Box Score Recap – 7/17/2013

Box Score Recap

One of the better games of Zach Collier’s season, 3-4, a HR short of the cycle, and a steal. Jim Murphy with 2 HR…a friendly reminder that he turns 28 in 2 months. Severino Gonzalez back in CLR and his start went…poorly. After throwing 6 no-hit innings last time out, Jeb Stefan only goes 3 innings. He allowed 1R on 4H 2BB and 3K. Curious why he was pulled so early. Gabriel Lino 2-4 with 2 doubles.

A nice line from Adam Morgan rehabbing at GCL – 3H and 5K in 4 scoreless innings. I imagine he’ll work some more down there, maybe with CLR, and hopefully he’s back in AAA in August.

And Wilmer Oberto, with whom we all got a little acquainted yesterday after his 2HR game on Tuesday, added his 3rd HR in 2 days. I told Matt I have been pronouncing his name like Mr. Ed says, “Wilbur”. Also worth trying – yelling it like Fred Flintstone yells “Wilma”. Good times…yes…indeed…good times.

Here’s the affiliate Scoreboard from MiLB.

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?sid=milb&org=143&ymd=20130717

7-17-13 boxscores

83 thoughts on “Box Score Recap – 7/17/2013”

  1. The Phila. Inquirer is listing their top 25 Phillies prospects today and Friday with their report and a scouts view for each player. Today is 1-13 . ( not sure how to get the link )
    1) Franco
    2) Biddle
    3) Quinn
    4) Hernandez
    5) Asche
    6) Joseph
    7) Martin
    8) Morgan
    9) Crawford
    10) Dugan
    11) Tocci
    12) Watson
    13) Perkins

    Like

    3. Other scout notes are not too thrilling. Among the tepid responses, Biddle is a “Back end of the Rotation starter.” He may be wrong, but still hate to hear that about the org. #1/#2 prospect. Asche is compared to Pete Orr physically, but is said to be an everyday starter. No comps to Pete Orr please, especially for our next starter at 3rd. : )

      Anyway, read the scout notes for further insight.

      Like

  2. Nice first game for Cord Sandberg: 2-2 with 2 BB. Has he played CF once this season? Did I imagine the reports that suggested he had the athleticism to play there?

    Jose Pujols’ early struggles in the GCL only solidify for me how impressive Carlos Tocci has been. Consider: Tocci is hitting .226 against Sally pitchers, while Pujols is hitting .140 (SSS) against GCL pitching.

    Tocci is only one month older than Pujols.

    Like

    1. Yup. Another interesting comparison:

      Larry Greene: .229 / .322 / .314
      Carlos Tocci: .226 / .280 / .273

      2.5 year age gap, and maybe an 80-100 pound weight gap.

      Like

    1. Those numbers seem entirely fair to me. Sano at 3, D’Arnaud at 22, Cosart at 36, Singleton at 60.

      Will note that he calls Biddle “a bit erratic”, which seems accurate.

      Like

  4. Nice line from Gabriel Lino. Wonder what people are thinking of him right now.

    I just took a look at this stats. 8.3 / 24.0 BB/K and .115 ISO are both WORSE than last year despite being a level lower. BABIP of .400 vs. .280 is making all the difference. 20 years old in A- makes him about average, but a little old for a top prospect (though he’s a catcher, which probably cancels that).

    I don’t quite know what to think. Honestly, I was a lot more optimistic about him until I looked at his stats. Hopefully his peripherals improve once his BABIP falls off.

    Like

  5. With JP Crawford the SS of the future why keep Quinn at SS when he comes off the DL. Move him now to CF . This club has no foresight. With Howard blocking 1B why didn’t they move Ruff to LF 2 years ago ?

    Like

    2. Because by your logic Carlos Tocci is a better CF prospect than Quinn (if the SS experiment is done with Quinn he definitely falls behind Tocci) then we should move Quinn to RF, but if Ruf is in LF and Brown in RF (theoretically in your world), then where do we put Quinn. Saying so and so is the future or present and moving a player off of a position early in the process just decreases there versatility and value both to the team and in trades

      Like

        1. I am not convinced he can handle it. The problems at SS are not range and they are not arm. He is not smooth fielding the ball (footwork and motions) and making that transition to throw. In other words he is having problems with being an infielder not with being a SS.

