Box Score Recap – 7/28/2013

Box Score Recap

Jesse Biddle really has not had it the last couple times out. After not making out of the first last start, he lasted just 1.1 on Sunday, retiring just 4 of the 13 men he faced. He walked 6 and allowed 3 hits, striking out 2, before being relieved after throwing just 20 of his 50 pitches for strikes.

Ethan Martin living outside the zone again, throwing just 57/104 pitches for strikes. 5H, 3BB, 8K in 6 scoreless innings. Hard to complain about it if you’re rooting for the Pigs to win a ballgame. Hard to not remain concerned if you’re pulling for him to be a big league starter for the Phils. Does this count as harping yet? I feel like I’m “harping” on the subject.

Cody Asche with a double – he’s OPSing over .900 since June 1. Maikel Franco with 2 hits – he’s OPSing 1.015 since his call up to Reading. And Kelly Dugan continues to hit – he’s got 12 hits, including 6 for extra bases, in his last 10 games, as his AA OPS moves towards .800. That’s a pretty nice crop of position players standing on the stoop, if not already knocking on the door.

And one more note – Harold Martinez OPSing .965 over his last 10 games, and .803 in still limited action in July, even after Franco was promoted to make some room in the field. He’s 23 years old in his second stint in A+, so there’s that. He’s playing pretty much every day right now, so I will guess he’s hot and will cool off and continue to be essentially a non-prospect, but I guess I’ll keep an eye on him for the next couple weeks.

Here’s the affiliate Scoreboard from MiLB.

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?sid=milb&org=143&ymd=20130728

7-28-2013

48 thoughts on “Box Score Recap – 7/28/2013”

    2. I saw him pitch. I am high on him. Sits 94 every pitch. And has a nice slider that was getting people to swing and miss. He is a legit pen prospect

      Like

  2. What happened to Biddle of late , thats a few bad ones in a row , if im not mistaken , I know its only the minor league and he is young but his control seems to be faltering here, possible some what of a dead arm , or does anybody have any injury info , Id like to know

    Like

  3. LGJ and Tocci are always in the .220’s. Interesting how they just hit enough to stay in that range. Nothing to brag about, just an observation

    Like

    1. I was at the Lakewood game yesterday, and paid special attention to these two.

      LGJ: He’s an average player attached to monster upper legs. This explains why he has 2x steals than home runs, he’s a fullback. In contrast to Jon, I just don’t see him becoming a hitter all of a sudden- he’s got a nice swing and a good eye, but not the sort of contact skill evidenced by M. Franco.

      Tocci: Very smooth in centerfield, but overmatched at the plate. A young Ben Revere. I think it’s easy to read too much into his age, he’s just an early maturer. He looks like a very good high school player. I think overall we over-rate him because of his tender age. Give him another year at Lakewood and we’ll have a better idea of what we have.

      Other impressions:
      1. Walding with an amazing defensive play at 3rd.
      2. Martinez, Cooper and Francisco all looked good in relief. I was most impressed with Martinez- lots of missing bats. Francisco threw harder but with less control.
      3. Art Charles is a good hitter, he of the walk-off triple. I agree with Jon, he’s someone to watch more closely.

      Like

  4. Any idea when/where Miguel Gonzalez is gonna pitch? On the subject of Gonzalez, I am really liking Severino. Hope I get to see him pitch next month when I go back to Clearwater.

    Like

  5. Most likely for houston, if he is anygood ruben will trade him. cosart looks like a ace for houston another nice start. and villar is holding his own. go houston.

    Like

    1. J.A. Happ and Vance Worley pitched like aces too. You can’t crown anyone for a full season, let alone a few games.

      Like

      1. The difference is that those two pitched above expectations. Cosart has always been viewed as a possible #1/2 starting pitcher, and now he’s just showing it.

        Like

        1. Cosart has been viewed as a #2/#3 or power reliever. Not to take away from his sparkling ERA but through 3 starts (21 IP) Cosart has 11 walks and 7 strikouts. There is some serious regression ahead, especially if he doesn’t start mixing his pitches up more and not just relying on the fastball.

          Like

    2. In 21 innings, Cosart has struck out 7 and walked 11. In his last start, he walked 5 and struck out 1 in 6 innings.

      Like

    4. I, for one, would love to see roccom cheer full time for the Astros. Then maybe we wouldn’t have to read your incoherent ramblings on this board.

