We know why. Alvarado’s curveball to Pham had 5.6 inches of arm-side movement, which is highly unusual for a lefty’s curveball. Last season, every left-hander who threw at least 50 curveballs had the pitch move glove side at least 0.1 inches, except two: Drew Smyly (3.2 inches arm side) and Marco Gonzalez (0.4 inches arm side).

Alvarado’s curveball is averaging 1.9 inches of arm-side movement this spring. He threw only three curveballs last season, but they averaged 2.9 inches of glove-side movement.

Peacock launched in-market streaming for NBC Sports Philadelphia this week, meaning Peacock subscribers can subscribe to stream Phillies, 76ers and Flyers games.

Peacock Premium or Premium Plus subscribers located in NBC Sports Philadelphia’s territory can purchase a monthly add-on subscription in addition to their Peacock subscription. It includes games, pregame and postgame shows and other NBC Sports Philadelphia programming. 

The price for the add-on subscription is $24.95 per month for users with a direct-billed Peacock Premium Plan ($7.99 per month) or Premium Plus Plan ($13.99 per month).

To learn more and to subscribe, users can visit NBC Sports Philadelphia.

March 20, 2022: The Phillies signed Schwarber to a four-year, $79 million contract.

A. Cliff Lee

He started only one Opening Day for the Phillies in 2014. Hamels, Hellickson and Lieber each started two.

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