          Like

    3. The only reason Ruf is even a name we talk about is because of his hot month last year.

      JP Crawford is in rookie ball.. plenty of time for something to go wrong. Quinn has basically played SS for what, one year? Takes a bit of time to learn how to play defensively.

      Like

      1. I like Ruf but we need to squash the notion that he can play OF on any kind of a regular basis. He is a good to above average fielding 1B and that’s it. And if he is going to stick he has to at the very least crush LHP.

        I don’t agree that the only reason we talk about him is because of one hot month. He did hit and get on base at every level. Last year he tapped into his power but if not we still would have discussed him in the same vein that we discussed Rizz.

        Like

          1. “viewed as” does all the work in that sentence. Young should not have a a major league job. Saying “well Ruf could be the next Delmon Young” is not high praise.

            Ibanez is a somewhat different case. If we look at his recent years (in his prime he was a decent defensive outfielder), he’s had value only when he’s hit very well. And then marginal value. And he is a guy who has mainly DHed the past two years. A guy who can fill in (preferably as a DH) when other players are injured, or as a bench guy. the last year he grades out as more than that was 2009, and even then it’s partly because the defensive metrics, probably incorrectly, saw him as a slightly above average defensive outfielder.

            To put it another way, while I like Ibanez a thousand times more than I like D. Young, if the best you can say about Ruf is that, in his prime, he could be as good as a decline phase Raul Ibanez … well, again, that’s faint praise.

            All that said, if EVERYTHING breaks right for him, he could have a couple years as a regular first baseman. That’s his position. Not left field.

            Like

            1. Don’t know about anyone else, but I expect to see a lot of Mr. Ruf at first base over the next several years.

              Like

          2. The determining factor regarding whether Ruf will have a career (as a first baseman) will be his hitting. Now, my reputation to the contrary (earned by my comments on his defense, and disagreements regarding the straight line projections that some made from his AA performance), I’ve always been pretty bullish on his hitting. But as impressive as his SSS line so far looks on a superficial basis, he need to get the K rate down, currently 36.6% overall and over 40% this year. No one has ever been able to sustain a career with a K% that high.

            Like

            1. Mind you, I’m not saying he won’t … I don’t put much weight on 71 PA. My point is that, for those who DO want to place a lot of weight on those numbers, you need to consider the Ks.as well.

              I don’t really have a prediction about whether he will hit enough. I’ve said already I see him as an upgrade over Howard, but that reflects mainly Howard’s decline. I see him as about a 2 WAR player … which, as I said, makes me optimistic compared to the “consensus” on him.

              Like

            2. ‘No one has ever been able to sustain a career with a K% that high’…not even Ryan Howard!

              Like

            5. Mark Reynolds has a career K% of 32.5%, and he’s the best example you’ve got, except arguably Russell Branyan, slightly higher at 32.9 but not a guy who was ever quite a regular Everyone else with significant careers is under 30%, including noted K machines Dunn and Howard. (Actually, those are the first two names on the list who had careers that you would really aspire to.)

              By “significant careers” I meant players with at least 3000 career PA. Lower that and there’s a few other players, but none over 35%, and only one of those guys arguably helps your case. But he’s a guy that is having a break out season in part because he’s gotten his K% under 30%.

              No, the argument that has to be made for Ruf is that he’ll lower that figure significantly. And he might!!! If he doesn’t, he won’t have a career. You want to argue SSS and his minor league K%, go ahead, you may well be right. But ou can’t argue with a straight face that he can have a career with his current %.

              Like

    4. Everybody gets all hung up on this. Quinn will stay at SS until they decide he can’t play it and that’s not coming any time soon. He could even get moved to 2B rather than CF. Quinn was a CF in high school, its not like he’d have to learn a new position. The transition to CF is very hard if you’ve never played OF but it would be pretty easy for Quinn.

      Like

            1. If you’ve never learned calculus before, we wouldn’t stop teaching you 3 week in just because you don’t yet understand Riemann’s sum.

              Like

    1. Interesting. I’m keeping an eye on Jay Johnson. He has a major league arm, but (stop me if you’ve heard this before) he’s got to improve his control. Maybe he’ll be added to the list with Ramirez and Garcia of “guys we didn’t expect to be effective in the majors for a short period of time this year”.

