Around the System–Corner Infield

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A second look at the corner infield with the obvious focus on Asche and Franco.  How much longer does Harold Martinez have with the organization?

Lehigh Valley

Josh Fields, 30, SIgned as a free agent in 2012; .310/.367/.491 in 116 AB’s; 3HR 15RBI; 6SB; .333 vs. LHP, .299 vs. RHP, .379 with RISP, .306 in May; 9%bb/30%k rate. 10 games at 1B with 3 errors (.968); 4 games at 3B without an error; 3 games in the OF without an error. Fields has been playing extremely well, as one of the most consistent hitters on the Lehigh Valley team.  Also, stealing some bases.

Cody Overbeck, 27, Phils 9th round pick in 2008; .229/.299/.486 in 140 AB’s; 9HR 22 RBI; 1SB; 8%bb/24% k rates; .342 vs. LHP, .186 vs. RHP, .188 with RISP, .211 in May. 29 games at 1B with 1 error (.996); 9.17 R/F. Overbeck is crushing lefties but mediocre at best in several other offensive categories.  He is hitting for good power, and has turned himself into a decent 1B. 

Cody Asche, 22, Phils 4th round pick in 2011; .270/.323/.444 in 178 AB’s; 5HR 31RBI; 2SB; .190 vs. LHP, .294 vs. RHP, .203 with RISP, .274 in May, 8%bb/25% k rates. 45 games at 3B with 6 errors (.956); 2.91 R/F. Asche is progressing how you would hope as he leads the team in RBI’s and is beginning to strike out less.  Still needs improvement against lefties. He gets to alot of balls playing third.

Reading

James Murphy, 27, Phils 17th round pick in 2006; .303//362/.556 in 178AB’s; 10HR 34RBI; 1SB; .320 vs. LHP, .301 vs. RHP, .362 with RISP; .278 in May; 8%bb/20% k rates. Murphy has dropped off a bit in May but not much, still hitting for average and power,48 games at  1B with 2 errors (.995); 7.94 R/F. The Matt RIzzotti of 2013. Murphy is an outstanding AA hitter and capable fielder without much range.

Tyler Henson, 25, Signed as a free agent in 2013; .296/.364/.448 in 125 AB’s; 2 HR 12 RBI; 4SB; .286 vs. LH, .297 vs. RHP, .241 with RISP, .220 in May; 8%bb/26% k rates. 25 games at 3B with 6 errors (.909); 2.40 R/F; 1 game at 1B without an error; 11 games in the OF without an error. Henson missed a couple of weeks injured and is still trying to get his stroke back. Henson is an impressive hitter when healthy.

Tommy Medonca, 25, Signed as a free agent in 2013; .182/.217/.273 in 44 AB’s; 0HR 2RBI. 12 games at 3B with 5 errors (.865). Medonca was signed when Henson went on the DL in the beginning of May. He has been slightly better than awful but only slightly.

Clearwater

Chris Serritella, 23, Phils 4th round pick in 2012; .251/.274/.364 in 187 AB’s; 3HR 17RBI; .103 vs. LHP, .291 vs. RHP, .151 with RISP; .250 in May; 4%bb/28% k rates. 33 games at 3B with 3 errors (.989); 8.48 R/F. A disappointing year for Serritella who has really struggled adjusting to his double jump this year.  He is not hitting lefties at all, striking out alot, and not producing runs.  That said, it’s still only the end of May.

Harold Martinez, 23, Phils 2nd round pick in 2010; .200/.221/.264 in 110 AB’s ;1HR 8 RBI; 3SB; .167 vs. LHP, .209 vs. RHP, .162 with RISP. .194 in May. 2%bb/29% k rates. 6 games at 1B with 1 error (.979); 3 games at 3B with 1 error. Just awful.

Maikel Franco, 20, Signed as free agent in 2010; .292/.340/.549 in 192 AB’s; 10 HR 36RBI; .267 vs. LHP, .300 vs. RHP, .246 with RISP; .292 in May. 6%bb/13% K rates.  46 games at 3B without an error; 2.20 R/F. Franco has been outstanding and probably has moved himself into the #2 or 3 prospect position in the organization. Is notably without an error.  I would be very careful about rushing him, as his value will remain very high as he puts up excellent numbers this year and Asche is ahead of him. He is only 20…

Brock STassi, 23, Phils 33rd round pick in 2011;  .283/.328/.400 in 60 AB’s; 1 HR 6 RBI; 13 games at 1B with 1 error (.990); 7 games in the OF without an error. Stassi has done exactly what has been asked off him this year and done it well.

Lakewood

Art Charles, 22, Acquired from Toronto in 2013; .259/.347/.449 in 147 AB’s; 6HR 26RBI; 1SB; .174 vs. LHP, .274 vs. RHP, .244 with RISP, .222 in May; 13%bb/25% K rate. 37 games at 1B with 5 errors (.985); 8.73 R/F. Charles had a nice April but has slowed up in May, partially due to injury. Needs to be more consistent against LHP before a promotion.

Willie Carmona, 22, Phils 11th round pick in 2012,  .242/.280/.340 in 153 AB’s; 1HR 14RBI; 1SB; .250 vs. LHP, .240 vs. RHP, .209 with RISP, .221 in May, 5%bb/23% k rates. 12 games at 1B with 1 error (.991) and 5 games at 3B without an error. Very pedestrian numbers for Carmona who has seen limited playing time in the field and is being used mostly as a DH.

