25 Predictions for the Philadelphia Phillies in the Month of March

Spring training is in full swing and the Philadelphia Phillies have enough storylines to make your eyes spin. There's everything from a simple position battle to whether potential starters can actually field their designated positions.

But, hey, that's the glory of spring training.

As the Phillies try to sort through their problems, it's time to offer up some predictions for what this month of March will contain for a team desperately trying to claw its way back to the top of the mountain.

It's not going to be easy. The Phillies' division is tough with powerhouse teams such as the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves. Their league is tough, as they'll square off with the Los Angeles Dodgers and defending champion San Francisco Giants, among others.

If this Phillies team wants to play in October, a lot of things will have to break right for them.

It all starts in spring training.

25. Adams Takes the Mound and Dominates

Prediction: Mike Adams will dominate in March, showing off his health and inspiring confidence about his long-term conditioning. 

There was plenty of risk in signing Adams to a multiyear contract last offseason, but this is a club that was desperate for bullpen depth. They struggled mightily in the eighth inning in 2012 and hope that Adams can correct that malady. 

The first obstacle for Adams is his health. He is recovering from offseason surgery to correct a condition called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the thoracic outlet is the area between the rib cage and collar bone. This syndrome is a rare condition that involves pain in the neck and shoulder, numbness and tingling of the fingers, and a weak grip.

Adams has not made an appearance yet for the Phillies this spring. 

But according to all reports out of camp, that will change. Adams, who is not a hard thrower, has a good slider and should be a solid complement to closer Jonathan Papelbon. 

24. Aumont Makes Big Strides

Prediction: Phillippe Aumont will become one of the Phillies' best relievers. 

One of the reasons it is easy to write off this club's bullpen struggles from last season is because they have a lot of talented arms ready to contribute full time. Aumont is one of them.

The hulking Canadian is loaded with potential, leading most scouts to believe that if he can control his offerings, he has the potential to be a major league closer. 

But that's a big "if," as Aumont has struggled with his command. This could be the season that Aumont takes that step forward. He is off to a good start this spring and will compete for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. 

He has a very good fastball, slurve and splitter repertoire that often baffles big league hitters.

23. Bastardo Struggles to Find Consistency

Prediction: Antonio Bastardo will have an up-and-down March. 

Early in his career, Bastardo's inconsistency as a reliever has driven managers and pitching coaches insane. In one outing, he looks like a potential closer. In the next, he's a total train wreck. 

He relies on "feel"—locating his fastball to set up his slider, and things of that nature. If the feel isn't there, he struggles. 

A lot of pitchers treat the spring as an opportunity to refine their approach without having to worry about letting the team down. For Bastardo, it's all about finding a good rhythm, and that takes time.

22. De Fratus Makes the Club

Prediction: Justin De Fratus will have a solid spring and make the club with relative ease. 

The Phillies have a lot of relievers in camp. To take that a step further, the Phillies have a lot of talented relievers in camp. So the options to build a bullpen are numerous. 

But De Fratus is a name that can't be left off. 

The right-handed reliever got off to a slow start this spring, but he has the ability to quickly make up for two runs he surrendered in his 2013 Grapefruit League debut. 

Among the relievers on the proverbial "bubble," De Fratus has some of the best control and a good fastball-slider repertoire.

21. Diekman Impresses

Prediction: Jake Diekman will make an impressive showing, but ultimately will not make the club. 

Diekman is eventually going to be an everyday member of this bullpen. While he flies under the radar, he is a left-handed power pitcher with a good fastball and developing secondary offerings. More often than not, if you have that kind of "stuff" and get the ball anywhere near the plate with consistency, there will be a home for you in an MLB bullpen. 

Diekman has a funky delivery with limbs flying in all directions, but he gets the job done. He has the ability to rack up lots of strikeouts and dominate as a left-handed specialist. 

With Antonio Bastardo and Jeremy Horst already in the bullpen, however, Diekman may be the victim of a numbers crunch. I could see him going back to Triple-A despite a very good spring, But he'll be back eventually.

20. The Doc Is in

Prediction: A healthy Roy Halladay will have a very good spring, inspiring confidence for the regular season. 

Once again, it seems as though the Phillies will go as far as their expensive pitching staff takes them. And after one start, all seems to be well with the (former?) ace. Surrendering a solo home run was his only blemish in his two-inning start against the Detroit Tigers.