      Like

  7. Its outstanding to see Morgan look sharp and ready to go back to AAA. A definite bummer to see Severino got knocked around but he didn’t have good control last night which is unusual. Hopefully, his next start will be much better.

    Like

  8. Nice to see Collier with a good performance. Watching him in Clearwater last year, he was just so solid. I did not think he’d struggle with the transition up.

    Like

  9. Herlis Rodriguez and Pujols just went deep. Any reports on Herlis? – Off to a fast start. Looks like he had a terrible season last year but with limited number of ABs he may have been injured. There must be a reason they brought him stateside.

    Like

  10. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m getting a real Derek Jeter”ish” vibe about JP Crawford. And everything I’ve heard about him, both as a player and as a person, is glowing.

    Like

    1. This is what its like to have a decently high draft pick. Earliest pick we’ll be getting next year will be a comp pick if Utley walks aos you know RAJ is just itching to sign a guy like Choo.

      Like

      1. Sure it would, but, to be clear, I’m not saying he’s Jeter, just that what I see and hear is reminiscent of Jeter, which is a great, great thing.

        Like

    3. Way too soon for a Jeter comp. What made Jeter Jeter was quite a lot of HR power for a SS, when he was in his prime. Jeter only hit 4 his first year, and Crawford thus far has none. Jeter’s power came later and Crawford also might realize some HR power as he matures, but until he does, I don’t credit a Jeter comp.

      Like

  11. Not sure if anyone else saw this but our old friend Jose Contreras was just released by the Pirates according to MLBRumours. What are the chances that the Phillies give him another chance as they said he was pitching well at AAA?

    Like

        1. …you spend the money in 200-500k burst on the guys that pop up over the year. Remember that Franco was signed in the winter and Texas signed a guy for 800k this spring. You lose out on the big guy but you don’t punt the whole signing period

          Like

        2. It’s believed the Phils have a handshake deal with Encarnacion for $1.3 million. I don’t know if it’s a gamble so much as layaway.

          Like

          1. I think it definitely is a gamble because another team could come out of nowhere and offer him $1.4 million before he turns 16.

            Like

            1. That could happen, sure, although it’s unlikely. These kids develop relationships with a scout and an organization. They don’t typically jump to another team for an extra $100K at the last minute. For the Phils to hold onto the majority of their spending pool in order to wait for him is a strong sign that he’s going to sign.

              Personally, I’d rather the Phillies spend money on a player they like (and, based on what I’ve read, there’s a lot to like about Encarnacion), then blow their allotment too early and lose him.

              Like

        3. So the Phillies are darned if they go for the “big” name and darned if they don’t by you. Seems reasonable.

          Like

          1. Damned if they go and fail, obviously not if they succeed. The bottom line is it’s not how hard you tried and how good an excuse you had, it’s whom you actually signed. They got no gold star for going big with J D Drew and no gold star for any of the Cubans in whom they’ve reported interest over the years.

            Like

  13. Three more hits for Crawford. I predict he’ll be promoted to Williamsport by August 1st., or after he gets 100 PA’s in GCL. Whichever comes first.

    Like

    1. I’m not sure if they will promote him or not. I certainly like the BB/K and the defense seems solid (if not better), but only 3 XBHs and a BABIP approaching .500. This year he just needs ABs- they might not care where that takes place…

      Like

      2. I wouldn’t promote him. Let him put up some stats and gain some confidence. Actual instruction doesn’t even start until FIL. Any bumping up the ladder should be done next season.

        Like

      3. Crawford’s BABIP, should be high. He is consistently putting the ball in play against GCL defenders.
        The GCL probably isn’t any more challenging than the SoCal league he played in the last 4 years. All the GCL can do for Crawford, and other 1st round picks, is improve the risk of heat stroke.

        Like

  14. nice offense at cgl today. did you notice they didn’t touch the starter for the astros. 10 th rounder nicely from HS. signed for $610,000. 10TH ROUNDER for $610,000!!!! very impressive.

    Like

    1. They also avoided drafting the ‘toolsy’ picks in the ‘you better not miss’ rounds.

      Like

    2. O’s getting ready to sign another Cuban OF-Dariel Alvarez for 800K, and he is exempt from the new CBA international cap-regulations because he is 24-years old.
      The Phillies again, must have been in the running. as they were with Cespedes, Soler, Puig, etc etc.
      So refreshing to know that we play ball with the other big boys.

