49 thoughts on “Threshers Recap – 4/29/2019”

1. Grullon has hit safely in 14 of the 16 games he’s played in this year. He’s been on base in 15 of 16 and he hit a SF in the other hitless game. If you’re looking for a downside, he’s had 2 Es, 2 PBs and has only thrown out 1 of 11 potential base stealers. But who’s picking nits. He’s been spectacular in this early going with a BA flirting with .400 and 4 HRs on his score sheet. If the big club didn’t have Realmuto eating up the bulk of the starts, I’d be screaming for Grullon to be promoted. A 23 yo catcher needs ABs and innings behind the plate so keep him in AAA until he busts down the door.

2. I think its hard to judge his throwing out runners, dont know if pitchers down there keep, runners close to give him a good shot

3. Next rung up for Bohm…..glad for the kid….now keep it going.

   1. Me too; maybe he’ll have better luck than the triumverate at Reading, with a combined BA of near the Mendoza line.

4. Deivi Grullion is destroying the ball in AAA, he is a prospect at a premium position, was a high $$$ signing(old regime) but doesnt get the love/attention he deserves. Why is that?

   1. Because this is the first extended stretch in his entire career where he has performed significantly above expectations. His career started slowly but is now gaining some momentum.

      Let’s see what he does over the next month but, certainly, this is encouraging.

      1. He showed tremendous power in Reading(I know everyone does) but after last year I thought there would be more buzz with him. If not for the trade for JTR IMO this board would be more hyped about him.

         1. There haven’t really been any glowing scouting reports to accompany the numbers; I think that’s a big reason why. The thought is still that he’s a backup not a starter. He’s also been lucky on balls in play this year.

         2. Overall career ISO for Grullon is .142
            But last year he raised it to .242 at Reading and now this year currently at .275.
            Something is working for him.

         3. at this pace, he might make an exciting trade chip at the deadline.

            1. sr…look if someone like Willians Astudillo can make it…Grullon who has more going for him than Willians did as a catcher…surely will be there in the show at some point.
               And he could be a nice addition to any package…..Phillies will lose him at this rate anyways in the Rule 5 , if left unprotected once again.

      2. I agree that Grullon has been confounding for the last couple years. Other “prospect watchers” used to pin him as a defense-first player, and on that reputation he got up to #6 in the organization in BP’s rankings in 2014 – https://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/article/22822/prospects-will-break-your-heart-philadelphia-phillies-top-10-prospects/. Matt Winkelman ranked and described him the same way – http://philliesminorthoughts.com/phillies-midseason-top-20-prospects/.

         When he started hitting last year, I thought, “great – his bat has come around, he must be a Top 100 guy now.” Well, the experts obviously don’t agree, but I’ve wondered why or what changed in his game throughout the past couple years that flipped his projections around.

   2. The knocks on Grullon are that he is limited athletically and that his BB/K numbers were poor enough that they thought better pitchers would take advantage of him. His power appears to be real though, so the BB/K ratio may not be enough to kill his prospect status. He certainly appears more appealing now in the past where he was probably perennially in the 15-25 ranking range for me.

5. The lefty Tebow pinch hit as the first batter to face right handed reliever Josh Martin. Three pitch strikeout. They didn’t start the .150 hitting Tebow vs LHP Irvin.

6. How is Windle throwing? Is he a potential call up? I don’t think Alvarez will be around much longer

   1. Looks like DLS jumped him, or he is insurance for A quick VV exit. I hope it doesn’t mean anything with Nola

7. Alec Bohm did what really good prospects do. He dominated at the level to which he was assigned and forced a promotion. In the long run, playing a month in Lakewood was, at worst, a short detour and, at best, a nice confidence builder. I am very curious to see what he does at Clearwater, but he’s looking more and more like a legitimate elite or near elite prospect and it’s about damned time one of our top 10 picks looks like . . . well, a top 10 pick.

8. Ali Castillo gets moved up does Stokes go up to Reading? Ya see Jimmy P I told you Bohm would be there for you against Daytona…

9. Congrats to Bohm. He took care of business in Lakewood and now he’s at a more appropriate level. It’d be great if he can approximate his Lakewood numbers there.

10. We don’t mention Vierling too much it seems. Just 22 at CLW showing really nice bat to ball skills 316/365/859 OPS The BB rate is a little low the K rate total is manageable but has crept up a little this season

    Not much power but roughly 35% of his hits are for XBHs. He does steal some bags. Defense appears to be only average.

    If he’s 24 in LHV in 2 seasons I wonder what he looks like.

    1. DMAR….IMO, when the time comes, he will give you more offense than Aaron Altherr at the MLB level….now how much more is the question.
       As for power…..in his almost 350 PAs so far….approx .180 ISO….which is above average.
       Around .140 is league average and hitters in the .200+ range are typically the premier sluggers…that is in the majors however.
       Still AA/AAA pitching will separate him from a prospect to a 4A guy.

11. Congrats to Alec Bohm! Catch said it perfectly, he dominated at the level to which he was assigned. That is what top prospects do. I am also high on Vierling, and I believe he is a legit prospect.

    1. I’ll be at all three Threshers games vs. Ft Myers starting this evening. Excited to see Bohm and Vierling.

12. Casey Mize less than a year removed from being drafted throws a no-no in AA he now has as many (Pro Ball) as our own Spencer Howard

13. Bohm first promotion this year . . I predicted 3 for the year, yes that’s very aggressive but wouldn’t be shocked to see him in Reading come All star break.

    1. EricD…if it is 3 promotions…then it will have to be LHV at the end of this season.
       Which will really be a fast burner.

