The Instructional League began in earnest today when the Phillies faced off against the Toronto Blue Jays at Spectrum Field.  In addition to the 15 or so fans and one baseball reporter (me), there were about 30 scouts and a couple dozen Phillies front office and support personnel in the stands,  Notables included Jorge Velandia, Dana Parks, a guy who looked like Bryan Minniti, and Oneri Fleita.  Fleita was hired last off season to supervise scouting in Mexico.  After the 2015 season, he had been signed by the Tigers as an international crosschecker.  But, prior to that he had spent 25 years in the Cubs organization – notably as the director of the Cubs’ Latin American operations from 1997-2008, Director of Player Development from 2000-2008, and Vice President, Player Personnel from 2011 until his firing when Theo Epstein took over as GM.  Continue reading Florida Instructs; September 24, 2018 →