Threshers’ and Affiliates’ Recap – 6/1/2021

Box Score Recap

June 1st.  We played four games and split, 2 wind and 2 losses.  The wins came from the top and bottom of the organizational ladder.  Clearwater won in extra innings in a game that showcased some fine pitching from both teams.  Lehigh Valley won against its arch-rival.  Reading lost, again, their fourth consecutive loss.  As did Jersey Shore, also their fourth consecutive loss.

Clearwater (12-13) beat Daytona, 2-1 in ten.  Daytona is not a spring training site.  There is no ABS System installed.

Clearwater scored first with a run in the second inning on Luis Garcia’stwo-out, RBI single.  That run held up until the Tortugas tied the game in the seventh.  They took the lead in the tenth on Abrahan Gutierrez’ RBI single.  They won when Tyler Burch was able to prevent the ghost runner from scoring.

Jordi Martinez pitched four, one-hit innings.  He walked one and struck out five on 57 pitches.  Rodolfo Sanchez followed with 3.1, one-run innings.  He allowed just one hit, one walk, and threw a wild pitch.  He struck out five.  JP Woodward snagged the win with 1.2, one-hit innings.  Tyler Burch got his second save, walking one and striking out two.  A fielding error and wild pitch helped to load the bases for Burch with one out.

The Threshers’ pitchers limited the Tortugas to 3 hits and 3 walks, striking out 12.

The Threshers had 6 hits.  Garcia, Casey Martin, and Guttierrez had all 6 each going 2-4.  Garcia had an RBI and was hit by a pitch.  Martin and Gutierrez each walked.  All three struck out once.  The rest of the Threshers went 0-23 with 3 walks and 10 strikeouts.  Nicolas Torres scored both runs, reaching on a fielding error in the second inning and as the ghost runner in the tenth.

With Bryson Stott’s promotion from Jersey Shore to Reading, I guess there will be speculation on who will be promoted from Clearwater to Jersey Shore.  The only candidates are 20-year-old Luis Garcia and 22-year-old Casey Martin.  Garcia is in his third professional season and is experiencing some success after a disappointing 2019 in Lakewood.  Martin has just completed his first month as a professional.

Their numbers are similar.

  • Garcia – 25 G, 95 AB, 16 R, 22 H, 7 D, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 15 BB, 31 K, 4 SB, 0 CS
  • Martin – 25 G, 99 AB, 14 R, 24 H, 8 D, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 11 BB, 22 K, 8 SB, 1 CS
  • Garcia – .232/.348/.368/.716
  • Martin – .242/.327/.354/.681
  • Garcia – 116 PA, 3 HBP, 1 SAC, 2 SF, 0.61 GA/GO, 35 TB, .313 BABIP, .137 ISO
  • Martin – 113 PA, 2 HBP, 0 SAC, 1 SF, 0.64 GA/GO, 35 TB, .299 BABIP, .111 ISO

I’ve always been conservative when it comes to promoting prospects, especially when it means leaving Clearwater.  Maybe the Phillies wait and see if Chris Cornelius is ready to come off the Jersey Shore IL.  Or maybe they postpone promoting one of the “Clearwater Two” until Kendall Simmons is ready to be activated which could happen any day.  Or maybe somebody gets demoted.  We’ll see.  Personally, I don’t think either gets bumped up until Simmons is ready.  (Or Guarner Dipre, or Wilfredo Flores, or Christian Valerio, or Jamari Baylor, or Juan Herrera, or Wilson Valdez, or Uziel Viloria, or Alexeis Azuaje, or …)

Lehigh Valley (14-11) beat Scranton, 5-2.

Lehigh Valley jumped out to a quick lead against their rivals with a 4-run first inning on RBI singles by CJ Chatham, Rafael Marchan, Ruben Tejada, and a throwing error.  They scored a single run in the sixth on a wild pitch.

Scott Kingery made a rehab start and went 1-3 with a run scored and a double in five innings.  Tejada went 3-4 with an RBI.  Darick Hall went 2-3 with 2 doubles and a walk.

Cristopher Sanchez pitched 3.2 innings and gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, but not before setting a new IronPigs’ record for consecutive hitless innings (10.0) previously held by Pat Venditte (9.0, 2017).  Sanchez struck out seven.  Bryan Mitchell stranded two inherited runners, pitched 1.1 no-hit innings, issuing 2 walks, and striking out one.  Mauricio Llovera pitched 1.2 one-hit innings, walking two, and striking out one.  Neftali Feliz stranded 2 inherited runners, pitched 1.1 one-walk innings, and struck out two.  JD Hammer withstood a walk and base hit in the ninth to record his first save.

Reading (4-21) lost to Somerset, 6-1.  Bryson Stott made his Double-A debut and walked in 4 plate appearances.  If it weren’t for Stott’s arrival, I would have been tempted to skip giving detailed Reading recaps for a while.  

The Phils scored in the third inning on Daniel Brito’s RBI single.  Brito (.259/.669) went 2-4 with an RBI.  The Phils combined to strike out 15 times.

