Box Score Recap – 5/26/2015

Box Score Recap

Lehigh Valley (18-27) and the Gwinnett Braves were rained out again.  Tuesday’s game has been postponed.  Monday’s suspended game, in which Gwinnett led 1-0 in the second inning and had runners on second and third with nobody out, will resume on Wednesday at 5:05 p.m. as a full, nine-inning game with a seven-inning game following the conclusion of the suspended game.  No idea who will take the mound for the suspended game, Anthony Vasquez had been Monday’s starting pitcher.  Joely Rodriguez (2-3, 5.18) is still  scheduled to pitch game two.  Tuesday’s postponed game will be made up as part of a double header on Thursday.  Phillippe Aumont (2-1, 1.64) pitches in game one, TBD pitches in game two.

Reading (24-20) beat New Hampshire, 10-1.  Jesse Biddle returned to the rotation and threw 63 pitches (40 strikes) in 5.0 innings.  He allowed 5 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run on a solo home run.  I guess the most surprising aspect of his outing is that he didn’t record a single strike out.  Hoby Milner pitched one-hit relief for 3.0 innings.  Roman Quinn had a hit in 5 at bats.  Brock Stassi went 4-5 with 2 doubles.  Brian Pointer went 2-5 with 2 Ks.  Brodie Greene went 3-5 with a double and an RBI.  Cameron Perkins went 3-5 with a double, home run, 4 RBI, and an outfield assist at home.  Often maligned for his lack of power, Perkins now has 4 HRs, and is one behind team leaders Stassi and Art Charles.  Zach Eflin (4-3, 2.28) pitches  tomorrow.

Clearwater (22-22) was postponed and will be made up as part of a double header on Thursday.  Wednesday’s starter is expected to be Victor Arano (0-5, 6.44 in 6 starts).  Mark Leiter (3-0, 1.30) and David Whitehead (2-6, 3.83) are expected to pitch on Thursday.  Brandon Leibrandt (5-2, 2.29) goes on Friday.

Lakewood (21-23) lost to the West Virginia Power, 5-2.  Tyler Viza pitched 8.0 strong innings allowing 2 unearned runs on 5 hits and a walk.  Alexis Rivero and Jason Zgardowski followed with 2 shutout innings each.  All that good pitching was wasted when Manny Martinez gave up a leadoff home run in the 14th inning and a Grenny Cumana error allowed 2 unearned runs to score.  Every BlueClaw got a hit in the 14-hit attack, however 13 were singles.  Rhys Hoskins went 3-6.  Malquin Canelo, Cord Sandberg, and Cumana had 2 hits each.  While Lakewood errors led to 4 unearned runs, Herlis Rodriguez had 2 outfield assists, and Sandberg had one.  Lakewood pitchers held the Power to 7 hits in 14 innings, but walked 7, hit a batter, and threw 2 wild pitches.  Ranfi Casimiro (2-3, 2.74) pitches tomorrow.

Williamsport (0-0) starts their season on the road against the State College Spikes on June 19th, home opener on June 20th.

GCL Phillies (0-0) starts their season across the bay against the GCL Yankees1 on June 22nd, second game at the Carpenter Complex on June 23rd.

DSL Phillies (0-0) begin their season on Saturday, May 30th.

VSL Phillies (5-3) beat the VSL Tigers 3-2.   Mauricio Llovera, Denny Martinez, and Oberdan Diaz scattered 5 hits and 3 walks.  Rafael Gamboa went 3-4 with a double and an RBI.  Enger Jimenez and Lenin Rodriguez each added an RBI.

Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.

Put me in Coach
Put me in Coach … Kelly Dugan waiting for the umpires to arrive so he can take the field.

