87 thoughts on “2019 Roster Assignments (updated again on March 31st, 2:00PM)”

1. I’m hoping the Bohm assignment is to keep him playing alongside Garcia and not because he sucks. Also, why sign Shane Robinson if he is just going to take a spot in the AAA outfield from Haseley?

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   1. The pitchers left in extended could fill a AAA bullpen: Eshelman, Windle, McGarry, Tols, Viza, Taveras, Singer, Rivero, Liebrandt

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   2. I see no way the org would hold back a top prospect just so he could continue playing with another prospect four years his junior.

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2. Josh Steven to Reading after a .242/.288/.358 in LKW last year. That triple slash is about the same for a combination of his 3 years. He is 21 and he might just be holding Pujols spot until he comes back. I know he has a beautiful swing but wondering if he a beautiful spring to go with it.

   The Reading OF could be fun to watch. Haseley, Randolph and Moniak with Listi in the mix too. Since Listi’s listed as an IF, he’ll also get some reps at 1B. He’ll also be a DH when that presents itself. When Pujols comes back, they’ll need to make some decisions. Maybe Haseley moves onward and upward. Randolph is still a year younger than Haseley so he might need to stay in Reading to prove last years final months improvement is for real.

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   1. Bellman i still cant believe that kid Josh wont hit. Not with that swing. I liked him since the first video of him was posted. Still think he will hit.

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   2. Stephen is a place holder for Kevin Markham who was injured during camp.

      Pujols has an Achilles. Don’t expect to see him this season.

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      1. Man, that sucks for Pujols. He needs all the reps he can get.

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3. Does the Eastern League use the DH? If not, how do Hall and Listi play every day?

   Bill

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   1. DH when both teams are NL affiliates. Reading opens in Portland, Red Sox, so DH. Home opener is Richmond, San Fran, so pitchers bat.

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      1. *arent*

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4. IMO, the way Hall is currently swinging the bat in camp…he could be in LHV before June.

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   1. Romus with this lineup, there is not room for that kid Hall. Best thing is he is traded for pitching prospect.

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      1. roc….yes will come down to it eventually….same with either Williams or Cozens also. Hall should get some reps in LF this season FWIW.

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5. Haseley, Listi, and Bohm all being held back could be a reflection of them having bad springs. It could also be a patient approach which we can afford with a stacked major league lineup. It does however appear that they’ll be using six man rotations at each level. Lakewood has 9 starters so that will be interesting to see what they do. Maybe they’ll match guys together for 5/4 innings each to hold innings pitched down. Jim – why is Ortiz not highlighted for a possible Clearwater spot? Is he hurt?

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   1. I think with Haseley and Listi at least, it’s a reflection on the big club wanting experienced spare parts at AAA to start the season. They won’t truly be blocked as it’s easy to move on from those guys if necessary—both youngsters have only half a season at AA so there’s a little time.

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   2. Murraay, I think you speculated on a 6-man rotation at all earlier, and I contradicted you re: LHV and REA. Since then I heard that a 6-man rotation is strongly being considered at LHV. So, I guess REA is possible too.

      I heard Ortiz has an oblique, but may go to CLR when healthy. I didn’t see him in a game all spring, and he only started taking BP the last week.

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6. 1. I’ve got Romine as a switch-hitter, but missed Brantly as a lefty, so we’re even.

   2. LHV with 27 players, Reading with 26. Some moves are still to come. Could be some shin contusions in somebody’s future. Or, trades? We’ll wait.

   3. Reading at LHV set for Tuesday night. I’m thinking we see Eickhoff for IronPIgs just so he can get the most possible work in as quickly as possible. DLS pitching yesterday could put him on schedule for the opener on Thursday.

   4. My full write-up on the LHV Roster, with photos and capsules:

   [UPDATED] 2019 IronPigs Roster, Player Capsules and Photos

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   1. Somebody suggested that the “extra” players on rosters (Lehigh at 27, Reading at 26, Lakewood at 27) are because we’re going to see lots of short-term paper assignments of players back and forth to/from Williamsport, pretty much every day or two from Opening Day until the short-season clubs start in June. They did this the past couple of years, but they seem to be more blatant about it this spring.

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      1. Yeah absolutely, they’ve done that a ton lately—and if it’s a six-man rotation at LHV then you do have guys out days at a time. They’ve also used the injured list like this in the past (“shin contusion” “turf toe”). The other two things are trades and opt-outs. If a pre-season trade is imminent or if guys could be leaving (April 1, April 15, May 1) then they need to plan for depth.

