The final two weeks of camp are way more important than the first two but the heat is on between Dylan Moore and Bryan De La Cruz for the final spot on the 26-man roster.
The 13th position player may not play much at all with how Rob Thomson has the roles aligned. Edmundo Sosa acts as the backup infielder who might platoon with Bryson Stott. Otto Kemp is probably platooning in left field with Brandon Marsh and is the primary fourth outfielder. Rafael Marchán will have the hardest job in baseball,
being the backup catcher to JT Realmuto.
So there isn’t much wiggle room for the final position player. The Phillies carried Kody Clemens for the first three weeks of 2025 and appeared in seven games with just six plate appearances. Things could always change injuries occur of course.
A good way to measure a hitter’s performance in spring training is by looking at their average exit velocity and launch angle. The limited sample size against questionable competition doesn’t allow for massive conclusions, but it can at least tell you who’s seeing the ball well. Raw results can also get weird in a sample size this short.
Bryan De La Cruz has crushed the ball in camp with a 97 mph average exit velocity and 15 degree launch angle. He has made consistent hard contact even if there are a few too many strikeouts in there. The results have been there with a .478 slugging and batting average over .300.
Dylan Moore is not getting the same results but has hit the ball hard too with a 93.9 mph exit velocity and optimal launch angle. There have been less strikeouts but he hasn’t seen the ball drop too often.
With both having good springs, it will make for an interesting final two weeks to see who’s still hot.
Roster fit and path to least resistance probably favor Moore here. If the Phillies want Kemp to be the primary platoon partner for Brandon Marsh in left field, it would make more sense to send De La Cruz to AAA. Moore gives them more positional versatility with being able to play seven different positions.
According to Matt Gelb on the podcast Phillies Therapy, Moore has an opt-out five days before spring training and De La Cruz is not until later in the season. If the Phillies want to keep both, Moore would be easier to pick.
After all of this, it might be Garrett Stubbs. Guy is a winner.
Jonathan Bowlan
Bowlan’s performance has been mixed through Grapefruit League games but there are two main takeaways. The first is that the fastball looks really tough to hit. He will throw it at the top of the strike zone but his delivery makes it hard for hitters to pick up while having good velocity.
This was the big reason the Phillies traded for him. In 2025 with the Royals, Bowlan’s four-seam fastball generated a whiff rate of 43.5% in a limited, but not super small sample size.
The other is that the way he pitches might leave for a bit of variance. His fastball is going to often miss high, which might be easier for hitters to take. He also might tend to miss high with his breaking balls which could cause some damage problems. Spencer Jones crushed a hanging slider from him on Tuesday.
It wouldn’t be correct to say he has terrible control because Bowlan can throw strikes but there could be a home run problem going from Kauffman to Citizens Bank Park.
