Minor League Moves

Other Stuff

This is the time period where those at the mid to lower levels of the minors begin to get nervous that their time has come, and that news was broken to two today.

Matt Sisto, 23, was the Phils 20th round pick in the 2012 draft.  He was advised today he was released.  The big RHP out of University of Hawaii pitched in Williamsport last year,  going 1-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 24 games.

UCLA product Garrett Claypool was also released today. CLaypool, 24, was the Phils 10th round draft pick in 2010, and after some promising outings in 2011, had his 2012 mired with injury going 3-2 with a 7.30 ERA for Clearwater.

In other news, 2B Cesar Hernandez and P Justin Friend were reassigned to minor league camp, leaving 39 players currently still in major league camp.

 

31 thoughts on “Minor League Moves”

  3. Claypool had a good K rate so I thought he might last a bit longer if his stuff came back after injury. Hard to know what they saw in Sisto to make the cut now.

    Interesting to see if Friend goes to AAA as an option for the major league club or back to AA where he has dominated to help win games as org filler.
    Hernandez had no chance if Utley was healthy but needs to get some time at SS to see if he can be a useful utility INF since he will be below avg as a major league 2B.

    Like

  4. Like Larry Greene, both guys were demoted in the workout groups after the 1st few days. Maybe the guys came in out of shape or physically unable to compete. There really is no reason a recent draft pick (Sisto) should be cut this soon, other than that.

    Like

    1. I don’t know. He is 23 years old. They may have time tables on their pitchers as to their effectiveness and their ability to absorb what they are teaching. Sisto may not have had the ability to overcome something. They make judgments as they go along. Most organization trust their staff to know these things. I agree that, if he had been 18 years old, this would have been an early hook. They make early decisions frequently about players. I am pretty certain most clubs do.

      Like

      1. The other side of the coin is that it was Matt’s choice. He’s 23 and a long way from making a real dent. Maybe it was time to get on with his life. He did a year of the minor league thing. He’s probably a smart guy and said it was time to change the world in a different way. I’m not sure what his major was but it said in a bio I saw that he was a member of the Physics Club at Hawaii. Maybe it’s time to create the next generation of the atomic bomb or god particle.

        Like

      2. Same thing happened last year with Eric Pettis (who looking at baseball-reference.com didn’t pitch anywhere in 2012). Phillies told him they had a logjam of relievers and wanted to go younger. While performance is important I think the evaluation of college talent has changed since Joe Jordan joined the Phillies and they are more aggressive promoting and do not buy as much into a guy who may not have ‘stuff’ they think works as they get higher up the ladder and would prefer to challenge players with ‘stuff’

        Like

  5. Kinda off topic but, if the phillies really want to keep Ender Inciarte, and the dbacks want him back, would we trade Tyson Gillies to keep him? I don’t see much future for Tyson in our system, and perhaps a change of scenery would do him well.

    Like

    1. I’m not willing to give up on Gillies. He had an .822 OPS at Reading last season and showed some power. Inciarte has not power. Inciarte seems like Revere-light, so it is he who would seem to have no place in our system.

      Like

    2. I wouldn’t want the Phillies to trade Gillies for Inciarte, and I do not think the Diamondbacks would want Gillies as payment for Inciarte. The Diamondbacks already have 3 guys blocking Inciarte and potentially Gillies, in the high minors. That is why they didn’t protect him in the 1st place. If they accept Gillies as payment for Inciarte, they have to make a spot on their 40 man, just as they would have for Inciarte. I believe a deal for Inciarte will have to involve a different positional need (catcher or pitcher) or a player not required to be placed on the 40 man roster.

      Like

      1. Good points guys, thanks. Do you think Cameron Rupp would be a piece they’d want? Rupp is not someone I’d want to give up, but Enciarte seems to have good speed and a decent obp.

        Like

        1. I would give up Rupp for Inciarte, but I don’t think many would, and I may have too low opinion of Rupp. I would prefer to offer pitchers like Julio Rodriguez or Cloyd, for Inciarte. Or a guy who doesn’t have to be protected yet, like Dugan or Hudson.

          Like

        2. They love Rupp, they’re zero chance they would trade Rupp for Enciarte, a guy Arizona might not want to even spend the $25K to keep.

          Like

      2. Just a random observation, may not mean anything, but Gillies was not playing in the minor league game this morning, I don’t think, and I didn’t see him yesterday either. He was hanging around the dugout this morning with the A level guys like Tocci. Again, might mean nothing, but I have to wonder if his antics in that brawl in the WBC we’re appreciated by the Phillies.

        Like

  6. I’d keep Ruff; he is a better back-up catcher than Valle who never saw a pitched “ball” that he wouldn’t swing at, and has been “found out” by pitchers at the higher levels. Is a catcher such as him too much for Inciarte?

    Like

    1. Let’s not get carried away with the greatness of Cameron Rupp. The guy is 3 year college player, drafted in 2010, who is just getting to AA. The guy put up better numbers than Valle at Clearwater, but he should have. Rupp was 3 years older, playing that league. A great college catching prospect would have forced his way to the FSL two years earler. Valle could fail at least one more season, and still have the prospect status of Rupp.

