Phillies fall to 0-4 in Spring Training, but two young arms are getting attention for throwing heat

The Phillies wrapped up their East Coast spring training trip with a 6-1 loss to the Marlins Tuesday, dropping to 0-4 early in Spring Training.

Four hits on the day, a .171 average through four games, a .526 OPS, and a 2-for-29 mark with runners in scoring position. It’s been a rough early going with the bats but hardly a reason to be panicking.

The more interesting story out of Tuesday was what happened on the mound, where a couple of converted starters are making a strong case for bullpen roles with some genuinely impressive velocity.

Alex McFarlane

One of the more intriguing names in the Phillies system made his spring debut Tuesday and all reporting from the game that did not air on television did not disappoint.

McFarlane was moved from the rotation to the bullpen last season after the organization got excited about his mid-90s fastball, and he backed that up against the Marlins.

Really can’t believe there was no video for Alex McFarlane’s inning today.

Still… 13 pitches, 4 whiffs – 2 of which were on his slider.

Averaged 97 on his FB.

— Jack Fritz (@JackFritzWIP) February 24, 2026

Thirteen pitches, one scoreless inning, two strikeouts, zero walks. His fastball averaged 96.6 mph across seven pitches, his one sinker touched 97.9, and four of his seven strikes were swing-and-miss. That’s the kind of debut that gets people talking.

McFarlane is ticketed for Reading to start the season, but the Phillies have been looking for the next bullpen arm to develop since Orion Kerkering came up, and this kid looks like he could move fast through the system if he keeps this up.

Seth Johnson

Seth Johnson opened Tuesday’s game and continued throwing the ball extremely hard. He averaged 98.2 mph on his eight fastballs and seven of those eight were over 98 mph. In fact, Seth Johnson has thrown the 10 hardest pitches by any Phillies pitcher in the early part of Spring Training.

The 10 fastest pitches thrown by Phillies Pitchers this spring:

99.9- Seth Johnson 2/21
99.3- Seth Johnson 2/21
99.1- Seth Johnson 2/24
98.9- Seth Johnson 2/21
98.9- Seth Johnson 2/24
98.9- Seth Johnson 2/24
98.8- Seth Johnson 2/21
98.7- Seth Johnson 2/21
98.4- Seth Johnson… pic.twitter.com/FwxNyMtlb6

— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) February 24, 2026

The two runners who reached base came via a throwing error and a seven-pitch walk, so the results weren’t clean, but the results aren’t really the point right now.

The Phillies picked up Seth Johnson and Moises Chace from Baltimore two years ago in the Gregory Soto deal and moved Johnson to the bullpen last April.

He’s been up and down between Triple-A and the majors, throwing 12.2 innings with 17 strikeouts and a 4.26 ERA. At 27 he’s still a project, but a reliever who can also eat innings as a long man because of his starting background is a useful thing to have.

If the stuff keeps looking like this, he has a real shot at a roster spot.

As for the Phillies offense…

Carson DeMartini entered at second base in the sixth inning for Bryson Stott and went 1-for-1 with a hard-hit single to center.

That brings him to .400 with a 1.400 OPS through four games and five at-bats, leading the Phillies on the spring. Small sample size, obviously, but he’s making contact, hitting the ball hard, and the at-bats have looked quality.

For a 23-year-old infielder in what should be a big developmental year, this is exactly the kind of start you want to see.

On the prospect side, Felix Reyes went 0-for-2 and is hitless in five at-bats.

Dylan Campbell went 1-for-1 but had an aggressive baserunning play go wrong when DeMartini was thrown out trying to go first to third.

Aroon Escobar went 0-for-2 and had a throwing error in the first inning. Dante Nori entered late in left field but didn’t see a plate appearance.

The record is 0-4 and the offense has been quiet. The arms have been fun to watch.

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