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7. Eastern League now going to a split-season format.
   Play-offs will be awarded to the first place teams in both the East and the West Division during the first half and second half of the season. When the same team finishes in first place in their division in both halves of the season, the second playoff spot for that division would be awarded to the team from that division that had the best full season record.
   Hoping Reading sees the play-offs

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8. Pipkin in Lakewood is a huge surprise to me

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   1. Me too, as is de la Cruz. Like Murray said below: lots of inexperienced guys on the Lakewood roster. I could see some of them falling back when W-port starts up.

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9. 5 days until daily minor league box scores and eyewitness reports. Can’t wait!

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10. Ok maybe I missed this one but Ortiz?

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    1. CLW.

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       1. That’s what I thought but did not see Jim bold him. Thanks Rom

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          1. I hope they keep him at the Complex with the Threshers for the entire season thru FIL into next spring training. Keep him fine tuning his physique and getting plenty of instruction and plenty of cage work.
             One issue for the Phillies with him will have to be addressed this fall….he needs 40 protection or gets exposed to the Rule 5.
             If he struggles at CLW then the Phillies could take a chance and expose him….if he does well…..then they have to make that decision.
             But also having to decide also among their other current 40 guys from the OF segment….Cozens, Quinn. Altherr and Williams, …they may all be on a bubble.

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             1. Ya I agree. I’m also not sold on Herrera. Is streaky good and bad. Phils could use a steady bat in center. Maybe Quinn?
                I just don’t see Altherr and Williams as 4th and 5th OF’s. Ok defense but not good pinch hitters.

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    2. Ortiz – oblique

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11. That Lakewood roster has 9 guys who skipped Williamsport. They have five 19 year olds and two 18 year olds. That’s young!

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    1. Perhaps a sign of the new regime post-Joe Jordan…..challenging the youngsters early on.
       Though if they go heavy in college in the Rule 4…then those A level teams…LKW and WLM will get infiltrated with 21- year olds.

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12. Just wanted to say thanks for this newsletter/website. Very informative. Will continue to follow.

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

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13. The LKW outfield consists of 3 guys double jumped from the GCL (De La Cruz, Smith and Trejo) and a guy (Matos) who played in only 3 games last year (due to injury) and 137 games in his 4 years in the org.) . Smith was a free agent signing. De La Cruz is a mountain of a man and I’ll be watching how he does. Trejo looks like a guy who can hit and get on base. Let’s see how he performs. I’ll bet Steven comes back from Reading when Pujols is ready.

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14. Going to the Pigs Fight’ns tilt on Tuesday. Anyone else going?

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15. Also did not hear where Hunter and Quinn are doing there rehab games to start? I would imagine the Threshers??

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16. I’ve got a few thoughts:

    * Other than playing with/building a report with Luis Garcia (and that’s not a good reason), it’s a head-scratching development that Alec Bohm will start in Lakewood. Bohm was drafted last summer as an advanced college hitter. In addition, what is the club going to do with four guys (Bohm, Holmes, Stobbe, and Kroon) who can all play 3B?

    * Excited (but not surprised) to see Dominic Pipkin in Lakewood. A little disappointed Spencer Howard wasn’t fast tracked to the Reading rotation to begin 2019.

    * The Blueclaws rotation is bursting at the seams: Pipkin, Gowdy, Santos, McKay, Mezquita, Morales, Lindow, Eastman, and McArthur.

    * The Reading OF is a Who’s Who of Johnny Almaraz’s biggest money contributions to the system. Randolph, Moniak, and Haseley were consecutive first rounders. Josh Stephen was a well over slot 11th round pick in 2016. BTW … it is too early (IMO) to count Stephen out as a prospect. I know he hasn’t done much so far, but he was one of California’s top HS OF prospects in 2016. One of that state’s other top HS OF prospects that year also got drafted on day three in 2016, but chose to go to college instead. That guy was Hunter Bishop. Like Stephen, Bishop was a sweet swinging LH bat. In his first two seasons at Arizona State, Bishop was very ordinary (.250/.352/.407 5 HR’s as a soph last season). This season, as a 21 YO (same as Stephen) everything has clicked for Bishop. He has become the top player in college baseball (.424/.547/1.043 16 HR’s). Not saying Stephen will have a Hunter Bishop outcome. Just saying at 21 YO with a good pedigree, it’s still too early to forget about him.

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    1. Agree with your comments Hinkie.