Extra Innings –

  • LHP Matt Imhof and OF Kelly played in an XST game this afternoon.
  • Imhof threw effortlessly in the 87-89 range, his same range before his injury.  He looked like he was holding back, like he could throw with more velocity if he cut loose.  He was on a pitch count and went 2.2 innings.  He gave up a run and a couple hits. He also picked off a runner and struck out a couple guys.
  • Dugan played 4 innings in CF.  With Bryan Martelo on his right and Jose Pujols on his left, his range was tested.  He moved well and covered ground.  I assume the position assignment was just to test his mobility.  He saw more action in center than he would on a corner.  He made one strong throw into the cutoff from the wall in RCF.
  • Dugan batted twice in his 4 innings.  He was second in the order and lined an 0-1 pitch into right field for a single.  The outielder charged and missed the ball and it rolled to the track.  Dugan ran hard into third without a throw.  He scored on an infield ground out, and slid into home even though there was no throw.
  • In his second at bat, Dugan topped the ball in front of the plate.  He beat the throw by the pitcher for an infield single.  He moved to second on a pitch that bounced about 10-12 feet from the catcher, also with no throw.  Later he advanced to third when he tagged up on a high fly ball to center.  He easily beat the throw.
  • Observation.  Imhof’s outing was encouraging.  I hope I’m right and he has more velocity he’s just not showing yet.  Dugan looks healthy.  He’s running with controlled abandon.  He looked like the Kelly Dugan I grew accustomed to seeing when he was with the Threshers, taking a strike when he didn’t like the pitch and hitting the one he liked … hard.  The topped ball is just a timing thing that he’ll quickly work out.  He’s hustling, not babying his injury.  The only question is where he goes after his XST rehab.  He could conceivably bypass a rehab in Clearwater and go right up to Reading en route to Lehigh Valley.

 

69 thoughts on “Box Score Recap – 5/26/2015”

  2. Dugan needs to quickly get inoculated against injuries that have haunted him through all of his minor lg career. Who knows if he can escape the injury bug-?- since nobody really knows how well he might have developed were it not for those bugs’ bites.

    Just wish him health…and steady play.

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  3. Even though i think Stassi and Hosksins should be promoted along with some others , i guess i wont BI#$% and complain like RAJ says the fans are doing in his rant…

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  5. Steve, unfortunately RAJ was right that most Philadelphia fans have no idea of how to rebuild teams but he needed to stop at there is a process. He just was too open and needs to learn that less is better like Gillick.

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    1. This is a response to the discussion yesterday by ABM, Mike Honko, Romus and David Urban about the need to promote Carlos Tocci. There is a serious need to promote Carlos Tocci as soon as possible because the clock is ticking very quickly on him because of his age and the decisions that have been made by the Phillies.

      In order to be a part of the discussion, commenters need to understand the major league rules that apply to the players. All of the above commenters believe that Carlos Tocci has to be added to the 40-man roster after next year or by November 20, 2016 to protect him from Rule 5 which is in fact wrong. Tocci needs to be added to the 40-man roster after this year or by November 20, 2015 to protect him from Rule 5. He is virtually assured that he will be added to the 40-man by Nov 20, 2015.

      Two important rules that come into play concerning young players are: 1. In order to play in a league during a season a player must be at least 17 for at least one day during that team’s season and 2. A player who signs a minor league contract with a team must be immediately added to that teams reserve roster causing their 5 year clock to start. The first rule is known as the “Jimy Kelly rule” around baseball executives. It was put in to meet labor laws for minors and is applicable to all the minor leagues including the DSL and VSL. This rule means that most players that sign at 16 cannot play in their 1st season. This led to a way around it by singing 16 year olds to contracts that do not begin until the following season. But when the new basic agreement was signed in 2006 the second rule was added to close that loop-hole.

      In order to determine the date when a foreign player needs to be added to the 40-man roster four items need to be known: the exact date of the signing, exact player’s age on the signing date, what minor league team he signed his contract with, and the date of the end of the minor league season for that team.

      Tocci signed a contract on Aug 23, 2011 his 16th birthday with the Gulf Coast Phillies. Since he signed at 16, the Phillies are entitled to 5 seasons of development before he has to be added to the 40-man roster. But because he signed before the Gulf Coast Phillies season ended on Aug 25, 2011, 2011 counts as the 1st season against the 5 season limit even though he did not play in 2011. The next season 2012 counts as his 2nd, 2013 as his 3rd, 2014 as his 4th, and 2015 as his 5th. So he needs to be added to the 40-man roster by November 20, 2015.

