Box Score Recap – 8/15/2013

Box Score Recap

Seve G and the Boyz (Colton Murray and Ken Giles) , struck out 13 Daytona Cubs. Now that they downed Cubs, what are they gonna do? Probably pitch again in a couple days. That’s what.

Ok, now that I have that out of my system, Cam Rupp, Tyson Gillies and Zach Collier with 2 hits a piece. Harold Martinez added three more hits, Zach Green hit his league leading 11th HR, and Deivi Grullon hit his first pro bomb.

Here’s the affiliate Scoreboard from MiLB.

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?sid=milb&org=143&ymd=20130815

8-15-2013

67 thoughts on “Box Score Recap – 8/15/2013”

  1. Zach Green impressive ISO stands at .238. BB% up from 4.5% to 10%. If he gets his 29% K rate down..I can envision further break-out at Lakewood next year.

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  2. Harold Martinez is on fire. If he could be some how grandfathered an graphite bat he would be an allstar. In all honesty I am happy to see him hitting the ball with some consistency. Maybe its because he has a position that is all his or maybe he is just getting the hang of it either way good on him and keep it up

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    1. Me too sf dan. Time to take notice on what he’s done the past two months. Perhaps the power will follow but I would love to see him carry these latest results into Reading next season

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    2. Looking to see if one of Harold Martinez or Aaron Altherr are sent to the 2013 AFL. Some can make a case for Perkins also. Though I believe only one from A level is eligible.

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    3. I’d still like to see more power from him. He’s hitting consistently but without more XBHs I remain skeptical that he’s finally conquered the level.

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  3. Shane Martin had a nice outing. His last outing was not good at all but in the 4 outings wrapping that stinko he’s been pretty darn good. In those 4 outings he’s given up 2 ER in 15 innings. He’s given up 13 hits with 7 being in 1 outing. He has 13 Ks in the 4 good outings and he doesn’t walk many.

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  4. What si this horse hockey on Larry Greene being doled out at Philly.com? Morandini is quoted:
    “Larry started out slow,” Lakewood manager Mickey Morandini said. “It took him a while to get adjusted here coming out of spring training, but the last month or so he has been very good. His average has really increased and his contact is better, his defense is better, he is running the bases well and he is getting there.”

    He started slowly and has since fallen into a vat of molasses. In the month of August he’s hitting .167. In his last 10 he’s hitting .175. He has 1 HR and 3 RBIs in 12 games in August. 20 Ks to 4 BBs. Someone help me out here. Allentown, Larry, Brad, Matt… anyone. Is this a “build Larry Greene up” piece? Am I missing something? Someone talk me down from the ledge.. please.

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      1. From the article:
        ——————–
        At the end of the first half of the season, Greene was batting .182 in 159 at-bats with one homer. Following the All-Star break, Greene has seen great improvement and has raised his average significantly. Since June 20, he is batting .237/.313/.340 in 51 games with three homers in 194 at-bats.
        ————————–
        I don’t know about you guys, but when I see a line of 237/313/340, I would think that that would correspond with the ‘bad’ stats, not the stats where they are trying to show ‘great improvement’.

        The article then goes on to say “Greene has hit only four homers this season and has just six in 610 at-bats over his short career”. Ugg – this against pitchers who are prone to hang a curve or 2. Next year will be huge for him. Hopefully he does not show up to camp looking huge, while holding a dozen Krispy Kremes.

        I wish him luck, but am not too optimistic.

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    2. I’ll be honest, post draft nothing about LGJ made me hesitant, 80 power, decent swing, now he reminds me a bit of that power hitter from the south in the movie “trouble with a curve”, the one who’s hand drifted during in his swing and couldn’t hit breaking pitches without falling out of his shoes. Oh and he was equally a fat body (*shamless plug for Full Metal Jacket) someone check his wall locker for a Jelly Donut. This is my rifle this is my gun, this is for pleasure and this is for fun.

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    3. If you want the glass half full approach with Greene here it is:
      – During the season I have heard nothing but good things about the work ethic, it really seems to be an offseason expectations problem
      – There is still massive raw power the problems is the game swing is not consistent (in games he does not get his full body into the swing so he no longer uses his lower half to generate power and all the strength has to come from his arms)
      – When he puts it together it is going to be like a switch went off, he will start hitting them out during games immediately
      – He does have a half decent eye at the plate
      – While the bat speed is not elite but it certainly will work up the levels

      All that being said I think it is a first base only type of body which means he has to mash. You are also talking about massive swing overhauls and that could take time even if they stick. He will be one of the guys who should be getting the most attention in Fall Instructs and who would do well to get down to Clearwater early next spring.

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    4. What is Morandini supposed to say?

      “Larry Green sucks. He totally sucked the first half the season and now he just sucks a little less”.

      He has made improvements over the 1st half even if the improvement has been minimal. Its the job of the minor league coaches and managers to try to get the best out of their players, not rip them in the press.

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  5. Most of Zach Green’s strikeouts are off speed pitches. Often times ones he chases out of the zone. He’s had problems with them all season. He has a pull hitter stance and swing but is trying to go the other way which gets him in trouble at times. He is also 2 hr away from tying Williamsport’s all time home run record.