       I continue to believe that Almarez has done a poor job drafting. He had 4 top 10 picks and, while they are all still young, it is hard to see a star from the bunch. All of them were drafted for their hit tool and then all need significant development. Bohm is the latest in that trend. I shared a bad scouting report on Bohm yesterday but here it is again. https://www.prospectslive.com/fantasy/2019/3/25/confessions-of-a-prospect-junkie-bebold-and-dive-deep

       Whatever turns out of these four, it is clear that there was a massive scouting miss when you draft a top 10 pick and then spend a few year fixing his swing. Meanwhile, players drafted after these 4 are seen as exceptional prospects that are unanimous top 100 with great scouting reports. I find it exhausting. One or two misses, ok. But mediocre out of all 4. Frustrating. Our system should be stacked with 4 top 10 picks. Stacked. But it is not.

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       1. Agreed. Completely unacceptable Phillies are just hoping for starter out of: Randolph, Moniak, Haseley & Bohm. Good drafting teams would have transformed their entire system with those asset slots.

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    2. Maybe they are unhappy with Bohm’s off-season conditioning or some other aspect of his preparation? Otherwise, I agree that it’s an odd assignment for a #1 pick college player

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       1. Do not think that is it….he has been at the Complex since mid-January and everything Jim has said and some of the others who are down there all winter, he continued to work hard in the field, the weight room and I assume, in the cages.
          At some point the Phillies will realize you cannot put a square peg in a round hole and move him off third base.

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          1. Agreed. i have not read reports of him being out of shape and the videos that I have seen of him show him similar to how he looked when drafted. what makes this the most strange to me is that Jason Ochart is in Clearwater. Also it has to be hitting related. because if it was pure defensive, and they thought his bat was ready, then you want him facing the best pitching. there is no reason to work on defense at Low A rather than AA or any level for that matter. the only reason to hold him back against weaker pitching is you are making big adjustments and want him facing weaker pitching while doing so. this is all conjecture, but i can’t understand any other reason if his bat is truly advanced to assign him to Low A.

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    3. Hinkie,

       Kroon is their primary first baseman. Stobbe and Holmes also had time there in ST. Holmes also played LF. What is glaring to me is that they have no middle infield backup. Garcia and Guzman must play everyday with this roster.

       Pipkin pitched well in ST.

       Kevin Markham will go to Reading after he gets some reps in Clearwater after a ST injury.

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17. Aren’t there too many SPs at LHV.? I count 6, Anderson, JoJo, Ranger, DLS, Eickhoff and Cole Irvin. Are they going with a 6 man Rotation? And, very disappointed that Bohm is in Lakewood. A College hitter, rated as highly as he was, should be ready for Reading. I could see a little bit in High A, but I wouldn’t be thrilled with that either. This placement is a very pessimistic sign.

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    1. Agree, Matt. Of course you can say this for any prospect, but until he shows something of a true major leaguer-to-be, I’m not riding the A-Bohm like Slim Pickens in Dr Strangelove. The closest I see to a future 3b in our system is Jake Holmes, and he’s nowhere near to the Show.

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       1. 8mark – Great movie reference.

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18. I’m surprised by Bohm’s placement but I’m not. I watched him hitting and fielding at spring training a few weeks ago and I came away with the opinion that he’s very raw. I expected a more ready college player but that’s not what he looks like to me. He’s a hard worker but I can’t be sure that he’s a future major leaguer. Starting at Lakewood, he must hit his way out of there. Lots of 3B will make it tough for the manager but they do have DH every game to help.

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    1. Alec Bohm will probably end up as a first baseman or LFer….the Phillies are loaded with those two ‘last-resort’ positions.

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       1. Alec Bohm,the people who have seen him, really have some really bad opinions of his future as a big leaguer. who was the scout who signed him?

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          1. The number three pick in the draft is almost scrutinized by every scout in the organization.
             It was a collective signing….the lower round selections are pushed by specific regional scouts/cross-checkers and the like.

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          2. Rocco if you look at write-ups of Bohm from around draft time last year the general consensus was that he actually was a first round pick, though not one of the top 3 in the draft, with a good approach to hitting with a lot of power, and marginal ability to stick at 3rd base.

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    2. I am not surprised to be honest. He really struggled last year. Started off with bad injury and just never regrouped. I think Phillies want him to establish some hitting confidence before he moves up.

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19. Ben Pelletier should be at Lakewood. Wonder if he is injured. Keeping two journeymen catchers at Lehigh has a ripple effect. Bossart has to be at Reading instead of Lehigh, then Cabral has to be in Clearwater instead of Reading. That means he shares time with Duran instead of Duran having the job on his own. I think kramof209 is right about keeping spare parts at Lehigh.

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20. LHV and LKW start their seasons at home on 4/4. reading doesn’t play at home until the 12th. Starting off with a 7 game road trip. No home cooking for a 2 1/2 months, Feb., March and half of April. Okay, home cooking is really stretching it. CLW starts at home on the 4th.

