Around the System–Starting Pitching

Around the System

A second look at the starters in the Phils system.  See below for the details.  Relief Pitching report coming next week.

Lehigh Valley-

Andrew Carpenter, 25, 11 starts, 5-4 with a 3.58 ERA; 60.1 IP 60H 18BB 38K; 7 HR allowed; 1.06 GO/AO; .263 opp. avg., .217 with RISP, .183 vs. LH, .331 vs. RH; 2.97 ERA in 5 May starts. Carpenter has now made 36 starts at the AAA level and is 16-10 with a 3.42 ERA.  The Phils should know what they have in him which probably a competent middle reliever if he gets the chance.

Joe Savery, 24, 10 starts, 1-5 with a 4.66 ERA; 58IP 67H 28BB 31K; 6 HR allowed; 1.69 WHIP; 0.73 GO/AO; .291 opp avg., .257 with RISP, .270 vs. LH, .299 vs. RH. More of the same for Savery who just can’t seem to gain the necessary command to have consistent success at the AAA level.

Nate Bump, 33, 12 starts, 6-3 with a 2.71 ERA; 73IP 79H 17BB 34K, 4 HR allowed, 1.21 WHIP; 1.21 GO/AO, .278 opp. avg., .244 with RISP, .305 vs. LH, .255 vs. RH. Bump has given Lehigh Valley all they could ask for and then some. Bump could be a serviceable short term replacement in Philadelphia if necessary, however he is far from overpowering.  More of an older Kyle Kendrick type.

Brian Mazone, 33, 12 starts, 3-6 with a 3.91 ERA; 69IP 68H 13BB 41K, 9 HR allowed; 1.17 WHIP; 0.57 GO/AO; .257 opp. avg., .204 with RISP, .260 vs. LH, .255 vs. RH. Mazone has had a couple of very rough outings but has generally pitched well and has been consistent.

Nelson Figueroa, 36, threw six shutout innings and earned the win in his first appearance in Lehigh Valley.

Reading

Yohan Flande, 24, 11 starts, 3-4 with a 3.53 ERA; 63.2 IP 68H 17BB 28K, 4 HR allowed, 1.34 WHIP, .273 opp. avg., .246 with RISP; 1.79 GO/AO; .269 vs. LH, .275 vs. RH. His last two outings have been brutal, however other then those games he has given Reading just what he did last year which is solid pitching without excellence.

Drew Naylor, 24, 11 starts, 4-6 with a 3.73 ERA; 70IP 63H 20BB 46K, 5 HR allowed, 1.19 WHIP, 0.99 GO/AO, .219 with RISP, .192 vs. LH, .297 vs. RH. 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA in 6 May starts. Naylor has been a nice surprise and has pitched especially well as of late.  I would expect the Phils would like to see this from Naylor for a full season at AA.

Vance Worley, 22, 12 starts, 4-3 with a 3.93 ERA; 68.2 IP 74H 31BB 47K, 5 HR allowed, 1.13 GO/AO, 1.53 WHIP, .278 opp. avg., .247 with RISP, .273 vs. LH, .284 vs. RH. In 7 May starts, he was 3-0 with a 3.35 ERA. Has pitched very well as of late and will be attempting to avoid the late season slide that struck him last year.

Jason Anderson, 31, 19 games combined between Lehigh Valley and Reading.  0-4 with a 3.93 ERA. 36.2 IP 44H 16ER 9BB 24K; 1.45 WHIP; .303 opp. avg. Has made 4 spot starts for Reading and pitched 14 innings in those starts.  ANderson is an organizational guy that does whatever is asked of him.  After a very good year last year, he has struggled a bit bouncing back and forth between the ‘pen and starting and between LV and Reading.

Josh Fogg, 33, 2 starts, 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA, only 5 innings in his 2 starts.  Ugly so far.

Mike Cisco, 23, Has been on the DL for about six weeks now.  Made 4 starts this year and was 1-3 with a 3.68 ERA.

Clearwater

Jesus Sanchez, 22, 12 starts, 5-4 with a 3.33 ERA; 75.2 IP 70H 21BB 48K, 6 HR allowed, 1.20 WHIP, 0.97 GO/AO; .200 with RISP; .278 vs. LH, .221 vs. RH. 5-1 with a 2.66 ERA in 6 May starts. Sanchez, a converted catcher continues to impress on the hill.  Already on the 40 man, he is giving the organization what they were hoping for.

Austin Hyatt, 24, 12 games, 6-4 with a 4.62 ERA; 64.1IP 64H 20BB 81K; 2HR allowed, 1.10 GO/AO, .250 opp. avg., 1.26 WHIP, .314 with RISP, .250 vs. LH, .250 vs. RH, 2-2 with a 7.11 ERA in 5 May starts. After an overpowering start, Hyatt struggled in May, turning from unhittable to quite hittable.

