Clearwater Threshers Recap – 6/5/2018

Box Score Recap

The Clearwater Threshers (25-31) beat Daytona, 9-3.

Connor Seabold held the Tortugas to 3 runs in 5.2 innings on 7 hits and a walk.  He struck out six.  Jake Hernandez (3.86) entered and stranded both base runners he inherited.  He struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced in 1.1 innings.  J.D. Hammer (0-0, 0.00) retired all 3 batters he faced in his first inning of action this season.  Garrett Cleavinger (23.14) gave up a hit in his one inning, and recorded 5 strikes on the 6 pitches he threw.

The Threshers took the lead in the second inning on Luke Williams’ RBI double.  They retook the lead in the third on Austin Listi’s 2-run HR (6).  They broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning with four, two-out runs on an RBI single by Arquimedes Gamboa, a 2-run single by Adam Haseley, and an RBI single by Edgar Cabral.  They tacked on 2 more runs in the seventh on Jose Pujols 2-run HR (8).

The Threshers benefited from SIX errors by the Tortugas, but also had 13 hits and 2 walks.

The bottom of the order produced 7 of the teams hits.  Jose Gomez had 3 hits, Jose Pujols and Luke Williams 2 each.  Edgar Cabral (.279) also had 2 hits.  Pujols, Haseley, and Listi had 2 RBI each.  Austin Listi (.350) went 1-3 and drew the team’s 2 walks.

Jose Pujols is batting .311/.358/.503/.861.  His K% is still high, but he has 3 K and 2 BB in his last 5 games and has gone 10-20 in those games.

Four Threshers were selected to the FSL North All Star Team.  They will send starting pitcher Bailey Falter, first baseman Darick Hall, designated hitter/first baseman Austin Listi, and shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa.  After being named Pitcher of the Week (May 26 – June 3), starting pitcher Sixto Sanchez was added to the roster.  (Correcting what many probably believe was a gross oversight by the selectors.)

  • #1 Sixto Sanchez (4-3 , 2.51): 
  • #2 Adonis Medina (5-2, 4.97):
  • #3 Adam Haseley (.290): went 1-5 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI
  • #4 Mickey Moniak (.245): DNP
  • #8 Arquimedes Gamboa (.273): went 1-6 with a run scored, RBI
  • #17 Jose Gomez (.218): went 3-5 with a 2 runs scored
  • #21 McKenzie Mills (0-2, 4.67):
  • #25 J.D. Hammer:
  • #28 Connor Seabold (2-4, 4.37): 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, WP
  • Bailey Falter (4-2, 3.08):

In other action –

Lehigh Valley (31-25) beat Gwinnett. 4-3.

Cole Irvin notched his seventh win with six, one-run innings.  He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out six Stripers.  Zac Curtis (.261) struck out one in a perfect inning. Jake Thompson (.520) struck out one in a perfect inning.  Pedro Beato (.300) gave up 2 runs in one inning while recording his 16th save.

The IronPigs broke a scoreless tie with a run in the fifth on Danny Ortiz’ sacrifice fly.  They broke another tie with 2 runs in the seventh on Joey Meneses’ 2-run single.  They tacked on an important insurance run in the eighth on a force out.

Logan Moore and Adron Chambers had 2 hits each.  The IronPigs drew 10 walks.

  • #12 Enyel De Los Santos (5-2, 1.40):
  • #13 Tom Eshelman (1-5, 7.06):
  • #14 Roman Quinn (.289): 7-day DL, right middle finger strain
  • #16 Dylan Cozens (.226): called up to Philadelphia
  • #22 Drew Anderson (1-1, 4.26): 
  • #23 Cole Irvin (7-1, 2.62): 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Reading (25-31) beat Altoona, 4-2.

Franklyn Kilome had another productive outing, scattering 9 hits and a walk over 6.2, one-run innings.  He struck out five.  Tyler Gilbert (4-1, 2.63) pitched 2.1 innings.  He blew his third save (allowing one of two inherited runners to score) and got the win.  He struck out 3 in 2.1 innings.

The Phils scored two runs in the sixth to take a lead on Darick Hall’s 2-run HR (2).  They went ahead again in the ninth with 2 runs on Jan Hernandez’ 2-run HR (5).

