My goal is for this post to become a recurring weekly feature, where I kind of work on a longer piece and post it sometime Sunday night/Monday morning, kind of just going over some things I’ve noticed, some trends I might see developing, and things to watch for as we progress through another minor league season. As the draft gets closer, I might throw some draft tidbits in there, and just basically a bunch of other stuff. I know that my output here has been sporadic, sometimes its a whole lot, sometimes its not much, and I want this to serve as my weekly reminder to make time for the site and stay involved. Gregg and everyone else do a fantastic job here, and I’m eternally grateful, but just as a parent sometimes gets jealousy of the bond with the nanny/caretaker, I sometimes feel like I need to be a responsible parent to the baby I’ve created here. So lets get started…
This week’s column will be shorter, because we only have a few games to discuss.
* I think its important, when looking at box scores, to not stress where certain guys are batting in the lineup with regard to where they project in the future. The minors are largely about learning and developing skills, and I think its really important that your most promising prospects get the most plate appearances, hence, it makes sense to bat these guys at the top of the lineup, even if they profile to be more middle/bottom of the order hitters. Lakewood seems to be a good example of this, as Jiwan James, Jonathan Villar, Leandro Castro, Sebastian Valle and Anthony Hewitt are regularly hitting in the top half of the lineup. At Clearwater, Anthony Gose should bat leadoff for the majority of the season, and he’s the only elite prospect in the lineup. Reading’s big 3 are batting 1-2-3, which is good, especially for Freddy Galvis to get a ton of plate appearances this season. John Mayberry has hit 3rd in every game so far for the Iron Pigs, again a good sign. This isn’t anything groundbreaking, but I think its something to watch as the season unfolds.
* Looking back at my Top 30, the one guy I kind of wish I’d have given more words to is Jesus Sanchez, and he started his 2010 with a solid 6 innings, allowing 2 ER on 3 H, with 6 K, 1 BB, and 1 HR. The track record for position players converting to the mound after a lengthy spell as a position player isn’t great, but Sanchez has made all the right noises so far in his 1+ years on the mound. I haven’t seen him pitch at all, but I imagine he has the typical catcher’s throwing motion, a very short-armed delivery. I don’t have the numbers to back it up, but I worry about an injury. If he remains healthy and continues to throw strikes, he’ll definitely be a Top 30 guy next year.
* The standout performance thus far has to be Trevor May, who posted a 6 IP – 1 H – 1 BB – 10 K effort in his 2010 debut. The Phillies handled his workload very carefully last season, having him throw just 77 innings at Lakewood. I’m not sure a 30 inning increase is something that will be strictly monitored, because I’m sure the Phillies are accounting for the work he put in during extended spring training, but I have to think they’ll probably cap him at 120 innings this year, which makes a lot of sense. Jarred Cosart has been getting the headlines and raves of late (and it seems warranted for sure), but I still rate May as our best pitching prospect, and I think he’s going to gain a lot more supporters this season.
* The early returns on the Roy Halladay/Cliff Lee prospect shuffle
Phillippe Aumont – 5 IP – 4 ER – 7 H – 3 BB – 3 K
JC Ramirez – 6 IP – 1 ER – 6 H – 2 BB – 2 K
Tyson Gillies – 18 AB – .167/.167/.211 – 0 BB -0 SB
Kyle Drabek – 5 IP – 3 ER – 4 H – 2 BB – 8 K
Michael Taylor – 15 AB – .400/.471/.800 – 3 XBH – 2 BB
Travis D’Arnaud – 15 AB – .267/.313/.667 – 2 HR – 1 BB
These numbers mean almost nothing, but I figured I’d keep track of them as we progress through the season.
* Finally, some general links to share. An article on Mike Cisco’s strong start to 2010. I also found this article from about a month ago with Joe Savery, I can’t remember if it was linked or not, but it basically outlines how crucial this season is for him.
I’ve re-added my Twitter feed to the right side of the page, and if I’m checking minor league box scores at night, I may use that as my spot to post quick updates instead of a new post, so you may want to keep your eye on that or follow me on Twitter if you care what I have to say! I’m also working on a few other things for the site and hope to have more on those in the coming days.
Talk amongst yourselves….I gave you a bunch of topics.
Phuture Phillies 
I think the time is near for Savery to give 1b a shot. His stuff is mediocre at best.
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I’d wait till mid june, if he’s not progressing then if he’s willing send him to clearwater. if he hits .250 after that much time away we may have something but i doubt he passes even a guy like ruff or rizzotti who are fringe guys.