      Like

  7. Not sure why everyone is convince that they would have to trade anything to keep Inciarte. As noted above, he requires a 40-man roster spot and the D-backs may not want to take up a spot to get back a player that they didn’t protect in the first place.

    Phillies also have a little extra time to figure it out since D. Young will most likely start the season on the DL.

    Like

    1. Well, Incarte required a 40 man roster spot BEFORE the rule 5 draft. I’m not sure he requires a spot, if he is offered back. However, I am sure the Diamondbacks would have to use a 40 man spot for Gillies, if he offered as compensation.

      Like

      1. I don’t know the full reacquisition rules for the rule 5 draft, but couldn’t we trade cash considerations for inciarte?

        Like

  8. Why would Dbacks not keep Inciarte, just since another teams scouts liked him? CF’s are prized possessions and $25K is nothing. I do not see how much better Inciarte is than Gillies (AAA), Collier (AA), or James (either AAA or AA and better defensively than Inciarte), so where would the Phillies put him?

    Here is what I see in OF in upper minors
    AAA: Gillies, Ruf, Castro, J.James, Susdorf
    AA: Collier, Hewitt, Lavin, D.Mitchell, J.Mitchell
    Certainly Inciarte could beat out anyone but Collier in AA but I’d like to see Hewitt’s power at AA, J. Mitchell seems interesting to keep around, D.Mitchell can play CF, and Lavin has played well but is likely org filler like Susdorf. James is still a star defensively (I still like him as a prospect actually) so I’d like to see him in AAA how he does post injury to see if could be a 5th OF in the majors. If he can become a solid base stealer I could see him having some real value.

    Like

    1. Inciarte has better numbers than Zach Collier at High A, and is the same age. Inciarte has a strong argument that he is a better prospect than Collier and would have been voted into our Top 20, ahead of Collier if he was a known quantity among the readers.

      Like

    2. It would be a logjam but I’d definitely consider Inciarte a better prospect than Castro, James, Susdorf, Hewitt, Lavin, and both Mitchells. Maybe Gillies too because Inciarte stays on the field.

      We could have Collier, Inciarte and Hewitt or James starting in AA. Ruf, Gillies and someone else starting in AAA.

      Like

      1. I see AAA as Ruf in LF, Gillies in CF and Castro in RF. Jermaine Mitchell as the 4th OF. Susdorf gets cut, and DMitchell is the 5th OF.
        In AA, I think it is Collier in LF, Inciarte in CF and James in RF. Hewitt and Lavin are the 4th and 5th outfielders, if they aren’t cut.

        Like

        1. I think that’d be a likely outcome. But even though it would be a mistake to expect anything positive, I’d like to see Hewitt in AA, in that park. Maybe he and James could share time until one of them proves to be the better option.

          Like

        2. Hewitt will play RF in Reading with Colllier in CF and Jiwan in LF (not in AAA). If Arizona doesn’t want Inciarte back, a possibility, that would probably cost Jiwan a spot. Assuming Ruf gets sent down to LHV, that will probably cost Susdorf his job. Either Inciarte, J Mitchell, or Orr will stay in Philly. D Mitch will be the 4th OF in LHV but at the moment it looks like Valle and Joseph will share the DH.

          Like

          1. One of those three will start the season in Philly, but only until Delmon Young joins the team, unless there is another injury. By the time a decision must be made on returning Enciarte, the slot on the team for these three players will be gone.

            Like

            1. I think Inciarte’s numbers from last season need a corrective deduct. Half of his AB were in the offense-enhancing California League, the other half came in his 3rd time through the MidWest League. While Inciarte put up a .796 OPS in the CAL at age 22, Gillies put up a .916 OPS at age 20. Since the day of the Lee trade, commenters have been appropriately looking with suspicion at Gillies CAL numbers and saying they need to be corrected for league. There has been a surprising lack of the same approach to Inciarte’s numbers. If he had put up those numbers in Lakewood or CLW, they would have been something to write home about. In CAL, not so much. Not chopped liver, but not outstanding.

              Like

            2. Nobody said Inciarte’s performance in the CAL league was as as good as Tyson Gillies’ was, 3 years ago. But that was 3 years, and a lot of injuries ago. Gillies was appropriately ranked in our top 5 prospects when he put up those numbers.
              While it is common knowledge that the CAL league is a hitters’ league, Inciarte ranks in that league basically the same as Zach Collier does in the FSL. Inciarte had a 112 RC+ to Collier’s 108 RC+. If Collier has prospect value, then Inciarte has prospect value.
              Lastly, I don’t know why it is such an issue to try to discredit Inciarte, when he had a comparable season to players that are currently in our top 20 prospects. Especially when one (Zach Collier) has been overwhelmed in major league camp, and Inciarte has looked comfortable.

              Like

  9. Should have a topic heading for general Spring Training , first hand accounts and those that see some of the players in different games as well as some video.leave it open for all of Spring training.

    Like

Comments are closed.