Box Score Recap 8-25-2012

Box Score Recap

Hard to complain about this line from Hoby Milner – 6 scoreless IP, 2H, 2BB, 6K.  Curious to see what kind of year he puts together in 2013.  A transition from the U of Texas bullpen this season to starting in A ball seems to have gone fairly well, with a very strong August. 

One more – Franklyn Vargas.  6K, 1H, 1 BB in 3 scoreless IP today.  For a 6’4″ 205lb lefty who turned 18 years old 4 days ago, I’ll take more than a K per inning in the GCL, even with a high walk rate.  Very intriguing.

LV  REA  CLR  LKW  WIL  GCL (season finale) DSL Hurricane’d again.

94 thoughts on “Box Score Recap 8-25-2012”

  1. August should be the 3rd straight month Rupp has OPS’d over .800. It’s almost too bad he was blocked from moving up by the Pence trade, since it seems like he’s quite ready for AA.

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      1. I don’t blame you for your Rupp fascination as I have one myself. I’m really curious about what they’re planning to do in the offseason or next year with all these catchers.

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        1. Rupp will go to AA . I don’t know why people think he wouldn’t. They will place Joseph up in AAA. Valle will likely remain in AAA. Since catching is believed to be a grueling position which depresses offensive stats, they could alternate games at C and 1B. That’s what I would do. And if there is some kind of need to have only one catcher getting the bulk of playing time, they could assign Valle to the Mexican League for a time. They don’t have any need of holding players back for no reason, plenty of openings.

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            2. Not sure Valle has that much value alone, but in a package some GM will take a chance. And the HRs he is hitting now seem to be the ‘flame to the moth’, attractive to some folks in the business. Not sure there are many catchers his age in AA/AAA who have those kind of HR numbers.

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            3. Travis D’ Arnaud and Gary Sanchez have those HR numbers, and they are the top two catchers in the minors.

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          2. Don’t forget the DH Slot too.
            If necessary the Phil’s could definitely have two serious Catching prospects in AAA.

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            1. I believe, that as the rules currently stand, in AA and AAA the DH is only used when an American League team is involved. Don’t know how many American League affiliates in the International League.

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            2. The Ironpigs play in a division with the Yankees, Twins, Mets, Red Sox and Nationals affiliates. They end up using the DH quite often. More often than the Eastern League.

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          3. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Valle with some catching competition at AAA. There were reports about him recently that indicated he can be lazy behind the plate and “has been spoiled and never disciplined.” (link below) That certainly helps to explain his wretched approach at the plate year after year. Perhaps Joseph’s footsteps might be a wake-up call.

            http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-05/sports/33049739_1_scout-catcher-gabriel-lino

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            1. About a month ago one of the Phils’ brass stated that THEN the best catching prospect in our system is Rupp. Now, I could read behind that headline: it was intended as a wake-up call to Valle…who had begun to ASSUME he was certainly in line as the “inevitable” future catcher for the big club…and consequently had become “comfortable” in that expectation, too comfortable to work on improving his game.

              With Joseph and Rupp plus Lino and a few other of our draftees, catching has gone from a semi-bare basket to a plentiful “horn of plenty.”

              IMO, as mentioned here and by myself, Valle could well be packaged along with Kendrick (?) to get that desired/needed good righty hitting outfielder. To me, Valle has lost some of his shine for never being able to judge balls and strikes when he is at bat.

              Joseoph may not start the ’13 season at LV since it appears his offense is under the surface and needs to be brought out before a move to AAA. He’s likely start at Reading in ’13 and take it from there.

              Finally, a good problem to have for the backstop position.

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          4. I’ve talked to a few people about this topic the last 2 milb games I’ve been at, and all 3 were adamant that with legit catching prospects, you want them catching 75%+ of the time, and the other 20-25% of the time a mix between playing another position to get enough ABs and days off to observe the game from a different perspective. I asked one about the Phillies and he said one of two things will happen.

            Scenario 1 (most likely) – Ruiz and Kratz are in the bigs, with Rupp playing everyday at AA and either Joseph or Valle playing everyday at AAA. The other one will either be traded or switched to another position. Both seem to have too much ability at C for a position change to make much sense. In the eyes of the 3 I spoke with, all believe Valle is further away than Joseph, and that Joseph’s upside with the bat is enormous.