Afterward, Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter told reporters, including Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News, what he thought of Halladay: 

"

Filthy. He’s always filthy to me. He threw me a splitter. He rarely threw me a splitter or changeup when I faced him in the past. He’s totally different. I haven’t faced him in a couple of years. But he looks good. Fastball was sneaky. He had the ball sinking, cutting. He was in and out of the zone.

"

That's a good start for Halladay. If the rest of the spring falls into place, which I'm predicting it will, the Phillies will be much better at the top of their rotation.

19. Hamels Dealing En Route to Opening Day Start

Prediction: Cole Hamels will have a sterling spring en route to his first career Opening Day start. 

In the first seven seasons of his MLB career, words like "phenom" and "protege" often have been used to describe Hamels. He was the "phenom" who dominated the 2008 postseason. He is the "protege" studying under former Cy Young winners like Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. 

Now the apprentice becomes the master. 

The Phillies have positioned their spring rotation in a manner that would allow their youngest "ace" the opportunity to pitch against the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day—a start that has been a long time coming, according to his teammate Halladay (h/t: Ryan Lawrence, Philadelphia Daily News):

"

Yeah absolutely, I think the commitment they made to him last year… you know, it’s his time. He’s been here for a long time. He’s had a lot of success here. There aren’t many teams where you have a World Series MVP and then you bring in 4-5 guys to pitch in front of him. It should have been his spot a long time ago. I think it’s something he’s going to embrace.

"

While the spring is normally an opportunity for pitchers to prepare for the regular season, Hamels looked ready to go in his first start. From here on out, it is all about dominating hitters with that fastball and changeup combination and preparing for that Opening Day start.

18. Kendrick and Lannan Prove Capable

Prediction: Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan will prove to be capable in the back of the starting rotation. 

With so much money tied up in the front end of their starting rotation, the Phillies need to receive value from  back-end guys such as Kendrick and Lannan, who I predict will be valuable starters. 

Kendrick, who has been the whipping boy of fans, turned it on in the second half of the 2012 campaign, which gave the Phillies confidence that he could be a full-time member of their rotation.

Lannan followed a similar path with the Washington Nationals. After spending most of the season in Triple-A, they recalled him to join the rotation after shutting down Stephen Strasburg. It was the best stint of his season. 

The Phillies will be relying on Kendrick and Lannan to solidify the back end of their rotation. While they don't need to pitch on the level of Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, it will be their job to keep the offense in close games, and they're capable of that.

17. Cliff Lee: Same Pitcher = Better Results

Prediction: Following a quiet, but very good spring, Cliff Lee will approach the game in the same manner this season, but with better results. 

Lee is the kind of pitcher who just goes about his business. He takes the ball from the catcher, goes into his windup and throws strikes. Then he repeats that. A guy like Lee having a "quiet" spring is a good thing. It means that nothing went wrong. 

That's what you can expect out of Lee this spring. He'll spend the next month perfecting his delivery and working on his pitches. He may not throw a shutout each outing, but he'll be successful. 

If he can apply that same approach to the regular season, Lee figures to have a much better year in 2013. With a solid bullpen and lineup behind him, he is capable of winning 20 games, health permitting. 

16. Papelbon Becomes Quality Leader (At Least in Bullpen)

Prediction: Jonathan Papelbon will emerge as the undeniable leader of the Phillies' bullpen. 

There are certain intangibles in this game that are impossible to quantify, with "leadership" certainly being among them. That's what made Papelbon's comments to the media about leadership interesting. 

Here is a sample from the Associated Press, passed along by ESPN: 

"

It was an all-around leadership void from A to Z. From being a vocal leader to being an off-the-field leader to being an on-the-field leader to everything. You can't just point your finger at what type of leadership was missing. It was the whole part of the equation. Our team identity is formed by that leadership.

"

Now, are those comments going to be blown completely out of proportion? Yes, and they already have been to a certain extent. But there is no doubt that this is a young, relatively inexperienced bullpen that needs a guy like Papelbon to step up. 

He is capable of doing so in 2013, and the early prediction is that he will. Guys like Justin De Fratus and Phillippe Aumont are going to be looking up to a guy like Papelbon—how he handles himself in certain situations, how he bounces back from a bad outing. 

Papelbon is an experienced, World Series-tested pitcher. The Phillies brought him aboard for those reasons (among others). 