      Had Tocci signed the contract on Aug 26, 2011 instead then 2011 would not have counted as his 1st season and would not have to be protected until Nov 20, 2016.
      Additionally, if Tocci’s birthday had been Aug 26 instead of Aug 23 the first year he would be eligible to play in the Gulf Coast League would 2013. He would have had to sit out 2012.

      75 to 80 percent of the 16 year-olds who sign minor league contracts and are added to the 40-man roster the 1st year eligible usually then become eligible for a 4th option year. Tocci is not eligible for the 4th option year because in 2013 he was sent to a full season team and did not miss any of 2013 2014 or 2015 due to injury.

      Because of the above, the Phillies only have 3 option year of control over Tocci. One will have to be spent for High A, one for AA and one for AAA. There is no margin for error. If he has to repeat a level he cannot because they only have 3 options.

      Because of his birthday being so close to the end of the GCL season and the actions by the Phillies he could become to be the youngest player under the new rules and going thru 5 development year and 3 option year to be put on waivers by the age 23.

      These are the reasons why Tocci must be promoted as soon as possible.

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      1. Wow. Thanks for the detailed explanation. He’ll certainly be protected regardless of his level, but this is all the more reason to send him to Clearwater next month, once the draft, short season etc. gets underway.

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      2. NEPA this is great detail but define ASAP? I also don’t see protecting him when the time comes to be a big deal. We all know he will finish this season in CLW and probably have a good shot at starting the 2016 season in Reading his age 20 season.

        Should he need to repeat Reading in 2017 he is still just 21. Of 40 roster spots by the time that decision needs to be made there will be plenty of room for a guy like Tocci.

        IMO

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      3. Very good info…explains it.
        So when the day comes for Tocci, will he not just be added to the 40 …which I assume will be in 5 months -Nov 2015, then he gets his three options from then?
        As for his level of attainment…I assume he gets the promo in 3/4 weeks to CLW,
        So he stays on track.

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      4. Great info but what is the risk that he gets drafted and forced to play on a MLB roster?

        He has yet to make it to AA and even at that level for a couple of months will be completely overmatched by MLB pitching.

        I would risk exposing hm for a year due to the fact that a move from the A level to the majors will be too much.

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      5. Actually he is not eligible until November 2016 because all contracts signed with players who became eligible on July 2 of that year are for the following year.

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      6. Accepting all your points on when the bell tolls, one of the easier jobs the Phils should have this off-season is putting together a 40 man roster without fear of losing talent. Arguably the same could be said of a 35 man roster. It could change by the trade deadline if the Philes haul in some near-ready prospects. We’ll see out that works out. It’s hard for me to see Tocci or anyone who never played above A ball getting selected as a Rule 5 selection. He would need an extreme power tool or the speed of a Roman Quinn..

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    2. I disagree about that. I think most fans knew that they needed to use their resources, which means money, and gone over slot when they could do that to bring talent into the system. They should have spent more in the Cuban market as well. He is using 1 aspect, promoting players before they are ready, to make his point, and then, with his usual arrogance, insulted the fans. Still only gives a “maybe” we should have started 2 years earlier in the rebuild, when everyone knew it for sure. But, it really should have started in the middle of their run, when they sold out every night, knew a huge Cable deal was imminent, and completely failed. How can they go so long without a single young player making an impact on a team? Poor talent evaluations, poor use of financial resources, and poor player development. I think the fans understand quite well.

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      1. The problem with spending in the Cuban market is that two teams got stupid.

        Arizona’s deal for Tomas was brain dead wrong on so many levels. The guy has no position at the MLB level because Arizona has a good 3B and they did not want to take the time to acclimate him to a new position in the minors. They had Lamb at 3B and now have a mess when he comes off DL.

        The Dodgers signed three Cubans that play 2B. WTF are they doing? One of them is in revolt now in the minors over playing time.