Mitch Walding, 20, Phils 5th round pick in 2011; .238/.304/.305 in 164 AB’s; 0HR 26RBI; .214 vs. LHP, .243 vs. RHP, .298 with RISP, .198 in May, 8%bb/24% k rates. 43 games at 3B with 10 errors (.926); 2.93 R/F. Walding has done his best work in the clutch which is a positive sign but his progression has been slower than the Phils had hoped. Still, just 20 and with alot of talent.

31 thoughts on “Around the System–Corner Infield”

    1. You’ve got to remember, there’s always a high flame out rate as prospects move up. I can think of a number of players highly rated (by scouts) players who dominated in the minors only to have no major league career. Look at Dom Brown, he’s barely managed to play at replacement level this year and he was the #5 prospect in all of baseball.

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      1. Dom Brown is a 0.7 WAR player before June. If he stays on the pace he is playing, he will be a 2.0 WAR player by the end of the year. Not sure how Dom Brown’s performance relates to Darin Rus’s performance in the Minor Leagues.

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        1. Ok, a 2 WAR player, but that really wasn’t my point. My point was they both did extremely well in more junior levels within professional baseball, and while DB didn’t flame-out, he’s certainly lost some of his projection. He was thought of as a .300 hitter with 20 HR power and PLUS defense in RF to go with 15 SB’s. As players move up, their performance tends to drop, some more then others, something I thought you’d have figured out long ago given how long you’ve spent on this site, happy to teach though!

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        3. Brown comes off a lot worse if you use fWAR, almost entirely because of defense.

          I don’t have a terribly strong opinion one way or the other about his defense. I hope the baseball reference number is more accurate. I do have to say that, even as a Brown fan, I’m not super impressed with the offense. Yes, the increased power is great; everything else about his hitting has either gone backwards (BB%, K%) or regrettably stayed the same (BABIP). He hasn’t had a base on balls in the month of May.

          Though I’m sure the organization is congratulating him on his increased aggressiveness. He is looking more and more like the kind of player Amaro loves.

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          1. I’m actually really disappointed about the drop in BB% as well… his current numbers with a 10% BB would look much much more attractive, even if his BABIP didn’t go up with it.

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          2. Agreed. Even with the increased power, a corner OF with a .300 OBP and shaky fielding is a guy you’re usually looking to upgrade.

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          3. I choose to look at it from the perspective that this is part of the growth process. That he previously demonstrated a good batting eye but that the Phils have been pushing him to be a little more aggressive in going after pitches to hit. Soon he will get a better feel for it and better learn how to pick his spots while still working the count.

            That or Amaro has broken him by telling him walks will not get him on this team. I choose to look at this optimistically but acknowledge that the Amaro scenario is plausible as well.

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  7. You said he’s ranked 2 or 3 in the organization (Franco), who do you have pegged as the “other” 2 or 3? I ask because there couldn’t be a more clear case of him being #2 in the org right now in my opinion.

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    2. I still think there is a decent argument to be made for Morgan who is in AAA with a mid-rotation starter profile. I personally have Morgan #2 barely ahead of Franco because of the proximity and the test that AA can be for a player. I think that Morgan has been working on specific things this season, especially the curveball, and has not diminished as a prospect in my eyes since I didn’t think he would be ready until late in the season

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      1. Not sure why you would believe Morgan’s woes have been due to working on specific things this year. He was just sent to the DL with shoulder soreness. I think it likelier that the shoulder injury is the cause of the bad results in 2013. Unfortunately, shoulder injuries seem to have a better than even chance of derailing a pitcher’s career. Hopefully Morgan’s problem is minor and won’t require surgery.

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  8. I didn’t realize Josh Fields was so good in the majors before. He hit 23 homeruns with the White Sox one year.

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    1. Still had negative value that year as the defense was horrible. He can flat out hit at times, the problem is that he is really bad in the field and he has a really high strikeout rate without a good walk rate to offset it.

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  9. This is in response to some recent talk about moving Franco to first base so that both Asche and Franco can (eventually) be regulars for the Phillies.

    There are almost no circumstances in which it would be rational to move a player from third base to first base, if one assumes that the player is decent as a fielder at third base. It is an irrational decision by definition in terms of talent deployment. The positional value difference between third base and first base is about 14 runs – almost a win and a half. That’s huge.

    There are really very few cases in major league history where such extreme positional switches were made (for other than reasons of inadequate defense), and those few examples almost all represented poor use of talent. (Apparent exceptions generally are in one of the following categories: smaller shifts (e.g., SS to 3B) and shifts motivated by defensive deficiencies).

    The solution, assuming that both players do indeed develop into solid of better major league regulars, will be to trade one of the two players. For example, if Asche has a good rookie year, he will have a ton of trade value. Trade him then and slot Franco in at third. That of course assumes that both players continue to progress, but, if not, the problem goes away anyway. Or, for the one person on the board who thinks that Asche is going to be a star, trade Franco – if he continues to progress, he’ll be a top 25 in baseball prospect by the end of 2014 and have tremendous trade value at that point.

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    1. Agreed. Franco seems to be developing into a very solid offensive 3B, which would still make him inadequate as a major league 1B.

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    3. Well I think the season has proven. That Larry was right about the Youngs, they stink. and so does revere. looking at the players bought in, only Adams has been decent. not counting the rookie pitchers. Durbin is so bad its funny. Bastardo cant be trusted with any lead.

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  10. Mitch Walding has “alot of talent”?

    He sure fooled me. Walding is a rock steady .630 OPS and has one career HR in 485 plate appearances. He turns 21 in a little over three months.

    Ben Revere is a genetic toothpick bat. However, Walding is a rather imposing physical specimen, yet Walding doesn’t hit many doubles either. When someone with his physical ability doesn’t hit much for average and exhibits no power there is clearly something seriously wrong with his hit tool.

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