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Flande pitched well yesterday but there’s something wrong with Rosy. He was fine in the Phillies ST but can’t get anybody out in minor league games. He got the win last night by blowing Flande’s great performance out of the water. Is it physical?
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Oh CISCO oh NOWHEELS.
Seems to me everything has gone as predicted. As far as Savery MM seems to have the right idea. But is he getting any
help? Is the Lehigh defense as bad as the offense?
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I would be interested if anyone had velocity reports on May. My sense is that this guy is a very fast riser – if he continues to dominate, he’ll be in AA by July (maybe June). Once he gets to AA, we’ll get a much better picture of just how good he is right now. My instinct is that he has as much, and perhaps even more, upside than Drabek. If that’s the case, the Halladay deal is all the more justified.
One other question, aside from Flande, do we have any real quality lefthanded starters in the minors (I do not consider Savery a quality pitcher at this point)? It seems most of our young hot shots are righties – is that so?
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Colvin was around 90-92 with his fastball yesterday. Is that about right or is there more projection left?
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That “bad” Lehigh Valley offense has scored six runs a game, for what it’s worth.
Catch, Matt Way and Nick Hernandez are both left handed starters.
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I am interested in both Hernandez and Way, but each currently projects, at best, as a back-of-the-rotation starter (finesse pitchers). This confirms my understanding that our young guns are righties. I suspect the need for good lefties will be addressed again in the upcoming draft.
As for LhV scoring runs – yeah, I get it, my comments really have more to do with the team having very few real prospects. That’s a function of trades of high level talent and design (team designed to have serviceable players ready if injuries occur in the majors – not a bad thing, it just makes the minor league team much less intriguing).
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A lot of Colvin’s upside is projection – so the fact that he was throwing 90-92 is not the best news ever (it’s not bad news either), but it’s also not surprising or a concern.
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A straight line comparison of the prospects can be thought of as Seattle traded for 1 sure year of a very good pitcher while Philadelphia traded for what they knew would be 5 years possibily of an arguably somewhat better pitcher.
The Savery to 1B thing is just more grist for the mill, because a LHP offers more than just another 1B semi-prospect looking at a possible reserve position. Pitching, on the other hand, Savery has consistently been a team leader in innings pitched, so he can’t be that lightly thought of by professional evaluators. He could probably work in as a situational Left Hander and Long Reliever sometime soon. And there are plenty of reserve 1B candidates.
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I believe the projection on Colvin was that he could end up in the 93-95 range when he matured. 90-92 early in the season at his age isn’t bad. His out pitch is his curve anyway IIRC.
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Just to note, I was actually a bit miffed to see Hewitt hitting so low in the lineup, 9th the first 2 games, and 6th yesterday. I agree I look at where guys are hitting as one way to measure how the org sees a guy, and I can’t for the life of me see hitting Hewitt in the 9 hole. not to say his track record doesn’t deserve it, but the kid needs as many at bats as possible.
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If hitting Hewitt lower in the line-up allows him to forget about the expectations placed upon him and relax and hit, I’m all for it, even if he sacrifices a few at-bats here or there. If he continues to hit, he’ll move up.
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I don’t mind if they give Savery some additional at-bats in AAA (he should definitely be batting in games he starts). To me, it’s a no lose situation and it could improve Savery’s status as a prospect. Other guys have hit and pitched, including Brooks Kieschnick. If he hits some (15-20 ABs per week), what’s the worst thing that will happen? He’ll rob Andy Tracy of much-needed at bats? Who cares?
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savery to first base is starting over. if you are going to do that then you move him to A ball and let him grove his swing. but i don’t think that he would do that. they drafted him to be a pitcher. if he can’t make it as a pitcher, then he needs to use his education to build a career outside of baseball.
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Catch, I care. It’s insulting to me as a paying minor league baseball customer to eschew the DH in favor of getting Joe Savery at bats. To make roster moves that fly in the face of trying to wins games, particularly at the AAA level, sends a terrible message to your fanbase. One, it hammers home the point to that city that their team is just a vassal. Second, it sends a message to the veterans that their performance is irrelevant.
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Alan, I understand your points and your desire to see a team that tries to win as many games as possible – and I respect your feelings as a money-paying fan. If you don’t like it, you have every right to complain or not to attend.
However, a minor league team is, in my view, there entirely and solely to serve the best interests of its major league master – period, no exceptions. One can debate whether it is a good idea for Savery to spend time hitting at DH (or first base), but if the major league club believes it’s a good idea, it should happen without any questions asked or disputes initiated.
