Obviously, Reading isn’t much of a team to watch right now with the obvious exception of number one prospect Jesse Biddle. On the other hand, Clearwater is a very exciting team to watch right now, with a bunch of talented youngsters. While it’s only May, you have to that somebody will get a call-up to Reading from Clearwater sooner or later. I’m not sure who, but I have a few possibilities in mind.
Pitching
Perci Garner- Garner has had an unexpectedly great season so far. As of now, he’s 3-0 with a 2.27 ERA. Not bad. But there has been one big problem- his control. So far through 47.2 innings pitched, he’s given away 20 free passes. Thankfully, he’s been able to limit the damage by keeping the ball in the park, only giving up 2 homers.
While Garner has pitched well, the Phillies should wait a bit to see if they can sort his control problems out.
Gabriel Arias- another pitcher who has been pretty dominant so far. 5-1 with a sparkling 1.69 ERA, Arias started off the season as a reliever, but he’s recently started starting for Clearwater. All of his numbers look good right now- WHIP (1.125) HR/9 (.4) BB/9 (2.5) K/9 (7.0). Case in point- if Arias keeps pitching like he has been, a June/July call-up would definitely seem likely.
Hitters
Maikel Franco- it’s hard not to be impressed with Franco. This year, he’s overcome his usual early-season slump, notching 8 homers (25 XBH) and 32 RBI. Furthermore, Franco is hitting .291/.341/.557.
All the numbers are impressive, but the Phillies should take their time with Franco- let me remind you that he’s still only 20.
Kelly Dugan- Dugan was injured to start the season, but now that he’s playing again, he’s tearing the cover off of the baseball. In 79 PA, he’s hitting .307/.359/.500 with 3 homers and 12 RBI. However, if you look at his stats more closely, you’ll find some uglier ones. As of now, he has 3 walks compared to 20 strikeouts. To say the least, that’s not too good of a ratio.
Dugan has missed a lot of time with injuries, so he’ll need to accelerate his way through the system faster than Franco will have to. But I’d keep Dugan in Clearwater only if tomake sure this isn’t a hot streak, as this is his first year in A+ ball.
Cameron Perkins- In a team full of hot hitters, Perkins may be the hottest of them all. The 6’5″ 195 pound outfielder has been on fire, hitting .361/.383/.561. While his lack of walks (5) has been discouraging, he’s partially made up for it with his lack of strikeouts (19). For safe measure, he’s added on 3 HR and 3 SB.
Like many others on this team, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a mid-summer call-up.
Aaron Altherr- another 6’5″ outfielder, Altherr has been ripping as of late. Altherr is hitting .333/.393/.566 with 4 homers, 8 stolen bases, and 25 RBI. A toolsy outfielder, this seems to be the year that Altherr is pulling everything together.
It’s unlikely that Altherr is called up this summer as the Phillies organization will want to make sure this isn’t a case of somebody catching lightning in a bottle.
For the most part, it seems as if the prevalent theme with these guys is that a mid-summer call-up is most likely, unless injuries force the organization’s hand.
Phuture Phillies 
Perkins makes the most sense. He was a college player and has performed very well in the minors thus far. Plus if they move him up to Reading they can put him at 3B to see what he can do from that position. I figure his upside is a backup corner fielding hitter in the majors, Why not get him into the 3B black hole at Reading?
Franco is super young, I’d only promote him at the end of the season just to get a taste of the next level for next season.
Dugan should be on a similar pathway (but due to injury delays not age). No reason to promote him too early other than to let his power play up.
Altherr has been so inconsistent that I’d just leave him where he is. If he is having success just let him be. Plus if the Phillies do decide to trade at the deadline Altherr could be a valuable trade piece (more so than nearly anyone but Franco in A ball).
Garner should move up to Reading since the Phillies need to decide to protect him. But I bet when he makes it to Reading it is as a reliever. I do not have much hope for him but he could be a late developer due to his football commitment.
Arias I do not consider much of a prospect. I suppose he is assigned where most needed for the teams but not for his own development.
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Agreed on all counts.
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I think Altherr needs to get his Ks in check before we can really think about calling him up. 19 in his last 9 games is crazy. Somehow he’s still putting up solid numbers in that time.
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Why wouldn’t you call up Altherr? He is a better CF then Collier and is in the 2nd in the league in slugging xtra basehits and top 5 in others. Lets see what he has in AA. He can’t do worse then.what is there now. Plus they can see if it’s worth protecting him come December.
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Joe, I’m glad you wrote this piece. In the last week, I’ve started thinking about roster moves. If some of these guys, mentioned in your piece, were to move up, who would move down. Collier seems to make sense. He’s had 140 ABs at Reading. In his last 10 games, his average is the same as his season’s average, which is below the Mendosa line. He’s not kicking in. He needs to be kick started. CLW looks like the place to kick him in the arse. Altherr and Perkins are guys who could move up. Dugan needs a few more ABs because of all his injury time… but he has to move quickly to stay on the prospect radar. A guy who most people don’t think is a prospect who should be pushed is Zach Taylor. He’s a consistent hitter in Lakewood but he gets crowded out by the youngsters. He’s a college guy and just turned 22. See what he’s got. Sink or swim.