Trevor May, 20, 12 games, 3-5 with a 5.61 ERA; 51.1 IP 44H 42BB 71K, 5 HR allowed, 0.64 GO/AO, .233 opp. avg., 1.67 WHIP, .180 with RISP, .200 vs. LH, .263 vs. RH, In 6 May starts, 2-2 with a 5.60 ERA, walked 22 in 27 IP.  The numbers on their face dont look good, but a deeper look shows that May’s issue has been almost solely his control.  Still plenty of reason for hope.

JC Ramirez, 21, 10 starts, 3-3 with a 4.55 ERA; 57.1 IP 58H 15BB 48K; 2 hr allowed; 1.27 WHIP, 0.58 GO/AO; .265 opp. avg., .343 with RISP, .297 vs. LH, .242 vs. RH; 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 4 May starts.  Not horrible, not good for Ramirez.  His control has been very good and he has had a good last month but needs to improve with runners on base.

Phillippe Aumont, 21, 11 starts in Reading, 1-6 with a 7.43 ERA; 49.2 IP 55H 38BB 38K; 4 hr allowed; .284 opp. avg., .322 with RISP, 1.87 WHIP; .278 vs. LH, .291 vs. RH, In 6 May starts, 0-4 with a 10.17 ERA, walked 26 in 23 IP.

Heitor Correa, 20, 11 games, 4-4 with a 5.59 ERA; 56.1 IP 65H 21BB 36K, 9 hr allowed, 1.91 GO/AO; .286 opp. avg., .254 with RISP, 1.52 WHIP, .243 vs. LH, .328 vs. RH, 1-4 with a 6.99 ERA in 6 May starts. Correa has had a rough go of it this year, after some success in Lakewood last year. Right handed bats are killing him.

Lakewood

Jared Cosart, 20, 11 games, 7-1 with a 3.34 ERA; 56.2 IP 43H 12BB 67K; 2 hr allowed; 1.97 GO/AO; .203 opp. avg., .183 LH avg., .213 vs. RH, 0.97 WHIP, .320 with RISP. Cosart has been good, very good and should only get better.  Very nice splits with the only blip being avg. with RISP.

Matthew Way, 23, 11 games, 4-4 with a 4.12 ERA; 63.1 IP 62H 16BB 62K, 3 hr allowed; 1.67 GO/AO; .259 opp. avg., 1.23 WHIP, .250 vs. LH, .261 vs. LH, .362 with RISP; IN 5 May starts, 3-1 with a 2.32 ERA. Way was fantastic last year and has been solid this year.  That being said .362 with RISP is not acceptable.

Brody Colvin, 19, 12 starts, 3-6 with a 4.99 ERA; 61.1 IP 59H 24BB 53K, 4 hr allowed, 1.05 GO/AO; .250 opp. avg., 1.35 WHIP; .250 opp. avg., .216 vs. LH, .270 vs. RH; .246 with RISP; In 6 May starts, 2-3 with a 3.21 ERA. AFter a horrific start, Colvin has really sttled in over his last half dozen starts.

Colby Shreve, 22, 10 games, 3-3 with a 4.43 ERA; 40.2IP 37H 20ER 13BB 30K, 2 HR allowed, 0.96 GO/AO; .236 opp. avg.; .212 vs. LH, .253 vs. RH; .385 with RISP.  After missing the 2008 and 2009 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, Shreve is pitching fairly well, but having alot of trouble with runners on base.

Jon Pettibone, 19, 9 starts, 2-2 with 5.98 ERA; 40.2 IP 48H 17BB 30K , 5 hr allowed, 1.63 GO/AO; .302 opp. avg.; 1.60 WHIP; .254 vs. lH, .330 vs. RH; .214 with RISP; Pettibone has had a rough go of it thus far this year, after similar results in Williamsport last year. A 3rd round pick in the ’08 draft, more is expected from him.

Julio Rodriguez, 19, Has made 3 starts this year and is 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA.  Has struck out 19 in 14.2 innings of work, opponents are hitting .185.  Has looked excellent in the early going.

Nicholas Hernandez, 21, Was 3-1 with a 1.81 ERA in 8 starts prior to being placed on the DL.  May have been the most consistent starter thru 8 starts in the organization.  His MRI did not show damage that requires anything more than rehab and rest.

46 thoughts on “Around the System–Starting Pitching”

  3. Gotta feel bad for Savery tonight. Three homers in the first inning and another long ball in the third.

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  4. It’s easy to see why the Phillies drafted so many pitchers this year and why so many of them were older and more likely to be ready sooner.