As for respecting the feelings of career minor league players, with all due respect to these gentlemen (and I do respect them a lot), they are there at the pleasure of the team and, again, their feelings about playing time are simply not relevant to the major league club making moves that suit its best interests. Now, if jerking players around means the minor league club can’t attract needed veteran talent, that would be relevant, but, again, only because it affects the major league team.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, I think framing the issue as we have creates something of a “false choice” – there are very few occasions where the best interests of the major league team and the best interests of the minor league team cannot be aligned, but the Savery example is one where there may be a conflict and, to me, it’s a no brainer – whatever decision is in the best interests of the major league club should prevail.
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Moving Savery to 1b is a waste of time. He likely no better than Jim Murphy or Rizzotti. Leave him as a LHP to sink or swim. He adds no value to the organization as a 1b.
In following the Lakewood games the first weekend, it seems the only hitter who struggled was Sebastian Valle. He seemingly killed every rally.
In Clearwater: It seemed that D’arnaud was Dunedin’s entire offense. Suprised JC Ramirez did not get more than 2 K’s in his start. I believe he will be the 1st player moved up this year.
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It is going to be a little painful watching D’Arnaud progress and even more painful if he becomes a very good major league catcher, which is more than possible. Having Valle progress could help ease that pain (I don’t make anything of Valle’s slow week – he seems streaky and could turn it around in a heartbeat).
But Roy Halladay dominating the teams he faces sure takes the sting out of any remorse. What a player!
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If you want to listen to Trevor May sometime on the internet, some of the FSL teams have broadcasts. Hope to get lucky.
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What about the possibility of using Savery as a combo type player, much like Kieschnick, as someone in the thread mentioned earlier.
Wouldn’t that be the ultimate 25th man? I mean sure, he probably would hit much above .230 in the majors, and he’d be the last man in the pen, but what a weapon to have.
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My last comment should have ready “he probably wouldn’t hit much above .230 in the majors”
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I think that says it all…why bother?
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Regarding the majors/minors debate – it would in theory be kind of nice to have independant minor leagues – but that ship sailed decades ago – which is to say that even those who don’t think it should be the way that Catch 22 f/k/a/ H Man states in his 11:37 a.m. comment need to realize that’s the way it is and will be. The modern minor leagues are soley about serving the major leagues.
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LarryM – I have to agree with you. I considered myself a legitimate “fan” of Reading the past few years, but I basically gave up because it became too frustrating. Watching them make the playoffs and not using Drabek was the final straw (although in all fairness, they did bring M Taylor back for the series).
Not to say that it wasn’t the right thing to do, as Drabek was well over his allotted innings for the year, but it just reinforced the idea that while they always play to win, the org won’t go out on a limb to win games in the minors.
I really wish there was an Atlantic League team in the greater Philadelphia area. I think the area could support it. I’m about 50 minutes to the east of Lancaster, and about an hour to the west of Camden, so both options aren’t really that desirable. It would be nice if they could get a nice plot of land in the West Chester area and build a stadium. I bet they could get 4-5K a night.
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D’Arnaud is the player I will miss the most in those deals. I was really rooting for him to make it. I would make that deal 100 times out of 100 but I really liked what I saw of him when he was still in the NY/PENN league.
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What happened to Cardenas? I thought I saw him in some box scores during ST. I can’t find on Oakland’s 40 man roster or any of their minor league rosters. Was he traded or am I buggin’ out on my Timothy Leary trip of the month card?
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I’m sorry, but IMO, what the western Philly suburbs really need is a minor league Phillies team. As much of a draw as Reading is, a “West Chester” Phillies team would draw people like crazy. They should consider putting the short season ball team there so there’s little risk of drawing people away from the big team or from the higher level minor league teams.
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Cardenas is still a promising young player. i think he’s the starting 3b for their AA team.
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Ugh. First we cut off the minor leagues competitiveness and then we eliminate the point of having them by moving them out of the small towns and to the big cities that already have major league baseball?
Look, I’m a Phillies fan. I love watching prospects come up and the great pleasure of the 2008 title was that I saw Victorino, Howard, Utley, Ruiz, etc. play in Scranton. But I’m also a baseball fan. The idea of a minor league team giving up a competitive advantage so we can squeeze at bats out of a faltering left handed pitcher is absolutely appalling.
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“The idea of a minor league team giving up a competitive advantage so we can squeeze at bats out of a faltering left handed pitcher is absolutely appalling.”
Well, that’s how it may play out in a given situation, but the point is that the major league team’s needs come first. Ironically, however, f you’re rooting for the AAA team, the problem is not that Savery might get some at bats (don’t worry, he probably won’t), but that the team refuses to develop most of its prospects at that level, which leads to a dizzying array of truly mediocre talent with no projection. Again, I admire Andy Tracy, but I cannot say I would get excited about the prospect of seeing him run out the string with the IPigs.
