For the second straight day, the Phillies took on…the Phillies in a modified scrimmage. This one was much longer with the teams combining to play six innings. For what it’s worth, the Phillies white squad beat the red squad by a 3-1 final.

Listen, I’ll be the first to tell you that it’s probably unwise to take too much away from these scrimmages, at least this early on.

Still, these modified scrimmages represent our first true look at baseball players playing quasi-competitive baseball in more than three months, so here are some takeaways from the exhibition.

A (Mostly) Good Vince Velasquez

Listen, no blame from me if you’re not exactly fired up about the prospect of Vince Velasquez filling out the No. 5 spot in the Phillies’ starting rotation. In 122 career games (99 starts), Velasquez has teased but ultimately failed to deliver on his promise.

He’s likely running out of chances to make it work here, at least as a starter, but he looked good today.

He retired the first nine batters he faced before walking Andrew McCutchen and Roman Quinn.

Four of the outs recorded by Velasquez came via strikeout, including this one of Didi Gregorius:

Velasquez also generated a few weak grounders and kept the ball in the yard. That’s the good news.

Of course, historically, Velasquez has a tendency to slow his pace and lose command with runners on, so that he immediately walked Quinn and yielded a base-hit to Segura from the stretch is something to note.

“I was encouraged by what I saw today because the first time through the lineup, he was dominant,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said.

I don’t know how much stock Girardi, who has noted on multiple occasions now that the team needs to build up more starters than it typically would because of COVID-19, is putting into these early camp scrimmages, but Velasquez probably helped his case today.

Zack Wheeler Settles In Nicely

Against his first batter faced, Zack Wheeler surrendered what appeared to be a leadoff homer down the left field line to Josh Harrison, but it was played as a triple.

Logan Forsythe followed with a loud sacrifice fly, but that’s all Wheeler would surrender in three-plus innings of work. He generated some weak ground ball contact and fanned J.T. Realmuto with this pitch:

Wheeler came back out for a third inning and was impressive, generating further weak contact. He retired 10 batters over three innings of work (modified scrimmage stuff) and was in total control after an early hiccup or two.

“I thought Wheeler was very good to today, I thought he got stronger as the game went on,” Girardi said of Wheeler.

I would agree.

Don’t Mess With Andrew Knapp

Knapp, who caught and called balls and strikes, emphatically (and hilariously) issued a warning to his teammates about giving him a hard time behind the plate. One of the best parts of this bizarre empty-stadium experience is that we’re able to hear the personalities of these guys from the press box.

Later, Knapp took a foul tip, picked up the ball, and launched it into the stands.

I’m sure they prefer fans be out there, but these guys seem to be having some fun and making the best of it.

Also of note, Knapp nailed Bryce Harper with a perfect throw on a steal attempt.

Jean Segura Looks Fine At Third

The status of second baseman Scott Kingery remains up in the air as the Phillies conclude their first full week of camp, but Jean Segura remains at third base.

Generally speaking, he looks competent at third on infield drills. During today’s scrimmage, he took a high bouncer toward the line and threw across his body to get a force out at second. Here’s another batted ball in which he started a double play with some quick hands:

I don’t foresee a Gold Glove in Segura’s future, but to this point, he hasn’t shown much reason for concern.

Alec Bohm Still Hitting

Alec Bohm is going to get at-bats for the Phillies this season. Barring the unforeseen, this is pretty much a foregone conclusion. What we don’t know is if he will be part of the team’s Opening Day roster.

Service time considerations aside, Bohm is one of this team’s 14 best position players right now.

Following a double yesterday, Bohm recorded another knock this afternoon. This time, he took a pitch the other way for an opposite field single:

Roman Quinn Needs to Play

This is nothing against Adam Haseley, but Roman Quinn has looked very good in this camp. He’s had some productive swings and has flashed some pop. He also flies around the bases and brings energy.

For those reasons, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sees an increase in playing time out in centerfield.

Late in the scrimmage, he led off an inning (gotta be honest, I lost track) with a hard base-hit to center. Jean Segura followed with a double down the right field line and Quinn sped over to third. Both he and Segura would score two batters later on an RBI single by Didi Gregorius.

Quinn is a spark plug type of player, the type of player that was too often missing from a frequently listless lineup last season.

I know, I know. I hear you. “If he stays healthy.” 

No shit–that goes without saying. I’m just telling you that the guy has the talent to be a difference-maker for the Phillies.

For the manager’s part, Girardi believes the competition between Haseley and Quinn is “open.”

“I think that he’s an exciting player. When you put the speed–and I’ve been shocked by the power he has,” Girardi said. “When he’s on base, he’s going to create havoc, he’s going to score runs.”