Open Discussion: 04 March 2011

Spring Training 2011

I’ll give you a new topic.

Mike Stutes is staking his claim early on. Its unlikely he’d make the team out of camp unless they carry 12 pitchers and Baez isn’t one of them, but he’s been impressive.

And again, its important to not get too wrapped up in spring training numbers early on, either good or bad. Guys are making adjustments, guys are shaking off months of rust, and teams are using huge squads of players, which means inconsistent playing time and also less than awesome levels of competition. This part of spring is just for guys to get loose. Start paying attention in a few weeks when starters are playing more, and teams start making cuts.

Go!

61 thoughts on “Open Discussion: 04 March 2011”

  1. Agreed about the weight we should (or shouldn’t be) putting on numbers this early. But Stutes has sounded impressive. Do folks familiar with his work last season think he could be the long man out of the pen, if needed? The phils could keep both Kendrick and Worley stretched out in AAA if they decided to keep Stutes. I know it’s highly unlikely that Kendrick and his $2M salary get dumped in Leigh Valley, but a guy can dream, right?

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    1. Stutes could absolutely fill the role. He has the raw stuff, his problem has been control. Pitchers, relievers in particular are capable of sudden improvements in a year.

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  2. Interesting to see Harold Garcia get a DH start today. Wilson Valdez in RF, obviously they want their utility infielder to be able to back up the outfield as well.

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  3. Stutes has pitched great and I predicted (as did many others) he would be the 1st guy to make the majors of Schwimer, DeFratus, and Stutes. Stutes is entering his 2nd season as a full time reliever and he’s obviously getting better with his control which has been his weakness. Kendrick has the major league long man role sewn up, barring a trade, and it certainly appears that Baez will get every opportunity to earn the money they’re paying him which means he’ll still be around when they break camp. Bastardo will pitch for the first time today. The Phils would love for him to throw so well that they have to keep him as the 12th pitcher. Matheson and Herndon remain in the discussion to be the 12th man although it might end up being that the 12th man is either a lefty or it will be an extra bench guy. With Utley hurting, you have to assume the Phils will want to carry someone else who can play some infield (Young, Barfield, Martinez, or Orr). Minor league games start the 14th, expect the first cuts this weekend.

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  4. I’ve been following the games pretty closely and it looks like Stutes has been making hay against MiL guys so far. When squads shrink I’ll be more impressed.

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    1. He can only get out the guys who face him 🙂 He has a great arm and I think a little bit of a mean streak. Won’t see hitters digging in against him.

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      1. Not saying he won’t be or isn’t good, just echoing PP’s comments that we have to take his performance with a grain of salt at this point.

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  5. I been on this kid band wagon after seeing him in person and on tv. looks like a big league pitcher , what I saw was a nice curve, good fastball, has a real chance to be a eighth or maybe down the line closer. but i think he is a nice looking prospect.

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    1. Yeah, he’s our next Chad Durbin (I mean that as a compliment) and he might be ready right now. The Phillies have just done tremendously well will those 10-20 round picks in gathering what appear to be useful bullpen parts. I’m impressed with Stutes but, really, not that surprised. You could sense last year that something like this was possible for him.

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    1. Because I don’t want to give him an opportunity to take away Ryan Howard’s spot. I mean, come on, I just paid him all that MONEY!

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  8. Murray mentions Herndon, who did a passable job last year. If I’m not misremembering, the original plan (at least as the media reported it) was that the Phillies would groom him as a starter in AAA once they got past the Rule 5 requirements. Has that changed — is he now considered a potential reliever only?

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    1. I’ve never heard a guy say he’d rather start in the minor leagues than relieve in the majors. The Phils’ plan was for him to start in the minors but just to get more innings under his belt. I don’t believe anyone sees him as a major league starter. Therefore, if he throws lights out now, they’ll do what’s best for the major league team now.

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  9. Michael Dubee got to pitch against the Phils today. One of the few Pirates’ pitchers who wasn’t blasted today.

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    1. Bastardo might become scary good if he can stay healthy, keep command and master a few secondary pitches. His fastball is a lethal weapon and, boy, is he ever fun to watch.