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From an April 10 blog post on the SF Chronicle’s website:
“In other Sacramento (A’s AAA team) news, Adrian Cardenas is doing some baseball activity after a thumb injury that is expected to keep him out several more weeks”
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Just saw on Twitter that Rosenberg is going on the DL with a right lat strain.
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The Phillies left Scranton after ’06 so that was the last I saw them every day. But I admired players like Jim Rushford, productive veterans who often outplay the youngsters. Tonight I’m going to see the Rochester Red Wings in action, another trip around AAA for Trevor Plouffe and Danny Valencia. As much as some fans don’t like seeing guys with no projection, it’s even more frustrating watching fringe prospects who can’t hack it in AAA.
As for the specific point on the Ironpigs. The problem with the organization at the moment is that they have their greatest lineup perhaps ever at the MLB level, and those guys are almost all locked up long term. What’s the point of a AAA prospect if you can not use him? Better to invest resources in the lower level of your system.
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I don’t want there to be a minor league Phillies team in the West Chester area. That’s my whole point.
As much as I like cheering for the major league team, I’d like a team of “minor league quality” guys where they actually place a priority on winning ballgames. Hence why I want to see an Atlantic League team come to the area. Like I said, I think it would draw really well. There’s tons of families with money in the area who just don’t feel like driving into the city on a week night. The demographics are perfect for it (lot’s of upper middle class 30’s – 40’s with kids)
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If Reading pitched Drabek in the playoffs and he blew out his elbow– an Eastern League Championship would hardly make for an adequate consolation prize. Being the best team in AA is like being an unstoppable D3 powerhouse.
Get your priorities in order– I love following prospects but being a die hard fan of a minor league baseball team at odds with the needs of its MLB club is completely ridiculous.
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“What’s the point of a AAA prospect if you can not use him?”
LOL. Queue NoWheels’ complaints that trading Donald and Marson for an ace pitcher robs the ML club of a back-up catcher and utility infielder.
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Skunky – Are you retarded? I’m sorry to be blunt, but re-read my post and then comment on whether I really think the Phillies did the right thing or not?
In case I need to say it again, I understand why the Phillies did what they had to do – I would do the exact same thing if I had a potential future ace/valuable trade chip. All I was stating was that as someone who followed the team on a daily basis, and went to 20-30 games last year, I had mixed emotions.
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I THOUGHT I READ FLANDE WAS THROWING AROUND 88 IN HIS START AND LOWER. WHY SO HIGH ON HIM?????
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And just to re-affirm, last year really opened my eyes to the fact that I was wasting my time rooting for teams to win in minor league baseball.
Hence why I would really like for an Independent team to play in the area. I’m a MLB fan first, but sometimes it’s nice to root for guys who are a little more grounded in life. Just because they don’t have Utley, Rollins, and Howard on the team doesn’t mean they can’t be fun to watch.
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Matt,
I would suggest you look around for your local sandlot league if you want to see teams at an independent team level. Not sure what’s around that area today but as late a 4-5 years ago I played in several tournaments against some pretty good teams from West Chester.
I’ve played with and against a larger number of players who were either former minor leaguers or were college guys who went on to play professional ball.
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In Matt’s situation, perhaps Villanova or similar collegiate ball is the ideal route. The caliber of play isn’t nearly as good as the minor leagues, but it’s organized and competitive.
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Anonymous – Yeah, the West Chester adult league is pretty solid, but I like the name recognition a lot of the guys in the Atlantic League have.
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Matt if you like the name recognition then just go and follow the Reading Phils team and simply stop following them when the Playoffs roll around. Your whining/waffling on wanting a team built next door to you is mildly irritating. As constructed they will win more games than they lose, since you sound like you only want to follow a winner (i.e. a front runner) they should be fine for your needs.
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Max – I’m sorry if I came off as being a front runner. Trust me, I’m really not. I’m probably not as old as some of the other members of the site (I’m 29), but I can remember being one of the 12,000 on many nights at the Vet in the late 80’s – late 90’s (sans 1993 when all the front runners showed up).
It’s not really about being a front runner, but just being able to follow a team without a ton of moving parts during the season. Like I said, I totally understand the minor league system, and how it operates primary as a benefit to the major league team. They have every right to use the guys to their advantage.
And I don’t live next door to West Chester (more like 20-25 minutes), I was just stating that the area could handle an independent team, and I’d love to see one come there just for a different baseball experience.
Out of respect to PP and the other contributing members of this site, I’ll officially bow out of this topic. Really sorry for getting this thread off topic.