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  5. Gregg great job, I’m wondering if we could throw in these guys’ FIP next time through? I think it’s a better indication of how they are pitching and takes the crap ML defense out of it. If not, don’t worry about it and keep up the great work.

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  6. I agree with Lenny’s comment regarding the need for pitchers in the system. Some of these guys will start moving up and that should push some of the AAAA 30+ year olds out, and open up spots at the lower rungs for all the new arms they’ll hopefully sign.

    On a different note, I think JC Ramirez has been starting at Clearwater (But I could be wrong) and he’s been striking guys out a pretty good clip too.

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  7. Burrell–
    Ill give it a shot…This fairly time consuming, but you are right…it is an important stat.

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  10. BTW no ill-will with my joke about the Pettibone age. Great job as always updating these things Gregg.

    (P.S. Looks like I’ll be posting under this name instead of my former handle “Jslasher88”. It wants me to keep baseballdude915 since I just started using wordpress myself.)

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  14. Forget Julian Sampson – what about Aumont?? Ugly, ugly line at Clearwater. Definitely not giving up but looks like back to the drawing board with him – he’s a wreck right now…

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  15. Last year susac, stewart and colvin stood out as the 3 possible be signings, who if any equal those 3 this year? I know we took a few HS kids but are any considered to be on the level of those 3?

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  16. Flande got ripped to shreds again tonight, 2.3 innings, 7 run 2nd inning all earned, 3 walks, 8 hits, 1 HR, a very ugly outing, Reading pitching is just horid

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  17. Every time I read about the Phils minor leaguers, it’s more depressing than the last. Wow does their system stink. Even the so called stud prospects we gave up, Carrasco, Donald, Marson, Taylor, stink.

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  19. It’s kinda dumb that they put Aumont in the pen right away. It’s pretty clear something is wrong with the kid right now, whether it’s physically, mechanically, or mentally. Why not put the kid in extended spring training to work out some kinks and get a feel for the pen again.

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  20. btw not to be negative, but it’s going to be painful when the Mariners get a top notch prospect for Cliff Lee.

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  21. Shreve had a nice outing last night. 6 IPs, 5 H, 2 ER, 7 Ks and 2 BBs. I went looking for the silver lining. I’m not going to talk about the GO/AO.

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  22. Steve, ummm Marson and Donald are in the Majors right now. Saying prospects stink is 1 thing but these kids made it and they just got started they get a pass for at least 1 year.

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  23. Austin Hyatt seems to have leveled off quite a bit. So much for the calls to the front office to move him to Reading.

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  25. The Phillies need to be careful with Aumont at this point. If he doesn’t gain traction in his next 3 or 4 appearances at Clearwater, they should just shut him down and send him to the minor league complex to start all over again. They really don’t need him to have a case of Steve Blass disease and, unchecked, this looks like the direction this situation is headed.

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  26. Steve, their system doesn’t stink. They have alot of prospects, too many to name, especially in the pitching area. Plus Dom Brown, Singleton, Gose, etc. Also saw Carrasco had a good game the other night in AAA. You can’t get too high and too low during the season. It’s better to review the season at the end, to get a better feel for where players are at.

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  27. I have to believe Aumont is not physically sound. You don’t go from pitching decent to this that quick. It could well be his hip thing acting up. Weakness or pain. Maybe Seattle knew something, and that’s why they had him relieving. Some physical problems show up only with extended stress in a single outing, such as pitching multiple innings as a starter.

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  28. The system most certainly does not stink. Any farm system that allowed the MLB club to acquire Brad Lidge, Joe Blanton, Cliff Lee, and Roy Halladay in 24 months plus still have prospects like Dom Brown, Jarred Cosart, Brody Colvin, and Jon Singleton still in the que has to be doing things mostly right.

    However, with the sustained spotty pitching we are seeing from guys that everybody hoped had a future, it does help explain why the Phillies drafted so many Pitchers early and often.

    Aumont scares me the most. I don’t question his physical tools…but I do have concerns about his mental ability to deal with getting crushed like this. I hope it doesn’t break him. If he can make it thru this horrible spell and come back strong at some point it would be a sign of incredible mental toughness.

    Nietzsche was right…“what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” This is never more true than when it comes to athletes dealing with failure and being able to overcome it.

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  29. That’s a lot of minor league pitchers on the wrong side of 30. I can see having 1 or 2 as 6th starters, but 4 with 2 at AA? They can’t find 5 guys to pitch in AA?

