Box Score Recap – 6/16/2013

Box Score Recap

Cody Asche hits his 8th HR of the year. Projecting him to the mid-upper teens for a full year is about what the concensus was when we discussed him in the Top 30 voting, so even if he’s heating up a little, he’s about where we’d expect. Austin Wright with good results, though he didn’t throw a good rate of strikes. We’ll see how his second half goes after injuries derailed him for much of the first half. And Roman Quinn hed three throwing errors. Gets him to 30 on the year, matching his SB total. If he finishes the year with around 45 errors, I’d say that’s a victory for his second half.

Here’s the affiliate Scoreboard from MiLB.

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?sid=milb&org=143&ymd=20130616

6-16-13 boxscores

119 thoughts on “Box Score Recap – 6/16/2013”

  1. Asche’s upside is pretty limited but he could be a decent stopgap solution for 2014 and 3B (assuming they dont just go with Galvis…who might be starting at 2B instead if/when Utley walks).

    The question will be if they are willing to accept that he seemingly has a long adjustment period every time he makes it to another level. He was atrocious in his first month in AAA and it was the same with his promotion to AA last year and A+ before that.

    It seems to take him a while to get going each tim.

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    1. I guess it depends on how big a rebuild is going on when he gets the call. Dom Brown would of been given a much longer tryout his first time up if the team wasn’t a World Series contender.

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    2. You could always platoon him with Frandsen next year to ease the transition (assuming Galvis is starting elsewhere)

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      1. That’s a distinct possibility…especially given that Asche has serious trouble with LHP and Frandsen destroys it.

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        1. .762 OPS vs Lefties last year in 174 PAs, .657 OPS this season in 78 PAs. Not great, but certainly doesn’t scream platoon either.

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          1. Agreed, but only as a way to ease him in since he starts slow at each level. Frandsen has been destroying LH pitching for 2 years now and considering the lack of anyone else who really does, they ought to find some more ABs for him.

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          2. It does when you have Frandsen on the bench who plays the same position and crushes LHP…

            Its not exactly a huge deal…Utley was platooned when he first came up too.

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    3. On Asche’s power, what he finishes the season with depends on whether he levels off and puts up the same numbers he has over the entire season, or whether he stays on the level he’s been for the last month and a half.

      What I mean is, Asche’s ISO after the first month (94 PAs) was .096. In May it was .207 and so far in June it’s .241. His home run rate has been a big reason why his ISO has gone up. So, is he just on a hot streak now or has he adjusted to the level? How indicative of his talent was his first month, with the low ISO and 1 home run?

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  2. More and more, it looks like Quinn will end up in CF rather than SS. The error rate is a bad way to judge defense as we all know but at some point it is telling of him not being able to handle the position at the pro level. He’s still a good prospect as a CF but not the potentially elite one he would be if he can stick at SS.

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    1. so, does anyone know if Quinn’s throwing and fielding errors are the type of thing that do not translate to a problem at another position?

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      1. I’m not entirely sure but I think reports have been that his footwork isn’t very good so that is causing him to make a lot of throwing errors

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    2. Quinn looks like he’ll be a 50/50 guy. 50 SBs and 50 errors. It will be interesting to follow through the 2nd half. Most seem to be on throws so that’s something that can be worked on. It could be he’s getting to a lot of balls other SS don’t get to and then hurries the throw. As he moves up the system, he’ll learn to hold throws if there is very little chance of getting guys out especially with other guys on base. In A ball, they might want him to be aggressive with throws so he can learn when to hold ’em. Keeping the ball in the infield can keep runners from scoring. Throwing the ball into the stands moves all runners up.

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      1. He has an .876 fielding % so it doesn’t seem like it’s a matter of him getting to more balls than the typical SS. He’s just a bad SS right now. Hopefully they can correct the issues, but it’s not encouraging. Like Nepp said, at least he’s still an exciting prospect as a CF.

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        1. The Kid is learning how to better pitching, bat from both sides and learn a new position. He’ll be fine down the road. No need to move him.