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If Savery gets a shot at first base its only because he was a first round pick and the Phils have paid him lots of money and want to see a return on their investment in some way. He wasn’t a small time hiiter in college, he was the #4 hitter on a tournament team. He was far better than all the names being compared to him. However, there is no way to know whether he can get all teh way back to that hitter after all this time. As for Jesus Sanchez, he threw the ball great when I saw him in ST. He just looked like a pitcher, not a catcher, although his off speed stuff looked just fair. I think he has a legit shot at making a major league bullpen but so do several other guys in the organization right now.
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Hewitt with another Home Run tonight. Pretty impressive start to this year.
Pettibone looking good too, 3 Innings, 3 Hits, 1 Run, 1 Walk, 5 K’s
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Matt- If my comment did not adequately reflect a counter-argument to your post, then maybe you failed to make your point clear. The fact that you had “mixed emotions” about that decision and bothered to bring it up as “the final straw” to your minor league fandom just says that your values in regard to the function of a minor league ball club are somewhat based around team success, thus the distaste for not “go[ing] out on a limb to win games.”
I’m saying that the WHOLE purpose of a minor league ball club is to serve the organization, and that any other opinion is just fatuous and silly regardless of how many games you go to a year.
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Oh yea and Jim Bowden interviewed Dom Brown for a feature on top prospects on Fox Sports. He rated Dom as the 8th best position prospect
http://msn.foxsports.com/video/shows/gm-corner
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With Rollins getting hurt I wonder if they would call up Galvis. With the bats going the way they are a great fielder might be better than a fill in (Castro).
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No way in hell…It’ll be Wilson Valdez most likely.
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Another nice game for Hewitt so far. 2/3, 2B, HR.
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Maybe this is the year that everything clicks for Hewitt? Wouldn’t that be sweet?
At 21 in Lakewood, he does NEED to start figuring it out and guys of his athleticism sometimes just suddenly GET IT.
Of course, he could just be having a hot start too. I really hope its the former not the latter as he seems like a great kid that really wants it.
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Lakewood is THE team to see in the farm system – just loaded to the brim with talent, particularly hitting talent. And Domingo Santana keeps holding his own, which is a victory in its own right.
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Who would have thought it. After the first five games of South Atlantic League play, Anthony Hewitt is tied for first in homers with two and second in OPS at 1.634 in the league.
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Saw the Lakewood-Asheville game on Sunday. Didn’t see anyone that really impressed me; but it was only one game. Hewitt, in left field, seems to lack basic baseball instincts. He was late making his move on nearly everything hit in his direction and his arm wasn’t impressive. Colvin was all over the place (as were nearly all the pitchers – lots of very high counts). Valle was the DH and seemed overmatched, at least on Sunday.The best arm on the field belonged to the Asheville shortstop. He made several very good plays requiring moving to his right and then uncorked some great throws. Definitely stopped what I thought were going to be a couple hits.
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If Rollins hit the DL, I’d say with 95% certainty that Bocock goes up.
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There several very interesting stories in Lakewood. Hewitt and Santana should keep things interesting all summer.
Keep Bocock he has proven he can’t hit. If needed Glavis can field and MAY hit. No more “Bruntletts” please. I know that has some of you hiding under the table in fear but half way never saved anything.
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Brian Bocock stinks. I would rather see Ransom replace Rollins for 15 days.
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I would think Bocock would be behind Valdez and Ransom on that depth chart.
He’s never hit above A ball, why would he start now?
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Valdez is playing better than Ransom or Bocock.
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The problem is that Bocock is on the 40 man roster, and he has options left. When it comes to a temporary fill-in, that takes priority.
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I say Valdez will be called up to back up Castro. 39 on 40 man roster, if need be in the future , somebody can be DFA’ed from the 40. 2 possibilities , from the looks of the early going, Might be Quinton Berry, or if Valdez really offers more than Bocock, Bocock himself. It does not really matter if the call-up can hit as he will back up Castro. As for Bruntlett, last I looked he was hitting .267 for Washington’s AAA team, and got a single and a double off of Savery himself. Why don’t you start a campaign to call him up, with that decent batting average and all?
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Thanks Alan. For a short term injury Bocock will be called up.
For 60+day issues then Valdez or Ransom, etc…
Once the starter comes back the AAA vets will become free agents and hope to latch on elsewhere. Without a legitimate INF prospect at AAA, I think that is why the Phillies try to have a couple vets on hand: promote who is hot at the time and if then jump to another team you have another guy ready to call up.
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Grade 2 strains (what it was originally reported as) have a recovery time of 4-8 weeks.
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