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      2. I totally agree. He’s an exciting player. Ever since I saw him make that first start against San Diego in his call-up last year I’ve been a big believer in his stuff, which is top-shelf. But there’s a lot of bust potential due to the health concerns. He’ll be fun to keep track of this year.

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  11. Bastardo pitched to 3 batters to earn a save: K, infield pop-up, K, game over. I look at Barstardo as a lot like Romero: both can pitch to lefties or righties, both are hard to hit against, both get lots of strike-outs, but both are easy to get walks against, both have trouble staying healthy.

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    1. Bastardo has a lot more upside than Romero ever had, but there’s more risk there too as others have rightfully noted. But he’s a fun guy to have around. I hope he makes the team.

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      2. Romero was and can be pretty tough on LHBs when he was in his prime.

        Bastardo has that potential too. He’s got a nice live fastball that sits 93-94 and can touch 96 mph and his slider is decent too.

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    2. Romero is much better vs. lefties than righties, with this split being the most extreme in 2010 (20/11 K/BB against lefties, and 8/18 K/BB against righties).

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  12. Has anyone got over to Carpenter complex to pick up a copy of the minor league groups, yet?

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    2. The groups will get readjusted after the first big reduction from major league camp which will probably happen soon. Major league camp has 59 guys I think and they’ll probably drop down to around 45 so that’s around 14 guys that will get reassigned at once.
      It was nice to see Harold Garcia get the DH start today (0-3) plus Rizz got 2 atbats too. I’m sure it was a thrill for them. As far as Bstardo, Im on board with everyone else. If he can just stay healthy, he can definitely be an asset to the bullpen.

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  13. I think Stutes and Schwimer have just a slight disadvantage that they are currently not on the 40-man roster. A few guys will likely be removed before the start of the season but I would guess Mathieson, Schlitter, and Zagurski would get the first opportunities.

    I would guess from the 40-man that Hernandez, Rivero, Galvis, Rizzotti, and Garcia all exit to minor league camp shortly. On the pitching side it will likely be Ramirez, Naylor, Herndon (if he will become a starter) and DeFratus (just because he has little time above A ball).

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  14. Zagurski has had a good Spring so far. Obviously Romero and Bastardo are the top two and most likely will be with the big squad on April 1. But having Zagurski, healthy, will be a good option if Romero or Bastardo goes down. Lehigh Valley is going to have a loaded bullpen: lefties; Zagurski and Meyer righties Carpenter, Stutes, Herndon, Schlitter, Schwimmer, DeFratus, Mathieson, etc. That gives them 9. I think they would only have 7. I’ve heard some people say Herndon as a starter. One of the names could make the big team if Baez falters (so far two good appearences) and Carpenter I’m not sure where he really fits. I think he may have no future here but maybe in a lesser organization he does.

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    1. I would think that if Mathieson does not make the varsity he would be a candidate for a trade. He has nothing left to prove in the minors and it would be an act of mercy. Besides he has more value now then he would at the end of another minor league season in 2011.

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  15. I think it’s pretty clear that, absent some unexpected development, Herndon will go back to AAA to continue his development. This year, I expect Kendrick to be the long man/swing man out of the bullpen. Next year, I expect Kendrick to be gone and Herndon, who has a better arm than Kendrick and more upside, to replace him.

    By next year, there will be a whole cast of new characters in the bullpen. I expect Madson (I expect him to be the closer – gosh, he really is more than ready for the job) and Contreras to remain from the old group, there will be probably be a FA acquisition along the way, but everyone else will probably be from this young group of pitchers. And I expect Vance Worley to be the #5 starter so the team can afford to spend a little money in the outfield and perhaps the infield.

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    1. It wouldn’t surprise me if that happened either. He’s not exactly a hot commodity. If he’s traded, he is worth almost nothing alone – I could see him as a “throw in” in a package deal, however. He’s a $ 2 million insurance policy.

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  17. Delwynn Young looking like he wants to make team no matter what Dom Brown situation is. He had 3 hits and an rbi today. Batting over .400.