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        1. But you still have to take in consideration the Puig, Soler, Abreu signings that have been fruitful for those respective clubs so far.

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          2. Has it occurred to anyone that the Amaro’s are of Cuban decent? is it possible he wanted more than a MAG and couldn’t get the money to do so?

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            1. I think the deal for Ortiz is of such importance that they did not want to risk the goodwill built up over the years in Latin America to break deals just for one Cuban player.

              FWIW, the Phillies have done quite well in LA.

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            2. David…….for the money they expended they have done well….Chooch, Carassco, Galvis, Hernandez, Carlos Silva, Maikel Franco, maybe Dom Santana…all relatively cheap signees (<$800K) that panned out or could pan out.
              Granted…there are lots of big signings that have not worked out for teams , ie A's and Ynoa for one, and Jesus Montero and maybe even Gary Sanchez…jury still out on him,
              But the period between the two Korean pitchers and Tocci …money was frugally and tightly budgeted.

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            3. I agree, not just there but poor drafting as well and the Phillies are paying the price now for those mistakes.

              The last few years have seen a change and it just goes to show how important drafting and developing talent is every single season.

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            4. Little bit of a reach. I think Amaro is 1/4 Cuban and his father grew up in Mexico. I think if he wanted to sign a bunch of Cuban players, he’s working for the wrong team, as little as it pains me to say that.

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      1. I agree also it was a knee jerk frustrated response to a stupid question that could have been countered by naming the minors promotions that have taken place since 2012.

        Then I would have followed with a question to Salisbury “what prospects Jim do you think these said fans are wanting to see promoted to the major league club”

        RAJ should have made him name names that would have flipped the stupidity prism around in the other direction.

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  6. Jim: Have you gotten a good look at Pujols or Encarnacion in XST this season? I’m really hoping one of these two is going to break out this year.

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  7. I agree about your comment related to Biddle and the zero strikeouts, that struck me as odd when I saw it last night. I’m going with the optimistic approach and going to say he is focusing on throwing strikes, pitching to contact. Maybe a game with no strikeouts is a good thing as he was around the plate enough to make them swing! Baby steps!

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  8. Forget the Cuban market for a minute. Let’s discuss the draft and the inability to add a Major League player in how many years? Does anybody here believe that they could not and should not have done much better? That the organization’s choice to follow some make-believe slotting system has not hurt the farm? And, all of this was argued here at the time. This is not 20-20 hindsight. And the relevance to now and the future is simple. Gillick and Amaro should have no role in the future of the team. A new, fresh approach is needed. RAJ was frustrated and lashed out? Too bad for him.

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    1. I get it now. Its so easy all the other clubs have this process nailed down except for the Phillies…

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      1. So, DMAR, you are perfectly content with the job Amaro has done? There is nothing easy about it. It is a Billion Dollar business that needs quality management, forward thinking, aggressive, really bright people, to succeed. But, are you telling me that is what we have here? The financial edge was used to its fullest? Player evaluations and development have been acceptable? RAJ will lead this team to great heights if we just acknowledge his talents? I would love to have your outlook. I see a mess, with a few bright spots.

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        1. Simply stated I want a new ownership group. I’m above slamming or directing my frustration at Amaro. He did what any of us would have done he took his dream job and hoped for the best.

          He hoped he would get to run it as he saw fit. He was seduced by Monty and before he knew what hit him he was forced into the Howard contract by ownership. He knew the right play was to wait but like owners do around the league they jump over their GM’s and sign players for reasons that make sense to them.

          What do you think he is going to come out in the media and say that one is on Monty, Dallas and Pat? Why do you think they haven’t fired him

          Howard was a huge African American draw still is and they were not about to let that rear its head in the media. The Cliff Lee deal to Seattle was not Amaro. That was Gillicks ties to Seattle on the scouting of Gillies and Aumont, Ramirez.

          It’s low level thinking to blame this all on Amaro. He wants to keep his job and if you would choose to see the trees from the forest you would see what moves were his and what moves were decided above him.