Kyle Glogoski gave up 5 runs in 3.0 innings.  He gave up 5 hits, 3 walks, and struck out four.  He was tagged for 4 HRs.  Jonathan Hennigan pitched two innings and gave up a run on 3hits and 2 walks.  He struck out two.  Braden Zarbniskey pitched two scoreless innings, striking out two.  Tyler Carr pitched a one-hit inning.

Jersey Shore (9-15) lost at home to Brooklyn, 11-5.  And thus begins their post-Bryson Stott era.

Jersey Shore scored 5 runs on 6 hits, three came on two HRs by Vito Friscia.

The BlueClaws scored twice in the second inning on the first of Friscis’s HRs, a 2-run blast, pulling within 3-2.  They closed within 6-4 with 2 runs in the sixth on a balk with Friscia batting and his second HR (2).  Trailing 10-4, they scored a single run in the eighth on Rudy Rott’s RBI single.  Friscia (.282/.947) had himself a day – 2-3 with 2 runs scored, 3 RBI, and a walk.

BlueClaws’ pitching gave up 4 HRs.  Josh Hendrickson started and pitched four innings.  He gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks.  He struck out four and gave up two HRs.  Mike Adams pitched 0,1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits.  He struck out one.  Andrew Brown came in and stranded 2 inherited runners.  He pitched 0.2 innings, issued a walk, and struck out two.  Jonathan Hughes pitched three innings and gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks.  He struck out five and gave up a HR.  Manuel Silva pitched the final inning and gave up a run on a solo HR.  He struck out one.

Piggyback partners Hendrickson and Hughes threw 65 and 58 pitches respectively.

GCL Phillies East and GCL Phillies West (runs 6/28 thru 9/12)

DSL Phillies Red and DSL Phillies White (starts 7/12 thru 10/2)

Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.

The rosters and lists are up to date as of June 1st … there are 305 players in the org

Today’s Transactions

6/01/2021 – Phillies sent SS Scott Kingery on a rehab assignment to Lehigh Valley
6/01/2021 – LF Hunter Hearn assigned to Jersey Shore from Reading
6/01/2021 – SS Bryson Stott assigned to Reading from Jersey Shore
6/01/2021 – Clearwater activated LHP J.P. Woodward from the TIL
6/01/2021 – RHP Leonel Aponte assigned to GCL East from Clearwater
5/30/2021 – RHP Leonel Aponte assigned to Clearwater from Phillies Organization

21 thoughts on “Threshers’ and Affiliates’ Recap – 6/1/2021”

  1. I think the next promo should go to Abrahan Gutierrez.
    For a fairly bigger player at his age…..he doesn’t have the ISO i expected early on, but he does make contact and that BA is legit since his time to first is close to 5 seconds so he probably does not leg out many infield hits..Though a SSS…his K to BB ratio is excellent.

    https://www.milb.com/player/abrahan-gutierrez-670868

    1. Why rush him? He’s played 18 games. Let’s check again when he’s at about 45 or 50 games. With an all-star as the big league catcher, there’s no need to rush these guys in the lower minors or even someone like Marchan at AAA.

      1. I agree. The consensus here and among the people who “know” such things is that the Phillies have a bottom five minor league system, have drafted poorly, have signed international free agents inadequately, and have a poor development plan/staff. What can possibly be accomplished by rushing promotions of “bad” players in a “bad” system who have received “bad” instruction just because they have a good SSS.

        1. Apparently Josh Bonifay may have a differing opinion on the player
          Judging by his comments after the instructs were completed, I really do not think they consider him to be ‘bad’ player.
          At the FILs he raved about Gutierrez and the shape he came into the fall instructs.
          Now giving him another 75 PAs at CLW may be wise…..and to see if he sustains.

          .

          1. Nobody said Gutierrez himself is a bad player, just that the system as a whole is full of bad players (which it clearly is). I don’t buy your argument at all. My view of player promotion is that a guy gets promoted when he is clearly making the league look silly or he’s clearly not being challenged. None of that appears to be true of Gutierrez at this juncture – he’s 18 games into a new level – he’s right where he belongs. If he had already hit 9 homers or was making the league looks silly, maybe – he’s not. There is zero reason to rush him right now and we are still looking at SSS issues with respect to performance.

            1. Like I mentioned in my initial post, which you seem to think I am referring to is rushing him up the ladder or force feeding him…..’the next promotion’…not necessarily tomorrow. But at some point , especially if he continues to hit.

              I am quite aware of the SSS, you do not need to remind me of that.
              However come first part of July, if can sustain what he is currently doing, there is no reason to not promote him to JS.

              Right now he is top five in BA(and 16th in the league)/OBP(and 23rd in the league) in the entire Phillies minor league system, does that meet your criteria of not being challenged?

              Offensively he does lack the ISO right now, especially for a guy his size, but if he continues to make contact and and strike out less than BB…then there is no reason not to promote him.

              Exactly how many others in this system can claim that?

