Monthly Archives: May 2014

Around the System–Catchers

Other Stuff

A first look at catchers throughout the organization.  Definitely more optimism than the lot of middle infielders, although currently no true stand out.  Next Up: STarting Pitching.

Lehigh Valley

Koyie Hill, 35, Acquired from Washington  in 2014; .298/.366/.464 in 84 AB’s; 2HR 14RBI; 10%bb/24%k rates; .211 vs. LHP, .323 vs. RHP; .423 with RISP. 22 games at C with 1 error (.993); 2 passed balls; 7/17(41%) CS;  Hill has played much more than expected due to Rupp’s injury and has been outstanding in the role he has been asked to fill,  With Rupp now back in the lineup, expect  Hill to be used twice a week.

Sebastian Valle, 23, Signed as a free agent in 2006; .227/.245/.455 in 44AB’s between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 2HR 12RBI; 4%bb/22%k rates.  12 games at C with 1 error (.988); 1 passed ball; 2/7(29%) CS; Valle has been relegated to a back up role at both Reading and Lehigh Valley, playing once or twice a week.  He shows flashes but has not been playing regularly enough to establish any real consistency.

Cameron Rupp, 25, Phils 3rd round pick in 2010; .259/.459/.778 in 27 AB’s; 4HR 9RBI; 9 games at C with no errors; 0 passed balls; 1/5(20%); CS; Just returned yesterday after missing a little over a month with an oblique injury. Continue reading Around the System–Catchers →

Box Score Recap – 5/15/2014

Box Score Recap

“Soft-Tossing 28-Year-Old Righty Wins AAA Game” isn’t usually the headline around here, but it was a heck of a game from Barry Enright – 1R on 4H, 1HR, 1BB and 2K in a complete game victory. Tyson Gillies, Tyler Henson and Steve Susdorf all with multi-hit games, Jim Murphy was 2-4 with a double and a home run, and Cameron Rupp was 1-1 with a double, three walks, and scored twice in his return to AAA action after a couple weeks on the shelf. I’m starting to think things about Gillies. Just small things. Maybe nothing will come of it.

Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez made his professional debut as part of his official rehab assignment, giving up 3R on 6H, 2BB, 1K in 5IP. Jim wrote up his impressions last night. Check it out. Five Threshers had multi-hit games in that one.

And in the VSL, Jesus Alastre notched his first professional XBH, a triple. DCWildcat53 pointed out in the comments yesterday that Jim Salisbury reported that Alastre was a July 2 signing last year for $50k, so now I won’t have to search for it. DC REPRESENT! Also, 2012 high-bonus guy Willerker Isava saw the field in that contest, his first action of the year, at third base instead of his prior position of shortstop.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 5/15/2014 →

Miguel Gonzalez Begins Rehab with Threshers

Game Reports, , , , , , , ,

Miguel Gonzalez was activated today and began his Major League Rehab Assignment.  He started for the Threshers and was less than impressive.  I went down to the bullpen to watch his pre-game warmups.  It wasn’t pretty.  He was consistently high with most of his pitches.  At one point, the pitching coach (Bob Milacki, I think) stopped him to pantomine a delivery and release.  A few pitches later, Gonzalez launched a wild pitch that Logan Moore could barely get leather on.  The ball rattled around in the walkway and eventually rolled through the open door into left field.

When the game started, Gonzalez’ control problems continued.  Continue reading Miguel Gonzalez Begins Rehab with Threshers →

Box Score Recap – 5/14/2014

Box Score Recap

Tyson Gillies was 2-4 with a 2B. He’s got multi-hit games in three of his last six starts. Cam Perkins had the same line as Gillies, giving him his first multi-hit game and first XBH in a week. He does have six BBs in his last four games – hopefully a sign that he’s seeing the ball a little better and may be about to come out of the funk that’s had him OPS just .685 in May thus far.

Jesse Biddle pitched to mixed results. Clearly struggling with the strike zone, he allowed two hits, managed to strikeout seven, but walked four in six innings of 1-run ball. He threw just 42 of his 81 pitches for strikes.

A couple of “Near Philly” guys shined for CLR – Bensalem and UDel’s Nick Ferdinand was 3-3 with his second home run of the year, while Skillman, NJ and Seton Hall product Jon Prosinski managed his start well, giving up 3R, 8H, 1HR, 0BB, and 3K in 7.1IP.