          These things don’t turn on a dime Matt but how can you argue what they have done, what they have acquired and for whom they’ve acquire them for since they made their shift to rebuild?

          How can you argue Crawford or Nola.

          Again it’s not going to make a difference who they bring in until they agree to part ways with Monty and his cronies of consultants from the past road blocking the smart and tough decisions.

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          1. DMAR, I am in agreement with exactly what you just said. I have argues about the Giles/Monty ownership rule before, and I apologize if it appeared that I was only blaming Amaro, or even mainly blaming him. Directed at him, yes, but it really is meant for those above him. I agree completely on the Lee trade and the Howard signing. Monty thought he was actually getting a deal, beating the Fielder/Pujols contracts that were to come. I love Crawford and Nola, and the Rollins and Byrd trades. So, you are correct to point out that my problems really are with the ownership group. Maybe Comcast buys them and we can stop dreaming that John Middleton is a savior.

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            3. Okay, we all agree – Giles/Montgomery is a disaster. But I don’t see how Ruben gets such a free pass. It was he who dealt prospects like they were burning a hole in his pocket. It was he who seems – even to the present day – to have no idea how to identify hitting talent. It was he who eschewed modern analytics until he saw that he was becoming the laughing stock of baseball. Not everything he has done has been bad, but on the whole, he’s really been pretty crummy all on his own.

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          2. Your reply makes sense at the big league level but begs the question of poor player development and drafting within the Phillies’ system. When you’re bad at that — and I recognize no team worse than the Phils — then your crutch is going heavy and intelligently into the international market, which the Phils haven’t done. He’s recognized by his peers (SI, 2014) as the worst GM for good and valid reasons.

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      3. dmar you are off the deep end with your amaro bull. ST LOUIS GETS it ,boston had bad contracts and go rid of them and won a world title. giants get it, Amaro is not the answer, you can throw in giles and mont as a excuse but its not the whole story. and how can you come on here and try to defend him, why hasn’t he been able to get some value for his guys.? I don’t care really about the bad teams, I want a winner, and if he wasn’t a moron, he would have done with st Louis did let the great pujos go, and replaced him and kept winning, that’s what good teams do.

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  9. The comments about Cam Perkins being second on the Reading team in HRs with 4 and about the Lakewood team getting 14 hits, of which 13 were singles points to what I think is the single biggest problem with the Phillies farm system-a distinct lack of power. At Lehigh Valley, Franco is still tied for the HR lead (4) with Bogusevic, who is not a prospect. Next are Canzler and Phelps with 2 each. As mentioned above, Charles and Stassi each have five for Reading and Perkins has 4. At Clearwater, Pullin has 3, Cozens has 2 and no one else has more than 1. At Lakewood, Hoskins has 5; no one else has more than two. If the Phillies were an organization that emphasized ‘smallball’, then this situation would be more tolerable, as they do have some speed in the minors, for example, the top three base stealers at Lakewood (Tocci, Cumana and Canelo) have stolen 28 bases and been caught twice. Chase Harris has stolen 9 out of 10 at Clearwater and Quinn provides great speed at Reading. However, the organization has not been known for using their speed; they do not bunt much, do not hit and run much and seem to be waiting for the home run. This rebuild will not be successful unless they either change their organizational philosophy or acquire some power hitters.

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    1. You do realize that most if not all big contracts will be off the books by 2017 for the Phillies? The Phillies can fill their holes from Free Agency but they have to wise about it.

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      1. The nice thing is guys like Franco, Quinn, Crawford, Herrera, and Asche should be settled into their positions by then with guys like Nola and the others either up or on the verge.

        Plus whatever we get for Hamels, Howard, Revere, and Paps.

        It will be a year or two of filling in the blanks by then.

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        1. In 2017, I’m not sure Asche will still be here. He may be better suited to be a 3B for a 2nd division team. I’m still looking for 25 – 30 homers from LF. Also, Herrera looks like a bench guy at this point with Galvis moving over at 2B. Dugan is the only guy in the system with even a remote chance to be a #3 hitter and a lot has to happen quickly for that to play out.

