Phillies stock watch: Matt Joyce’s power highlights tie against Baltimore

After months and months of waiting, Phillies fans were finally able to watch their squad play some actual baseball earlier this afternoon. Taking on the Baltimore Orioles in a seven inning affair that finished 4-4, Joe Girardi and the rest of his coaching staff had yet another opportunity to evaluate some of their team’s starters, prospects, and minor league vets.

With two Spring Training games now in the books, here were the major stock “risers” and “fallers” from today’s afternoon of practice ball:

Keeping an eye on Phillies stock after Spring Training game #2.

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Stock UP: Matt Joyce

Easily the most impressive player from today’s game, veteran outfielder Matt Joyce made a serious impact in his Phillies spring debut. He recorded a diving catch out in right field, saving a would-be base hit, and then turned around and launched a two-run home run in the third inning.

Brought in to compete on a minor league contract, things are currently looking up for Joyce in regards to his main roster odds. While there’s plenty of more spring ball left to be played, blasting a HR in your first start is certainly one way to catch the attention of the coaching staff.

Stock DOWN: Ramon Rosso

An Opening Day roster member last season, Ramon Rosso still feels pretty far away from being a major league pitcher.

While he technically didn’t give up any base hits during his 1.0 inning appearance today, he still beaned two batters and allowed a pair of runs to cross the plate.

Rosso was a disaster on the main roster last season (6.52 ERA), and I can’t see a realistic scenario where he ends up back there in 2021. His control still appears to be a major, major issue.

Stock UP: Jean Segura and Andrew McCutchen

Two players who are being paid a whole lot of money to produce for the Phils offense in 2021, the combination of Andrew McCutchen and Jean Segura wasted little time getting to work at the top of the order this afternoon.

Cutch led the game off with a single, and Jean followed that up with a double down the left field line. Promising stuff.

Stock DOWN: Scott Kingery…?

Scott Kingery didn’t actually play today, but his inherent stock still took a little bit of a hit this afternoon. Both Roman Quinn (hit, walk, run scored) and the previously mentioned Segura had productive outings, and both players are competing with Kingery for reps this season.

Throw in the fact that Adam Haseley outplayed Kingery on Sunday, and it hasn’t been a super ideal start for the young utility player.

Stock UP: Bryson Stott

He only got to take the one at-bat, but he converted it into a base hit nevertheless. The Phillies #1 ranked offensive prospect at the moment, it was great to see Bryson Stott come in and get his first spring knock.

He’s also got this super cool custom elbow guard, which definitely makes him 10x better.

There’s still a TON of Spring Training ball left to be played, so take these evaluations with a grain of salt at this point in time. The Phils are set to play another six games this week alone.

Nevertheless, it’s always a good idea to track player performance during camp, especially when it comes to guys hunting for a major league job (Matt Joyce, for example).