2013 is the year that Papelbon becomes the bullpen's rock—both physically and mentally.

15. Stutes Struggles, Spends Most of the Season in Minors

Prediction: After a rocky spring, Mike Stutes will open and spend most of the season in Triple-A. 

For some players, recovering from a serious injury is like riding a bike. Some guys are able to hop back on the seat and take off. Others are going to fall over a few times before cruising.

That seems to be the case for Stutes. 

Even before his shoulder injury, command had been a problem for Stutes. Needless to say, throwing five straight balls and walking two batters in his first spring appearance didn't inspire much confidence. He was also hit hard when he threw the ball in the strike zone. 

Before his first appearance this spring, Stutes hadn't faced live competition for nearly an entire year. It's going to take time for him to regain his form. So it isn't unreasonable to predict that said time will be spent in Triple-A. 

That's where the real challenge begins. The Phillies have enough talented relievers without Stutes. So, barring an injury, it may be tough for him to work his way back to Philadelphia.

14. Nothing Flashy from Kratz

Prediction: Erik Kratz will have a decent, but not spectacular spring. 

Kratz was a solid catcher for the Phillies last season, especially when he was playing every day. But to think that he can step in for a month and replace the production of Carlos Ruiz is unreasonable. Kratz is doing more than preparing for the regular season. He's trying to make his first Opening Day roster. 

The Phillies aren't expecting him to be an All-Star-caliber catcher. They just want him to be able to call a good game, play solid defense and control the running game. So what does that mean for his spring? 

Don't expect anything flashy out of Kratz. He proved to be a streaky hitter last season and isn't going to dominate pitching at any level. The prediction is that he spends the spring working on his defense. Any offense he adds is a bonus. 

13. Ruiz Keeps on Hitting

Prediction: Carlos Ruiz will pick up where he left off, tearing the cover off the ball before serving his suspension. 

The Phillies are going to miss Ruiz for the first month of the season. 

Ruiz, who is suspended for the season's first 25 games following a second positive test of the banned amphetamine Adderall, brings more to this club than a solid defensive backstop, although he certainly is that.

There is a case to be made that Ruiz was this club's most valuable player in 2012. Whether he can repeat that kind of success is still very much in the air. 

However, the prediction here is that Ruiz can be the type of hitter that made him one of the league's most valuable catchers. His improved approach at the plate has him making much better contact, which is something that this lineup desperately needs. 

Is he going to hit .350 this season? No, that's unreasonable. But he can certainly be a .300 hitter and provide a solid threat in the middle of the order (and a right-handed one, at that). That's something that the Phillies are going to miss early in the season. 

As far as this spring is concerned, Ruiz has something to prove. I expect him to mash the cover off the baseball this March. 

12. Room on the Roster for Both Frandsen and Galvis

Prediction: Both Kevin Frandsen and Freddy Galvis will make the Opening Day roster. 

Had Delmon Young been ready by the start of the regular season, this could have gone differently for Frandsen and Galvis. Instead, it sure looks as though there will be room on the Opening Day roster for both of these utility infielders. 

Both have qualities that would make it tough to leave them off the roster. 

Frandsen is a quality hitter. He makes good contact despite not hitting for much power and plays solid defense at three infield positions, including shortstop. 

Galvis, on the other hand, is a supreme defender. The Phillies could stick him in the lineup to play third base when ground ball-heavy pitchers are on the mound or in late-inning situations. Can he hit? Well, that's the challenge here, along with getting him regular at-bats. 

The early prediction is that both of these guys make the roster after a strong spring.

11. The Return of Howard's Power

Prediction: Ryan Howard's power will be on full display this spring (and in the regular season). 

One of the biggest things lacking from the Phillies' lineup in 2012 was a consistent power threat in the middle of the order. Hunter Pence was streaky. Carlos Ruiz is more of a contact hitter. 

With guys such as Howard and Chase Utley on the shelf, the Phillies struggled in the power department. That's why they are excited to get Howard back. 

Just having their clean-up hitter back in the lineup full time makes the Phillies better. It allows other hitters to fall into slots better suited to their skill sets. Of course, having a guy who can hit 35+ home runs in that fourth spot is nothing to thumb your nose at either. 

The real question is whether Howard can be consistently effective. There is reason to believe that, at the least, his power will return this spring; the biggest being that he is healthy. 