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  31. I think we have to give this season up for Aumont and take a long view. Phils must do a deep evaluation, including comprehensive health exam. Then choose the right therapy, if needed, including an operation on hip, if that’s the problem. It could also mean returning him to a reliever role.

    I don’t think we can accurately say if Aumont is mentally weak unless we know if he is ailing physically.

    But at this point, we have to think that any nice stretch of pitching and improvement is a bonus.

    If his situation is well diagnosed, I think he might be back strong at some point and be at least a Kyle Farnsworth (somewhat serviceable, at times)–or better, hopefully.

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  32. The minors right now isnt really good. look at triplea and double a not much, lower levels mean nothing ,must get to reading to get excited, too many kids move up and flop.Double a to me is the level to get excited about the prospect.

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  34. Mikemike,

    I don’t know how many times you come here, but any individual who has been reading this site for long enough should know very well why AA and AAA levels are mostly devoid of homegrown talent right now. Although, I have to say, I am watching Brown, Rizzoti, and Galvis at AA and looking forward to more draft picks joining them. Brown will be at AAA next year.

    If the Phillies don’t make any more big trades, the impact of the 2010 draft combined with what’s left from 2007 thru 2009 should start filtering up into AA and AAA soon.

    I am really looking forward to seeing all the pitchers drafted this year get into the system.

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  35. I should restate my comment about AA and AAA being “mostly devoid of homegrown talent” to contain the qualifier of “impact.” At some point the Phillies need the current players in the minors to step up and fill the voids left by Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor, Travis D’Arnaud, and to a lesser extent the Jason Donald’s, Lou Marson’s, etc.

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  37. The pitching throughout our minor teams is not the kind that can sustain a franchise in getting to the post-season.

    Though people like Pettibone and Schreve need more time to develop their worth, only a few others seem to have the potential to reach and do well in the bigs.

    We know the stystem took several large hits in 2009–2010 in trades. Inevitably that was going to leave large holes in the system that would need filling. BUT, since the traded ones were largely moving toward or at AAA LV and AA Reading, the upper levels show a mostly bare cupboard in pitching AND position players.

    The good thing is that the org surely recognized that as shown in their drafting. The hope now is that they will sign all of the most promising pitchers drafted, plus more that might surprise.

    With the attendance at the highest level, the development side of the team should be enhanced now…for the near future of the franchise.

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  38. By the way, do you think that they are still holding on to Savery in fear that he could bloom later for some other team?

    The guy seems hopeless…

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  39. If they are to compete with the Nationals in the NL East in the future Cosart must develope quickly into a ML No. 1 to give the Phils a chance against Strasburg. The Phils have no other starter prospect who even comes close to matching up with Strasburg. Davey Johnson was discussing Strasburg this morning on Ed Randall’s show. Hard to believe his change up sits at 89-90. Yesterday Blanton’s fastball was sitting around 88. This is now the difference between a No. 1 in the NL East and a bottom of the rotation starter that Blanton is. But at least Joe is signed up for two more years to anchor the rotation.

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  40. You are now counting Joe Blanton as a top of the rotation starter?? You are aware that he is probably our fourth starter when Happ comes back. Comparing Strasburg to Halladay makes sense as they are both no. 1’s. But comparing Strasburg to Blanton is totally assanine and I expect better from you Rickey Branch.

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  41. Toddzilla,
    I think you completely misread Rickey’s post. I expect better from you, etc. etc.

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  42. Toddzilla misread rickybranch’s post because rickybranch’s post made absolutely no sense.

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  43. Agree Rickey’s post didn’t make a lot of sense. Who in the majors DOES have a prospect that compares to Strasburg. Aside from that, since when are the Nationals the measuring stick of what any team needs to keep up with?

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  44. Nobody compares with Strasburg, easily the best pitching prospect I’ve seen in the last 20 years.

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  45. Using Strasburg as a measuring stick for prospects in ridiculously unfair. It’s like using Tiger Woods as a measuring stick for young pro golfers or Michael Jordan as a measuring stick for first round NBA draft picks. He’s entirely off the charts. The fact that none of our prospects are as good as he is is conclusively accurate, but that doesn’t mean the Phillies are not doing a good job of developing pitching prospects. I think they doing a really nice job of developing young pitchers right now – Strasburg is irrelevant to that analysis, particularly since it did not take any special acumen for the Nationals to discover him or assess his sky-high talent. He fell in their laps because they were such an awful team two years ago. Let’s move away from Strasburg comparisons . . . please.

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  46. Catch 22 I have to agree with you. One pitcher does not win you a Championship.

    Give all of these young pitchers time to develope. Some of these kids have no college experiance.

    Strasburg is a special talent right now….

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