Box Score Recap – 6/16/2014

Box Score Recap

Aaron Altherr made his big league debut, popping out as a pinch hitter in the twelfth inning. Maikel Franco was 2-4 with a double. Roman Quinn played his first pro game in centerfield. For Williamsport, fifth round pick Rhys Hoskins got his first professional hit, Cord Sandberg hit in his fourth straight game, and Ricky Bielski struck out two in a clean inning of work.

The SAL all-star game is Tuesday, and J.P. Crawford will be joining Clearwater on Wednesday.

Here’s the affiliate Scoreboard from MiLB. http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?sid=milb&org=143&ymd=20140616

6-16-14

37 thoughts on “Box Score Recap – 6/16/2014”

    1. Wasnt it right around now a couple years ago when he started to handle Low A to become the prospect we know today

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  2. Good to see Franco with a crooked number in the hit column. Hopefully, this is the start of a hot streak.

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    1. Hopefully. And I’m not predicting otherwise. In fact, I’m a little mystified that he has been as bad as he has been. I’m not one to overreact to small samples, but he’s over 250 PA.

      I still think he’ll be fine, but it’s frustrating the extent to which our touted prospects (touted not just here but by the experts at the national level) have underperformed in recent years. Is it just bad luck, or something else?

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      1. His May line (.282 / .358 / .445) looked quite good, and I was hopeful he was adjusting to AAA, but he’s just been awful the last few weeks.

        Hopefully it’s just a bad slump, and he starts hitting again soon.

        I’m not pushing the panic button on him before 2015.

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        1. Yeah, I’m not pushing the panic button either. As I said, I think he’ll be fine.

          It’s just frustrating to see, and a little worrisome – not so much, or just, for him in particular, but for the system as a whole. Is there a development problem in the organization?

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      2. I keep thinking about Jonathan Singleton’s year at AAA last year. By all accounts he was a much more polished hitting prospect than Franco, who is still young for his level and has mechanical issues with his swing, and yet Singleton still struggled mightily last year. And no, before someone makes a joke, I really don’t think it was all about the pot. A lot of touted prospects have trouble at AAA–they’re facing a lot of guys who are fringe major-league caliber pitchers who have good offspeed stuff and the ability to get out inexperienced hitters. Franco is just struggling to figure it out. Let’s not forget he doesn’t turn 22 until August, he’s still young for the level.

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    1. Yup, he was on the DSL roster for a while there but was removed before their season started even while a handful of other guys went back fro XST.

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  4. Perkins going into areas he is not accustomed to over the last 6/7 years..
    Interesting to see how he will respond..

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    2. As catch said, I’m not concerned about 50 PA.

      But I still haven’t really bought into Perkins as much of a prospect. He really needs to add some pop, and/or to be a better defensive outfielder than reported, to be much of a prospect. And that’s probably the optimistic take on him.

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      1. Really curious about some of the down votes recently. Let me ask you guys this – is there really anyone who thinks a player without much pop, who walks some but probably at best at about an average rate, no speed, and who by all reports is an average defender at best, has much value as a major league corner outfielder just because maybe he’ll hit .300?

        I wanted to find a comp for him, but wasn’t able to – because those kind of players don’t make it to the majors.

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        2. That’s right because you won’t find many average outfielders in the majors that hit .300. If they hit .300 they wouldn’t be average. In the games I have seen him play, I feel his defense is developing, adequate and his exposure to AAA baseball is justified. When I see what we have in left field, I don’t have a problem with a player possessing the attributes you cite as an outfielder. Too often on these posts you guys are expecting the next Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, MikeTrout, etc….. and how many of those guys come along for a team in a lifetime. Personally, I would take an entire outfield that could hit .300 and they wouldn’t need to hit 40+ homers either. If we had a hitting team now, I believe we would be in contention. OK, now you can rock me…………………………..I got elephant skin, so have at it.

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          1. Actually, your comment is perfectly reasonable, if you think that he’s going to be a .300 hitter in the majors. I think that’s a real stretch, seeing as he’s only a career .304 hitter in the minors. But who knows? Even if he hits .280 with gap-type power, I think he could be a useful player in the majors, but I think he’s probably destined for a 4th OF/bench role. And that would be a great outcome, if you ignore the fact that pretty much every other OF currently in the system above A ball profiles the same way. There’s only so many 4th OFs you can field at once!

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        3. I think with Cam if you have seen him play at all you might project more power down the road. He does have the strength and size to put the ball over the wall and he does hit the ball hard.

