Rise and Phight: 3/10/2023

Bryson Stott is an interesting dude this spring. He’s being counted on to not only change positions, but to also take a step forward with his offense. He’s made some changes so far to his approach, leaning on watching his teammate’s at bats, but it’ll be interesting to see if he can make that step forward.

The team has two players that struggle with pitches up in the zone with Stott and Brandon Marsh. It’s likely been a point of emphasis with Kevin Long to work on correcting those holes, so with Bryce Harper out for a while, the offense will have to take a decent step up in his absence. Let’s hope Stott can do so.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Rhys Hoskins came out and said what we all knew about this team’s confidence level headed into the season.
• Bryce Harper did the media tour yesterday, talking about his recovery and giving some updates on his timeline.
• Some news and notes about the Phillies spring training thus far, with some Painter nuggets, some Stott notes, etc.

MLB news:

• The World Baseball Classic is underway and this roundtable talks about things about it. Prediction: Japan beats the Dominican Republic in the final.
• Yuli Gurriel (and Jose Iglesias) finally have found a home in Miami, signing deals last night.
• The Yankees are going through some spring training ouchies, which means some pitchers will be starting the season on the IL.