Those Four Words

Pitchers and Catchers report.

The day is finally here. The players have officially begun working out, and the Phillies' NL East title defense has started. Here's a list of P and C in camp this year, and a rating on how likely they are to make the roster out of camp.

25- On last year's 25 man roster before they expanded in September.
40- On 40 man roster
NRI- Non Roster Invitee
FA- Free Agent Signing
T- Trade acquisition
R5- Rule 5 draft selection

Pitchers:
Kris Benson, NRIFA- Just signed yesterday after a few winter workouts to try and get back into baseball. He's still not completely healthy, and he'll start the year in the minors. The Phillies are just hoping they can get something, even if it's only one quality start out of him. 3/10

Joe Bisenius, 40- He pitched two innings very early on in the season before being sent down to AAA. He had some injuries and struggled down there in 2007, so he has to have another strong spring to get back into ML roster consideration. 4/10

Travis Blackley, 40R5- Chosen out of the San Francisco organization, Blackley spent most of 2007 in AAA before getting a cup of coffee with the big club. His hit rate is good and his K rate is okay, but the dude needs to get in command of his pitches. He might stick because he can start and relieve. 4/10

Carlos Carrasco, NRI- The organization's best prospect will be making his ML spring training debut. He has to be incredible to make the team out of camp because he really has a lot of developing to do. Still, it'll be nice for him to get the experience against some better hitters. 1/10

Fabio Castro, 40- After techincally being a Rule 5 selection by the Phillies in 2006, when he pitched 23.1 solid innings to stay in the organization, he lost control of himself in 2007. He walked a frightening amount of batters, and he needs to command the strike zone better before coming up again. 5/10

Ron Chiavacci, NRIFA- He's bounced around the minor leagues his entire career, and he is yet to play in a regular season MLB game. He had a solid season in AAA Toledo in 2007, and the former Kutztown U grad will try to catch on with his hometown team. 0/10

Clay Condrey, 25- He was up and down for much of 2007, but we'll consider him on because he was okay down the stretch. It's amazing because he was out of options, and needed to clear waivers to stay with us every time, and he always did. He can start if needed, but he's best suited as a long guy. 6/10

Vic Darensbourg, NRIFA- This former big leaguer hasn't appeared in the majors since 2005 with Detroit, but he'll get another chance to catch on here. Surprisingly, he could earn a spot in the pen in 2008 because he's pretty strong against lefties. 5/10

Chad Durbin, 40FA- Here's the third straight guy who spent 2007 in the Detroit organization. He could be a nice swing man, and his addition could spell the end of Condrey's tenure here. He was better as a reliever last season, but he's a guy that can step in and start if needed. 8/10

J.D. Durbin, 25- He didn't play for Detroit last year, but he pretty much played for everyone else. He finished with the Phillies, posting a 5.15 ERA in 18 games, including 10 starts. That's bad, but he had a nice stretch out west and made a couple key appearances as the season closed down, so you have to give him credit for that. If he can ever stay calm and get in control of his game, he could be good. 7/10

Adam Eaton, 25- He has to be better, right? He might start the year on the DL. 9/10

John Ennis, 40- He was up in September, and he pitched poorly. I'd imagine he's out of here if we need to make room on the 40 man roster for someone. 1/10

Tom Gordon, 25- He might be the key to the bullpen this season. If he can stay healthy, he should be an effective set up man. He needs to avoid mishaps in spring and keep his workload light for a while. 10/10

Cole Hamels, 25- The ace. The only question with Cole is how many games he starts. If it's more than 30, he could be picking up some hardware this season. 10/10

J.A. Happ, 40- Here's another guy that showed a little promise in 2006 and couldn't quite deliver in 2007. Injuries set him back, and now a lot of people wonder what his future role will be. He got hit hard in his only ML appearance, but the Phillies want him to stay healthy and get back on track. 2/10

Lincoln Holdzkom, 40R5- He was picked up from the Boston organization in the Rule 5 draft. I dont' know much about his stuff, but I can tell that he lacks command, and that's keeping him from getting to the majors. He really needs to show something and fast. 2/10

Kyle Kendrick, 25- Last season's biggest surprise, the Phillies are hoping Kendrick wasn't a big fluke. Despite pitching the last half season in the majors, this will be Kendrick's first big league camp. Hopefully he continues to work with the staff and veterans to stay on top of his game. 9/10

