Box Score Recap – 4/4/2014

Box Score Recap

Cameron Rupp went deep again. He’s on pace for probably a lot of home runs or at least more than two, I bet. Also thing I would bet – Kyle Simon is not happy with his AAA debut. Just a hunch. Hector Neris, on the other hand, survived his unscathed. Don’t sleep on the 25-year-old Dominican. He put up pretty solid peripherals in Reading, and could be a bullpen piece for the big club sometime soon, especially if his HR rate normalizes now that he’s out of the Reading launching pad.

Cameron Perkins had two hits, including a double, while Severino Gonzalez started his season well – 1R 4H 1 BB and 3K in 5 IP. Reports from @longenhagen had Seve at 89-90 and touching 91 early, then fading later in the cold.

CLR walks it off in the tenth against Dunedin. Brian Pointer had a triple in that contest, and Ethan Stewart allowed just five base runners in seven IP – he only struck out one, and walked three, but allowed just two hits. A note there – The Jays have Dwight Smith‘s son, Dwight Smith Jr. For those who don’t remember Dwight Smith, he and Jerome Walton were all the rage back in ’89. Walton won the NL ROY and his Cubs teammate Smith got second, ahead of one-time Phils Gregg Jefferies and Charlie Hayes.

Carlos Tocci and Andrew Pullin had doubles, while Jesen Therrien got rocked in relief, as Lakewood took the loss. Tyler Viza made his full-season debut. He was a 2013 draftee out of JuCo, and played GCL last year, so he’s skipping Williamsport, (for now, at least). Looking forward to seeing what he can do with the opportunity.

Here’s the affiliate Scoreboard from MiLB. http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?sid=milb&org=143&ymd=20140404

4-4-14

14 thoughts on “Box Score Recap – 4/4/2014”

  1. Ugly line for Lakewood. Everyone struck out at least once except Tocci. For a first start Viza held his own. Not great but not terrible. Green with 2 errors from 3rd isn’t good.

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  3. Off the top of my head, I think Tommy Joseph is the guy I am watching the closest here in the early going. I understand that two or three weeks won’t tell us a ton, but I am just hoping that he can show a bit of what previously had him as a decent prospect.

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  4. Rupp and Buchanan are guys to follow closely.

    Rupp has been coming on more and more since about the middle of 2012. My hope was that he would be able to translate his prodigious strength into power as he honed his defensive game and it looks like he is starting to do that. Do you know what you call a catcher who is strong defensively, calls a good game, has a nice arm, hits for power, draws walks and has a 50 hit tool? A starter – and Rupp just might have it in him.

    Buchanan is a complete revelation. I always wrote him off and never took him seriously at all (sorry, I don’t get excited about guys who are projected as 5s in a best case scenario) I saw him in ST and, yes, he looks a lot like Kendrick, but he throws about 2 or 3 MPH harder, which, as we all know, is an enormous difference. Between him and Pettibone it looks like we might have some decent starting depth after all. Now we just need Kenny Giles to hurry up and become a big league pitcher so the bullpen is stronger.

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    1. 50 hit tool is really optimistic. Rupp has some inherent issues to his swing (he actually arm bars, and has ok bat speed). His hand eye coordination isn’t great either. I would be hard pressed to say anything better than 40 on the hit tool. It will limit the power against better pitching.

      At 25 he isn’t going to clean up his issues.

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  5. I’d like you to right about Rupp – and you might be. I’m not dismissing the possibility. The reasons to be at least cautious: The hit tool is IMO a 40 at best, probably a 30, and his BB rate above A ball has been somewhere between below average and average. And obviously at his age there’s not a lot of projection left.

    But if I’m wrong about those two facts, then yes he could be a regular and even an above average one.

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    1. Oliver and Steamer both see Rupp as a little over a one WAR player: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=11146&position=C.

      He wouldn’t have to do THAT much more to be a decent regular. But he would have to do more. I wouldn’t (for example) trade Ruiz at the deadline to give him a job – unless he takes a big step forward this season. Which he could.

      But that said, I kind of lump him in with Ruf and Hernandez, guys who no one would be talking about as regulars if the organization was in better shape. Galvis sort of fits in there as well, albeit on a slightly higher level. (As in, I think he probably has a 50% chance of being a solid regular, whereas the other three the chance is probably under 25%.)

      A point I’ve made before is that there are limited opportunities & and opportunity costs for giving a prospect a shot. As a general rule, the prospects who get shots are guys who project as at least average regulars, with a higher upside, not guys who project as below average regulars, with the upside of an average regular. Well, on teams with hopes of contention, that is, as opposed to perennial second division teams.

      Now, that said, i do understand the counter argument – it’s not as if the Phillies have OTHER prospects who can be slotted in ahead of these guys. Better give a chance to a guy who MIGHT contribute to a contending team, even a low ceiling player who most likely won’t, rather than an older guy who definitely WON’T contribute. I buy that for some players – for example, as much as I like and defend Rollins, and have mixed feelings about Galvis, I’d rather see Galvis as the regular next year. But I don’t buy it for the other three guys, at least not yet.

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      1. I suppose part of the reason I don’t buy it for Ruf/Hernandez/Rupp is because the alternative is not giving up on them – in AAA or the bench they’ll have opportunities to show that they are more than I think they are, and THEN you think about giving them a shot as a regular.

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      2. In Rupp, Galvis, Hernandez and Ruf and what I like to envision about them…..they, as a quartet, would be part of an outstanding bench. Three are more then above average in defense, and Ruf as a first basemen would also fit that bill. Two have adequate speed on the bases and two have legitimate strength to power a ball.
        Four righthanded bats and two lefties when appropriate.
        As everyday 150-games a season, 550PAs starters their weaknesses would be exposed, but as back-ups they would be invaluable IMO.

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  6. I wonder if Colton Murray is a legit prospect, Viza actually did great for a first start for a high schooler just drafted, Sev is so consistent we’ve come to expect it, I agree on Rupp -he’s looking more and more like a guy who could be a major league starter one day, Buchannan is a guy l liked before last season but he’s certainly looking good now, and Perkins can hit – he can really hit and we’ll end to watch him.

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