            Scenario 2 (unlikely but possible) – If Joseph were to have a strong offseason / spring, and work his way into the Phils plans, they could start the season with Ruiz, Joseph, and Kratz in the bigs, with Ruiz playing a fair amount of time at 3B, Joseph doing most of the catching, with Ruiz as a backup playing 2-3 times per week, and Kratz being more of a pinch hitter than backup catcher. The argument against this is two fold – one is whether Ruiz can play 3B and it could be rushing Joseph’s development.

            All 3 really believe the Phils will spin off 1 or 2 of these catchers they have (likely 1 now, likely 1 later) for a young, controllable OF or 3B this offseason and something else down the line. The other point they made when I said maybe 1 starts and 1 is a backup, is that veteran backup catchers are always available and don’t cost much, and a young C prospect is almost always more valuable to a team as part of a trade than retaining him to play 1-2 times per week.

            Lastly, the scouts were very high on Joseph, solidly impressed with Rupp, very cautiously optimistic about Valle, and the 2 that had seen Lino were downright giddy about his potential, albeit 3-4 years away.

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            1. How about a 3rd scenario, where Valle, Joseph, Rupp, and Lino all stay at the same level they are at now, until they dominate and force a guy up or out?

              As far as a trade for an OF: May, Valle and Morgan for Justin Upton? Too much, too little?

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            3. If all it would take is including a sub 300 OBP Shortstop coming off injury, I’d include him. Morgan would be the only one of those guys I would blink at losing.

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            5. Rupp is about as close to dominating as you could realistically hope. He’s 2nd among catchers in OPS in the FSL. He should go to Reading, but you don’t really want to have 2 of Rupp, Valle and Joseph at the same level since they can’t all be in the lineup at catcher regularly. I think it’s likely that one of them gets traded and I have a feeling Valle is the most likely to go.

              I would pull the trigger on your trade proposal but I don’t think Arizona would.

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            7. Too little. He’s a 25 year old MVP candidate under control through 2016.

              Other than Morgan both guys you’d be selling low on.

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      2. Ironically, 2 years ago, PP and I were pretty much the only people posting here who were high on Rupp as a catcher.

        PP got hammered by putting him on his Top 30.

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        1. PP also got blasted for mentioning he’d consider Asche for his Top 10 when he was playing second in Williamsport last season.

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    1. First AB, first pitch he was beaned, 2nd AB he wasn’t given anything to hit, he forced and swung at a horrible pitch and popped up to the first baseman. 3rd AB against the same pitcher he had the RBI single. Pitching change to begin the 7th and that is when Ruf had his final AB, he took a ball deep to left, was caught on the back of the warning track.

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    2. I believe Ruf leads professional baseball with 65 extra base hits. Thanks Darin for an exiting season.

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    1. Yeah, too bad it was the last game of the season. Now he can go into the offseason with some mental stimulation. If they select him for instructional league maybe he’s not as badly injured as it might have seemed and he can work his way back into contention.
      How about a WAY below AA ball candidate for the AFL. Despite how some on here romanticize the whole AFL thing, these are teams like any other. Not every roster member will get alot of playing time or play a key role. He could go there and get some top-flight instruction. That would be a sign they value him as a prospect as much as whoever decided to give him a $333,000 bonus out of High School.

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  4. Another solid start for Hoby Milner, i’m hoping that he can have a breakout year in Clearwater, somewhere close to what Adam Morgan did, he has plenty of potential.

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  5. Johnathan Knight with a pinch running appearance in clearwater? when did that happen, and what emergency required them to bring up a GCL guy for the bench.

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    1. I went and looked it up in the Florida State League transactions. I figure that since Steven LeRud went up to MLB, Reading needed a back-up catcher. They plucked John Hill from the Clearwater roeter. Since Clearwater had two other catchers at the time (Cameron Rupp and Robert Stumpo) they could bring in a player to fill for a game or two. It was Knight.

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  6. Roman Quinn had a single and a walk, and actually did not steal a base. 141 rc+. Remember when it was accepted thought here, that Tyler Greene was a better prospect than Roman Quinn.

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    1. I believe you are referring to last year around this time, since TyGreene had signed early and was already appearing in GCL games, whereas Quinn was prepping for the FIL.