14. I was looking at the 2017 Draft. That’s the draft we took Haseley as # 8 overall. I looked at the stats and levels of all the guys taken after him in the 1st round. We couldn’t take anyone higher so that is a done deal. The only guy outplaying Haseley right now is the guy taken immediately after him. Kesten Hiura is the guy. He’s a 2B from UC Irvine taken by the Brewers. He’s lighting it up in AAA right now. The thing is I don’t remember anyone taking about him on this site. Was he on anyone’s shopping list? Most of the guys taken after Haseley are barely holding their own in A+. A bunch of them are hurt and losing time. So who would you have taken over Haseley in the draft?

    1. I’m not giving up on Haseley. He’s been pretty solid since starting pro ball. Something is going on whether it be personal or physical. I trust they will get it figured out.

       1. Yeah. One concern with Haseley is that he has literally disappeared for certain stretches – unavailable to play for whatever reason. I hope it’s only incidental and doesn’t become a chronic matter. In any case, I’m not as high on him. I have higher hopes for Moniak.

       2. I’d be more concerned with Haseley if he didn’t play well in AA and the end of last season. Have to expect he will right the ship at some point..

    2. Bellman1 – Hiura was widely considered to be the best bat by far in that draft. He was injured (rotator cuff ??) and therefore had no position. He was considered a possible dh but was taken by Brewers. He has healed since that injury but is considered a very weak fielder – plays 2b. He is now thought to be an elite hitter on all the prospect reports – generally the best bat to ball type.

15. Its hard to be too critical if a player was taken at the spot in draft in which he was rated . the burnout rate for prospects is so high
    unfortunately the drafts with moniak and haseley weren’t great drafts
    I’m not excusing the front office just offering perspective
    Randolph was a worse pick because as a LF only prospect, he has to be a really elite bat to stick as a first division regular

16. I think Jose Gomez……the infielder recd ( with pitchers JD Hammer and A. Requena) in the July 2017 trade with Colorado in exchange for Neshek…..may get a promo to Reading this season……he may be a better prospect than Gamboa.
    MLB had him at 17 in the system last year and that seemed like a stretch…but who knows, the guy may pass Gamboa, Brito, Guzman, Brayan Gonzalez on the Phillies mid-infielder chart.

17. With the way Howard has been pitching in Clearwater and how much Eshelman has struggled, if not much changes do you see Howard taking Eshelman’s spot in the Reading rotation by June?

    1. After the draft and the college signings…..Eshelman could be released if he doesn’t get turned around, and Howard probably will get bumped up to Reading before then or right about that time.
       However, I do think the Phillies will let him pitch an inning or two in the FSL All-Star …..assuming he keeps doing well and gets selected….which is scheduled for June 15th. If he is not selected….then he could very well get promoted to Reading prior to that date.

       1. From what I recall, Romus – the Phillies didn’t stand on ceremony before when it came time to promote top prospects, all star votees or not. I think the situation arose a couple years back.

          1. Yeah…Howard will probably get the call up before hand anyway if he keeps pitching like he has been lately.

18. Sooner rather than later, the Phillies will need another OF power bat. At this point the failure of Haseley, Moniak, Cozens, and Listi is an indication that neither may fill that bill. I don’t want to get too excited about Bohm or Vierling. I think AA and AAA are closer to a real test. Grullon seems to be the only young position player passing it. Of course, it’s too early to jump to conclusions. Maybe the picture will change by the end of June. I hope so.

    1. “Sooner rather than later, the Phillies will need another OF power bat.”,
       …but why?
       Harper and McCutchen are here to stay for awhile….CF does not need a power bat as much as the corners.
       As for a 4th OFer…..I would think they would want a defensive guy along with a contact hitter…a power guy with high K rate may not be what interests them when it comes to a 4th OFer.
       I think they can wait a few years, unless they decide to trade Cutch next year.
       .

19. Nice to see Bohm get promoted. Hopefully he keeps killing it. Also, let’s see how long it takes Garcia to force the Phillies hand. By preseason predictions, Howard or Garcia should be next inline for a promotion

    1. Luis Garcia? The 18 year-old guy hitting under .200? Yeah, he’s not anywhere close to being promoted.

20. I missed DLS getting promopted, is it insurance for A short start by VV? Or is he bullpen bound?

21. Glad so see Bohm getting promoted. Proved he was ready. System doing the right thing.

    Only been a blog guy for 5 years and need help!
    Why Showcase, I hope this is what they did, a 21 year old with 1 start in A+ ball and 5 years in the system with 0-8 and ERA of 4.11. Surely with the backlog of A+ relievers one of those deserved a few innings at AA. Plenty of 22 or 23 year olds with better performance forget the fact that it was a stress point of the game.
    Just asking

22. Before the rumors start to fly…Spencer is fine. They are pushing back his start to give him extra rest.

    1. Thanks for the update, Mr. H. I believe he is not long for Clearwater. He should be in Reading some time in May (I actually thought he should have started the season in AA).

    2. Wow – thanks, Mr. Howard. It’s pretty cool you keep coming on here. It must be amazing to watching your son progress through college ball from one of the guys to a fairly high draft pick to a very, very hot prospect. It sounds like he’s a really nice young man too – congratulations to you and to him.

       1. Hope you can make it out here sometime soon – it’s far different world that San Luis Obispo! But you’ll both get used to it – it’s not half bad at all!

       2. It’s crazy to think how far he’s come especially with all the bumps in the road. I know it won’t last forever but it sure has been a fun ride. Best of all is how he handles it…amazing kid.

23. Than San Luis Obispo that is.

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