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        2. Fielding percentage is not indicative in any way of his range. He could have a .100 fielding percentage and be getting to balls at 1B and 3B.

          But, while his extra range might account for some of it, it does sound like the vast majority of his problems are footwork. And considering he hasn’t even been at the position 2 whole years yet, I think people are underestimating how difficult it can be to build those twitch reflex muscles at such a demanding position. It’s certainly not anywhere near time to move him. If he was a 22-23 year old in AA or higher I could see the concern, but not right now.

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          1. I realize fielding % isn’t indicative of range, but Bellman asked whether his high error total was inflated because he was getting to more balls. I was pointing out that his fielding % was still very low, meaning (obviously) he’s still making errors a high rate.

            I agree it’s too early to pull the plug, but if he keeps this up for the whole season it’s very strong sign he’s going to have to move back to CF. I still think he’s the third or fourth best prospect in the system so I’m by no means down on him overall.

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          2. My original point about the errors was more that even if he had to move to CF, he’s still a good prospect.

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  3. Could Asche make a move to the OF when Franco is ready? If not, he’s going to be a VERY nice trade chip in two years, when the club is going to be a buyer again.

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    1. I think Asche could make the move to the OF if both he and Franco make it and the Phillies want to keep both.

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      1. He could turn into a DeRosa / Prado type that can go between 3RD and LF, adding position flexibility to his value. DeRosa and Prado never hit as well as Asche in the minors.

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      1. Which he doesn’t really project to do. Asche’s biggest problem as a prospect is that he doesnt really do anything great. None of his tools are elite. He hits for okay average, okay power, has an okay arm, plays okay defense at 3B…etc etc. If he cant stick at 3B, he likely never plays in the Majors.

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        1. You can say all those things about Martin Prado and he’s a productive player and landed the Braves Justin Upton.

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          1. Prado gets a boost from being able to play 2B (and SS in an emergency). 2B has a lower offensive threshold.

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          2. That wasn’t a 1 for 1 trade obviously and Aron makes a great point about 2B…

            Look, if Asche turns into Martin Prado…awesome. I’m just pointing out that its not very likely given his skillset.

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          3. Prado hits for a much better average than Asche is likely to, because he’s less prone to strikeouts.

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            1. He also never had the power that Asche has already shown. Since his promotion to Reading about a year ago he’s slugged 18 bombs. Martin Prado at age 22 hit 3.

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  4. * Not taking the Hewitt bait. His k rate is still around 30% with marginal power. His OBP up a tick with better BB% & avg. The only thing we can say is different this year is he is having better June than May.

    * Larry Greene was clearly instructed to swing for power with 9Ks in his last 15 AB.

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    1. Larry has a slight uptick in Ks in this last 10 games but he has 65Ks in 46 games. He’s a missing machine. One thing I like to look at is total bases to Ks. Greene has 65 Ks to 40 TBs. I think that’s far worse than any season Hewitt had.. Even though Hewitt had 2 seasons with more Ks than TBs, His worst was his first with a 55 K to 35 TBs. Let’s see how Greene does in the 2nd half.

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      1. Had he stuck at 3B, maybe he had a chance to be more, but it seems obvious that’s not going to happen.

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  6. If (when) the Phillies are out of contention, Asche should be starting at 3b. Same with Ruf in the outfield. Particularly with Ruf, you have to let them have time and actually see what you really have in these guys.

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    1. Ruf has a .755 OPS so far in AAA…right now its not his defense that is the concern. His bat isn’t playing at a level that would mean a promotion to the Majors. Considering his track record, it might be smarter to chalk up 2012 to a fluke than breakout season…especially given his age.

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      1. Unfort. I agree… I really thought it was sustainable. The disappearance of power is really disappointing.

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      2. I wouldn’t move on just yet. He is not living up to the expectations that last year created. He can still be a productive guy at the MLB level. With the team where it is, I would prefer he get a shot for a half a season with the Phils to get a better idea of what he is — starter, platoon guy, bench/pinch hitter, AAAA guy, etc. It’s not like Delmon Young will be leading us to the playoffs and I would like to see if Brown can be the RF of the future because it is easier to get a serviceable LF than a solution in RF. And, let’s face it, the Phils’ minor league teams do not appear overflowing with OF talent that can help the Phils anytime soon. It can’t hurt at this point to see what Ruf can do.

