Box Score Recap – 5/18/2015

Box Score Recap

Lehigh Valley and Syracuse had their game suspended in the tenth with the score tied 1-1.  It will be continued tomorrow.  Phillippe Aumont pitched well after a 2-walk first.  He pitched 6.0 innings and gave up only a solo home run among the 4 hits he allowed.  Dustin McGowan struck out the side in his one inning.  Seth Rosin threw two scoreless innings.  The Chiefs Taylor Jordan pitched 9.0 innings before being replaced at the start of the tenth.  Dom Brown is 3-4 with the IronPigs one RBI.

Reading fell behind early and lost to New Hampshire, 4-1.  Tom Windle allowed only 5 hits, but 2 of his 3 walks scored.  The bullpen allowed a hit and a walk over the last 4 innings.  Lee Ridenhour struck out 2 in his one inning.  With Roman Quinn out again with a jammed thumb, the offense never got started.  The only run they scored came on a double play.  Brodie Greene had 2 of their 6 hits.  Gabriel Lino threw out 2 of 4 base stealers..

Clearwater beat Brevard County, 2-1, behind Brandon Leibrandt’s 101-pitch complete game.  He allowed 5 hits, walked none, and struck out five.  Leibrandt threw 68 strikes.  He has gone eight or more innings twice this season.  When one of Reading’s SP finally gets the call to move up, Leibrandt has made a solid case to be the first Clearwater SP to get the call to Reading.  The Threshers ran into an equally hot pitcher for Brevard County.  Jorge Ortega matched Leibrandt with a 95-pitch complete game.  He threw 75 strikes and also walked none.  Clearwater didn’t get their first base runner until Andrew Knapp singled with 2 out in the fourth.  They mounted their first scoring threat with 2 leadoff singles in the sixth, but couldn’t score.  They finally pushed a run across in the seventh on Mitchell Walding’s RBI single, but Willians Astudillo’s casual return to first on a ball hit to deep center earlier in the inning prevented the chance for a bigger inning.  (On the same play, Dylan Cozens tagged up and moved to third and scored on Walding’s single.  Don’t know what was going thru Astudillo’s head.)  Andrew Pullin returned to the line up tonight and drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI double in the eighth.  Angelo Mora had tripled with one out to be in position to score the run.  That was enough for Leibrandt who recorded the final out with his fifth K, striking out the Manatees clean up and most dangerous hitter – Victor Roache.

Lakewood lost in walk-off fashion to Delmarva, 4-3.  Ricardo Pinto battled thru 6.0 innings and departed with a 3-2 lead. Will Morris blew the save with a solo home run in the eighth. Austin Davis blew the tie with a bases-loaded walk in the ninth.  After taking the lead in the sixth inning, the BlueClaws managed only one hit the rest of the way.  Canelo, Tocci, and Hoskins had 2-hit games.  Grullon had 2 RBI.

DSL Phillies begin their season on Saturday, May 30th.

VSL Phillies lost the VSL Rays, 6-2.  Sergio Velis opened the season with 5.0 scoreless innings allowing 5 hits while striking out five.  I know little about these kids.  A handful were in XST.  Only C Lenin Rodriguez saw any meaningful playing time stateside.  He went 1-4.

Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.

The Threshers are on the road this week.  I’ll be attending the AAC Tournament.  I’ll provide the daily box score report, but it will be a little sketchier than usual.  Shouldn’t affect the quality, since I set the bar low.  Thank you to Eric for a list of prospects and players to watch.

Extra Innings –

  • Billingsley (right shoulder strain) will be shutdown two weeks & timetable to return is 4-6 weeks.
  • Severino Gonzalez will get start Wednesday in Colorado.
  • The Phillies acquired RHP Chris Leroux from the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers for cash considerations.
  •  Nick Hill assigned to Lehigh Valley IronPigs from Reading Fightin Phils.
  • David Buchanan will be out 6-8 weeks with his severe right ankle sprain.
  • Roman Quinn out of the Reading line up again with jammed thumb on left hand.
  • The Baltimore Orioles traded their 2014-15 international bonus slots (#46 and #76) to the Houston Astros for LHP Chris Lee.  The Astros pick up an additional $655.8K (391.5K and $264.3K) for the current signing season

71 thoughts on “Box Score Recap – 5/18/2015”

  1. Thanks, as always, Jim for taking the time to post this along with the details on the Theshers. I notice Leiter starting three games and pitching extremely well. But you see Leibrandt up before him. How would you compare the two?

    Also notice not Crawford today. Just a rest day?

