Report Card–Middle Infield, Lakewood, Williamsport, GCL

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The report card for middle infielders at the lower levels of the organization.  Up next is a look at the middle infield for Lehigh Valley, Reading and CLearwater.

Lakewood

Andrew Pullin,20, Phils 5th round pick in 2012; .270/.332/.374 in 492 AB’s; 9HR 61RBI; 6/13SB; 8%bb/18%k rates; .241 vs. LHP; .282 vs. RHP; .268 last month; .317 with RISP;  123 games at 2B with 26 errors (.951);  Grade: B; 2015: Clearwater.  A very good year at the plate by Pullin who was productive throughout the year.   In his second year since transitioning from the OF, Pullin committed too many errors but worked hard and showed defensive potential.  The Phils will be faced with a dilemma with the newly acquired Jesmuel Valentin likely to start in CLearwater as well, with AB’s potentially shared until someone steps up (or down).

Drew Stankiewicz, 21, Phils 11th round pick in 2014; .239/.297/.284 in 155 AB’s between Williamsport and Lakewood; 1HR 14RBI; 5/7SB; 8%bb/17%k rates; For Lakewood: .145/.198/.145 in 76 AB’s; 0HR 2 RBI; 27 games at 2B with 6 errors (.945); 17 games at SS with 2 errors (.971); Grade: C; 2015: Lakewood.  Stankiewicz was very good for Williamsport and very poor for Lakewood with the stick.  He will need to show some success in Lakewood before any more movement.

Malquin Canelo, 20, Signed as a free agent in 2011; .249/.302/.324 in 213 AB’s between Clearwater, Lakewood and Williamsport; 1HR 22RBI; 5/7SB; 7%bb/21%k rates; .270/.319/.355 for Lakewood in 152 AB’s; 63 games at SS with 13 errors (.947); 2 games at 2B without an error; Grade: B-; 2015: Clearwater; Canelo has proven he can handle Lakewood and solidified the middle of the Lakewood infield this year.

Williamsport

Derek Campbell, 23, Phils 20th round pick in 2014 draft; .250/.294/.389 in 208 AB’s; 2HR 15RBI; 1%bb/22%k rates; .245 vs. LHP; .252 vs. RHP; .211 last month; .250 with RISP; 27 games at 2B with 6 errors (.952); 19 games at 3B with 4 errors (.941); 4 games at SS with 1 error.  Grade: C; 2015: Lakewood although CLearwater wouldn’t surprise me.  Campbell has impressed many in the organization with his work ethic and versatility although the ultimate results this year were maybe a shade above mediocre.  Campbell did battle some injuries but the 1% walk rate is what really stands out.  Projecting as a “super utility” player, his batting “eye” must improve if he is gonna stick around long term.

Robinson Torres, 22, Signed as a free agent in 2010; .207/.242/.231 in 121 AB’s between Lakewood and WIlliamsport; 0HR 8RBI; 4%bb/21% k rates; 4SB; 32 games at 2B with 4 errors (.975); 3 games at SS wihout an error; 2 games at 3B without an error; Grade: D+; 2015: Either released or low minors backup.  After a promising 2013 in the GCL, Torres showed little this year

Emmanuel Marrero, 21, Phils 7th round pick in 2014; .214/.272/.279 in 201 AB’s; 0HR 8RBI; 5%bb/17%k rates; .146 vs. LHP; .235 vs. RHP; .118 over last month; 60 games at SS with 13 errors (.953). Grade: C; 2015: Lakewood.  Marrero performed just as advertised.  Weak bat, slick glove.

Enmanual Serra, 21, Signed as a free agent in 2011; .215/.298/.237 in 93 AB’s between Lakewood and Williamsport; 0HR 2RBI; 3SB; 11%bb/16%k rates; 21 games at SS with 4 errors (.951); 5 games at 2B without an error.  Grade: C; 2015: Crapshoot.  Mediocrity in limited playing time.

GCL

Olvy Marte, 20, Signed as a free agent in 2012; .250/.342/.320 in 128 AB’s; 0HR 16RBI; 7/10SB; 11%bb/21% k rates; .235 vs. LHP; .255 vs. RHP; .250 over last month; 30 games at 2B with 2 errors (.984); 7 games in the OF with 1 error and 1 assist.  Grade: C; 2015: Williamsport; First year in the states and Marte held his own.  I admittedly had high expectations based on his DSL numbers.

Tim Zier, 23, Phils 21st round pick in 2014; .319/.413/.403 in 144 AB’s; 0HR 17RBI; 6/11SB; 12%bb/9%k rates; .364 vs. LHP; .312 vs. RHP; .275 over last month; 28 games at 2B with 4 errors (.966); 4 games at 3B with one error.  Grade: B; 2015: Backup in CLearwater.  As a 21st round pick, minimal expectations, but as a 23 year old with major college experience playing the GCL, he should be crushing GCL pitching in the manner he did.

William Cuicas, 19, Signed as a free agent in 2012; .310/.433/.431 in 116 AB’s; 0HR 14RBI; 3/7SB; 17%BB/14%k rates; .464 vs. LHP; .261 vs. RHP; .412 over last month; 33 games at SS with 14 errors (.900); 8 games at 3B with 3 errors (.857); Also played 2 games at 2B; Grade: A-; 2015: May get some early AB’s in Lakewood before a drop back to Williamsport.  Excellent season for Cuicas during his first season state-side.  He clearly overmatched GCL pitching.  Needs extensive work with the glove.