Randolph, Hall (.318), and Hernandez (.321) had 2 hits each.

  • #6 JoJo Romero (3-4, 5.11):
  • #7 Franklyn Kilome (1-2, 4.77): 6.2 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 WP
  • #9 Ranger Suarez (2-2, 3.75):
  • #15 Cornelius Randolph (.193): went 2-4 with a run scored (from the 2-hole)

Lakewood (33-23) postponed, rain.  Double header tomorrow featuring Rosso and Stewart.

Six BlueClaws were selected for the SAL North All-Star Team. They will send starting pitchers Ramon Rosso and Will Stewart, relief pitchers Addison Russ and Kyle Dohy, and position players Jake Scheiner and Nick Maton.

  • #5 Jhailyn Ortiz (.246):
  • #11 Daniel Brito (.229):
  • #18 Kyle Young (1-2, 2.00):
  • #20 Spencer Howard (3-4, 5.17):
  • #27 Simon Muzziotti (.293): 7-day DL (hand injury, in Clearwater)
  • #30 Nick Maton (.267):

Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.

One prospect is in Philadelphia.

  • #10 Seranthony Dominguez: retains prospect status until June 20th

And these guys are still in Clearwater.

  • #19 Francisco Morales: XST
  • #24 Luis Garcia: XST
  • #26 Kevin Gowdy: not expected to pitch this season
  • #29 Jonathan Guzman: XST

The DSL Phillies Red (0-3) lost, 16-7.  The DSL Phillies White (3-0) came from behind and scored 3 runs in the ninth to walk off 11-9.

XST

The XST season wraps up Thursday with the Phillies on the road in Dunedin.  Wednesday is a camp day and usually features an intrasquad game.  The players will likely be toold their summer assignments on Friday.

Phillies GCL schedule.

Transactions 

6/5/18–Philadelphia sent SS J.P. Crawford on a rehab assignment to Lehigh Valley
6/5/18–RHP JD Hammer assigned to Clearwater from Reading
6/4/18–Phillies sent RHP Drew Hutchison outright to Lehigh Valley
6/2/18–Anderson Parra released
6/2/18–Pedro Ramirez released
6/2/18–Adrian Marin released
6/2/18–Jhonny Palma released
6/2/18–Diego Tamariz released
6/3/18–DSL Phillies Red placed LHP Yefferson Mercedes on the 60-day disabled list.
6/3/18–DSL Phillies White placed RHP Jeison Blanco on the 60-day disabled list.
6/3/18–DSL Phillies White placed RHP Santy Prada on the 60-day disabled list.
6/3/18–Josh Tols assigned to Clearwater from Williamsport .
6/3/18–Andrew Brown assigned to Lakewood from Williamsport .
6/3/18–Spencer Howard assigned to Williamsport from Lakewood .
6/2/18–LHP Nick Fanti assigned to Clearwater from Williamsport .
6/2/18–SS Wilson Valdez assigned to DSL Phillies Red.

The rosters and lists are up to date as of 6/4.  I’ve got 320 players in the organization.

 

59 thoughts on “Clearwater Threshers Recap – 6/5/2018”

  1. Irvin might be ready for mlb. Hammer had his first outing of the yr good news. Can’t wait to which players gets advanced to the next level.

    1. Barring injury to one of the big club’s rotation, how do you see Irvin starting? Eflin bought himself more time last night.

      1. 8 mark they do need a left hander in the starting rotation I Don’t know if its Irvin, never saw him pitch. don’t know what he throw. but a lefty is needed. Elfin might have made himself someone they move for a hitter. Cant continue with Kingery, altheer, franco. getting nothing out of these guys. need a bat.

        1. Irvin is a Cliff Lee body double on the mound. Same size, same posture, same wind-up and similar stuff. I’m not saying he’s Cliff Lee, but he has a chance to be pretty darned good over time.

          1. Your comp to Lee made me go back and look at the statistical profiles of both Lee and Irvin.

            College:
            – This might surprise people, but in college, Cliff was an extreme strikeout pitcher with terrible command. His Junior year he posted 7.24 walks/9 and 10.72 k/9.
            – Cole’s Junior year, he was the opposite. He posted 1.37 walks/9 and 7.97 k/9.