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Cant understand why Perkins isn’t at reading now. makes no sense to me. As far as Collier.don’t know if a demotion is the answer. Thinking at this point he just isn’t going to hit. altheer is just Strikeing out too much to move him. Dugan I would move to reading and see what he could do there. right now the outfield at reading is just so bad . we need to shake it up a bit. and see what we have . if Perkins is a real prospect and dugan.
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Aaron Altherr: 25.7 K%, 8.6 Bb%
Kelly Dugan : 26.2 K%, 4.8 Bb%
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Both guys are striking out too much, but Altherr wasn’t that bad to start the year. His K-rate is 40% in May, which is why I think Roccom is justified in thinking that Altherr’s Ks are a bigger problem right now. Though I don’t agree with him that Dugan should be moved up.
Maybe Altherr is working on something like hitting the ball the other way?
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Perkins isn’t at Reading now because he’s had 158 career ABs above rookie ball — and all of them have come in the past two months. If he keeps doing what he’s doing, they can challenge him in June or July.
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Good thoughts Joe. This is a good group to track for the next few months and though I think an argument can be made for all to be promoted, a like-argument can be made to keep them where they are for a full-season. Even Perkins will finish the year 22 years old and there’s nothing wrong with him getting his first taste of AA ball entering his age-23 season.
I’d keep the hitters where they are but would be looking for a reason to promote Dugan. I think the strongest case is for Arias and Garner. Garner played a full season at Clearwater last year and he’s now having some success repeating the level. Move him up –
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As I was doing the research for this article, I was pleasantly surprised by how young some of these guys were. I thought Dugan was 24 to be perfectly honest.
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Great article… The lineup that we have in Reading is atrocious. Other than Murphy,(who is 27) Rupp, and Hewitt nobody is hitting the ball. The team is at the bottom of the league in hitting and runs scored. Definetly think that Dugan should be the first to get the call. He continues to improve as he advances through the system, although he does need to work on ths strikeouts. other than the strikeouts his OBP is still a .380, and if he qualified he would be among the league leaders in OPS with a .884. Even though he missed the first 21 games of the season it didn’t take him long to start swinging the bat. He can also hit lefties as well as righties, and is a better hitter with runners on base (384) and in scoring position (374). Obvisouly 2013 is a small sample size, but if you look at his season in 2012 his stats were almost identical. This is gonna be his breakout year. Dugan reminds me of a young Andre Ethier.
I think Cameron Perkins could get a call although i think the Phils will just let him rip in Clearwater. I think he is gonna be a stud. This kid can play 3B, 1B, and all 3 outfield positions. Definetly the best pick the Phillies made last year in the draft- a steal in the 6th round. What amazes me is that his teammate at Purdue Kevin Plawecki was drafted 35th overall, even though he is an amazing C. Their offensive numbers were just about identical, although Perkins posted more hits, HR’s, and RbI’s. Plawecki batted 4 points higher with a 359 and hit for 5 more doubles. Funny that they are both leading their leagues in Batting, Plawecki in Singles A & Perkins in A+. The kid is a flat out hitter, and like they say as he grows into his 6″5, 190lb frame will hit for some power. Perkins will most likely arrive in Reading in August.
I haven’t given up yet on Anthony Hewitt, even though he has been a disappointment. He is only 23 years old. His biggest problem is hitting that breaking ball, which they say he is close. i will be looking for him to start posting some #’s this summer.
Perci Garner will be up come June. He is throwing the ball pretty well with his 2.32 ERA and 4-0 record. He received 3 No Decisions where he pitched a combine 19 IP with 1 ER.
Anyways I like what the Phillies have in the minors from Clearwater below. Other than that they are in trouble. Asche and Biddle are your only prospects that can contribute next year. Joseph isnt ready, Ruf isnt a MLB player even though everybody wants em. He will be up this year and everybody will see. RUF = lifetime AAA
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You are being a little hard on Ruf. He’ll probably grow into at least a “AAAA” player in his peak years. 26 year old 1st baseman, with 775 .OPS in AAA, don’t grow on trees.
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Ruf can flat out hit and has a track record of adjusting to his league for a few months before going berserk. Remember that he skipped a league last fall. Being in AAA is a really good thing for him. It allows him to learn how to play left while seeing a steady diet of better breaking pitches. Ruf is going to make some major league team very, very happy in the next few years. I hope that team is the Phillies and not the Pirates, A’s (they always pick up the correct “AAAA” guys from other teams) or the Indians. I’m telling you, this guy can really hit and his power is awe inspiring. The fact that he has had a tepid start while he adjust to better pitching and learns to play a new position is not that surprising. Give him a little time and you’ll see.
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