    Bohm’s assignment is a bit of a surprise but when he was drafted we were all saying he should start in LKW. He started instead in the GCL. He tore it up for a few games and then we were all saying he should go to LKW. But he didn’t. He went to Wmsprt. He never saw LKW last year. I didn’t rate Bohm in my top 5 because I like to see results before I make him the best of the best.

    I see Ortiz is in on the XST roster. Is he injured?

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    1. CLW is actually a road game at home on 4/4, Dunedin’s stadium is being upgraded this season. Most of their games will be at Jack Russell. But their home opener will be at Spectrum Field.

       Bohm’s 2019 season also suffered the setback of a knee injury. He has looked good at the plate, but less than comfortable at third base. Maybe his size just looks wrong to me, but oh, I don’t know. He just doesn’t look right there.

       Yes, I’ve heard Ortiz has an oblique and I haven’t seen him on the field much. Only saw him take a couple BPs the last week.

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21. Yes Ortiz and Pelletier are hurt, neither played in spring training as I recall.
    Jim – Great job! Btw – you have Matos’ name on the XST list in error.
    I think Lakewood’s youth could hurt them starting the season.

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22. I like the talented group of starters in LHV. There are 6 guys who can get called up on a minutes notice. So if someone (VV) falters, 6 guys are waiting for the opportunity.

    I’m surprised Aaron Brown is still around. I know he’s only been pitching for 2 seasons but some of those stats are terrifying. Last year in Reading he gave up only 16 hits in 24 IP but he had 17 Ks to 23 BBs. CLW was not pretty at all. He gave up 46 hits in 37 IP but he had 41 Ks to 17 BBs. So he either gives up a lot of hits or a lot of BBs. He can K guys who are 3 years younger than him but he BBs guys 2 years younger. Pick your poison. I’ve never seen him live so maybe he has an electric arm but hasn’t been able to put it all together. I’m assuming this is a make or break year and they may have him on a short tether. I don’t think he’s blocking anyone right now so give him a shot. You need a lot of relief pitchers to make it through a season.

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    1. The guys on the 40 will get their shot before Irvin or Romero. A 40 spot will get opened up when Quinn comes back and Altherr is traded or released. With only Walding and Cozens on the 40, they’ll likely save that spot for a position player in the event of an injury.

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23. josh tols is injured and is out for 6-8 weeks.

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    1. Thanks for that info. My wild prediction for 2019 is Josh throws out of the Phillies BP at some point this season.

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       1. IMO … Tols may have the second best CB (behind only Nola) in the entire organization.

          Josh Tols, Ridiculous 3000rpm Curveball leaves Broken Hitters in its Wake. 😱

          [@Tolsy21 will be sharing his curveball cues with us soon. 🔥] pic.twitter.com/AYAXTSKD4J

          — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) November 15, 2018

          That’s just a ridiculous pitch !!!

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          1. That is a nasty curve. Gets you excited for sure, but for devils advocate, what is the mph on that curve? I thought i saw 68? Seems a bit slow even for a curve. Feedback? (Or is it just me being pessimistic?)

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             1. Tac3…..lot of loop to it.
                Remember RJ Swindle.with his mid-50s curve ball with a lot of break.
                MLB hitters catch on pretty fast.
                If he had a mid-90s FB and even an average change-up, then he could be a dominant lefty out of the pen.
                As a LOOGY he probably would hang in there…..until next year anyway, when the three-batter rule kicks in.

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                1. Agree. From first impressions, It looks hittable to me at the mlb level. For instance, a hitter like Hoskins can sit back on it and drive it well over the wall. Hope I’m wrong, but I’ll temper my excitement until I see more. Part of it to me depends on the speed of the curve, and obviously how it is mixed in with his other pitchers. Looks like there is some hope there though, will see.

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          2. I could watch that video again and again.

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    2. Aussie, yes Tolsie suffered an oblique warming up in the bullpen of a Phillies Grapefruit League game. Bad break since he was to enter the game. it cost him valuable major league exposure.

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24. Do we know the 4 starters for Thursday?

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25. Honestly I think the assignments make sense from the POV of where the big club currently sits. Slow playing guys like Haseley and Bohm and Howard to hopefully get them off to really good starts makes all the sense in the world.

    Can’t wait to hear and see how these guys respond.

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26. Who got released? Do we have that list somewhere?

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    1. Look in the weekly Open Discussion thread, here:

       Open Discussion: Week of April 1, 2019

       At the bottom of Jim’s post, he lists all recent transactions (currently back to the beginning of February). All the announced releases are in there.