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        1. If he can’t hit in AAA, moving him up doesn’t really help anything. If he were at least hitting in AAA, I’d say sure, bring him up to see what you have.

          The entire D. Young saga boggles my mind as well.

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          1. Mine too. What’s wrong with NixBerry? Its a MASSIVE upgrade over Delmon. And its not like Charlie has never platooned anyone before. Werth and Jenkins were a RF platoon before Werth broke out.

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          2. Not trying to make excuses, but at the same time, he had an injury for awhile and hasn’t been terrible. My thought is, given his age and how well he did last year, it can’t hurt to give him a chance. I doubt at this point it would hurt the team to bring him up for an extended look and see what he can do.

            Additionally, I haven’t really looked at this, but moving Ruf up may help with other players’ promotions and playing time (i.e. Gillies and/or even Hewitt to AAA, Altherr to AA, etc.). Gillies and Collier have to play to make their case as their 40-man spots have to be shaky at this point. Hewitt is about to be a minor-league FA. To answer the obvious question, yes, it is depressing that I am arguing for a promotion/more playing time for three guys that haven’t really merited it. Nevertheless, it probably will help going forward.

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          3. Last time Dom was in AAA, he wasn’t lighting the world on fire either. His stats were consistently mediocre.

            Ruf wasn’t overmatched when he came up last year. A lot of times Delmon looks completely in over his head.

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  7. Its amazing how Asche is quietly OPSing .800 in AAA at the age of 22 and by all account has improved his defense and yet he’s barely mentioned around here these days. I know Franco is stealing the spotlight, but I’m strongly considering putting Asche as my #3 Phillies prospect.

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    1. I think it all depends on your ranking methodology. I would still probably have Adam Morgan at #3 and then you’ve got Asche, Joseph and Quinn duking it out over the next 3 spots probably. I think Quinn’s potential isn’t enough to make up for the gap in level at this time because he’s not tearing it up offensively or defensively. There is more an argument to be made between Asche and Joseph. Joseph has had a lackluster year due to a slow start and injury. But some (or most) would still put his potential above Asche’s and he plays a more premium position and is a year younger at the same level

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      1. 2013 is a disaster for Joseph in both health and performance, he’s still in my top 10, but he needs to show something soon or it will be a lost year for him.

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      2. Tocci, who will finish Low A ball at 17/18 yrs old hitting 260ish with a decent k and bb rate, and playing an above avg CF, should be in the top 3.

        As for Asche, I’m not following the “limited upside” argument. Just because he’ll never hit 40 homers in a season doesn’t mean he can’t be a very, very good 3B.

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        1. Its more the lack of any elite tools or even above average tools than the mythological “40 HR” line.

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          1. His supposed lack of tools has carried him to the brink of a major league callup at the age of 22. Guys like him without any elite tools have 10 year major league careers while the other prospects with tools languish in the minors for years fixing fatal flaws in their games.

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            1. And if you were around here 5 years ago, everyone said the same stuff about Jason Donald…FWIW.

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            2. Looks to me looking at Donald’s career hit as snag when he got to AAA. Whether injuries or not its obvious he stagnated at that point. Every prospect is different.

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            3. Of course they are. And Asche has been heating up as the year as gone on so he might very well have a very good year in AAA when its all said and done. I expect he gets a cup of coffee in the Majors this year…maybe sooner if the MLB club completely implodes and they decide to go with Frandsen/Asche at 3B to see if they can handle it for 2014.

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        2. Tocci has a huge range of possibilities, I can’t move him into my top 5 until he starts showing more gap power and muscles up his first homerun.

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          1. I’m so torn on Tocci, he’s got the highest ceiling by far of anyone in our system, but also probably has the lowest chance of success of anyone in our top 10. If he could hit a few more doubles I’d feel much more comfortable but purely based on ceiling he gets top 5 contention.