            The walks per 9 for Cliff Lee really surprised me.

            Minors:
            – Cliff maintained a 10+ k/9 rate in Low A, A+ and AA and he still had terrible command, averaging over 4 walks/9.
            – Irvin has maintained a 7 k/9 rate with an extremely low walk rate of around 2.

            Majors:
            – Over his 13 seasons, Cliff Lee had a 1.94 walk/9 rate and a 7.61 k/9 rate. So he started out as an extreme strikeout pitcher who was very wild.

            My theory on pitchers is, it is easier to improve command than it is to become a strikeout pitcher if you hadn’t been one up until then. Not saying it is easy to improve command. Just saying, you can dial back your stuff easier than you can increase velocity and spin rate.

            1. Very interesting – I think this reflects that a young Lee threw harder than Irvin, but when you see Irvin pitch live you’ll see what I mean in terms of the physical comparison and motion – it’s almost shocking.

        2. I can see playing Alther and Kingery as they’re part of the [immediate] future and possibly beyond. Franco simply cannot play, has shown such over the previous 3 years and now is just an anchor at 3rd base. Something needs to be done there.

          1. Franco has been given his chance over quite a long period of time and, while he has improved this year (and could improve some more), he hasn’t improved enough to solidify his spot and now has to justify his existence like Williams and Altherr – he’s no longer the presumptive long term solution.

            1. Completely agree. I would be surprised (and disappointed) if Franco is on next season’s opening day roster without a OPS above .850 (it’s currently at .722).

            2. Catch I watch a lot of franco. I thought he would be a stud. But I keep seeing the same thing, Pulling everything to third, late on pitches and popups to first. He is not a intelligent hitter, one of those guys with a ton of talent, but just cant figure it out. shame cause imo he could be a stud. but has a hard head, Wont just go with the pitch, that’s why he pulls so many grounder to third. instead of taking that pitch up the middle or to right. dumb hitter. maybe some other team gets thru to him.

            3. Roccom – I really do see him trying this year to do the things they are telling him to do. But with hitting, the reaction time to quality MLB pitching is so short that it’s a very difficult thing to “learn” and some guys have a tough time improving. He has improved and he’s working on it but it’s not clear he will ever get over the hump and now he’s just another guy, albeit one with good raw skills and a halfway decent glove.

          2. The only reason people keep saying Kingery is the future, is because of all the hype. He hasn’t shown any thing but ability to bunt and good speed. Wakeup and Alther is 27 in 16 he hit 197 last year hit 279 this year 191. so he is not a sure thing he is the future. I hate to break this but if you watch this team. Right now the future is Cesar, obbie. and all question marks. Pitching is better and looks like it will be real good. but no bats.

            1. I love Kingery and Hoskins, but it’s a fair observation. The guys that everyone wanted to sell down the river (Cesar and Odubel) have been and are their best position players and it’s not close right now. The team is full of questions marks on offense.

            2. Couldn’t agree more. I said this all off season, Kingery isn’t a can’t miss and you don’t trade someone who is preforming at the level they are because you have someone who could be something.

            3. Alther is a very good 4th OF just b/c of the value he provides on defense. I didn’t say he was a star or ever a starter. My point is that Franco is none of the above and should be on someone else’s Triple A roster.

            4. unlike wine and spirits, age is the critical factor is determining success in the field of sports and athletics. It’s no longer a secret that the Phils window to contention is around 2019-2020 onwards. Thus, all the decision making are based on that timeline.

              Young players like Nola, Hoskins, Kingery and JPC had displayed physical attributes during their developmental phase in the minors to be considered as vital pieces to a contending team. development requires time and early struggles are signs of development and not as a haphazard conclusion about the future.

              too bad that the Phils are not contending in 2016-2018 where players like Hernandez, Galvis, Garcia, Neris can be considered as the face, current and future of the Philies.

              Doobie and Altherr are the ones who are caught in between the timelines –with the latter not showing any signs of being a vital cog of the future contending team.

              Doobie will be one of the elder players of the future contending team. Being one of the elders sometimes means you have to be the de facto leader — an area where Doobie might struggle.