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       1. Sorry about the double post – I messed up because I apparently wasn’t logged in… Duh.

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       2. Thank you much!

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27. Look in the latest Open Discussion thread, here:

    Open Discussion: Week of April 1, 2019

    At the bottom of his post, Jim has listed all recent transactions (currently back to early February). All the announced releases are included in this list.

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28. There’s an excellent article on the farm system by Matt Gelb in The Athletic. Nice job Matt. Here are some nuggets:
    There will be six man rotations at every level, as I expected. Lakewood will use tandem starters, as I suspected. Pelletier will join Lakewood in mid April and Ortiz will join Clearwater in mid April. Ortiz had lazik surgery in the offseason. Pujols has achillies surgery and will miss the whole year.

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    1. There have been a a few players what went under the LASIK beam.
       Some with good results afterwards….Wilson Ramos recently , and many years ago Jeff Bagwell and even a pitcher, Greg Maddux. Mine is still holding up after 22 years this May. Hope this will turn it all around for Ortiz…perhaps see the spin earlier after the release.

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29. Happy Opening of Minor League Baseball Season 2019 version. May the fastballs be hard and fast. Curve balls be crooked and true. Sliders slice through the opening day air like a boat on the ocean. May the grounders of our players have seeing eyes and the homers break some windshields on passing expressways. May opponents dying quails settle softly into leather mitts and their fastballs be straight and in the zone. May our ears hear the joyous sound from the umpires, “PLAY BELL!!!!!” “Let’s get it started in here.”

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30. Had a chance to look at both the LHV and Readibg rosters last night at the 222 tilt. Here are some observations.

    The opening lineups were completely different with the Fightns having the most prospect talent.

    They lead off the first against Anderson and lit him up for five runs. Haseley, Moniak, Listi, and Hall all hit rockets. Even Lartigue and Gamboa hit solid liners for singles and driving in runs. Randolph’s was not as solid but fell in the right spot.

    I think it was Llovera who pitched for Reading (no names in uniform). He was firing fir the first couple innings.

    Overall Reading just did everything better than LHV, however Pazos came in with a lot of smoke and struck out the heart of the Fightns…Listi, Hall, and Randolph. He firing darts with an occasional change and had the hitters completely mixed up. Did not know he could get up into the mid 90s.

    Another interesting note was that Cozens played 1st 4-7th innings. I left after the 7th so he may have been their for the duration.

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    1. How did Hall look at 3rd?

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       1. Good, he has played there before if I remember? Both he and Cozens looked pretty good. Like I said I was surprised to see him at first.

          Hall and Cozens are big dudes but they both are pretty good on the bases. I never saw Hall before he like he’ll make it to MLB for sure. Better contact hitter than Cozens.

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          1. Hall, for power guy, does have a fairly good… low to mid 20% K rate.
             Which is not bad….considering his career ISO so far and the number of HRs he has already hit per ABs.
             He did pick up some pointers on load from Pete Alonso this past fall in the AFL, which he claims he is comfortable withat the plate…I am looking for more contact from him this season..
             Now also read somewhere he has been playing some LF…..and I guess they gave him a shot at third.

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             1. Ya he made solid contact every at bat with a long double and single. Even agains lefty “Nolan” Pazos who looked pissed off having to be there, he had a coupe long fouls before getting fooled on a change.

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                1. One anomaly for Hall, which after seeing him hit I cannot figure out, , is that he usually leads the team in HBPs….in the top 5 percentile of all minor league hitters the last three years.
                   Does help his OBA percentage….but not his BB rate, since getting hit with a 3-ball count on an obvious ball four, is not computed in the BB metric formula.

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                2. Interesting….I was on the first base side so could not see how far his body lean went in relation to the plate but he does seem to lean towards the plate and even crouch over a bit

                   He also might be waiting a little bit on a breaking ball and not catching the rotation until it’s on him.

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31. Well … that was vintage 2018 Phillies. Terrible defense. Disasterous work by the back end of the pen.

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    1. Sorry. Wrong thread.

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       1. Hinkie What do you think of Duran if i read it correctly, he is only 5’9 small for a catcher, but showed power last yr, i hope this is the right link

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          1. Since Hinkie didn’t answer…I will jump in. I wouldn’t focus too much on size. He hit 18 hrs last year so he has some power upside. If he duplicates that power then he is top 10 prospect.

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32. It is pretty much a disgrace, and has been, the way minor leaguers are treated.

    https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/phillies/minor-leaguers-seek-investors-donations-to-make-ends-meet/article_17e1b7ef-168c-54a0-a611-661ab0d8f181.html#7

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