Gary Knotts, NRIFA- He started last season in an Indy League, but joined the Phillies organization halfway through the season. He pitched very well at Reading before not doing too well in AAA. He's a former big leaguer, but he was never ver good. 2/10

Brad Lidge, 40T- Lidge was the offseason's big catch, and he'll be moved back to the closer's role here. Hopefully last season's strong finish leads to good things this year. If he actually does have confidence problems, that's going to be exposed quickly and this bullpen could struggle to pick up the pieces. 10/10

Ryan Madson, 25- If he finds a way to remain healthy, he's going to make this bullpen very good. He's proven to be a very reliable middle reliever if he doesn't have a huge workload, which he hopefully won't with Gordon and Romero. 10/10

Scott Mathieson, 40- He might be hurt again, and I'm not sure how limited he'll be. 0/10

Brian Mazone, NRIFA- We sold him to Korea last year, and he's back to prove he's better than that. He was one of Ottawa's better pitchers when he was there, but he's going to have to work very, very hard to make it. 0/10

Jamie Moyer, 25- Hopefully he has enough gas in the tank for one more. 10/10

Brett Myers, 25- Back in the rotation, Myers will look to continue the development he showed as a starter before being moved to the pen last season. I'm really confident he's going to be a very good starter this season, even if he may not be happy with the role. 10/10

Josh Outman, NRI- Outman is one of the organization's best prospects, and he's getting his first taste of ML camp. He has a lot of refining to do before he'll be able to be a consistent Major League pitcher, but this is a start. 0/10

J.C. Romero, 25- I really hope he's not a fluke. He was great after being picked up from Boston in June, but he most likely pitched over his head. He just needs to at least be good against lefties, which I think he can manage. 10/10

Francisco Rosario, 40- Rosario is out of options, so he needs to polish his stuff in the next month or so, or he's not going to be a Phillie for very much longer. He has a hard fastball and a nice breaking ball, but he just can't hit the strike zone. He should have the leg up over other candidates for the last bullpen spot though. 6/10

Joe Savery, NRI- Savery was the team's first round draft pick last year, and it's probably required in his contract that he get to pitch in big league camp. 0/10

Zack Segovia, NRI- He actually made a start for the Phillies last year, and he did alright. Then, he got sent down to the minors, got banged up, started pitching poorly and lost his 40 man roster spot. He needs to work hard. 0/10

Matt Smith, NRI- He really struggled early on last season, and then he needed to get Tommy John surgery. He's not completely ready yet and might not do much all spring. 0/10

Shane Youman, 40FA- Youman was added from Pittsburgh in the offseason. He's a lefty, so he's going to get a lot of chances. However, he also gets smoked by lefties, so he doesn't have much value. He should have options left, so he could start the year at Lehigh Valley. 1/10

Mike Zagurski, 25- His leg still isn't feeling better, so we might not see him for a while. 0/10

Catchers:
Chris Coste, 25- He'll probably be guaranteed a spot on the big club, finally. He's not that good defensively, but as a backup, he makes for a nice leader and hitter off the bench. 9/10

Tuffy Gosewisch, NRI- You always want to have a lot of catchers in camp, not only so they can work with the other pitchers in the organization, but you need to rest these guys a lot. Gosewisch played in the AFL because the team wanted him to work on his hitting. 0/10

Tim Gradoville, NRI- He played at Reading last year. He's another guy who's here just to make sure pitchers have someone to throw to. 0/10

Jason Jaramillo, 40- Jaramillo was added to the 40 man roster, and he has a shot to steal a job in March. He's a good defensive player with a doubles stroke from both sides of the plate. I doubt it'll happen right away, but he could be in a Phillies uniform this year. 3/10

Pete Laforest, NRI- Well... he played here last year. 1/10

Lou Marson, NRI- He's the organization's best C prospect. He has good skills in all areas of the game, and his bat is really developing. He's won two championships in a row, and he's been very good in handling our young pitchers. 0/10

Carlos Ruiz, 25- He held up well as a fulltime catcher in the majors for the first time last year. He has an okay bat that has adjusted whenever he spends a lot of time at a level, and he's very good defensively. He could develop into a good leader and he really works well with the pitchers. 10/10

There's a brief review of who will take the practice field tomorrow. Full squad workouts begin soon, and that's when I'll talk about the rest of the offense.