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        3. On another note, what are you basing that projected Tocci line on? Given his performance in Lakewood, he’s probably going to Williamsport once the SS league starts as he’s not ready for full-season ball yet. His age is the great equalizer for his low numbers but otherwise there is no reason whatsoever to put him in the Top 3 right now.

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            1. I think so but I still expect him to be demoted at some point soon…he’s not exactly performing in Lakewood.

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            2. Im thinking there is a chance he finishes in Lakewood. He actually hasn’t been to bad lately over his last 21 games he is hitting .273 with .345 OBP

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            3. Joe Jordan recently (Brookover’s recent article) said Tocci and Watson and Greene are all sticking in Lakewood for now. Of course that could change if they tank, but Tocci has been improving as the year progresses, or at least not continuing his poor start. I think he sticks and takes his game to A+ in April, where he may start slow enough to be demoted for another turn through the SAL or impress enough to hang on the full year. Kind of the Freddy Galvis model. Promote him as long as he doesn’t fall falt on his face and hope his weaknesses improve, with the possibility or repeating a level at anytime. For Freddy, that was AA, and he finally got it going that second year. Would he have done the same 2 years earlier at Lakewood? Who knows.

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            4. I would much rather see Carlos Tocci stick out the season in Lakewood doing what he is doing right now against tougher competition. He’s going to benefit from learning how to make the adjustments and try to hit pitching that is advanced for him. When Domingo Santana played in Lakewood as a 17-year old, he hit .182 with 76 strikeouts in 202 PAs. Obviously Tocci is a different kind of player than Santana, but he’s hitting .236 with 30 Ks in 240 PAs. Carlos Tocci is not overmatched at Lakewood, Domingo Santana was.

              I just don’t understand the fascination and the need to see an immediate power improvement from Carlos Tocci. The kid is 17 years old. He’s a kid. He’s got growing left to do. I don’t know what his offseason plans are, but I’d love to see him spend the offseason in Clearwater on a team regimented plan of nutrition and weight lifting similar to what Freddy Galvis did a couple years ago. I think that’s the moment when you’ll see change.

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            7. Tocci has gotten at least one hit in 41 of the 60 games he’s played at Williamsport this year, 52 hits and 17 walks overall. And just 30 K’s. That’s success for a 17-year old.

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          2. His 12% strikeout rate with a 7% walk rate, both improvements over last year in the GCL, suggest that his problem has more to do with his physical development than his baseball development. That probably won’t change if he goes to Williamsport, so it makes sense to me to leave him where he is.

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            1. That’s exactly my thought. The K and BB rates show he’s more than holding his own from a hit tool perspective, while the doubles are a glimmer of hope for him developing his power. Demoting the guy isn’t going to add any muscle to his frame, so what’s it going to accomplish? He’s already pretty clearly recognizing pitches pretty well, he just doesn’t have the body to drive them with yet. Moving him down a level isn’t going to change that.

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          3. Tocci is not getting sent down. Get over the fact that a 17 year old hasn’t hit a home run in low A ball. Once you see this kid play, you’ll appreciate that he brings a lot to the table even if he never hits for power. Having said that, I wouldn’t rule that out yet as HE IS ONLY 17.

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            1. I could care less about his HR rate…I was thinking about how they sent Dom Santana back down to SS ball at a similar age after scuffling in Lakewood. He’d still be way ahead of the curve in SS ball thanks to his youth.

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    2. I think Asche is microcosm of phillies minor league system – low ceiling players who do enough to stick around but project as division 2 starters or backups. I like Asche more for how he plays the game than his tools. Right now, Franco is Phillies only real high ceiling positional players and that is huge concern. Battle of attrition now between Amaro pulling trigger on big trades or phillies finishing last and getting high slotted draft picks. What I saw yesterday and comments by Hamels tells me this team is far from major divisions in that locker room.