          1. Phillies really do not need a lefty in the regular season….but they will in the playoffs.
            A lot of thel WS/play-off teams had at least one lefty in their top three rotation.
            And if you look at the last 15 or so WS winners…..10/11 had one lefty there, ie Hamels. Bum, Keuchel, CC, Lester , Beurhle et al.

            1. romus look at the teams who have won world titles. I don’t see them with one left hand starter. I went back looking and haven’t found one yet. iwill continute to look. I believe you should have a left hander in your rotation. gives a different look like I mention before

            2. rocco…Royals did not have one.
              Even the Cardinals had Garcia start two games in ’11.vs Rangers and five in the entire playoffs.

            3. Because of Freeman , Albies , half the Braves lineup. Take a look at almost all the good starting rotations they have 2 LHP starters.

          2. a left hander between Nola and pivetta in a series. keeps the hitter off balance cause of the similar pitchers those two throw. it breaks it up and the hitters don’t see the same pitcher types where they can adjust. That has been going on for ever.

            1. a LHP is “nice but not necessary”. the Phils need pitchers who can throw at least 7 innings and not give up more than 3 runs — regardless of what hand they use as long as it is allowed by the league.

              the only situation where i can see a LHP starter is a MUST is when a team face a LH heavy line up in the playoffs.

              Irvin will not be called up this year unless Klentak will make a purge of the fungible RHP arms at the trade deadline. At the most, Irvin will be invited at ST and we will see him at some point next season.

            5. Kuko you forget VV long injury history he hasnt hit 150 ings in a while Niether has Elfin.

            6. @tim – not sure what topic are referring to when you mention Vinny and Eflin in the same sentence.

              anyway, i’ve been saying this for a while now that Vinny (and Kilome) belongs to the pen. I don’t see him as a key cog of any future rotation.

            7. Why send him to the pen? He’s been a mid-rotation starter this year – he projects to 3-4 WAR and he appears to be improving. That’s a #3. He’s worth more in a trade than he is in the bullpen.

            8. Kuko I was responding to your Irvin post . I think about VV everyone forgets his health has always been spotty.

      1. rocco…but he never started in the play-offs or WS….he was used in relief for both WS appearances…’14 and ’15.

  3. would they have Hall play in A+ all star game after being promoted to AA? Not sure if all-star breaks are at same time.
    Irvin seems like next up when a starter is needed, but they would need to remove someone from the 40 to do that, right? Guess Eflin earned another couple starts last night.

    1. Zach is getting some pretty freaking great instruction from Rick Kranitz who sees a strong starting pitcher with the ability to throw up in the zone in the mid to high 90s. Bob McClure had Eflin pitching like a control pitcher who needs to pitch to contact. Kranitz under stand the benefit of a pitcher who can pitch to mitt.

      Now he’s got to work on his consistency, command and changing eye levels. Zach is young and has a really great upside and I think the strikeouts are going to come as he learns to pick and choose his pitches.

      1. While I think Eflin’s upside is considerable, I wouldn’t hesitate to offer him in a package for Machado, especially if it lessens the total prospect return to Baltimore.

        1. What do you think would get it done? I’m wondering if they would be more interested in Velasquez or Pivetta, who I wouldn’t hesitate trading either since we have De Los Santos and Irvin ready to go. And Kilome, Jojo, Medina, and Sixto waiting in the wings. I feel if you gave them a high upside starter like VV or Pivetta it would really lessen the burden of having to trade a Crawford/kingery/Sixto level young player. Maybe a package like VV, Franco, Altherr, Pujols, Medina? Baltimore gets a couple major league ready bats, couple lottery tickets at high A, and a middle rotation starting pitcher with upside

          1. BAL will ask for the moon and the stars including the Mother of Dragons in a Machado trade discussion. One crazy GM (my bet is Theo/CHC) can stir everything up, but if the GMs hold the trigger, BAL will settle for the best offer — most like a team that can give them 2 controllable arms. If I’m the NYY, they can offer one of Adams (or Sheffield) + Dillon Tate. Fortunately for the Phils, NYY will look for SP help and will just shoot for Machado if they can’t sign Harper during the FA.

          2. I’ve mentioned the possibility of Pivetta + Eshelman + prospect for Machado since Pivetta is the upside-cost combo that GM likes. Pivetta might be an overpayment especially if no other GMs are bidding (i’ll mention this again – except for Theo and CHC going all in by offering Russell, Happ and Almora).