      Like

      2. Riggs, I agree with you and have a website for him which is climbingtalshill.com which is dedicated to Houston Astros and Texas Rangers prospects.

        Like

  6. After seeing LGJ play yesterday and multiple other times, I came to multiple conclusions about him and Lakewood
    1) He most likely has a vision problem, should fix that by 2014
    2) LGJ has a monster swing, should be able to destroy any ball that comes in contact
    3) LGJ’s power may come from his linebacker thighs but has an all arm swing
    4) LGJ is a lazy, pathetic fielder in left but has cannon arm, I’d personally see how he does in right, after that try first already
    5) Although Lakewood remains a fantastic organization, I can see them heading down hill slowly, even with small things
    6) Art Charles still has lots of power potential
    7) Mitch Walding has an excellent glove and arm at third
    8) Josh Ludy looks like he lost a lot of weight from last year, maybe taking away from power
    9) Carmona must be promoted already
    10) Numata should be the every day catcher, stop platooning

    Like

    1. “1) He most likely has a vision problem, should fix that by 2014”

      What makes you confident at either part of this statement? It seems absurd to me.

      Like

      1. I mean that with his monster swing, he should be killing the ball but is possibly missing it due to poor vision, hopefully he gets contacts ASAP, this happened to tons of MLB players including Freddie Freeman and Bryce Harper

        Like

        1. Jon. There are many reasons why a player with a “monster swing” can’t actually make consistent contact. And a fixable vision problem is only one possibility. You seem very convinced that that is the reason, but have zero evidence. Further, the two examples you chose couldn’t be worse. Freeman and Harper never had trouble making consistent contact. Have you looked at their stats in the minors? Freeman was a 19 year old in the SAL and had an .899 OPS. And I have no idea what you are talking about regarding Bryce Harper. Your comment doesn’t make any sense.

          Like

          1. I’m just naming one possible reason for LGJ, I’m a huge fan of his and want him to succeed. Second off, washingtonpost.com/sports/now-seeing-in-hd-bryce-harper-lays-waste-to-sally-league-pitching/2011/05/12/AF60aG1G_story.html Finally, it would also apply to LGJ after losing a ball “in twilight” in left and giving up an inside the parker

            Like

            1. Jon – you are searching for a fixable reason for LGJ because you are a fan and not thinking objectively. The reality is he is lazy and doesn’t take his craft seriously. He shows up two years in a row out of shape. That tells you he does very little in the off season to improve at his profession. If he was as simple as not seeing the ball well (like your Harper example), he would complain like Harper did about not seeing the ball well. And then he would get contact lenses. But he hasn’t said that once. There are many reasons why a player might lose the ball in the lights, including that he wasn’t paying close attention when the ball was put into play.

              Sorry to burst your bubble since you are a big fan of LGJ, but he is a bust. Doesn’t have the raw talent to make consistent contact and has one of the worst work ethics in our system.

              Like

            2. Wasn’t aware a 20 year old in Single A was a bust, he may not be the star we thought he’d be but he remains a lower prospect

              Like

          2. Once again there have been others to do so, he may be a freak who knows but guys with tremendous hand eye can get away with it. Not saying tey will hit .320 but .275-.290 a real possibility with a lot of dbls and some hrs

            Like

  7. Anyone else realize that Art Charles has 77 hits this year, 37 of which are XBH, including 10 homers, 25 doubles, and two triples, these numbers just interest me

    Like

  8. Yes, Maikel Franco’s batting average is more than double Zach Collier’s. Why do you ask?

    Like

  9. You have all heard MLB evaluators say that the only thing that matters is consistent results. The reason is clear if you go to minor league games >> there is really inconsistent talent. Great prospects are able to put up great stats against anyone in the minors. But posers only do it against weak competition.

    This reality is what makes Franco’s results so impressive. He has consistently hit the ball hard over the past 1.5 years. And he only seems to be getting better. This is also why you should ignore any good “flashes” from a player like LGJ. Who cares if he crushes an 88 MPH straight fastball for a double? He won’t see that pitch at even the higher MiLB levels. It’s what he does against the 92 mph fastball with movement followed by the slider and the change that shows his ability. And LGJ consistently strikes out against those pitchers…but, at least he is consistent.

    Like

  10. I was at the Lehigh Valley game yesterday, I really don’t mind what I saw in Martin. The strikezone was somewhat inconsistent, so the strikes/balls may be somewhat skewed there.