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    3. I don’t have Asche that high, however, Asche is doing what he has always done, which is to struggle at first, work hard, then excel. It is important to bear in mind that Asche has never had more than about 260 at bats or so at any level – he is around there right now for IPigs. I’m very interested in what he can do with about 400-425 ABs at AAA. If the growing power and improved plate discipline are for real, combined with the improved fielding, he suddenly becomes a much more impressive prospect. If he continues to hit with a .900 OPS through June and July, I would strongly consider bringing him up at the beginning of August, assuming M. Young can be traded. As mad as I am with Ruben Amaro, I still forsee a couple scenarios in which the Phillies could contend for the second WC by the end of the year. To do so, they are going to have to stick around .500 for now and perhaps gain 3 to 4 games above .500 by the end of July. It seems entirely implausible right now and it’s far from likely, but I think it’s very possible.

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  8. Williamsport starts tonight, the prospects I’m most interested in are Dylan Cozens, apparently has shortened his swing but still has the power, Mitch Guellar, Andrew Pullin, and Andrew Knapp.

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      1. I think that would be Gueller. Frontline stuff if he can develop good secondary pitches. Fastball ranks a 7.

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    1. I’m probably in the minority, but I think Ruf will be fine. He has been working on fielding, his walk, OBP and even slugging rates have been good recently and he always looks good at the plate and gets good hacks. I think he is due for a big time break out and when it happens, he could make us look foolish for doubting him. I’m going to stick with my position that Ruf can really hit and that he will prove the same with a little opportunity and time.

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      1. I’m kind of the opposite, I think he’s a bench bat at best. Really, the guy’s only had 1 month in his entire career where he looked like a prospect. He’s been too old for every level.

        Of course, I would still love for him to kick Donuts to the curb so I don’t have to watch that nonsense in right field every night.

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        1. Hang in there for another month or so. Ruf has a very good history of adjusting and taking off in the second half of each year. And while I agree that Ruf has been old for each level, he has progressed steadily over time, doing better, level by level, before exploding last year. Let’s see where we are on August 1 with Ruf. I’m telling you, this guy can hit and if I have to watch the Phillies score 2.6 runs per game next year while Ruf is hitting 30 homers for the Pirates, I think I’ll smash my TV. My hope is that Ruf breaks out, the Phillies have it with Delmon Young – who is even worse than advertised (wow – that’s hard to do), starting in early August, Ruf plays left, Brown moves back to right, Asche gets promoted and plays third, Utley, Ruiz, Kratz and Halladay return, and the team makes a late season playoff push.

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  10. If I’m counting right, Asche’s the 11th youngest hitter in the International league right now (following Myers’ callup). He’ll be turning 23 on the 30th of this month.

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  11. So this was written up on Baseball prospectus on Franco…Encouraging!

    Maikel Franco, 3B, Phillies (High-A Clearwater)
    Not many guys finished the first half of the Florida State League any hotter than Franco; over his last 10 games, the 6’1″, 180-lb. Franco has put up a .342/.390/.711 line with four home runs. It’s easy to notice his raw power seeing just a couple of swings. While his BP sessions are impressive and must-see television if you have the means, his quick hands and excellent bat speed stand out as well. In the games I saw he was able to handle fastballs on the inside and barrel them up without cheating. He still needs to work on his approach, but he is showing improvement on recognition of off speed offerings and staying in his zone. Franco is about a 20 runner. Despite the lack of speed he still moves pretty well at third base, fields the position well (five errors), and shows a plus arm from the corner. Franco is a player who still has much risk in his development, but there seems to be a good opportunity for him to stay at third base and advance fairly quickly up the ranks. –Chris King

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    1. “Franco is a player who still has much risk in his development”.

      anyone care to elaborate on what Chris King meant by that?

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      2. Franco is a free swinger, he is going to be aggressive early in counts, add in that the swing, because it is a bit of an arm bar, can get a bit long. The bat is very quick so you aren’t too worried about him having holes because of it, but it is a profile that could be susceptible to a pitcher with a good fastball-offspeed combo. In reality he is young and hasn’t faced AA pitching which is a big step for hitter in being able to face quality breaking stuff coupled with control.

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        1. This. Two questions remain for Franco becuase of the “free swining” reports:

          Can he handle more advanced off speed stuff? and Will he be more selective at the plate when he faces more advanced pitching?