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      1. No. Referring to reader top 30, about 6 months ago. Tyler Greene was almost unanimously rated higher than LGj, Quinn, Morgan, Asche and Walding, coming into the season, because he signed early enough to get 70 abs in the GCL.

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        2. Won’t have nearly as much of that this year. The guys from this seasons draft are all getting in some playing time. The comparison problem last year was those of us (myself included) who had no stats to base our assessment simply chose to leave Quinn out of the mix earlier on in the top 30, most of us with the caveat that he was an exciting sounding guy and we figured he’d jump Greene if he played like the scouting reports said he would, but Greene would be a level ahead of him.

          For his part, Greene, while not blowing away the GCL, showed what seemed to be fair numbers for a HS kid who was also well regarded at draft time. If Quinn had done what Greene did in GCL, I think people would have been hard pressed to find Greene ahead of Quinn in any ranking, based on a small sample of “ok” stats and factoring in the scouting. The lesson I take is that different people decide on their rankings in different ways, and luckily, we’re not being graded on the ranking we put forward.

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          1. FWIW, Keith Law also had Tyler Greene rated as a better prospect than all of those guys. That should make the “national guy” haters happy.

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  7. 16 strikeouts over 9 innings for the GCL pitchers (Franklyn Vargas, Kevin Walter, and Delvi Francisco). Signs of something to work with these guys, And the totals may be only slightly inflated by being the last game of their season, and that the boys from Dunedin had to catch a Greyhound Bus for home.

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    1. Fransicso’s line was very impressive as are his stats over the whole season, and even more so over his last ten outings. 22ks, 7BBs and opp hiiting only .140 against him. He just turned 20 on Friday and has a bigger body, 6’1″‘, 190 lbs, than most other players his age from the Dominican Republic. I know it is early to look at prospects in the GCL, and he may be pitching against younger players, but his numbers stand out. Someone to keep an eye on.

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  8. Lino with a HR … .405/.421/.784 in his last ten. Valle not so good: three AB, three Ks.

    Pullin continues to hit. And is it me, or has he had very few if any errors while learning 2B?

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    1. I think Joe Jordan likes Lino’s potential, seeing him extensively in the Oriole organizaton. He may have been one of his choices when Lino was signed a few years ago, for all I know. I am wondering if he would be one of the favorable votes in parting with Valle in a trade later this off-season!

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    2. I wonder if they think he is advanced enough with the bat, to be promoted to Clearwater. Lino is actually younger than the 2011 dratees. If he has to stay back, he would still be young for the league next year.

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        1. Lakewood in 2013?
          C Lino
          1B Serritella
          2B T Greene
          SS Quinn
          3B Walding
          LF L Greene Jr
          CF Eldemire
          RF Pointer
          DH Perkins

          Lehigh Valley in 2013?
          C Joseph
          1B Overbeck
          2B C Hernandez
          SS M Martinez
          3B Asche
          LF Ruf
          CF Gillies
          RF Castro
          DH AAAA (Luna/Orr/Pridie)

          1 Pettibone
          2 May
          3 Cloyd
          4 E Martin
          5 Rosenberg

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          1. I think Hudson plays CF for Lakewood next year and they push Eldemire to Clearwater due to age.

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  9. Chris Duffy really hit the wall going from Low A to High A. It would have been nice if they brought up Dugan to see if he can hit High A ball.

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  10. Nice start from Hyatt last night. I was at the game on Monday in Harrisburg, but haven’t been able to get to the computer. On Monday night he started well with his fastball averaging 85-87. His command of his off-speed stuff, which he uses mostly, was good and produced poorly hit grounders and flies. After the homer in the fourth, he seemed rattled and began the fifth with three consecutive high breaking balls and fastballs, which were promptly blasted out of the park. Shreve was capable in relief. Hanzawa and Ruf combined on a great out. Hanzawa acrobatically caught a bad hop grounder and threw low and in then dirt. Ruf handled it professionally. He is a good fielder. The hitters took a break. Last night Hyatt kept his cool and command, going five great innings and getting the win. He doesn’t seem like he will be a starter in the majors at this point.

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  12. Perkins and Pullin continue to rake….

    Relievers with a good night– Diekman, Knigge, Friend, Cooper, Nesseth, Sosa, Walter, Francisco…

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      1. He was a 3rd Baseman in college, but I guess with trying to get Walding a lot of time at 3rd seeing as this is his 1st year getting pro time the Phillies wanted to focus on getting Walding acclimated to 3rd.