Howard, who already has a pair of extra-base hits this spring, can still be an above-average power threat in the middle of this aging lineup.

10. Rollins Plays Well for Team USA

Prediction: Jimmy Rollins will put on a show as the shortstop for Team USA. 

From a Phillies' perspective, this isn't going to be the most memorable of springs for Rollins. The biggest debate he'll be involved with is whether he or Ben Revere will be hitting leadoff during the regular season. 

But Rollins will be leaving the Phillies behind for a few weeks in March to play shortstop for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, a much more interesting affair. 

Rollins' first attempt at the WBC didn't go so well in 2009. He struggled at the dish and carried that poor approach into the regular season, something that he'll be trying to avoid in 2013. 

Playing as a representative of your home country should bring the best out in many of these players. Watching Rollins play for Team USA is going to be a blast. He should be up to the challenge. 

9. Utley Impresses

Prediction: For the first time since 2010, Chase Utley will play a full Grapefruit League season, leading to an appearance in the Phillies' lineup on Opening Day.

It's not often that fans get excited about a player appearing in a spring training game. But for Utley and fans of the Phillies, that is the case.

Because of a chronically degenerative knee condition, Utley had not appeared in a Grapefruit League game since 2010. But this spring, he's looked healthy, going 1-for-3 with an RBI and playing good defense at second base through his first two games. 

Will that carry over through March and into the regular season? That's tough to say, given the nature of Utley's condition, but so far, so good. 

I don't think that it is overly optimistic to project Utley as the starting second baseman on Opening Day, or that he can be much better in 2013 than he has been over the last few seasons.

But that all starts with a good spring.

8. Young Struggles Defensively at Third Base, Hits Well

Prediction: Michael Young will struggle defensively at third base, but will be the right-handed hitter that the Phillies have needed at the top of their order. 

Here's a bonus prediction of sorts: Young is going to wind up being a good acquisition for the Phillies. 

Not to slight Lisalverto Bonilla, who was traded to the Texas Rangers as part of this trade and may end up being a great reliever, but any time you can deal a pair of relief pitchers for a guy like Young, who is on a one-year deal and is affordable (with the Rangers picking up most of his salary), that's a deal you make. 

Is he going to be an All-Star at this stage of his career? Probably not. He doesn't have the range to play an above-average third base. We've seen that already this spring. 

What he can do is be the solid, right-handed hitter at the top of the order that the team lost in Placido Polanco. 

I think we'll get a taste of that this spring. Young is going to make the routine plays at third base, but will struggle on the tougher grounders to either side of his body and have difficulty charging and fielding softly hit balls.

He'll have to make up for his lack of above-average defense with the bat, something that he is capable of doing. 

7. Brown Wins a Job

Prediction: Domonic Brown will have an excellent spring en route to (easily) securing one of the starting outfield jobs. 

Brown has all of the innate potential to be a good outfielder in this league. He's the epitome of the Phillies' draft philosophy. He's an excellent athlete with great raw tools who can be developed into a major league-caliber player. 

But potential only takes you so far. And however unfair the circumstances, the onus is on Brown to make the most of any opportunity to stick at the major league level. He'll have that chance this spring and should take advantage of it. 

After dealing with injuries and inconsistent playing time over the last couple of seasons, the Phillies need Brown to realize his lofty potential now more than ever. With two home runs already this spring, the prediction here is that Brown tears the cover off the ball in March en route to easily winning one of the corner outfield jobs.

6. Nix vs. Inciarte Is a Good Battle

Prediction: Laynce Nix versus Ender Inciarte will wind up being the best battle of the spring. And the winner is...

In name value alone, there isn't much interest here. Nix is a career bench player and Inciarte is a Rule 5 pick who has never played above High-A. 

But each of these players have attributes the Phillies could benefit from in 2013. For Nix, it's power that was  sapped through most of 2012 by a severe calf strain that forced him to miss more than 50 games. 

For Inciarte, it's above-average defense and speed—something that the Phillies' bench is lacking in the worst way. 

That's why this can be an interesting battle. Inciarte doesn't have any power, but Nix can't come close to matching his defense or speed. They're both left-handed hitters and both play the outfield. So deciding which player to keep will be a difficult choice.