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    1. They are similar in that they both seem to understand how to pitch. Probably a benefit of having MLB pitchers in the family. Leiter has shown a little more velocity. Leibrandt has made 8 starts and has gone deep in 2 of his last 3 starts. The Phillies made a decision that Leiter’s future is in the bullpen. They decided to use him as a starter when they gave up on Nunez. I don’t think, they have changed their mind long term on Leiter as a reliever. So, I don’t expect them to promote him as a starter.

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  2. No Crawford or Quinn Today Jim I envy you a great pitchers dual nice . Nobody was scoring tonight no hr Amonte pitched well again. VSL started today a couple of players I knew from before yes Lius Rodriguez did start.

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  4. Astros pick-up additional money in the international scene….Ruben needs to get it into gear and do the same in order to sign Jhailyn Ortiz at the projected $4M. Unless they want to incur the penalty.

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      1. it is my understanding, the Astros will be using this added money in 6 weeks.
        Phillies will also need to do the same.

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      2. Ok…I see it now……the Astros need to sign players within the next 6 weeks prior to 2 July, not after
        So the Phillies need not make any trades for added money until after July 2nd..
        Got it.

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    1. It’s time to move Nola up, therefore allowing Leibrandt to move into a “Baby Aces” spot at Reading (though Biddle and Windle are not acting like aces at all).

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      1. Someone on this site already trademarked the far-more-realistic “Baby 4-5s” earlier this season.

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        1. Nola is much more than a 4/5. IMO, Nola is far more likely to be a 2 than a 4. That kid can pitch and he is still so young. only going to get better.

          Efflin is a 3/4 IMO. Simply because he doesn’t K hitters and pitches to contact. That will lead to some bad days in the show. But he doesn’t walk guys.

          Lively is interesting. Not sure yet on him. probably more of a 3/4.

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          1. I definitely agree that Nola is more than a back-end guy. The whole “Baby Aces” thing does not apply to Reading, however, regardless of how deep with prospects the starting staff is.

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          2. My feeling is that Nola will be a 2/3 although I lean more towards a 3. I think Eflin will be a 3/4 but with a chance to be a solid 3. I also like Lively quite a bit and think he can be a solid 4. I’m not sure on Biddle and Windle looks like a pen guy. I’m actually very curious to see how both Liebrandt and Leiter do in AA and whether either or both can by a 4/5 guy. I’m really looking forward to Mecias having a chance to stretch himself out and Pinto has continued to look good.
            Patience!

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            1. IMO Nola will be a #1 after two/three years in the majors, and probably stay there efficiently for 4/5 years, then the gradual slide downward.

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            2. Let me lighten the mood.

              First, let’s start with Nola, assuming he doesn’t get hurt, or suffer an unexpected loss of velocity or develop Steve Blass disease, the worst this guy is going to be is a solid 3 and more likely a 2. He has an outside chance (25-30%) of developing into an ace. But he has an unusual combination of movement, command and pitch selection. He’s fantastic.

              Eflin – people are really underselling him. He’s a big horse who pounds the strike zone, has great command and, in my view, has a lot more upside. At some point, somebody is going to tell him it’s okay to strike people out and he’s going to work a 4 seemer into his mix and he’s going to be lethal. He is a huge, strong, athletic guy who may have more velocity in his body. I don’t think he’s going to be a 3/4 ultimately, he may start as a 4, but I see him being really good – it wouldn’t surprise me if, over time, he ends up being the best of the bunch.

              Lively – pounds the strike zone, hides the ball, but also throws kind of hard too – often hits 93 and touches 94. He’ll be the big surprise.

              Leibrandt – God only knows, but it’s clear he can pitch – let’s see how he does in AA. I’m optimistic. Hoping for a clone of his Dad.

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  6. Three fine starts in a row for Aumont. Really good to see, I am happy for him.

    Congrats to Leibrandt, quite an accomplishment to pitch a game like that. Here’s hoping he gets the call to AA soon.

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  7. Good news to hear on Shane Watson.
    Threw 45 pitches yesterday in XST, 12 outs, sitting at 90velo T92, mixing in CUs with FBs. Next start scheduled for Saturday which will be his fourth.
    It will be a great boost to the org for him to come back fully healthy.

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      1. That’s what Jay Floyd reported him at …S90, T92.
        Not sure where he got his info from.

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  8. PHILLIPPE!!! Not getting over excited yet, but there is a chance we can still salvage something out of the Cliff Lee trade after all.