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      2. Cameron Perkins, big, strong righthanded bat, who in college had 25 HRs in approx 725 PAs with a Slg% .541. Turns 22 next month. Will he be at 3rd base in the future, who knows. IMO, try him in the OF, even LF, and have him learn it. Unless he is double-jumped somewhere along the line, he will be another 24/25-year old at Reading, with Franco, Asche, Walding, Zach Green et al competing with him for 3rd..

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  13. Now that the Boston trade is done, what about sending Howard to Boston, Bring up Ruf for a year, transition Joseph to 1B in AAA, Valle catches AAA, Rupp catches AA, Lino catches A+, shows boston is not going to quite and he is only signed to 4 more years. Saves them a ton plus can move him to DH when he is done at 1B. We solved our glut of C with a lot of depth still. Have a Power hitting 1b for future and a stop gap in Ruf or Mayberry, or wigginton.

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    1. Why would Larry Lucchino and Ben Cherington want Ryan Howard, when they could get the same and more from Adrian Gonzalez, with better OBP, defense and less Ks!

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      1. Well for one because they CAN’T get more Agon because they just traded him…

        But 1) They won’t want Howard’s contract and
        2) Joseph’s bat doesn’t play at 1B. He’s only a prospect at C.

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          1. Howard wouldn’t come with Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford’s contract though.

            Not that I think trading him to Boston is plausible. Or suitable for this thread even. If Joseph can play catcher, then let him catch. Putting him at 1B would cripple his worth, even if he eventually becomes an acceptable hitter for that position.

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      2. Forget Adrian Gonzalez. Why would Boston want Ryan Howard, period? He has one of the worst contracts in professional sports.

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        1. We should trade Howard, Papelbon, and Lee to the Sox and promote Ruf and Cloyd, and then bring back Rizzotti and Mathieson. All problems will be solved.

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  14. are scouts still saying that Cody Asche is only an average type player because i’m starting to think he has some star potential.

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      2. Asche has an .842 OPS in 519 plate appearances across two levels this season. How is that a small sample size?

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        1. Because 519 PA isn’t even a full season of ML ball..? 519 PA is ~130 games, which seems like a large sample size, but is it really? Players put together good seasons that they can never replicate again all the time. Hell, look at Rollins’ MVP year. Sustained success is predictive, a single season (or less) could be a fluke. Plus you’re crazy if you expect his OPS to translate directly to the MLB from AA.

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    2. Well, he won the Manager’s mid-season award for best fielding 3B in the FSL,
      but you know somebody who has never seen him play says he can’t play 3B so I guess he can’t field……….

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      1. Players win gold gloves all the time when they don’t deserve them… (Derek Jeter). Who’s to say that didn’t happen there.

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  15. I know everyone is excited about Asche, but keep in mind everyone wanted the Phillies to acquire Mike Olt from Rangers. Olt is currently hitting .182 with 0 homers. Olt, like Asche was crushing the ball in AA

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    1. That’s also only 22 at bats. He’s barely played since being called up.

      (Also, I’m not sure anyone is advocating Asche coming up right now.)

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  17. bad news from reading tonight: colvin gave up 6 runs in the first. good news from reading: asche is 2-2 and now hitting .300.

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      1. I’m not quite at that point, but getting close. But he needs to gets thing straightened out in 2013, or he may be out of baseball. I hope he didn’t blow his $900k signing bonus.

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          1. Brody Colvin’s results might be horrible but his stuff is the best in the Phils system of any starting pitcher, and I strongly believe he will figure it out and be the best big league starter of any pitcher currently in our system.

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          2. And if that doesn’t work, we could always try transplanting Colvin’s right arm onto Tyler Cloyd’s torso.

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  18. Cody Asce already 2 for 2 with triple in 4th inning. Now hitting .300. Would anyone have guessed that considering how he started Reading.

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  20. Watching Colvin must be torture. He’s getting to the point where giving up 6 runs doesn’t actually hurt his ERA.

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  21. May and colvin need to get things right this winter. Bullpen might be best place for them. And with the guys moving up to reading and jon p at AAA next year. I wouldn’t blink an eye. Or could be moved in a package. But value down because of crappy season for both. Higher on biddle, jon, Martin and Morgan. Also wright could be look at too.

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