Gut instinct tells me that the Phillies prefer Nix. But it would not surprise me to see them cut Nix and go with the speed and defense that Inciarte provides. 

5. The Club Considers Cutting Mayberry

Prediction: After a poor spring, the Phillies will consider parting ways with John Mayberry Jr. 

If Mayberry has anything going for him right now, it's that he is out of options. That makes parting ways with him difficult because he can't be sent to the minors without first passing through waivers. 

And the chances of Mayberry passing through waivers are slim. There is still some talent there. Some team will take a chance on his right-handed power potential. 

But how much longer are the Phillies going to wait for Mayberry to turn some of that potential into results? They've clearly moved on from him as a potential starter.

With Darin Ruf and Delmon Young also in the mix, what role is there for Mayberry long term? 

Having already struck out three times this spring, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Phillies move on from Mayberry. But they likely would not send him through waivers knowing that he won't clear. Perhaps some kind of trade can be made at the end of the spring? 

4. Revere Becomes the Leadoff Hitter

Prediction: Ben Revere will become the Phillies' leadoff hitter. 

Charlie Manuel is a stubborn man. Sometimes that works to his advantage, sometimes it doesn't. I say that because the prospect of changing the top of his order will be discussed often this spring, and Manuel isn't necessarily a man of change. 

So, with that in mind, who hits leadoff for the Phillies: Revere or Jimmy Rollins? 

There is a case for and against each, with neither being well-equipped to hit in that spot. The one thing that Rollins has that Revere does not is power. The Phillies could stand to benefit from moving that power to the middle of the order. 

Revere is also a young player. At 24 years old, he still has room to grow as a hitter. He posted a .333 on-base percentage last year—the best of his short career. To convince Manuel to hit him in the leadoff spot, he'll need to reach base frequently and make things happen with his above-average speed. 

It won't be easy, but I believe the best Phillies' lineup has Revere leading off and Rollins hitting around the sixth position. Will that happen? It's honestly too soon to even hazard a guess. 

3. Ruf Turns It On, Wins a Job

Prediction: After a slow start to the spring, Darin Ruf will turn it on late to win a corner outfield job. 

Things have not gone well for Ruf early in the spring. He has no hits and two strikeouts in nine plate appearances through his first handful of games, as the wheels fall off his bandwagon in a hurry. 

But this is a guy that the Phillies want to succeed. They need a source of right-handed power in the middle of their order—especially with Delmon Young on the shelf—and Ruf can conceivably be that guy, against left-handed pitchers at the minimum. 

However, if there was someone who could will players to succeed just because that is what a team needs, that person would be making a lot of money. 

Ruf is the kind of guy who can turn a slump around in a hurry, though. The Phillies know he can hit. What they need to see is if he can play left field. That's an entirely different story. 

Don't get caught up in a small sample size, though. Nothing has changed for Ruf.

The prediction here is that he'll do enough to win a starting job (or at least a role on the MLB club). 

2. No Sign of Delmon Young

Prediction: Delmon Young will be a non-factor in spring training. 

This signing becomes a bit more curious with each passing day. Sure, the Phillies are desperate for right-handed power, but desperate enough to sign a 27-year-old designated hitter coming off ankle surgery and ask him to play right field? 

Apparently so. 

That's the plan for the Phillies and Young, but don't expect it to be put into motion any time soon. Young's ankle surgery is going to keep him off the field for most, if not all, of March (and spring training).

If we do get a glimpse of Young, it will be a small one near the end of camp. By then, the Phillies will have already determined what their outfield is going to look like on Opening Day.

Young is going to be a non-factor this spring as he opens the regular season on the disabled list.

1. Early Prediction: The 25-Man Roster

Prediction: The 25-man roster.

With only a handful of games in the books, the Phillies' roster is going to change quite a bit over the course of the spring. Here is an early look at what I'm see as the Phillies' 25-man roster on Opening Day. 

Catchers: Erik Krartz, Humberto Quintero

Infielders: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Michael Young, Freddy Galvis, Kevin Frandsen

Outfielders: Ben Revere, Domonic Brown, Darin Ruf, John Mayberry Jr., Laynce Nix 

Starting Pitchers: Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Kyle Kendrick, John Lannan

Relievers: Jonathan Papelbon, Mike Adams, Antonio Bastardo, Phillippe Aumont, Justin De Fratus, Jeremy Horst, Chad Durbin