Philadelphia Phillies: 3 surprise players who’ve flashed potential this spring
By David Esser
Exactly a week since the start of Spring Training, we’ve all gotten a brief glimpse into how the Philadelphia Phillies are shaping up this season. Pretty much all of the main players have gotten their initial reps in, while a lot of the guys who are competing for jobs have dominated the action thus far.
New additions to the bullpen like Archie Bradley, Jose Alvarado, and Brandon Kintzler have all debuted their stuff, both Matt Moore and Chase Anderson looked impressive in their first game as a Phillies starter, and Bryce Harper of course came out and launched an opposite field home run in his first spring at-bat.
However, while it’s always fun to watch the new additions and the regular starters have impactful Spring Training games, this time of the year is more about the guys battling for roster spots – players who make or break a team’s depth down the stretch.
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Who’s stuck out for the Philadelphia Phillies thus far?
With that in mind, three underrated names have really stuck out to me after one week of spring ball:
Bryan Mitchell, RHP
A non-roster invitee who hasn’t pitched in a major league game since 2018, Bryan Mitchell has flashed some serious stuff through his first two outings.
The right-hander has pitched three total innings thus far (two against the Tigers, one against the Yankees), and he’s been pretty much untouchable. He’s allowed just two hits and zero walks, striking out five in the process.
As someone who’s been out of the MLB for quite some time now, Mitchell is fighting a bit of an uphill battle when it comes to obtaining a spot in the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen. However, he’s been sitting 95-96 MPH with his fastball, that’s normally good enough to play at the major league level. Definitely someone to keep an eye on moving forward.