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      1. Meh, he’s got 8 walks over 5 starts (27 IP). He’ll likely never be a guy with great control at the ML level, but it represents improvement over what he’s done in the past. The fact that he walked 2 guys in the first inning and one thereafter is a positive to me. It shows he didn’t panic and made a good adjustment in-game.

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      2. What? Three walks in 6 innings isn’t a red flag at any level. I don’t see Aumont as a solution in the rotation but that’s grasping a bit.

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          1. OTOH, check out Giles BB/9 for his minor league career (5.4-140IP)…not spectacular at all, but so far he has weathered the storm in the majors..

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          2. I’m sure you could find one game from any pitchers’ minor league career where they walked 3 guys. It’s one start. We know that control has been a big issue for him in his career but pointing to one start and saying it’s a “red flag” is really stretching it. His BB/9 on the season is lower than that both in total and as a starter.

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            1. you are right. it just depends on whether you think his first few starts are a mirage or this start is a mirage. i just said it is a flag. doesn’t mean he can’t take the flag down with continued good performance. just that it bears watching.

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            2. Fair enough. I totally agree that he needs to succeed over a longer period before we can buy in.

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  9. Within the next 2-3 weeks, we are likely to see the following promotions: Aumont to Phillies, Nola to Lehigh Valley, Leibrandt to Reading. If Windle continues to struggle, he may be demoted to Clearwater, but I think they will try hard to resist that move. Biddle, for as bad as he has occasionally been, does not merit a demotion. He just has to keep battling through it until things start to click.

    By the way, if some team is really interested in winning the WS and having a great pitcher for 3 or 4 years, they will try to acquire Hamels. He’s a difference-maker and, for what it’s worth, I think last night was the best I’ve ever seen him pitch, even if the result was perfect – and that’s saying something. He had a 93-95 MPH fastball, his curve and cutter and were on and he was a master at working in and out and up and down in the zone.

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    1. Your absolutely correct once he was out of the first, that was the best I’ve seen him, with everything working. The biggest improvement I think is in the curve ball, which previous to last year was a nothing pitch.

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  10. We are a month away from the real serious trade talk to start on a Hamels move and we will have the “how much is an Ace worth?” argument. But, I see a number of teams who Hamels would make a big difference for, and that only ups the ante. Sorry if this post is in the wrong section.

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    1. with way Hamels is starting to pitch atleast the low-ball offers should subside. He has 2.24 ERA since June of last summer. He is one best pitchers in all of baseball period.

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  12. It used to be that a multi-hit game from Tocci was a rarity. Now, it’s the norm.

    Tocci is first in the SAL in batting and second in wOBA as a 19-year-old. The only other teenagers among the batting leaders in that league are Sox prospects Javier Guerra and the much-hyped Rafael Devers (a top 50 prospect on BA’s list, I believe). Devers is a year younger, and that matters, but the comparison in a growing sample size is significant:

    Carlos Tocci (age 19): 154 PA, 362/.429/.471, 7.8%/9.7% BB/K
    Rafael Devers (age 18): 121 PA, .325/.350/.474, 3.3%/19% BB/K

    I’m trying not to get too excited about Tocci, but man … we always heard that his hit tool had the potential to be plus, but I began to doubt it after so many struggles past seasons. If this output is real, and he continues to put on weight (the Carlos Tocci mantra), along with the plus defense in CF, how can you not get excited about this guy?

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    1. Last year I was down on Tocci, but he is changing my opinion. The low k % and high walk % is simply awesome. still not sure where he maxes out. but i am starting to get excited about him. and man do we need him to be a real prospect badly!

      Still need to see him do it against better competition, but his progress is awesome.

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    2. I still need to see more extra-base hits from him to get excited. The real key is to see if he starts to fade as summer drags on and he looses some weight. On scale of 10 I would put him at 6 right now in terms of being excited.

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  13. My Dad & I took up $2 Mondays at Delmarva (O’s affiliate) to watch Pinto & Lakewood last night. Going to do my best to give some insight in to how a few of these guys looked. Let’s start with Pinto….

    Pinto: Right from the get go, Ricardo Pinto’s command wasn’t as sharp as he would have liked. His whole arsenal was elevated in the zone, including the change-up which grades out on everyone’s analysis at plus. However, he showed excellent grit on the hill, kept his emotions in check, and battled. After the rough 1st inning he was able to rebound & scatter 7 hits as well as 3 BB’s, 2 earned runs over 6 quality innings. He departed with the lead. The one issue he had was 4 of the 7 hits came with two strikes on the hitter and I believe all 4 were an elevated change up. He sure was fun to watch out there, the fastball sat 90-92 & touched 93.