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  18. Got a chance to see the pitchers and catchers drills this morning at the Complex but was not able to watch bullpens with any clarity because of they all took place on mounds between Roberts and Schmidt Fields which are barely visible to the public. Different pitching drills took place in rotating groups based on experience on Schmidt, Carlton and Roberts Fields while Dubee pitched BP to the Phils starting pitchers on Ashburn. When that was done minor league catchers BP took over. Here are several observations from today’s minor league pitchers and catchers workouts.

    1) Just by observing seems like Valle and May have added weight since last season. Guess they have grown into their bodies. This should bode well for them. Valle now looks like an MLB catcher and May a No. 1 power pitcher. The other two guys I was looking for Cosart and Colvin I did not see on the Fields during the time I was at the Complex.

    2) Biddle is so distinctive in his pitching style that he can be easily spotted from far away. The best view of his bullpen I could get earlier in the week was from the back of the Tiki bar about 500 ft.away in the back of leftfield at Bright House Field looking across Schmidt Field to his bullpen.

    3) Catchers batting practice was interesting. The guys who caught with last years GCL team and Williamsport for the most part hit as a group on Schmidt and the Lakewood and Clearwater catchers, plus catchers in training Dabbs and Batts, hit from Ashburn. Rupp and Klocke were the most impressive on Schmidt hitting line drive after line drive and Valle put on a show on Ashburn. With the wind blowing out to right Valle was unable to hit any of Ernie Whitt’s pitches out to left but got a couple of balls up in the wind and took Ernie nearly out off the top of the right field fence on one pitch and then over it on the next pitch.

    4) Odd seeing Batts and Dabbs walking around with shin guards on after catching bullpens since seeing them in Lakewood playing third and the outfield last year. Kennelly hit with the catchers but had no shin guards on and used a fielders glove doing drills with them helping with the pitchers covering first base drills.

    5) The odd moment of the day happened while walking back to Bright House after the morning session ended I came across a Bob Stumpo ball that he hit out to right late in BP that was left unwanted in the grass behind the right field wall after the fans who normally gather there for BP had headed over to see the Phils-Pirates game. So I was able to pick up my first official Minor League Practice Ball of camp.

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  19. Rickey–are the workout group lists available at the clubhouse yet?

    If so, could you try to get one to us (picture or scan, whatever…)?

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  20. Does anyone know when last years Lakewood team will recieve their rings? My son played on that team, I was wanting to plan my spring training trip. Thanks .

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  21. At the complex right now. Mostly position players on the field. They are still not handing out sheets with workout groups. Talked a bit with Singleton yesterday and came away very impressed with him. Nice guy who can’t wait to get to work. He said his goal was to make it to Reading sometime this season.

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  22. Looks like Kendrick pitched well today 3IP no runs one hit…Mayberry with a HR…watching the other game on TV…Lee looks good…Howard and Schenider with hrs and Polanco rbi single 3-0 Phils.

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      1. I stand by my original comment. I never bought into the WIP-fueled We Hate Wheels Because He’s Smug campaign. I’m assuming you did. To each their own.

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        1. I think the entire tv/radio crew is pretty bad. Wheeler tends to repeat the same tired cliches and never adds real knowledge to the broadcast.

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          1. With DeFratus pitching yesterday, Wheels noted that he has to get better at holding runners if he’s going to pitch in high leverage situations. Sure enough, the runner steals second and scores on a single. I give him credit for stuff like that, even if he will bring up the same thing every time the situation presents itself. If you watch every day like us, it can get repetitive, but if you’re a more casual fan, I think he does provide insight.

            Meanwhile, Sarge was making the case that Ross Gload could become the LF if Ibanez struggles. McCarthy managed to work in how high the Rays are on Tim Beckham in between shilling for the Phils and over-dramatizing mundane plays.

            Agree, though, in general, that this is probably the worst TV lineup they’ve had in the post-Whitey Era.

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    1. Oswalt, Feierabend, Naylor, Worley, Bass scheduled to pitch today.

      Nice to have the game in the NE as we got walloped by a surprise snow last night.

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