            Klentak should keep both of the top pitching prospects in Sixto and Medina since both fits the timeline when the Phils need to contend. But offer Kilome, delos Santos as one of the high ceiling arms instead. And with Eflin playing better he can be a viable alternative.

            1. I would absolutely not trade Pivetta in a package for Machado unless we could sign him at the same time (which is not going to happen).

              Pivetta is completely off the table for any rental.

      2. Maybe Kranitz is the biggest positive on the season so far. Same pitchers (plus Arrieta, Dominguez, and Hunter) but different results. Every pitcher outside of Neris has improved (maybe not Nola, but he has maintained his high level). Last year it felt like every pitcher got worse. Drastic jumps for Pivetta, VV, Ramos and maybe Eflin. Only Neris has gotten worse. And Luis Garcia

        1. forrest I don’t know for sure but I believe Nola is about 4 mph faster this year. which has made imo a big difference

          1. It’s up around .5 MPH not 4 MPH, but it is faster. But I think the success has more to do with his development of the change-up and continued improvements in command and pitch selection. He’s a maestro out there.

    2. RAEF … The Phillies have only 39 players on the 40 man roster. This gives them the flexibility of bringing anyone up.

      1. the need is offense, back up catching and lefty pen arm.

        the Phils has a long line waiting for a SP gig (i.e. Lively, Anderson, Taveras, Kilome in the 40-man and delos Santos and Eshelman to be added this year) so Irvin may not be a possibility unless Kapler fell in love with him.

        I like to see Ranger Suarez given the shot as a lefty starter or pen since he is already in the 40-man, unfortunately, he is hurt.

        Unless a trade (for bats or LHP starter) is coming, the open roster spot might be used to try another lefty pen alternative (Milner and Curtis don’t cut it) — Austin Davis or Leibrandt? Or Knapp to be option to LHV for a full time gig and promote Edgar Cabral or Logan Moore as back up Cs?

    3. RAEF, no to your question regarding Hall. Reading and the organization don’t care about an All Star game at a lower level. Hall certainly wouldn’t after his late call up to Clearwater last year. He’d want to avoid any transaction that would return him to Advanced A.

  4. Great to see jaKe Hernandez back to his usual dominant ways after a hiccup his last time out.

    1. Jake is baking, as long at the Phils feed the Cake.

      by the way, did you notice that the D.J. Stewart picture in milb.com is not him but the 1B/LF DJ Stewart (2015 Rd 1 pick) of BAL? So D.J. is probably not Jake’s long lost brother that I though he was.

  5. Also appears that Kilome is following his typical pattern of getting off to slow starts before showing why he continues to be in consideration as a future piece. Maybe they need to have him follow the Mayan calendar or something…

    1. Agree….his 11 previous April starts in full season ball, he averaged Games Scores of 43……and there were 3 in Clearwater last year when the weather was warmer and he pitched over 60 GScs for each of them.
      So apparently the cooler weather does not suit him …he did say in 2016 at Lakewood he could not feel the grip on the ball because it was too cold..

    2. one change that Kilome needs to do is to move to the bullpen. once he did, he will perform better anytime, any day, any calendar and any season.

  6. Guys,

    Jose Cedeno of DSL White off to an interesting start: five times on base and five stolen bases.

  7. Jake quietly having a terrific stretch. Any velo on him? His k rate has spiked nicely

    1. I’m not sold on him at all. He sits in the high 80s – and, yeah, he’s a lefty, but the stuff did not look especially impressive to me. He’s just another guy in my opinion – something I think will be seen when he is in AA and AAA.

  8. Herrera is 26. He is the perfect match, age-wise, for the Phillies to put together a contending run across the next five years (2019-2023). And he is signed through 2021, with team options for 2022 and 2023.

    1. Yes, I don’t understand people saying that the window is closing on him and Cesar – they will be mid-career players in 4 or 5 years and Odubel is cost-controlled. You don’t have to get rid of them by any stretch of the imagination.

    2. According to baseball reference, here are the ages of the Phillies when they won in 2008:

      Ruiz , Rollins, Utley, Werth: 29
      Howard: 28
      Burrell: 31
      Victorino: 27

      Herrera’s age is fine. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

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