      Like

        1. The Phillies refuse to bust Selig’s voluntary soft draft slots and decision to lowball the LA budget in years past, what the Rangers and Cubs are doing this season on the international front may well be a one-time opportunity, although next year’s international season may offer the same chance. The Phillies have let a lot of opportunities pass to improve the farm. The future rules will become more and more constraining. You don’t get to make up for past non-aggressive talent acquisition. The Phillies may have the light bulb go off with regard to how they should have handled talent acquisition for the farm, but it will be too late.

          You excuse them for having a laser focus on the big league team, but really how hard would it have been to find an extra $2-3 mill a year for the farm? A business that doesn’t think about its future is not going to thrive in the future. It is telling that Amaro said the Phillies do not believe in 5-year strategic plans.

          Like

          1. I believe the Rangers and Cubs did it this off-season for two reasons.

            #1) It’s possible Selig uses his “for the good of the game” clause to deny that from happening next year because teams were talking about doing it the final year “non international draft” year because if you lose your 1st/2nd round picks in the International Draft it wouldn’t be a big deal. Let’s say you’re the Rangers and you pick #25th and #55th in the International Draft. Doesn’t it make more sense to sign multiple top 20 prospects the prior year?

            #2) Even if Selig doesn’t stop it it’s entirely possible you’d have even more competition from teams going all-out in the last year before the draft so you’d have much more competition and have to spend a lot more money. So the Cubs/Rangers are ahead of the curve and really only competiting against each other this year. If the International Draft had been announced for 2014 you probably might see even more teams doing what the Cubs/Rangers are doing so that would make it tougher to get as many of the top prospects.

            Like

    3. Now granted the Blue Jays do view the MLB draft budget as Draft Pool PLUS 5% going into the draft and they do spend a lot more internationally than the Phillies…but the reason the Blue Jays had so much to give two of their picks after the 10th round was because they didn’t sign their first round pick.

      2nd rd 47th overall (#95 BA) $700,000 under slot
      3rd rd 83rd overall (unranked) $150,000 under slot
      4th rd 115th overall (unranked) $100,000 under slot
      5th rd 145th overall (#254 BA) $134,000 under slot
      6th rd 175th overall (#178 BA) $175,000 under slot
      7th rd 205th overall (#446 BA) $87,000 under slot
      8th rd 235th overall (#470 BA) $150,000 under slot
      9th rd 265th overall (unranked) $140,000 under slot
      10th rd 295th overall (unranked) $135,000 under slot

      11th rd #325th overall (#80 BA) $700,000 ($600K over slot)
      30th rd #895th overall (#59 BA) $850,000 ($750k over slot)

      So out of the BA top-500 they came out with #59, #80, #95, #178, #254, #446, #456 and #470.

      vs the Phillies approach which netted them
      #15, #40, #71, #116, #132, #275, #276, #363, #405, #408, and #427.

      Baseball America is not the end-all/be-all when it comes to scouting… but just using that as a guide you would say the Phillies came out of the draft with better prospects. I do give the Blue Jays credit for managing to keep their draft from being a disaster by not being able to sign their first round pick. The reason why they had just over $1.7m shaved out of their bonus pool was to help in signing Bickford as well as allow to go hard after a post 10th round player. With the amount that Bickford was asking for the Blue Jays would have probably been able to sign him, but then that’s it. They wouldn’t have had any wiggle room for post 10th round players. They decided signing the #59th and #80th prospects was better than giving all of their savings to Bickford.

      Like

  16. Tonight’s GCL game was interesting: Oberto with his 4th HR in 5 games, Pujols with a HR, Crawford back up to .400 after going 3-5 w/3 RBI, and finally, Jan & Trey are hitting a little bit.

    in Reading- Maikel Franco 3-5, Dugan 2-4 2B BB…

    Cesar Hernandez 2 for 4 leading off & playing CF in his return to Lehigh Valley

    Zach Green w/ his 5th HR

    Like

    1. hernandez not a cf saw game and he butchered two easy plays which only involved picking up a ball that was virtually motionless on the ground. 1st was an error that led to Columbus’s first run. 2nd would have been but Gilles bailed him out and threw runner out at 2nd base

      Like

      1. Not sure what it says about the Phillies’ confidence in Gillies when the Phillies try to convert an infielder like Ceasr H. to CF in mid-season.

        Like

Comments are closed.