Spring Training Week in Review: 3/4/2010 - 3/10/2010

It began on March 4th with the highly anticipated debut of Roy Halladay and ended yesterday with the impressive performance my Cole Hamels. It is the first week of Spring Training. What took forever to get here is finally over. The months upon months of waiting for our Phillies to take the field yet again.

Let's look at how the Phightins performed over the week and at some highlights and candidates to earn those final spots on the rorster.

-Roy Halladay: Halladay has already captivated Phillies fans everywhere with his ability to carve up hitters and pure dominance. Halladay has pitched 5 innings, struck out 8, walked none, and allowed 0 runs on 3 hits.

-Cole Hamels: So far Cole has impressed the media, team, and fans. While featuring his new Cutter and sharpened Curveball, Hamels has pitched 5.2 innings, allowed 2 runs on 3 hits(two of the hits being home runs by Bautista of the Blue Jays), walked 3, and struck out 5.

-Joe Blanton: Kentucky Joe Blanton had a rough start in his first outing of the spring but pitched well after changing his grip on his Sinker to retire 5 of the last 6 batters he faced. Blanton pitched 2 innings, allowed 3 runs on 5 hits(one home run), walked none and struck out two.

-J.A Happ: So far, so good for Happ. The NL rookie of the year runner up has pitched 2.1 innings, allowed no runs on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2.

-Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick: Who the 5th starter will be is yet to be determined. Moyer, Kendrick, and Drew Carpenter(I actually thought it was Andrew but the Phillies website says otherwise) have all made solid cases for the 5th spot. Carpenter can be considered the dark horse of the bunch but has pitched well. The trio has not allowed a run as of yet. Moyer however has only pitched in B games.

-Bullpen: Danys Baez has so far stood out the most. Madson and Contrerras have had some poor outings but it's still early so don't get too worried. Antonio Bastardo, possibly the favorite to win a job in the bullpen has pitched one scoreless inning while striking out two.

-Lineup and Bench: What's there to talk about? Stacked line up is stacked. The everyday players for the Phillies have begun swinging the bat well. The bench has performed equally as well as the lineup.

-Dressed to Impress: The highly praised Domonic Brown is showing off both the bat and arm while recording several hits, RBI's, and an impressive throw to nail a runner at the plate. Another outfielder that is certainly dressed to impress is John Mayberry Jr. Mayberry is batting .368 with 1 HR and 5 RBI's thus far. Rule-5 Draftee David Herndon has also impressed. Herndon has come in late in the game twice allowing no hits, no runs, and one walk. Jesus Sanchez has pitched one scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Tyson Gillies doesn't stop running hard and sprinted around the bases after hitting a home run.

-Grade for the Week: A While some of the young prospects have both struggled and shined, the majority of the regular Phillies have performed well.