Their camera sound and video clarity got worse as the sessions progressed. Sorry for the blurry photos.
Tommy Edman says walks come from swinging at right pitchs. Walking is not something he can practice.
Gomber had both breaking pitches working for strikes. 12-6 wipeout curve plus slider. Threw both for strikes.
Jack Flaherty said it was tough for Gomber to sit out, but he continued to battle. They have talked all the time back to Peoria and lived together for much of that time. Looked pretty good tonight. Really big competitor no matter his stuff that night. Loves competing, games. Slider has gotten better. Gives him something that moves East-West.
Threw 75 pitches today. Would liked to have been more efficient. 90-ish pitches next time and ready to rock from there. Shildt told him he would start Opening Day, but Flaherty said he should wait for Shildt, “Oh, well,” was his comment with a grin.
Hitters really grinded tonight. Hitters worked at-bats too long. Good sign for them. He needs to get ahead and finish at-bats better.
For Austin Gomber, it was harder to get used to being on the mound in the spring. Now he feels same as everyone else. They were ready in Florida and stayed that way.
This season will be about being flexible and versatile (both his role and baseball in general).
On his slider, went back to review 2018. One thing he could do better would be to add a cutter or slider. Now he has it, he has to find spots for curve vs. slider. Rare having both going the same night, but it is fun when they do. Can create new sequences and new looks. Hitters haven’t this this version of him.
Learned cutter from Izzy one time down in Memphis when riding shuttle in 2018. It started to become more of a slider in Memphis last year. Used analytics and technology to decide that he should focus on the slider (over the cutter). First time he had used it.
Mike Shildt confirmed that Flaherty will be the Opening Day starter and he pitched like it today.
Despite six shutout innings, the hitters are in a good place. They took a lot of good at-bats vs. Jack.
Gomber was really sharp. 3 pitches for strikes. Controlled the count.
Webb was fantastic. 14 pitches for six outs. Very impressive.
Gant covered Ravelo having reached. Four-seamer and changeup were good.
Whitley competed to get through inning.
Will have 16-17 pitchers to open the season. Five starters and 12 in the pen vs. 7 or 8 normally. Game situations create opportunity. Sometimes guys will pitch a few days in a row, others not for 4-5 days. Healthy for all guys to want more opportunity, to be #1 starter or closer, etc. Guys like Ponce and Gomber want more, but also accept the team setting. Love their mentality.
Bullpen situations have become normalized. Different situations are high leverage (in 6th, 7th and 8th). Good teams have deep pens to handle all situations. Pitchers know role, but also know it could change daily based on who is available and matchup.
Had multiple conversations with Jordan Hicks. One point was comfort level (given his Type 1). Second was how his health was progressing. His schedule had been to be ready to pitch live game on August 18. But had inflammation after last throw. “A little blip”. That put him in a no-throw period. This “perfect storm” pushed his availability to sometime in September. So his ability to compete in a game setting this season was almost zero. Hardest part for him was leaving team environment. Felt safe there, but if he can’t pitch, there was no sense being there. Will continue rehab in a more private setting.
Carlson is having a good camp. Complimented him for his approach vs. Flaherty and heads up baserunning. Paying attention with defensive nuances. Like a lot of guys, he is having a good camp.
Has high expectations for all to be complete defensive players. Guys in right spots. Mentioned O’Neill play tonight in gap.
Not at point of calling closer by committee. Likes to have structure in pen. Can have committee if the one person is not available on a given day. Without that, you get guys out of position for 6th, 7th and 8th. Beautiful to have options for the 9th. Still open competition. Guys good enough to pitch anywhere.
Will see Brad Miller and Dexter Fowler in next intrasquad, which will be on Thursday.
Wednesday will start at noon (rain threat). Take live BP early. Can wait for a while to get in rest of work if needed.
No updates on any of the (five) players not in camp.