Austin Hyatt Released

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Fortunes can change in a hurry in minor league baseball, the latest example being the case of P Austin Hyatt, who was released today by the Phils according to Jeff Schuler, the IronPigs beat reporter for the Morning Call.  Hyatt was considered to be a prospect to watch coming into the 2012 season after going 12-6 with a 3.85 ERA in 28 starts for Reading in 2011.

Hyatt’s 2012 was consistently miserable. He went 2-7 with a 6.33 ERA in 11 starts  in Lehigh Valley, with a WHIP over 1.63. He wasn’t a whole heck of alot better for Reading in his 16 starts, going 8-5 with a 4.62 ERA.  In several Lehigh Valley starts I witnessed, Hyatt struggled with his control, running many deep counts and was quite simply, very hittable.

Hyatt, 26, was the Phils 15th round pick out of the University of Alabama in 2009.  His release may actually be a favor to him, as with the glut of young starters the Phils have in Lehigh Valley and Reading, Hyatt may have struggled to get starts. In any event, it looks more and more like the Lehigh Valley rotation will be Pettibone, Morgan, Martin, Cloyd and Cochran, which will be an exciting rotation to watch for those who frequent Coca Cola Park.

27 thoughts on “Austin Hyatt Released”

  1. This doesn’t surprise me. Phils were high on him a couple years back. Best of luck to him going forward

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  2. So who is the 5th starter at Reading now?

    Jesse Biddle
    Austin Wright
    Brody Colvin
    David Buchanan

    Most every other pitcher in group 2 is a relief pitcher. Edgar Garcia?

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      1. I’d like them to have Rosin as starter, just was not sure he’d have a spot. Looks like he does now.

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      1. He is starting in Clearwater for now. He was already double jumped to LKW to start his career and they are just moving him up one level in 2013.

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  3. I am disappointed since I thought Hyatt could have had a one year adjustment. No reason to get rid of possible fringe starter who might be major league ready. For Hyatt personally, it might be better. I could have seen him at either AAA or AA as either the 5th starter or long reliever.

    I’d like to see Rosenberg as a starter in LHV. Again starters are much more valuable than relievers. If he can somehow get an off speed pitch going he might be a possible 6 inning starter or at least get something in a trade.

    Looks like Morgan earned his LHV spot but I really thought Phillies would put him in AA just to take him a bit slower and keep another ‘vet’ in the LHV just to have more callup options. I’d not want to start Morgan’s arbitration clock until he was really ready.

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  5. There’s just so much depth at the upper levels, they couldn’t have made this move a few years ago. Pettibone and Cloyd are very ready to be a “6th starter” if and when they need one. Morgan and Martin could quickly play into the discussion with good first halves in 2013. And then you have Biddle not far behind. A 2014 rotation of Hamels, Lee, and Halladay, could be supplemented by Pettibone and Morgan if things go well.

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  6. There was a poster, going into last year, that was adamant that Tyler Cloyd was a better prospect than Austin Hyatt. Most everyone ridiculed the guy. Seems he was right.
    Hyatt had a little Rizzotti/DMitch type following going with at least few fans for a couple years. The turn was sudden.

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      1. Yeah, I don’t think it was unreasonable to think Hyatt would have a big league career based on his pre-2012 numbers and scouting report. He seemed like a good candidate to be a cheap fifth starter for a few years. Didn’t work out for him, though.

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    2. That’s because, going in to last year, having Hyatt over Cloyd was the most reasonable position. Two older pitchers, one with reports of a 90+ fastball and a 10 so/9 rate across 150 innings in AA versus a guy with a mid-80s fastball splitting time between starting and relief between A+ and AA.

      After another year of data, that position seems to be wrong but that has no bearing on whether it was wrong at the time.

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          1. At one point in 2011 Hyatt’s change-up was above average. And he alluded to that on a Phoulzball interview that was a difference maker for him. Wish him well here on out.

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        3. Than you weren’t paying attention

          From Baseball America:
          “Hyatt is a three-pitch guy. His fastball is 91-93 mph and his changeup, according to LaMar, is outstanding. Hyatt’s slider is a work in progress. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder worked as a starter and reliever in 2009, but LaMar believes he has enough going for him to remain in the rotation.”

          From Matt Gelb during Spring Training last year:
          “He doesn’t have overpowering stuff; normally his fastball tops out at 92 or 93 m.p.h. Hyatt said that developing a better slider in addition to his fastball and changeup is a priority.”

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  7. Slight bummer as I’d hoped Hyatt would be able to transition to the pen and show something, but I imagine he could catch on as a starter in AAA somewhere.

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  8. I saw Hyatt in Harrisburg late last year. He was great for four innings; then 3 homers and the game was lost. The Senatorts have a great group of hitters and Hyatt had them at bay for a while, but just a lapse of command and it was over. He is one of those guys like Cloyd that need great command to be able to pitch at the upper levels. It becomes very difficult when that has to happen every start.

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  9. If you look at Hyatt’s career stats you have to like what you see… until last year. He was averaging between 10 & 15 Ks/9. He was figuring out each level as he went. His K/9 was dropping but it was still over 10 2 years ago. He was a college pitcher so you’d expect him to dominate at Wmsrt and even Lakewood. His first year in AA put him on the big clubs radar. If he continued to progress, he would be solid. But last year the wheels fell off. Maybe it was conditioning, maybe it was some small injury but maybe the hitters caught up to him. I’m sure the Phils wanted to get a look at him so they could determine what his problem ws. They saw enough. A change of scenery might do him a world good. I wish Austin all the best.

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  10. Surprised Hyatt was never given a serious look as a bullpen arm. If I recall correctly, he had one of the best change-ups in the system for a few years

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  11. I think there are certain pitchers where you can say their numbers belie their stuff. JROD was another example of a pitcher that had a high K/9 rate and you couldn’t quite figure out how he was doing it.

    I still like the stat combined with WHIP as an indicator of whether or not a pitcher can get outs on a consistent basis.

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  12. The good thing about the release of Hyatt, Duffy and JROD departing is that the Phillies think they have better guys available in the minors.

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