Grenny Cumana, 18, SIgned as a free agent in 2012; .248/.304/.363 in 113 AB’s; 1HR 10RBI; 6/7SB; 6%bb/8%k rates; .294 vs. LHP; .228 vs. RHP; .133 over last month; 32 games at SS with 11 errors (.924); Cumana started very strong and then reversed course and struggled in the second half of the GCL season. Grade: C; 2015: WIll have to re-prove himself before a promotion to Williamsport

 

23 thoughts on “Report Card–Middle Infield, Lakewood, Williamsport, GCL”

  1. It’ll be very interesting to monitor the Pullin/ Valentin situation next year. Both should prob be in CWater. I guess they could play could really go aggressive and push Valentin to Reading but that’s a long shot. I’m really a big Pullin fan. I’m looking forward to following him next year.

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      1. Pullin was league average offensively and clearly below that defensively by any account. Valentin’s offensive and defensive numbers have been way better than Pullin’s in their careers. Valentin can also run and his defense has never been in question. He’s also younger than Pullin. Valentin is a much better prospect and needs to be in CLW more than Pullin.

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        1. like I said Pullin in Clearwater, put Valentin in AA if he is as good as what you think All I said was Pullin in Clearwater. A lot of you fans are excited about Valentin because of his dad’s famous last name

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          1. No, they’ve looked at his age, his stats, and the summary of what the scouts and independent raters think of him. I don’t think you have to invoke famous dad to decide that Valentin is a better prospect than Pullin. I say that as one who has always liked Pullin as a prospect if he could stick at 2B. That said, Pullin really is in the fringe prospect category.

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  2. IIRC, Cumana was injured while being extremely hot with bat, and was never the same after he returned to lineup.

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  3. Pullin blows away everyone with his power and hit tool. He is the best hitting infielder they have at these levels. I would expect him to improve his fielding next year (it has improved greatly over the past two years) to be a serious prospect going forward.
    Cuicas is a player to watch. He is a good hitter. I think he will improve as a fielder in Venezuela over the winter. There have been a lot of outstanding Venezuelan shortstops. Some of them must be available to the organization. Canaelo has improved his hitting to go with his glove. He needs to improve, but has a good chance.

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    3. I’m not trying to be a smart ass with what i’m about to ask . . How many of you have seen Pullin in person? For those who have seen him hit, what are your observations? I’ve seen him several times (I know it’s a SSS) but he looked bad to me every time he was facing a pitcher who had good off speed offerings, WAY out in front in every AB. In games where the pitcher wasn’t as good he would rake. I’m not high on him, I think he’s the classic example of a player who beats up on bad pitching. I guess we will see if this is true or not as he faces better pitching on a more consistent basis.

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      1. ‘but he looked bad to me every time he was facing a pitcher who had good off speed offerings,’

        Do you mean both righthanded pitchers and lefties as well, who threw the breaking balls to him?
        If he looked bad against righthanders then that is not a good sign.
        Can understand the lefties.

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        1. It was against both RHP and LHP more so against RHP. Like I said it was a SSS (about 10 games, 30-40 ABs) but he just looked bad to me . . . Not on fastballs but on off speed. He wasn’t keeping his hands back and when he did keep his hands back we wasn’t staying inside of the baseball. Just things that IMO will be glaring when he faces better pitching. As I’ve said on here before, I’m a pitching guy but what I saw again IMO was fairly obvious.

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          1. Whoa…’more so against RHPs’….well that certainly does not bode well when it comes to right-handers and he will need to correct that going forward in the higher levels.

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      2. I saw 2 LWood games with Pullin this year and I thought he looked pretty good. In 1 of the games he had a double and just missed a homer to the opposite field. In the other he had a couple hits. Again, it’s only 2 games but they were both good games. I have to look at his season as a whole compared to last year. All his offensive numbers were up a lot. His D needs some work but by all accounts he has improved in the field.

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  5. We talk all the time about how a guy can’t be only a 2B and hope to be a utility guy in the majors. The org always tries to get guys to add versatility a s way to help them later on. Obviously if they think a guy is good enough to be a starting 2B in the majors that would be different but I don’t see the next Chase Utley down there. Pullin had a nice season hitting and we all hope he continues it next year but 26 errors at 2b is really terrible. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Valentin bounce around at CWater next year like a super utility guy. The unknown guy on the list is Cuicas. he’s very young but did a great job at GCL. If they start him at LWood (which is doubtful) it will tell us they’re very high on him.

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    1. I am high on Cuicas. He showed a very even excellence in everything but picking up the ball on batted balls. That should correct in the next couple of years. Good observation.

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  6. If you are a betting person, put your chips on Valentin. He is a good fielder already (no great need to work hard on his 2b fielding a la Pullin), has speed enough on the bases to fit near the top of the lineup, has an increasingly good OBA, aimed at #2 in the lineup behind Quinn and before Crawford. THAT, to me, is the future middle of the diamond for the Phils.

    Defensive ability at either middle infield spot is VITAL. Can Pullin go from inadequate fielding at 2b to the good or better fielder that Valentin is and getting better? Unlikely for sure. IMO, Amaro pulled off a good one to get Valentin, for a change.

    Quinn CF
    Valentin 2b
    Crawford SS
    #4–??

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