    Canelo: To our surprise, Canelo had a rough game on the defensive side of the ball. He mishandled a one-hop double play ball to his right. Even the lead out would’ve been nice there. That lead runner ended up scoring. He juggled 2 other ground balls…offensively he showed a strong ability to barrel up the baseball, squaring it up 3 out of 4 at-bats. His frame is still very thin, 2013 Tocci thin. Hopefully he can add some mass this off-season.

    Sandberg: I have to admit I am not very patient when it comes to Cord Sandberg. I know I should be, but I am not. I know he needs AB’s coming from a football background but he’s an athlete with a strong build, he should be driving the ball better by now. Granted he saw lefties in 3 of his 4 at-bats, and did lace a ground ball up the middle in his 2nd AB, but the other 3 plate appearances displayed no power and no discipline. 1st AB he K’d, 3rd AB he swung at a first pitch breaking ball with a runner on and tapped out weakly to 1st. I hope this kid turns the corner and proves me wrong…

    Tocci: He looked outstanding. Provided a Quality AB 3 out of 4 plate trips. Saved 2 runs in the 1st with a full layout diving catch in the gap. Looks much more at ease and stronger at the dish.

    Hoskins: Baseball America hit it on the head when they called this kid a “pure hitter”. BA- “Hoskins works counts, has present strength and a good feel for hitting. He hit .326 in the Cape Cod League last summer and made good adjustments in instructs. Has plus raw power.” One look at this kid and you can tell he knows what he is doing up there. Squared all 3 swings up and walked once. He should be a fast mover.

    Grullon: Deivi looked improved over last season, but still has plenty to develop offensively. But for a younger player he looked fine. Knocked in a couple runs, has a free swinging approach. Defensively he’s above average for the Sally League. From a distance it looks like he could remake his body to be a little more leaner/muscular.

    Tromp: His approach can agitate even the most novice of fans. Everything from a K to infield pop up’s in his battling line. He did lace a double into the left field corner, albeit he was out on his front foot on a hanging breaking pitch. Not sure where the hype came from with him….BP homers?

    Herlis Rodriguez: Reigning South Atlantic League Player of the Week. Had 4 quality at bats with nothing to show for it. That’s baseball. Looked excellent in 3 at bats versus left-handers. Stayed in and battled a deep count late in the ball game vs. a 3/4 arm slot southpaw. Very athletic body with good speed. Had no chances defensively due to being the DH.

    Tomscha: Organizational player. Good size, adequate fielder, overmatched at the plate. Next…

    Cumana: Grenny Cumana is the smallest pro baseball player I have ever seen in person other than Jose Altuve, but Jose Altuve is a stud. 5’5 may be generous for Cumana. He plays hard and has solid wheels, but could hardly muster the ball out of the infield on this night.

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    1. I am very excited about Hoskins. Man would it be great if he turns out to be a legit prospect. would expedite our rebuild dramatically.

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    2. On Tromp: I believe he set the Williamsport team record for home runs in a season last year, so it’s not BP power that put him on the radar. He has an interesting mix of speed, power and defensive value. That said, I’m very skeptical that he can translate his numbers to full-season ball because of all the strikeouts.

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  14. Thank you for this post. I think that we may have undervalued Hoskins in our rankings this year, and he offers an exciting player to watch in addition to Tocci. Looking forward to the next month or so when I think there will be some promotions throughout the farm.

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      1. rocco….good memory. People will soon be talking Hoskins and Kris Bryant in the same breath Okay maybe a little exaggeration there. But both strong

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  15. Thanks for the review as it looks like Lakewood has some players ready for promotion.

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  16. How many guys could move into the top 100 prospect conversation? Could we have 6-7 guys?

    -Nola should be in the top 20
    -Crawford should be in the top 15
    -Quinn should break into the top 100
    -Tocci has a chance to break into the top 100 too
    -Eflin if he continues to throw well could be a top 100 guys
    -Rhys Hoskins?
    -Franklyn Kilome? Maybe a season too soon tho

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    1. Good post – here are my views:

      Nola – top 35, maybe even top 25
      Crawford – unchanged in top 15 – one of the best prospects in baseball
      Quinn – should be in top the 100 if people are paying attention; might be in top 50 by the end of the year – it will take a little while for his reputation to catch up to his play – by all rights he should be in the top 40 (but he won’t be) – he’s the real deal
      Tocci – probably will be teetering on the edge of the top 100, unless he starts hitting for power, which I really don’t expect (more about him below)
      Eflin – should be somewhere between 75 and 100 – will go higher if K rates spike
      Hoskins – somewhat older, less heralded hitting prospect – will almost certainly not be ranked
      Kilome – just wait til next year – he could climb quickly once he hits the radar

      On Tocci, I’m enjoying the ride as much as anyone. I saw him in ST and he looked like he had filled out a little and was definitely hitting the ball harder. I will say that, physically, he doesn’t look like he could play in the majors as anyting more than a role player, but it’s looking like, at the least he will develop an outstanding hit tool and that and his fielding should make him a possible regular somehwere. Maybe he will fill out and maybe he’s just a freak athlete. It does happen. Did anything think that Allen Iverson could do what he did with that little body?

