August 31 Discussion

Box Score Recap

I can’t believe its almost September. I can believe that we have box scores

GCL Phillies won 8-4.
Williamsport won 12-10.
Lakewood won 3-2.
Reading won 7-6.
Lehigh Valley won 8-7.

Clean sweep!

33 thoughts on “August 31 Discussion”

  1. MiLB released a new format for their boxscores and messed up the home team’s Batting/Baserunning/Fielding detail. The information is the same as the visiting team so you can’t get that additional color on the game. Isn’t it nice that all the Phillie Farm Teams were home last night?

    Lendy Castillo opened the GCL playoffs with a 7 inning, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER) and 10K performance. I guess he balked and hit two guys but that was just to scare those Mets.

    Rosenberg hasn’t allowed a run or even a hit in his last 3 outings in Reading. He’s also had 6K and no BBs over the 4 innings. Because of his earlier injury, he’s going to need some fall and winter playing time. I guess I have to mention Overbeck again. Another 2 -4 with a HR. He also played 1st last night with Harold Garcia at 3rd.

    Bolsenbroek got the start yesterday for Lakewood. That’s his 1st start of the year. Was this one of those bullpen games or is this something new?

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  3. I’m thinking Bolsenbroek started because they have a big lead and they are resting some arms for the playoffs.

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  4. I was again at Reading and saw an decent game but ended great with veteran Timo Perez(2000 Mets) hitting a walk off in the bottom of the tenth being down. Hopefully the R-Phils can end the season on a high note in preparation for their multi-million dollar stadium remodel.

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  5. Overbeck is one of those players for whom AAA will be very important. Although AA is the main prospects league, many players hit a wall at AAA (see Michael Taylor, Mike Costanzo, and countless others). For hitters, the wall appears to be whether a hitter can tackle good breaking stuff and overcome pitchers who know how to keep a batter off balance. For pitchers, the wall is that just being able to throw a breaking ball for strikes or have a wide selection of pitches is not enough – you have to have great command or otherwise be able to miss bats or induce poor swings – this is why a guy like Drew Carpenter stalls out in AAA (and this is a guy who certainly COULD use the services of Bruce Sutter), while Vance Worley (who throws a bit harder), is likely to make the necessary adjustments and advance to the major leagues.

    I think Overbeck will be severely

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  6. finishing the thought – I think Overbeck will be severely tested in AAA. It might take as long as two or three months before we know if he can handle the pitching. And, yes, his desire to excel and overcome his fielding deficiencies and strikeout problem could be huge.

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  7. @ nowheels and Catch:

    Great points that I agree with 100%. Looking at the overall picture, he has had a very solid year. If he can replicate these numbers at AAA, then he has a decent shot at an MLB career.

    Getting the small sample size disclaimer out of the way, it is really encouraging to see how Savery has hit so far. Considering that he hasn’t batted regularly in around three years or so, the way he has swung the bat the past week can definitely be taken as an encouraging sign. I wonder what if he gets bumped down a level or two to start next year. It’ll be fun to watch this experiment.

    – Jeff

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  8. I learn something on here in the top 30 its not stats , its not performance, only if someone is trying to sell a prospect they will put up whip and other numbers, how can anyone put aumont over defraus right now or Ramirez with his numbers over anyone like mathieson or de fraus I don’t care if its starter or relief pitcher, there numbers dont warranty top ten, no way. lets see where they are next year.

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  9. Joe Savery a 2 for 5 night. Hitting close to .350. Wish the Phils would’ve started hitting him earlier. No idea what we have with him come this off season when he needs to be protected.

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  10. The Savery quandry is certainly interesting, my guess is if he hits the remainder of the year and does well (>.290 decent k/bb and >.160 ISO) in fall/winter league they’ll protect him.

    I will say, coming out of rice, some scouts felt he could be a productive major league hitter (though a higher upside as a pitcher).

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  11. Someone with front of the rotation stuff and age on their side will always be viewed more favorably than someone who is limited to a bullpen role, mikemike (as they should be). In the end, what does it matter to you where someone ranks a prospect in the system?

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  12. No one is going to take Savery as a rule V hitter based on 50-75 at-bats. Don’t think the Phillies really need to worry about protecting him after the season is over.

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  14. Gregg, do you bar that solely on the fact he was a first round pick? Or do you think he still has potential? Do you think someone would claim him? I’d hate to see him protected at the expense of a better prospect just because of his draft position. I’m not sure of the decisions that need to be made, but from an earlier thread, I thought I recalled we may have some difficult decisions to make regarding the 40 man roster.

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  15. Overbeck is this year’s prospect who has generated the most wasted breath. Last year it was Mayberry, the year before Cisco and Stutes. Way back when it was Travis Chapman. The list goes on. Bunch of things to remember. 24. butcher in the field. Non-athlete. 3/1 K/bb ratio in AA. 5/1 K/bb ration in A+ as a 23 year old. 2 years of mediocrity.

    99th percentile upside? Wes Helms

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  16. I think I am with 3up on this one, first if you are the phillies, why protect savery? They have obviously come to the conclusion that he is not going to be a mlb pitcher for them and they don’t know how well or if he is going to hit, and im pretty sure most of the other teams probably feel the same way. I just dont think that a major league team is going to keep him on their roster almost the entire year next year for an experiment.

