Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard went 1 for 3 in Thursday's Grapefruit League finale against Toronto. His final spring line is .338/.359/.675 in 77 at-bats, including seven home runs and five doubles.
Although it's inadvisable to take too much out of Howard's spring numbers, it's good to see him get through 77 at-bats without faltering physically, and he hit for excellent power even considering the favorable spring atmosphere and quality of pitching. We'll have to see if he can make consistent contact against major-league pitching -- he struck out in 33 percent of plate appearances last season, a mark he'll need to drastically improve if he's to make these spring results carry over to summer success.