Brief write-up of LV game Thursday night

Other Stuff

I was at the Lehigh Valley game Thursday.

Savery’s outing was interesting. First, he came into the game in the third inning after a reliever (Concepcion) had started, and finished things out.  I don’t know why they brought him in out of the pen, but it seemed to hep him. He mixed in a lot of pitches, threw a lot of 84-86 mph sinkers. Threw one FB at 89, which was his maximum velocity. He got a lot more swings and misses than he usually does, and really only gave up a couple hard-hit balls (one was a 450-foot HR, his only run). IF he could recover three or 4 mph on his FB, he could be a help in the majors. If not, I just can’t see him being more than a AAA/AAAA guy. He’d have to be the next Jaime Moyer, and he doesn’t seem to have the consistent control in the strike zone to do that.

At the plate, Domonic Brown was really impressive. One at-bat, his first, really told the story. He got into an 0-2 hole, then fouled off eight pitches to the third-base side on the way to 3-2, then, on the 14th pitch of the AB, he rocketed a line drive back through the box into CF. In his second AB, he got fooled on a change-up, but, while off-balance, still ripped a hooking line drive to deep RF that almost fooled the outfielder who had to lunge over his head at the last second to catch it. His third AB he got jammed, but his ground-ball over the bag would have been a double except that the 1B was holding a runner on, which put him close enough to the line to field the ball. Jammed again 4th AB, after rocketing a foul ball down the line, and grounded out to first.

Cody Ransom looked like a good player both in the field and at the plate–he has a very quick bat a squared two balls up that were really laser-shots. Mayberry looks pretty lost right now, swinging and missing at fastballs, and rolling over on breaking pitches.  Sellers looked solid at the plate, but seems to have limited range at 3B–he made one really excellent play on a ball that short-hopped him and threw the guy out.  Duffy is now playing CF (with Taveras cut) and that might cause a few more opposition fly balls to fall in since he’s slower than Taveras and DeWayne Wise, although he does seem to get a good break on the ball.

Thought you folks might appreciate a first-hand account.

25 thoughts on “Brief write-up of LV game Thursday night”

  1. Chuck–
    Anderson didnt start, Anderson is actually playing for Reading. Alex Concepcion started for Lehigh Valley last night.

    Like

  2. How good did Savery look at the plate? I see 2-3 with a double and a run scored. I still hold out hope he might be able to transition back as a position player.

    Like

  3. Savery went 2 for 3 with the bat including a double and was in the middle of both Ironpigs runs scoring one. All and all his best all around game ever in AAA. Way to go Joe!

    Like

  4. personally, i am ready to give up on Savery. I believe he is a dud with no future in philly, or even being a trade chip.

    Like

  5. Prediction: Ed Wade picks Savery in the Rule 5 draft, he goes home and becomes the “ace” of the Astros.

    Like

  6. Prediction: Ed Wade picks Savery in the Rule 5 draft, he goes home and becomes organizational filler for the Astros.

    Like

  7. Strike while the iron’s hot, Joe Savery to Astros for Jeff Keppinger who can help out in the infield on the big club.

    Like

  8. Why not convert Savery to offense? Honestly, we all know he’ll never make it as a pitcher…he’s not the guy that sat low 90s at Rice and he’ll never be that guy again. Maybe he can be a Greg Dobbs type hitter?

    Otherwise, if we’re not gonna convert him, we should either toss him into a trade as an extra piece or cut him loose if we ever need the roster spot.

    Like

  9. I remember being so pumped when they drafted Savery. I had seen him pitch a couple times in college and he looked completely dominant.

    Like

  14. Lenny,
    I see one great 1b prospect on your list. One guy who might make it to the bigs as a bench player/pinch hitter. And another who is a non prospect.

    Like

  16. Lenny,
    I’d say RHP is better than the 1b depth:
    Cosart, Colvin, May and Ramirez.
    I’d say Corner OF is better than 1b depth.:
    Brown, Santana and Castro.
    I’d even say Centerfield is better than 1b:
    Gose, Gillies, James and Hudson.

    Like

  18. Was there last night — from 2 rows from the on-deck circle Savery looked surprisingly good at the plate (2-3). However, if I recall he had bases loaded his first inning out. He was able to get out of the jam, but obviously not ideal.

    Like

  19. The system also has good depth at the middle infield positions. From watching this year the play of Harold Garcia and Cesar Hernandez at second and Galvis and Villar at SS will play in the major leagues somewhere, sometime. The organization’s big need is third base. They have no prospect just yet that I have seen who will play at that position in the ML. The GCL’s third baseman Maikel Franco might come closest since he has the build of a major league prospect at some position but it is hard to view him at third unless he improves his defensive skills there.

    Like

  20. Savery roped a single to LF in his first AB, then hit a solid line drive into LCF that scampered to the wall. He swung a bit late on FBs both times. His third AB he got breaking stuff, and didn’t look as good.

    Like

  21. PS-fixed the pitche’s name–always mixed up Concepcion and Anderson, don’t know why…both fungible minor league relievers, I guess.

    Like

  22. A Gregg Dobbs type hitter? Whoa, let’s temper the expectations a bit. No offense NEPP, just a statement that struck me funny considering Dobbs has looked like a minor league hitter for a full year and a half now.

    I agree though, convert Savery to a 1B right after his next start, assuming he doesn’t have 7 Ks and 1 BB in 7 IPs again. If he ends up as a major league quality pinch hitter, fantastic.

    Like

  23. Oscar Villarreal has pitched very well in June. If only he could return to his rookie form when they pitched his arm off (22 years old I think)

    Like

  24. In my view, Savery is now in the “what the hell, throwing in different places and see how it goes” part of his career. Currently, he has no projection as a major leaguer. There have been a few guys who have made the majors as relief pitchers who can hit a little. How could DH’ing him a little hurt? I say give it a try, it’s not like the first baseman and DH at LvH are real prospect. What do I care if they lose a few at bats?

    Like

  25. I am sorry for my quick and inaccurate typing – I actually do have a little education. I’ll try to read what I write before hitting “submit” the next time.

    Like

Comments are closed.