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      1. My concern is his .408 BABIP. On positive note his K are down and BB are up. He clearly has adapted to AAA ball. What I am looking for is does his strength hold up and hit for extra bases or does he drift back to being singles hitter as he tires.

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      2. Here’s the thing about Tocci: he’s 19. If he were American and he had graduated from high school in 2014 at age 18 and he was putting up this line in the South Atlantic League (even normalizing the BABIP a bit), with plus defense at a premium position, people would be absolutely over the moon about him. He would be moved into Top 100 prospect lists for sure. It’s almost like his failure to hit as a 17 year old and 18 year old in Low A is being held against him. Try putting a junior or senior in high school in the Sally and see what happens.

        I mean, J.P. Crawford (who is a better prospect, I know) put up less impressive numbers in Lakewood as a 19 year old (after hitting .208 in limited ABs in Lakewood as an 18 year old). Here’s a non-Phillies example: Austin Meadows last year as a 19 year old in the Sally hit .322/.388/.414 in 165 plate appearances (almost exactly what Tocci has this year so far) with an 18% K rate and a 8% BB rate and he’s a Top 50 prospect. I’m not saying Meadows ISN’T a Top 50 prospect — he certainly has size on Tocci — but Tocci is rising fast.

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        1. I don’t think anyone is holding the last two years against Tocci at this point. I really haven’t heard anyone speak negatively since the season started. Probably the only small red flag is his high BABIP. If you bring it down from it’s current .408 to what Crawford had last year in Lakewood (.342), his line becomes .300/.365/.405, which is probably a reasonable expectation of what he’ll end up with at Lakewood. That’s an awesome year and probably will get him in the back end of some top 100 lists, but he doesn’t quite have the pedigree of Meadows or Crawford. It’ll probably take him performing at this level for another year before he’s a top 50 guy.

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    2. Only way Hoskins breaks into the top 100, is when he gets his promo next month to CLW he rakes, then gets his AFL invite and also rakes….them maybe cracks high 90s in the pre-2016 rankings….he is a first basemen, tough for them to get up there unless they are triple award candidate guys in their respective leagues.

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  17. I think if you put in a good word for Hoskins, he might make top 50. romus you know a lot of important people

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  18. Hoskins has a bit to go, because even if he continues to do well, he is an unheralded guy, and the National guys are very slow to tout a prospect they were never in on. That doesn’t mean he won’t be fun to watch or that the National guys don’t often get it wrong.

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          1. Sure hope a change of scenery is not needed to get Jesse Biddle turned around.
            Rich Hofmann thinks this could await him at some point, but right now I like to see him pitch his first game at CBP.

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  20. To many walks by Diekman they score every time. Franco has it going. I I wish Dugan and Perkins had were in AAA .

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  21. Another terrific Nola outing today, and it is time to let him move to AAA. RAJ and Gillick were there today for a reason, and he seems to be even a little better than he was projected to be. Maybe not an Ace, but a definite 3, and looking more and more like a 2.

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    1. Agreed. He’s almost certainly going to be 3, more likely a 2 and an outside chance at being a borderline 1. If you love the art of pitching you are going to love Aaron Nola. He will fly through AAA – it’s an easier environment for a pitcher than the Eastern League. Right now, he is a very good 4 at worst – probably more like a solid 3 or better. Friends, this guy can pitch. I did not like the pick when they made it, but Nola has won me over.

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    2. Who would ever have thought Astros’ Dallas Keuchel would ever be considered an ‘ace’….a guy who sits 89-91 with pedestrian minor league peripherals, but that is what they were calling him today vs the As.
      If Hamels is moved, Nola could inherit the number one slot in a few years, hopefully on merit..

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      1. An Espn writer said they pounding his pitches into the dirt Dallas must have a heavy ball.

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  22. Lefthanders can get away with less velocity. They usually just have so much movement on there ball.

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    1. Well that then bodes well for the future for lefties like Biddle and Liebrandt I would hope.

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