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        1. rocco…Monty’s health is still in question, and Bill Giles will be a few years past 80-years old in 2017. Gillick is 78-years old now I think.
          So, Ruben may be the one remaining in the FO.

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  10. good to hear that Dugan and Imhof are working their way back. I believe I red somewhere that Ethan Martin was getting close to a return was well. No word yet on MAG? Or how long Tommy Joseph is expected to be out?

    Also what about Shane Watson, when is he expected to leave extended spring for Lakewood?

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    1. Shane Watson’s suspension will be over around the first week of June…..50 games into the Lakewood season…if you have their schedule you can estimate his return. Until then, he cannot join the team he is assigned to….so answer to your question….probably next week sometime.

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      1. romus Watson suspension is over june 8 but he is going on vacation until july5th just read it in amaro Phillies notes, his new publication, it tells us how stupid we are and how great he is, on newsstand starting today

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        1. rocco…again with the jokes. Ruben did apologize for his comments the other day.
          Today he said something about their catching in the lower levels being stronger then upper levels since Tommy Joseph’s future behind the plate is in question. But he also says Lino is coming along fine and they are optimistic about his future.

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          1. I haven’t seen much mentioned about this but I heard RAJ on Mikey Miss yesterday around 5pm. He apologized sort of. He said he didn’t mean all the fans but said something to the effect that he meant “..a small select group of fans.” I think he made it worse.

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          2. Romus my question about the catching is this, do you think any of them have hitting ability? rupp makes me sick. cant believe this is the kid I saw play for texas in college.

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            1. He did signal out Grullon and Knapp…so I believe, they feel, they are the two with the potential ability to hit at this juncture as catchers.
              As for Rupp, Logan Moore, who is equally adept behind the plate, will be putting pressure on him next season as the back-up.
              And who knows, if Christian Vasquez’s medical reports are encouraging in the off-season, they may still go after him again come December.

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  11. I’m not huge on signing a ton of FA but I think the Phillies should target 2 guys this off season to spark and expedite the rebuild . . .

    Justin Upton – Would slide perfectly into the 3 or 4 hole. Is still young enough to be apart of the next Phillies run. Offers a little bit of everything esp a bat that could hit 40HR w half of his games at CBP.

    Jason Heyward – Would slide into the 5/6 hole perfectly. Brings D to the OF and I think there’s a really good player in there, more then what he has shown. Not a player to build around but a solid piece.

    2017 Phillies 1-5. That’s not a bad start.

    1. Roman Quinn CF
    2. JP Crawford SS
    3. Justin Upton LF
    4. Miakel Franco 3B
    5. Jason Heyward RF

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    1. I’d agree if those home grown guys (Quinn/Crawford) were up and ready. I would think both of those guys would want a severe overpay to sign with a last place team given where they are in their careers.

      I’d have my eye on the FA class of 2017 instead. I also don’t see Franco as a 3/4 hitter he is more of a 5 hitter to me. Reminds me so much of the Sarge!

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    2. I wouldn’t be against signing one if not both for several reasons.

      They are both young enough to be very good players by the time we are able to compete again. Heyward has not been the type of hitter that many projected him to be so he should be easier to sign than Upton. We will have to over pay to land these guys but that’s the name of the game in free agency. The Nationals overpaid Werth and he was able to provide a boost to their club and leadership for their young guys. One or both of these players could do the same with some of our young talent.

      I would prefer to wait until 2017 to sign anyone big, as DMAR suggested, but the 2016-17 FA OF class does not impress me much. Carlos Gomez, Jon Jay, Josh Reddick, and Jay Bruce could be the best 4 available around the age of 30. However, Gomez is represented by Scott Boras, Jay plays CF which would conflict with Quinn and doesn’t provide the offense to move to LF like Gomez could, Reddick’s consistency worries me, and there is a club option on Bruce’s contract so the Reds may not even let him become a free agent that year.

      Brandon Moss will be available as well, but he will be 33 and may not want to come to Philly after never getting a shot here to begin with.