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        2. I thought the “arm bar swing” was supposed to keep him from catching up to inside fastballs. With this report that he is getting to inside fastballs and other whispers I’ve seen that he has changed his swing, is there a possibility that the “arm bar swing” tag has just residually stuck to him even if it no longer applies? I haven’t seen him so I can’t say. Also I agree AA breaking balls are going to be when we really see if he is all we hope he is.

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  12. Interesting stat on Asche. You know how many guys have a higher OPS in the International League that are younger than him? 3. Wil Meyers the #4 preseason prospect, Nick Castellanos, the #21 prospect and Oswaldo Arcia the #41 prospect. That’s it.

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    1. That IS interesting. I am liking Asche more than I did last off-season when I ranked him 10th. I have him leap-frogging Martin, Pettibone I think has likely graduated or will shortly if Zambrano doesn’t take his spot, (which thankfully seems less likely than it did a week ago), and I guess for the moment, Asche has passed Watson. Call him #7 at a glance, behind Biddle/Franco, Morgan, Joseph, Quinn and Tocci, with the last four not necessarily in that order.

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      1. Just for fun I looked at the PCL with its bloated offenses. This time the list came out to 4 guys. Nick Franklin, Matt Davidson and Oscar Taveras – current top 100 prospects and Wilmer Flores, a former top 100 guy.

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      2. Morgan has a shoulder injury — possibly serious, Joseph has hit poorly then had concussion and other injury problems, Quinn doing a bit less than I expected this year. I would put Asche above all of these guys at this point. Tocci is so young, just holding his own, and sovery far away. Not at all sure where to put him. Asche has the good numbers and is just a skip away from the majors, so he gets bonus points for proximity and almost zero need for further projection. Some say they would like to see more power from Asche, but that we should bring up Ruf today. Well, Asche beats Ruf on HR and BA. I was at Sunday’s game and Asche ripped #8. Surprisingly, Overbeck doubles Ruf with 12 HR and has about the same BA. Ruf hit a ball Sunday, which was about 10 ft short of a HR and likely would have been out at Reading. He has come a little short quite a lot this season. It’s almost like we have to coin the phrase ‘Reading HR power’. CBP is probably closer to Reading than to any other park in the Phillies system.

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        1. I don’t agree with Asche jumping guys just because they aren’t playing due to injury. Their pre injury ability, at least in the case of Morgan, outclasses Asche’s ability in my opinion. So as such I would see no reason to move Morgan out of the 3 spot just because he’s injured right now.

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          1. Morgan’s injury is a shoulder injury and shoulder injuries in pitchers can be especially pernicious. It raises a very serious question of either reinjury or loss of ability. Therefore, it should be taken into consideration when rating Morgan as a prospect

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            1. So without hearing any real information about the injury we should instantly downgrade his prospect? Look I get all that but Morgan is still a better prospect than Asche in my mind.

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            2. All i’m saying is that for some injuries you can’t just assume a return to pre-injury form. As i said, because Morgan’s injury is a shoulder injury i find that especially troubling especially because it is serious enough to sideline him for this long. If it was a leg injury i wouldn’t discount him at all. But i would bet that the number one injury that drives pitchers out of baseball are shoulder injuries. I’m not saying completely throw away Morgan as a prospect, but until he comes back i think it is right to regard him with healthy skepticism

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            4. Yes. We’ve heard enough about his shoulder to know this isn’t trivial. We rank prospects on ceiling, floor, and probability of coming close to achieving that ceiling. The ceiling may or may not have gone down, but the probability of achieving that ceiling has certainly fallen significantly as we sit here today. The nature of his injury raises a lot of doubt. Doubt equals reduced probability of achieving his ceiling. If we raise or lower prospects on a mid-year assessment, based upon good or bad performance, then it is also reasonable to lower based on injury. If nothing else, it has cost him development time. But largely, it reflects where he is at this point in time. If he comes back in a month and pitches as he did last year, then he can be moved back up the list at the end of the year point-in-time player evaluation rankings. Why even do a mid-season re-rank if you aren’t going to include all the pertinent information. A lot of minor leaguers careers falter due to injury. Gillies is a prime example. Mathieson was a prime example. The development time which Collier lost was significant and I think it has negatively impacted his development and performance. Had he stayed on the field through all his minor league seasons, we’d likely rank him higher than we will. I’m also going to downgrade Joseph some for his injury time outs. Last year, his offensive numbers were just ok/good, but he was very young for the league. Now he is a year older and basically in the same place he was. That represents slippage. Hopefully not permanent, but at this point in time, his rating is lower than it was at the end of last season. Nothing unfair about that. Consider everything.