          Thus far he doesn’t put any loft on the ball but I like his contact skills so let’s put a we’ll see on him. He strikes me as the type of player that could be a late bloomer in terms of HR’s.

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  5. 5 recent draftees played for WSport last night. Nice to see the new guys getting their feet wet. I wonder how close Nola is to getting a start.

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    1. I can understand a thumbs up or down if you agree/disagree strongly, but for the life of me Murray, I can’t understand how your statement could qualify for either.

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      1. That’s funny. I thought maybe I didn’t count correctly but I did, it was 5. I’m assuming many more are coming actually with all these college guys drafted and signed. They can’t put them into the GCL, what will success there tell you about them at their age.

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    2. I’m still wondering where everybody will be sent when the dust settles.

      Nola to Clearwater, and I still think Marerro might end up in Lakewood. But the other 4 (besides Hockenberry) college pitchers that we took in the first twelve rounds still need assignments, and while it would be nice if they were all starting, I’m not sure there are 4 rotation spots that are definitely open between Lakewood and Williamsport. And even if there are, most of them would be with the Blueclaws, and are any of those guys ready for Lakewood already?

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    1. The report on his defense is really encouraging. What I hope they don’t do is, what bad teams do when two young players play the same position – they view the problem as insurmountable and just trade the one they like least. I don’t want to see Asche playing for any other team. I’m a huge fan and I think the bat has a ton of upside and the plate discipline has been what you would hope. Would love to see him again at second if necessary and wouldn’t be bummed out if he ended up playing the outfield. Many plus defensive outfielders were once borderline or worse middle infielders including Alex Gordon and Ryan Braun.

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      1. The thing is, he’s probably not going to hit like Alex Gordon. And he’s definitely (okay, maybe there’s like a 0.1% chance) not going to hit like Braun.

        The good part is the Phillies don’t need to make that decision until at least next year, when we should have a better idea of what Asche and Franco will be. Also good, I guess, is that the offensive bar continues to dip, so maybe he can hit enough to be a corner OF even if he’s just an average one.

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        1. I wasn’t comparing them as hitters. I was saying that there is some history of middling to bad infielders becoming plus outfielders. I agree the decision is at least pushed until next spring, but I want them to keep him around.

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      2. After watching Dom butcher that ball against the wall last night, I was thinking LF for Asche… I’m really starting to doubt whether Dom will ever be a quality player. With optimistic glasses into the future, I could see Asche, Quinn, and Altherr (with Dugan) as a solid OF with Franco, Crawford, Pullin, and Green or Ruf across the IF. Finding a catcher might be tougher. A rotation of an elder Hamels with Nola, Imhof, Watson, and a free agent plus our current bullpen, minus Pap (who should be traded in July). Could that be a playoff team in 2018? It could if Franco becomes what we hoped he would be before this season, if Asche or Pullin can become a legit #3 hitter, and Nola is as good as I think he could be.
        Now this will get some thumbs down… haha

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    2. I’m not mystified at all as Larry put it. Franco in WPT what 2 seasons ago was tearing it up. They sent him to LKW and he crapped the bed. They sent him back to WPT and he steadied himself. Fast forward a season from that point and he succeeds very nicely on 2 levels.

      As Brundage points out he goes to DSL for winter ball and struggles and that carries into spring training. These ups and downs for a 21 year old at AAA are pretty darn fantastic if you ask me.

      I think he has already proven he knows how to deal with adversity and learn and make adjustments. If it were up to me I’d give him a 2 week vacation let him go back to his family for a few weeks and just clear his head of all things baseball.

      Bring him back hit reset and away we go…

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    3. IMO, most important section of that article:

      “Before panic sets in and proclamations are made about Franco’s future, let’s pump the brakes for a second. Franco is just 21 and is the youngest position player ever to play for Lehigh Valley. He is nearly seven years younger than the league average and even if 2014 turns out to be a forgotten season, Franco is still ahead of schedule.”

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  8. Saw Cord Sandberg Sat and Mon at State College. Like his swing, though he didn’t flash any power, just took the ball where it was pitched. Herlis Rodriguez just missed a HR down the RF line last night, and had a nice assist with a laser beam throw from LF.

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  10. Franco and Perkins Will be all right.I read a scouting report on Perkins when he came out of college. He has that hand eye coordination and very strong wrist . plus he played 3rd base in college. He was on pace 40 doubles this yr and hit 30 last yr . He 6″5″ 200 lbs has lot of room add muscle as for defense , has to be as good as Brown, Ruf, Pat the bat.

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    1. The problem is though. Perkins is already 24 he isn’t going to suddenly put on 20 lbs.

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