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  12. I’m sure it’s been asked/stated before, but at what point do the Phillies start getting blamed for the lack of development of their minor leaguers vs their lack of drafting ability? The kids who were “toolsy” relied on their talent most of the time in high school, and not the coaching of their high school/travel ball coach. It’s more than likely that the Phillies do not have the correct coaching philosophy in place in their minor leagues. Winning teams do not “win” the draft every year, but they probably know how to develop players a hell of a lot better than the Phillies do.

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    1. I think it is about the same but when you have an affiliate in Williamsport you need coaches that want to live in WIlliamsport. As someone who lives in the area it is going downhill fast.

      I think if you can get one or two guys to make it to the majors every year you are doing a good job. Then again that is subjective to where they are playing.

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      1. I have read that 1 to 2 guys a year, but it really doesn’t make sense. Even if you are talking about your core 25-man roster, rather than the 35+ guys who will play on your big league team in any season, that requires 2.5 guys per year making your big league team, if they have a 10-year career. A lot of guys who make a big league team and even spend a whole rookie year with the club are going to have a career a lot shorter than 10 years. I figure you have to have at least 3 rookies who make the bigs and contribute enough to stay around at least several seasons in order to just maintain status quo. If you are looking to significantly improve your MLB team and also get younger, as the old and bad Phillies are, then you are going to need more than 3 significant rookies a year (significant as in good enough to spend at least 3-5 seasons on our MLB team) and one of them needs to become a star or close to a star.

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  13. Hey the Phillies don’t have too sign Cuban , Kang with pitt is hitting 316. When you lose talent either by free agency or my age you should aways have a plan to retool and move on . The Phillies didn’t or it didn’t work, by signing young LA , Cuban , and Asian players you bring in talent . Amaro knew his draft ‘ s were horrible yet he didn’t do any thing about it until last yr. He signed the contract ‘ s which are now killing the Phillies. Yes he did sign Lee , pap, Adams, Doc, you don’t know need to scout any off them you just need to open up the bank account . What is the Phillies plan is it smallball with good pitcher’s and speed. St.louis and KC now have 300 hitters and play small ball very well. St. Louis also has 300 hitters and very good pitching.The Blue Jays are a power team. I hope with a new Scouting director they can come up with a plan.Btw without Sal down in LA area the phillies would be in big trouble. The Francois , Encarnacion, Pujols, Galvis, Kilmore, Pinto , Macias. Garcia, Gonzalez, etc with the right scouting you can bring in Talent.

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    1. You have to wonder about the scouting aspect of things.
      There are only 4/5 teams in Venezuela with academies and I believe it has been that way for a few years now.
      But all the other MLB teams sign talented Ven 16-year olds.
      Alvaro Seijas, RHP, is the top Ven this year and the Cardinals are favorite to sign him…..not even sure they still have an academy down there.

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      2. The top Venezuelan talents go to all the showcases for all the teams. You make use of your presence as was said below with low money signings and the academy to let them develop. You get breakouts like Mecias, Severino, or Pinto because you can work with guys who aren’t putting up flashy workouts

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  15. They lost a team last yr it’s really not a good country be in . A lot of gangs with guns roaming around. The young hits for LA usually hire a coach who then gets them into the bigger games in America . I guess by having a team down there you would get a better look at all the kids.The Phillies paid 40,000 for Kilmore , Galvis, Herandez, Herrera and I think Franco are all Ven. You also have cooch and Gonzalez from Panama.

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  17. LA 2nd base prospect seems right. Power and pitcher’s a and speed will get you more money. I think hard contact should be up there too. Pitchabilty and hitabity are under rated.

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  18. Franco is from the Dom Rep. The kidnappings of family members of baseball players or any one who is famous in Venezuela is rampant. Venezuelan ML players for the most part get out but their mothers/fathers/brothers/sisters are targets, and we hear about a kidnapping every couple of months, I guarantee there are many more that we never hear about, the player pays the ransom and the kidnappers are able to expand their reach and network.

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