    He did however show good poise and all of his strikeouts were on swinging misses which was quite impressive. Gun looked to be a bit slow (didn’t see anyone break 90 on it all day) so I couldn’t tell you anything velocity wise but otherwise appeared to be getting good movement all around.

    Like

    1. If no one was breaking 90, and Ethan Martin was on the hill, then I would guess that the gun was quite slow. His FB works in the low-mid 90s pretty consistently from all accounts.

      Like

      1. So I’d heard, having never seen him before I didn’t have a criteria to judge. The mitt was popping to a good tune on fastballs, so from sound alone I could tell that the gun was slow, it’s simply that I couldn’t tell by how much.

        As a result, understatement about slowness and all that. Thank you for the note however!

        Like

    2. I am watching a little of the start in MILB archives. That gun was way off. In the first inning, Martin had the best FB of the games I’ve seen him this year – good velocity and nice hop to it. He threw it by some very good hitters, including Boegarts. I’d say he was throwing it 92-95. By the way, while we’re at it, I’ve watched a bunch of his starts this year and Martin has improved a lot. Folks are saying he should be a reliever, but I don’t see it. His secondary offerings are very good. His best pitch may be an 84-88 MPH slider, that breaks sharply. The curve is a 12-6 pitch that is very good and the fastball ranges between above average and plus, depending on the day. Command right now is average to below average, but Martin has a lot of ability and he’s come a long way.

      Like

  11. Interesting battle going on…what pitcher will lead the Phillies organization in losses in 2013, Hamels or Biddle. And to think, in two years form now, they will be leading the team into the World Series as one and two in the rotation. Baseball is soooooo crazy.

    Like

  12. SevGo getting in a groove back starting in CLW. Hopefully the last couple starts is the sign of a successful August to come.

    Like

  13. I was at the Reading game yesterday. Biddle was… well there is no way to sugarcoat it, he was bad. The first inning wasn’t so bad. He threw a lot of balls, but they were usually pretty close. He also threw all fastballs until the final pitch of the inning when he threw a curve that a batter chased. The umpire had a bit of a small wandering strike zone that was changing depending on whether a batter was right or left handed (he really wasn’t giving anything inside).

    The second inning though he was missing and he was missing by a lot. He couldn’t locate the fastball and then he got frustrated and then he struggled even harder to locate it. with the bases loaded he walked in a run, then hit a batter with a curve ball, and then Sano drove in two more with a single. He was missing high a lot and none of the batters had incentive to chase his fastball because it wasn’t even close to the zone. Once his fastball command went his curveball command followed and he couldn’t throw that for a strike either. Just a total meltdown by the end.

    The curveball early on though was everything you’ve heard. He threw one curve that seemed to start out above the batters head and just dove at the end and landed middle of the plate. The batter never had a chance to swing. It has a lot of break and it seems to be a lot of late break. The thing i wonder though is that the key to it is to lay off if it starts in the zone and swing if it starts above the zone. I have to imagine major league hitters will have more success figuring that out. That said only two curveballs were even touched with a bat. One was yanked way foul and the other was a single by Sano that plated a couple of runs. And that single was probably his worst curve ball all day as it hung a bit and only resulted in a solid single.

    Other things i saw. Franco has amazing contact skill. i think he swung and missed maybe once that i saw. neither of his hits were that hard hit, but he really doesn’t miss the ball a lot. His first at bat though was probably his best even if it resulted in an out. he took pitches that weren’t good pitches, and then barreled the ball, but it was right at an outfielder. The sound the ball made coming off his bat though was like a gunshot. the two hits he did have weren’t nearly as hard hit. On the defensive side i think he only handled one ground ball and he started a double play with it, but he made a couple of nice plays on pop-ups down the left field line. One was a really nice grab reaching into the stands.

    Dugan though didn’t look good last night. a lot of swing and miss and his one hit really should have been caught by the centerfielder.

    Like

  15. if Hewett would have missed that pitch he would have been stuck with a Golden Sombrero for the game.

    Like

    1. I could maybe see Carmona, because he’s been hot for a couple months, but not Charles. Charles had a strong April but he’s been just so-so since he came off the DL awhile back, and he’s struggled in July.

      Like

      1. According to Morandini, Charles has still been hitting the ball hard just at people, his AVG doesn’t reflect his bat

        Like

Comments are closed.