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  6. Am I absolutely insane in thinking Collier might still be a prospect? He already has more hits in August than in any previous month.

    (My three breakout picks for this year were Joseph, Watson, and Collier. Anyone want to pay me to not make breakout picks next year?)

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    1. When you give next year’s breakout picks, we’ll just release those guys. Less people to keep track of and more opportunity for others. Just don’t make Crawford one of those. Early in the year we had a discussion on this board about who would rise the most in our top 30 and I picked whoever our #1 pick was. I guess i was right there and we hadn’t drafted anyone yet. It was an easy pick but it also wasn’t what the discussion was truly about.

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  8. Really good to see guys like Collier and Martinez finish strong. Might not be big time prospects but its good to see the depth in the organization developing again.
    Can they please call up Gillies?? Sink or swim time and also spares us from watching JMJ and this Casper fella. Whats the worst that can happen?
    I think we can all agree that Greene Jr still gets next year in Clearwater before he hits Anthony Hewitt status.

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    1. What’s with the JMJ hate? He’s a 4/5 OF. If he was DFA’d today he wouldn’t make it through because he would be picked up right away. Something I never understood about fans when they complain about perfectly good bench pieces. Mayberry has been thrust into a starting role by injuries. He actually would be a great half of a platoon. So please let me know why you would want to get rid of a player who is making peanuts in a bench role?

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      1. They are playing him too much, he is a 5th outfielder, and cant play center at all, and he is being expose, its not his fault, but stupid amaro who cant find a centerfielder,

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  9. I am not on the Harold Martinez bandwagon yet, but, obviously, he is showing significant improvement and may not be a complete bust after all. I had the perception that Martinez stunk horribly and turned things around suddenly. When I reviewed his statistics, however, I realized that I was entirely in error. Martinez has improved consistently throughout the year, to the point where it was especially noteworthy. His monthly averages have improved as follows: .203, .225, .261, .300, .347 and his walk rates have improved in a like manner. In my view, consistent improvement more likely reflects hard work and the making of adjustments. So Harold lives to fight another day and will probably be promoted to Reading. He’s saved his prospect status, but he needs to move quickly now as next year will be his age 23 season. Not too late, but he probably has to make continued progress, and develop power, next year, in order to continue his prospect status.

    As for Zach Collier, I have no idea what to think. Does he just have an unsustainable BABIP this month? Anyone know?

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    1. I think part of the Martinez improvement (and especially the last bit) has been the consistent playing time at 3B he has received since the Franco promotion (especially the walk and strikeout numbers. The power is the thing that is still the glaring question out there.

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    2. Unfortunately, at least according to the numbers at minorleaguecentral, Collier’s August #s are BABIP driven- .484 in August vs. .279 for the season with no improvement in ISO. K rate has remained at about at his career average.

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      1. ISO is 173, which is around 50 points higher than the first 4 months. K% is the lowest of any month, and it looks like that improvement started in July.

        Also, a BABIP improvement is significant given he’s had a horrendous BABIP all year.

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  10. How about Severino Gonzales? Is it time for him to move up? He’s been dominant with high strikeout potential. His stats have impressed me every time he starts.

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    1. He only has 3 or so starts left this year so there is no point in moving him around. He will get some innings in Winter Ball in either the Dominican or Venezuela and is likely destined for AA to start next year. Be careful though with reading too much into the stat line right now

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      1. Is it anything similar to the J-Rod craze of a few years ago or can we expect an increase in velocity?

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        1. The velocity is better than JRod but I wouldn’t expect it to go up any more, the problem is that you are looking at someone who tops out at something around average velocity with only one true secondary pitch. The frame is concerning for being able to hold up to a full major league season. I think a closer comp for hype is Lisalverto Bonilla with a lesser fastball, than he is another JRod

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  11. Zach Green’s K rate troubles me, even if the BB rate is much improved over last season. To this end, I set out to find a player who has had success in the big leagues despite having a K rate near 30 percent at Green’s age/level. (I’m sure there are plenty of examples out there, and I’d love to hear them if you’ve got them). I found two recent example that give me hope searching players from the NY/Penn in the past seven seasons: Will Middlebrooks and Marcell Ozuna.

    Middlebrooks (age 19, NYP): 32.3/5.3 K/BB, .115 ISO, .666 OPS
    Green (age 19, NYP): 29.7/9.5 K/BB, .249 ISO, .849 OPS
    Ozuna (age 19, NYP): 32.1/5.8 K/BB, .289 ISO, .870 OPS

    Green’s BB rate is nearly double the others and his K rate is a tick lower than both. He also hit for way more power than Middlebrooks, though he’s nowhere close to the 22 HR Ozuna hit in 2010.

    Both Ozuna and Middlebrooks were able to lower their K rates and increase their BB rates as they progressed through their respective systems (although it’s worth noting neither were able to surpass Green’s current 9.5 BB rate in any subsequent seasons), and both debuted with some success and fanfare (let’s not discuss Middlebrooks’ 2013 for now).