              And as far as a ‘bad’ player…..referring to Jim’s posting:
              “What can possibly be accomplished by rushing promotions of “bad” players in a “bad” system who have received “bad” instruction just because they have a good SSS.”
              I saw somewhere back 5/6 months ago the Phillies director of player development had a little blurb saying AG came into camp in good shape.

            2. “Right now he is top five in BA(and 16th in the league)/OBP(and 23rd in the league) in the entire Phillies minor league system, does that meet your criteria of not being challenged?”

              Well, saying he’s among the best in a bad system isn’t too compelling of an argument.

              As far as comparing him against the league, yeah, he’s doing well, but nothing I see is screaming for an immediate promotion.

              And what if he does this for another month? I don’t know – I think that’s where the people who are watching him every game and in practice need to weigh in, but the stats themselves, while solid, wouldn’t demand that he has to be promoted. It could go either way.

              But prospects and baseball players generally, are like water, they tend to find their proper level fairly quickly. I’m not that worried about the timing of his promotion.

      2. Gutierrez played all of 2019 in Lakewood so in essence he is repeating low A ball. This is not a step up for him. I don’t know whether or not this is the time to promote him, but I don’t think the Phillies want O’Hoppe and Gutierrez splitting time. O’Hoppe is really struggling right now and I don ‘t think you want him looking over his shoulder or benched. Marchan spent most of 2019 in Lakewood so the Phillies obviously think a lot more of him that Gutierrez.

        1. I can understand the ‘O’Hoppe situation…….it is a matter of finding them ABs…..and with a DH in place, plus Gutierrez has played some first base……there could be ample opportunity for both to get their swings in.
          But I am not saying promote tomorrow…..I would think first part of July would be the time IF he continues to hit like he is currently doing.
          Plus, who is to say O’Hoppe will not be sent up to Reading at some point in July …they thought enough of him last season to have him at the Alt Site. so they would appear not to be too concerned about challenging him at the next rung on the ladder

          1. Logan O’Hoppe is 21 at high-A. You can argue a little that it’s an aggressive promotion already. And he’s getting plenty challenged with a .612 OPS. And he doesn’t have the pedrigree of being a top pick. Right now, nothing is saying that he should be promoted to Reading.

            1. Correct…and nothing said he would be at the Alt Site with AA/AAA players last year at age 20.
              So, IMO, the Phillies seem to think he is mature enough and skilled enough to handle a more challenging situation.
              My guess they will bump him up to Reading before this season is over.

  2. Reading is where we should be seeing who may be a future Major Leaguer, and the lack of talent there is very troubling. Not including Stott, in this comment because he just got there.

    1. matt13……from positional players, I like to think Brito and Vierling have a chance to be MLB payers…..in reserve roles more than likely.
      Pitchers…..barring arm issues, i can see 8/9 eventually getting to the big leagues…. from a few starters to mostly relievers.

    2. “lack of talent” is an understatement……Klentak/MacPhail/Johnny A/Sal A complete sh1tshow. Problem is that Middleton 8 months ago was still touting Andy macPhail’s World Series titles from 35 YEARS ago…….starts at the top, just like in city governments you cannot throw $$$ at a problem and hope it fixes itself.

    3. Besides Stott, Miller is on their IL and once he’s activated that will give them at least one top level LHP.

      1. Based on what? His 36 professional innings at A-ball and below in 2019? Miller is rehabbing from an undisclosed injury. I’ve heard that he is far from returning to the mound Maybe another 2 months. Minimum. What have you heard?

  3. Can we call it a pandemic hangover? A year of development time lost for many of these guys may be bigger than we thought.

  4. Jim – how do some of the Clearwater LA pitchers look? Some are putting up some decent numbers.
    One guy I’m off of is Glogoski. I thought he had a chance to make it but he’s getting hammered at AA, along with Morales. Not good
    I agree with Jim that I don’t think Martin or Garcia are ready for a promotion. Yes Simmons and Baylor should both be ready for CWater soon though.
    Just wanted to add that Luke Williams, batting lead off and playing LF, went 2-5 with a big go ahead 2 rbi triple for USA in their game 2 win. This was after he had 3 hits in the first game and he was named the player of the game in the win. Good for Luke! He’s surprising lots of people this season so far. His positional availability with speed would sure make him a great bench utility player…..at worst.

    1. Other than pitching and catching…I think he can play and has played every position, how well at the MLB level remains to be seen, but he is versatile.

      rocco might be the most surprised by his surge starting from the second half of 2019 at Reading.

    2. Baylor’s injury problems have limited him to 12 GCL plate appearances in his professional career. He may be a candidate for GCL this season.

      I’ve been concentrating on Abel and to alesser extent Castillo. Some of the other LA piggybackers ARE looking good and their nimbers ARE impressive. But, I’ve only seen them twice and maybe just 7-8 innings.

      That said, Cristian Hernandez has a 93 mph sinker and looks pretty good so far. Jordi Martinez has a mid 90s FB. Rodolfo Sanchez, Eduar Segovia, and Rafael Marcano have a low 90s FB. Some of the others have no FB to speak of.

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