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    2. I wonder how much of that has to do with teams using AA for their top prospects more so than AAA…which is more for AAAA guys and Org filler for the most part.

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      1. Ok, look at AA last year. Asche was 7th in the entire Eastern League in OPS and only Arcia was younger and had a higher OPS. Everyone’s darling Jackie Bradley is older than Asche and did not hit as well as Asche did in AA.

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        2. Bradley is a plus plus defender in CF. Not a good comparison. The problem is there just isn’t projection with Asche, he is what he is. You aren’t going to get more power without swing adjustments and that takes away his ability to make contact. All he can do at this point is make small adjustments and polish what he has. If he can cut the strikeouts and up the walk rate (without sacrificing his hit tool) then he could improve his stock more.

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          1. 18 bombs since his AA promotion – that’s just 130 games. The reason I like him so much is that he doesn’t need any projection.

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          2. PS. Fangraphs position adjustments are the same for CF and 3rd base. You’re undervaluing the defensive value of a 3rd baseman.

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            2. Average is being generous for Asche given the scouting reports he’s had there. Average is what they hope he can be at 3B.

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            3. I have heard average for a while now, 50 glove with a 55-60 arm. The actions aren’t always clean but he has some range and the arm is good enough.

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            5. I realize that and its the reason why Bradey is a top 50 prospect and Asche was not in the top 100. I never said Asche is better, just wanted to explain why I have Asche in my top 3 while some others here have him after guys like Tommy Joseph.

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  13. Gueller going tonight, and the Franco to Reading promotion watch begins. Its too bad we have another week to wait for the GCL as the daytime boxscore watching is the best.

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  14. some observations from the reading series in richmond over the weekend.

    biddle was not at his best but clearly has a world of talent and will be a solid big league starter by 2015 or earlier.

    buchanan was surprisingly impressive. 90-91 velo and a good change up. could project to a bullpen arm with a year in aaa.

    garcia has a big arm, showing 94-96. whether or not he can use it to get people out (reference rosenberg) time will tell.

    wright seems healthy and can pitch at this level. he was 90-91 occasionally 93 with a useful curve. his outing was never dull with a balk, two hit batters, a wild pitch and some rockets that were caught. his line would have been quite different if mitchell hadn’t made a wonderful over the shoulder catch in deep left and easily double off the richmond baserunner to kill a richmond threat and end the 4th inning. wright needs to develop another pitch or two to be a starter but the projection is there for a 4-5 starter in the majors or a useful bullpen arm.

    things i thought i would never say; hewitt looked good at the plate. he worked the count well in every at bat and hit the ball hard including driving outside pitches hard to right and hitting a no doubter out in left center. he also played a solid right field including tracking down a difficult ball in deep right center. i still don’t believe he will get to the big leagues, but he deserves credit for sticking to it and developing far beyond what i and all the other doubters on this board imagined he would achieve. who knows he might keep improving, although time and age are against him.

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  15. If Asche could get another shot at 2nd and stick there, his bat would be awesome there. I hope that is what eventually happens if Franco continues to develop.

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    1. Second base is a real stretch. Just looking at the actions and range it is going to be tough for him there. The transition from 3B to 2B is also very difficult because of the double play, it is not an instinctual thing for a player to pick up and would likely take some minor league time to work on. I don’t see anyway he projects as anything but below average to poor as a defender if he goes back to second.

      At that point you are better off trading him for another piece you need. If you needed to move him, he wouldn’t be terrible in an OF corner while you work to trade him.

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