    Obviously the percentage of players with such high K rates flame out the vast majority of the time. But Green’s BB rate, ability to make contact and in-game power will hopefully allow him to overcome it like the above players were for the most part able to do.

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    2. It’s worth noting that the NYPL is a notorious pitchers league, full of college pitchers facing high school hitters seeing quality breaking balls for the first time. That said, 30% is still really high.

      Speaking of 19 year olds in the NYPL, Andrew Pullin now has the 10th highest wRC+ for players under 20. There’s a guy people don’t talk about enough around here.

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      1. 109 wRC gets him 10th? He’s been fairly unimpressive for me. Not very good on base skills. He’ll either have to hit a lot more to overcome defensive questions or have to become a very good defensive player if his bat doesn’t change. At least that is what it looks like to me with what we have on him so far.

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      2. You are probably right about Pullin – he’s another guy I’d consider adding somewhere in the top 20. He’s one of our better prospects.

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          1. Yeah that’s about where I think he belongs. He’s a nice guy to have in the system but he’s not exactly lighting the world on fire. He falls behind Grullon, Pujols, Green, Cozens, Gueller, Knapp, Hernandez (from below) and I’m thinking even Severino Gonzalez for me. So he’s just in the top 20 or right on the cusp.

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        2. He’s shown good contact skills and power, though not walking enough so far.

          He’s probably our top second base prospect right now, though that’s not saying much. I might put him around #15 (just estimating).

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            1. That’s the “probably”.

              I’d put Pullin ahead of Hernandez, but I wouldn’t argue too much if you had them the other way around.

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            2. I think Hernandez might be our most underrated prospect. He has improved enormously and may still have further projection. He got better this year at everything except hitting for real power and that might come with time. Sometimes guys like Hernandez develop into excellent players.

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          2. I don’t like the thought that our best 2B prospect has a 3.7% BB rate in W-port. And we’re not even sure if he can stick at 2B long-term. I might have Pullin in my top 30, but that’s just based on scouting reports since his performance has not been very good.

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  12. Zach Green is 19 in the NYP league with a .267 ISO. What follows are the highest 19 or 20 year old ISO leaders for the NYP.

    2013 – .182 (Cozens, second to Green)
    2012 – .183
    2011 – .205
    2010 – .289 (Ozuna)
    2009 – .224 (Valle)
    2008 – .249

    Looks like Green may have rare power. Here’s to hoping he can cut down on his strike outs.

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  14. In the Fangraphs chat earlier…
    12:46
    Comment From Patrick
    Are Jesse Biddle’s control problems mechanically-related and are they fixable?
    12:46
    : Yes and yes.

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  15. Word is that the Phillies just fired Charlie Manuel because, you know, Delmon Young and Laynce Nix and Ty Wigginton, and Chad Durbin Part Deux, and Chad Qualls, and John Lannan and Ryan Howard’s contract are Charlie’s fault. Look, I’m not saying Charlie’s a savior or anything, but, damn, the problems are primarily the GM’s fault.

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    1. Charlie should have some opportunity to enjoy the remaining summer at the shore.
      IMO, he said why wait until October to make the announcement, do it now.
      He may have wanted to step aside earlier, after all he does turn 70 in January.

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      2. It could be – managing this team would rip the life out of a 45 year-old, let alone a guy who’s almost 70.

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          1. Since RAJ was not renewing his contract, Charlie decided to let it happen now.
            Ruben almost said that on Wednesday in a conversation, but decided he would wait until after the season, but charlie made the decison now.

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  18. Chuck will have his rightful place in Phillies history for sure. I don’t however think he was the right manager for a team that needs to get younger and a team that has quite a few veterans Charlie felt obligated to protect.

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    1. Oh, for sure, Charlie’s not a great manager – he’s great in the clubhouse but bad with strategy and bad with things like platoons. Nice man and stand up guy – I know it’s for the best but I’ll miss seeing him.

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  19. In the future I predict that Charlie will make the Phillies Wall of Fame……RAJ will become a GM with the Houston Astros and hire Ed Wade as his Asst.

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      1. Its funny, we all knew this day was coming, even hoping for it. But now that its happened, its a little sad. Definitely a guy who needs baseball to live.

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  20. Charlie was a stand-up guy. Look, he’s not the right manager for this team, that’s obvious, but he’s a good guy who gave his all and helped us bring a Championship to Philly. Let’s give him a loud ovation.

    I think Charlie’s one of those guys that needs to be around baseball, but I doubt he gets another managing job. You’d hope the Phillies would be willing to bring him around during spring training to be a guest hitting coach every year. The fans would enjoy interacting with a down to earth guy like Charlie, and he does a nice job with hitters, plus I think it would be good for Charlie.

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    1. Dave Montgomery said a little bit ago, he would offer Charlie a position within the organization, whether he wants it or not depends on what he wants to do. So he will be extended some baseball related position. He has eleven years with the organization.

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  21. Charlie was my favorite part of this era. Brought so much joy and genuine love of the game to the park.

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