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  17. Who would take Savery and keep him in the majors all year? Most teams bad enough to burn a roster spot like that are looking at power arms and middle infielders. He only needs to be kept out of the minor league portion of the rule V draft.

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  19. Strangely, I’m a bigger Savery believer/supporter now than ever. I liked him more as a hitter coming out of college and see him as an intriguing, useful piece going forward. I’d hold onto him and give him some time in RF next season.

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  20. Same here Baxter – I guess it’s the whole “root for the underdog” thing (despite being a first round draft pick, I would argue that he is now a bit of an underdog. YMMV). It wouldn’t surprise me if he was able to convert to outfield either. As I’ve said before, he probably played 1B at Rice so he didn’t have to do as much throwing. I’ve also heard that he is a hyper-competitor, which helped him to succeed his first few years in the minors despite less than stellar stuff.

    – Jeff

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  22. “Overbeck is this year’s prospect who has generated the most wasted breath.”

    Ah, so you’re clearly a Rizzotti fan.

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  23. Whatever team selects Savery would not only need to keep him on the major league roster but also the 40-man roster while he tries to hit. I guess I could see an AL team using him as a lefty reliever while working on his hitting for 2011. Then send him to A+ or AA as a hitter, but he is way too old and there are likely better choices.

    I would not protect him since even if he is selected and becomes Rick Ankiel, is that worth protecting a possible 5th starter? If he is not selected and hits .300 at A+ then he will need to be protected next season. (Note: Harold Garcia was eligible last season but since he was old for Lakewood was not selected. This year he moves up to AA and may be a utility INF in the majors soon. So maybe there is a benefit of ‘holding guys back’.)

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  25. I can’t possibly see somebody wasting a roster spot for a player who is clearly not good enough as a pitcher and is just a total shot in the dark as a first baseman/DH. The only exception is if he goes to the AFL and completely tears things up as a hitter – but I am not expecting this to happen.

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  26. I agree with the Savery doesn’t need to be protected posters.
    He washed out as a pitcher and is a complete unknown as a hitter.
    If he plays OF/1B somewhere in winter ball and has success it might change
    the decision since he does have the one thing most desired in a rule V prospect-
    versatility. They’re the easiest guys to keep around.

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  27. Tom–
    I think Savery will be on the 40 simply because of the 900K investment placed on him less than 4 years ago. WHile there will be some significant decisions to make on the 40, I think the Phils will be concerned enough about a team taking a stab at a former 1st round pick, who competed at a high level in college both as a pitcher and as a fielder. Having seen him pitch around a dozen times, he is nowhere near major league ready. His bat is a huge question mark. However when you look at the Rule 5 picks in years passed its not exactly an All Star team. The 4 players from 2008 who stuck the whole year were: EVereth Cabrera in San Diego, Luis Perdomo in San Francisco, Donnie Veal with the Pirates and Darren O’ Day.

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  28. I agree with those who say Savery should not be protected.
    I do believe that he would be selected. He is a AAA left handed pitcher. Somebody would take a chance on him. He could stick on a bad team as the 12th pitcher because he is LH. That being said, no big loss. Don’t waste a roster spot on him.

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  29. Savery has shown he has natural ability as a hitter. That’s step 1. Can’t do much without that. He likely has decent swing mechanics, eye-hand coordination, etc., and has some high-level college experience. That’s all to the good.

    However, it’s a long way to competing in a full season in high minors and auditioning for the show. How will he adjusts to pitchers when he gets on their radar. How can he handle a full season. Rihgt now he has the stealth advantage. We have to see what plays out.

    As for 40-man, I think it deoends on what the crunch is for other players who might have a more legitimate claim. If someone else does, roll the dice and see if someone takes him and keeps him. I doubt both.

    I think FIL and AFL are good ideas. He needs to make up time.

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  30. Did anyone see the extremely unique feat of power pitching that Justin DeFratus accomplished on Friday 8/27/10? When he pitched in that game he did it by pitching a perfect 9-pitch inning – striking out all three batters on three pitches each. Pitching a nine-pitch perfect inning is a much rarer feat than pitching a no-hitter. Generally, five no-hitters are pitched for every 9-pitch perfect inning. In major league history only 44 perfect innings have been recorded while 245 no-hitters have been pitched.

    A listing of 9-pitch perfect innings are listed at baseball almanac –
    http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats17.shtml

    A listing of American League no-hitters is –
    http://www.baseball-almanac.com/pitching/pinohit1.shtml
    A listing of National League no-hitters is –
    http://www.baseball-almanac.com/pitching/pinohit2.shtml

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  31. I was at that game and I believe he actually threw 10 pitches…still an incredible achievement, but I remember thinking about it after he struck the first two out on 6 pitches then threw a ball high to the third batter…

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  33. Savery- on the AAA roster now listed among the IF’s with position as DH. Not that big a stretch he is protected. The current 40 would start with 2 openings (not counting call-ups not likely to be added) then Free Agents left off ( even if re-signed not likely until after rule 5) Werth, Contreras, Durbin, Moyer, J.C. Romero (option bought out), Sweeney, Valdez (I believe not eligible for Free Agency or arbitration but contract will expire anyway). That would make 10 openings by my count. Possible add ons: by my figuring: Rizzotti, H. Garcia, Savery, Galvis, Gillies, DeFratus, and now that he goes to AFL , maybe Kennelly . I don’t see many more you could conceivably protect, and even if there was there are still 3 openings and a couple or so candidates to drop from the current 40 man roster.

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