Dylan Cozens goes 2-4 with a double and a home run, his fourth on the year, but Tyler Viza cannot survive on Dylan Cozens alone. He ended with a line much like Prosinski, 4R, 3ER, 8H, 1BB, and 3K in 7IP. And 17-yr-old Jesus Alastre is 4-8 plus a walk in his first two professional contests in the VSL. He’s an early candidate for “Guy I Fruitlessly Try To Find Bonus Information On After He Hits A Bunch Through The First Month Of The Season”. So that’s something to look forward to.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 5/14/2014 →

Hot or Not

Other Stuff

A look at the time period covering games played May 8-14…Random thoughts…In a year where he is repeating a level, Carlos Tocci‘s numbers are quickly becoming problematic….JP Crawford continuing to do what he does…I am about to begin my now yearly crusade of promoting giving Cesar Jiminez a shot in the Phils ‘pen…About as poor a line as you can get from Severino Gonzalez this week…Kenny Giles stays on the hot list, even during a week where he transitions to AAA…Two names I expected alot more from are Kyle SImon and Seth Rosin….After a slow start, STeve Susdorf showing again that he can flat out hit.  Unfortunately, no power and little speed.

Hot Hitters:(Min 12 AB’s) Steve Susdorf (.500, 6R); Ronny Cedeno (.400, 6RBI); Maikel Franco (.357, 7RS HR 6RBI); JP Crawford (.353); Carlos Alonso (.333, 2HR 4RBI); Pete Lavin (.333); Tyson Gillies (.333, 6R)

Not Hot Hitters:Carlos Tocci (.042); Logan Moore (.078);  Edgar Duran (.100); Harold Martinez (.111); Aaron Altherr(.125); Matt Tolbert (.133); Andrew Pullin (.143); Brian Pointer (.154); Samuel Hiciano (.167); Wilmer Oberto (.167); Willie Carmona (.167)

Hot Starting Pitchers: Drew ANderson (6IP 4H 1ER 2BB 6K); Sean O’Sullivan (7IP 5H 2ER 3BB 2K); Hoby Milner (7IP 5H 2ER 3BB 2K); Barry Enright (7IP 7H 2ER 1BB 2K) Honorable Mention: Paulino Continue reading Hot or Not →

Threshers; May 14, 2014

Game Reports, , ,

Some sort of campers day at Bright House Field today.  There were over 2,000 school children in attendance.  Oh, what fun.

Jon Prosinski got the 10:30AM start.  He scattered 6 hits and allowed 1 unearned run  thru his first 7 innings before running out of gas in the 8th inning when he gave up a 3-2, wind-aided home run that barely cleared the left field wall into the Hammerhead bull pen.  He was lifted after a ground out and a single.  Continue reading Threshers; May 14, 2014 →

General Discussion – Week of 5-12-2014 – Mike Trout Edition

Weekly Discussion

I forgot to post this Monday. Talk about Mike Trout, folks. He only went 1-5 last night. What a terrible disappointment he is to his family and friends. SHAME!

Discuss.

Box Score Recap – 5/13/2014

Box Score Recap

Running late today so I’ll skip the write-up today and just get you the graphic, with only a mention that J.P. Crawford‘s 13-game hitting streak ended with an 0-3 day on Tuesday. Enjoy the discussion.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 5/13/2014 →

Looks Can Be Decieving

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Many opinions on the internet about prospects stem from their stats, and especially small sample size stats.  We are all guilty of making snap judgements, but often in that moment we miss out on the bigger picture.  Stats help create an objective look at what is happening in the game, but without context or proper use, they can be deceiving and lead us into opinions that may not be aligning with the truth.  So with all of that being said we are going to play a game of mystery players and look at some trends that may not be showing up in the traditional triple slash lines or the box scores.  Given the small sample size nature of these stat lines they are not meant to be predictive of the future, they are meant to show comparisons and past performance.

So lets start off with Player A and Player B who are showing some interesting trendings from 2013 to 2014. Continue reading Looks Can Be Decieving →

Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

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Lehigh Valley had a very good week, going 5-2, and are now  20-18, 2 games behind division leading Buffalo in the Northern DIvision of the International League.  The ‘Pigs remain home through Friday with three more against Scranton before heading to Buffalo for a four game series.

‘Pigs League Leaders: Maikel Franco is 4th in AB’s (141) and 8th in doubles (10); Tyler Hensen is 9th in runs(23), 9th in SLG (.500) and 4th in SB’s (10)

Pitching: Luis Garcia is 5th in saves (6); Barry Enright is 5th in HR allowed (6).

‘Pigs Prospects:Jon Pettibone has been solid but has been unable to go more than 5.1 innings in any start but one this year.  In 5 starts, Pettibone is 2-0 with a 3.42 ERA and a WHIP that sits at 1.06.  Opponents are hitting just .224 against him and he is walking just 2.1 per nine innings.  Overall excellent results but needs to stretch himself out a bit more after missing some time in SPring Training. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →