Prior to the Phillies' final true exhibition game Friday vs. the Orioles, manager Pete Mackanin spoke about some of his plans for the beginning of the season.
Batting order
It sounds like Cesar Hernandez will lead off to start to the season, followed by Odubel Herrera in the two-hole and Maikel Franco batting third.
Mackanin said Thursday that Hernandez is swinging as well as anyone on the team. He's hit .328 in spring training with six steals in six attempts.
Hernandez last season hit .272 with a .339 on-base percentage. He showed the speed and plate discipline the Phils could use in the leadoff spot, leading the team with 40 walks and finishing second to Ben Revere with 19 stolen bases. Hernandez walked in 8.8 percent of his plate appearances, above the MLB average of 7.7 percent.
Herrera, who hit .297 last year with 41 extra-base hits, seems like a decent fit in the two-hole because of his ability to foul pitches off and extend at-bats. The Phillies' offense is not going to be potent, but it does make sense to put the two best OBP guys in front of Franco to give him as many RBI opportunities as possible.
1B platoon
Mackanin confirmed what was already basically common knowledge: The Phillies will employ a first-base platoon to open the year. Ryan Howard will start the season opener Monday in Cincinnati against Reds right-hander Raisel Iglesias. Darin Ruf will start the second game Wednesday against lefty Brandon Finnegan.
At least in theory, the 1B platoon could work. For all of his recent struggles, Howard did have a .499 slugging percentage and 20 home runs last season against righties. Howard last season had a higher OPS vs. right-handed pitchers than Starling Marte, Adam Jones, Albert Pujols, Lorenzo Cain and Todd Frazier.
MLB
Ruf, in 114 plate appearances against lefties last season, hit a robust .371/.447/.660 with 12 extra-base hits.
On paper, the platoon should work if both players continue to do damage against opposite-handed pitching. But these platoons don't always work out like that. One example that comes to mind was 2014 when the Athletics traded Yoenis Cespedes to Boston and expected to replace that production with Sam Fuld vs. righties and Jonny Gomes vs. lefties. Seemed like it would work based on their past production vs. opposite-handed pitchers, but it failed miserably.
Bullpen decision
Mackanin said a decision would be made on reliever Andrew Bailey after Friday night's game against the Orioles. (Updated: Bailey was among four Phillies sent to the minors.) It's unclear whether that means the full bullpen will be revealed.
Bailey has an opt-out clause in his contract for May 1 if he's not on the Phillies' 25-man roster.
He began the spring looking like the potential top choice as Phils closer. But Bailey then hit a lull with velocity and was hit around. As Mackanin put it Friday, he challenged Bailey to show more velocity and he was pleased with what he saw from then on.
Fourth/fifth starter
No decision has yet been made as to the order of the Phillies' fourth and fifth starters. It will either be Jerad Eickhoff followed by Vince Velasquez or vice versa. The decision belongs to pitching coach Bob McClure.