57 thoughts on “Phillies Affiliates’ Recap (9/22/2021)”

1. Silver lining FCL Phillies ended over .500
   Perhaps there’s some promise there
   We all know we need some hope for next season.

   1. ….and the DSL teams both look to be headed for winning records.

2. I wouldn’t mind seeing Tyler Alexander return to the org. Don’t know if that is likely, but….

3. ” AFL rumors are coming out. Looks like Stott, Muzziotti, O’Hoppe, and Ortiz so far…”
   …….after a quick trip home to Vegas after the AFL season is completed, for a week’s rest, .it would not surprise me that the Phillies send Stott down to Australia…..of course, if they relax the restrictions there..
   I think they want him to get as many quality ABs vs different and sometimes advanced pitching as possible, that is, before his major league invite to spring training in March.

4. Mickey Moniak tied with Jose Azocar of El Paso in triples in all of Triple A- with 8….and tied for 10th in RBIs in the AAA-East with 61.

5. Bohm not responding well to his demotion hurts…

   1. One thing the old Phillies’ minor league people used to say, and it holds true with Bohm, is that you want a player to struggle for the first time in the minor leagues, not the majors. Until this year, Bohm didn’t struggle. I would imagine he needs some time to get his head right and approach next year with a fresh attitude. There’s still a lot of ability there, but to really reach his potential, he’s going to have to learn to drive the ball consistently and, probably, pull the ball for power on occasion. I certainly haven’t give up on him, although this year was pretty rough.

      1. I’ve heard rumors from a few sources that Bohm was not hurt when he benched himself. If true, he’s got a lot of attitude to work on. I wouldn’t be surprised if the organization grants any trade requests coming from him and his dad during the offseason.

         1. That might not be a bad thing……that is moving onto another team.
            As well as he can swing a bat…or has the potential to swing the bat, he has the concerning issue of fielding.
            Third base would seem to be a position that he may need to move off from.
            The way i see it…he is limited to just the two positions they put ‘glove-challenged ‘players at…LF and 1B
            And if the Phillies intend on keeping him, better they start the transformation for him now ilo of waiting another year or two.

         2. Wow – that’s a pretty shocking statement. I have no idea what Alec Bohm’s frame of mind is right now, but I imagine this year must have been tough for him. I’d say let’s give him a winter to get his head straight and come in next year.

            A year ago, he was hitting over .300 and was second in the ROY vote. He has a lot of talent. Literally the last thing I’d want to do right now is trade him for pennies on the dollar and have the Giants turn him into a perennial all-star. Let’s slow our roll on this guy, please.

         3. That’s mystifying…not that he’s struggling but nowhere did I read anything about questionable makeup issues when he was considered a top 5 draftee. If Dombrowski sees the opportunity to move any of our young talent which are sputtering in their developmental – regardless of who’s at fault – Bohm certainly has shown the pedigree and promise that other GMs will desire. His is an odd profile, considering his lack of power thus far, but at 25, he should appeal to a rebuilding team willing to part with a much more extensive player who can fill one of our many needs.

6. Is Moniak ever going to get an extended look at MLB level or will he be yo-you’d back and forth?

   1. It is my opinion, that based on Girardi’s statements and actions this season that no player who was on the Lehigh Valley roster this season (before the recent promotions) will figure into any of the Phillies’ long-range plans as long as Girardi is the manager. Dombroski offers no protection since he has no loyalty to players from the previous regime. All but the most recent are probably expendable. In fact, there is probably no loyalty toward Girardi just as we are seeing with the front office. Fuld is probably the safest person in the organization.

   2. It is like clock work…Moniak has one or two good games and people post about making him a regular…ignoring the rest of his body of work.

      guys…small sample size success is meaningless. His homer last night was against a AAA pitcher with a 9+ era. that is meaningless.

      his career minor league ob% is .303. he can’t hit lefty pitching at all and never could. and he looks completely over matched in his MLB PAs.

      that he as a 1:1 in 2016 is irrelevant.

      1. Pretty sure his .342 July was more than just a couple games. When I was in town last week against the Cubs Girardi went out of his way and came back out of the clubhouse to come shake my hand and say how good of a kid Mickey is. Not sure if that means anything for the future but I thought that was nice. If he had an extended look he would do what everyone wants him to do I am convinced. Just like I said when he turned things around in AAA. The yo-yoing up and down isn’t easy just like John Smoltz said the other night when they said he had been up and down seven times. Regardless of what you think , it wears on a kid. And congratulations to your son by the way. I just hope you are prepared for criticism as he hopefully moves up the ladder. It’s not easy when it’s your kid, you will see.

         1. Matt, having only heard Mickey from time to time in interviews, I hear a young man with character beyond his years. That’s a reflection on you, at least in part. My heart goes out to all parents who live and die with the ups and downs of their children, no matter what field they pursue. Your comment is refreshing to read. The emotional investment you have is regularly tested, I’m sure. Criticism (even the level headed, objective posts on this site) is a reality of life. I wish you and your son all the best, wherever he lands.

         2. Wow, Mr. Moniak, you have a lot of intestinal fortitude coming on here regularly and encountering us rough Philadelphia fans. And I mean that as a huge compliment. It can’t be easy. We scared Mr. Howard away or left him infuriated, and I get it. If one of these guys was my son, I would probably be fuming from time to time too. You’re entirely partisan and, of course, YOU SHOULD BE!

            That said, becoming a big league player is awfully rough and I’m sure nobody knows that better than you and your son. Your son obviously has a whole array of excellent tools, which is why he was drafted first and clearly he is a hard worker and has progressed.

            I really hope he can make it here in Philadelphia and, if not, perhaps somewhere else. These days late bloomer hitters are more common than I can ever recall, so the runway might be longer than folks around here imagine.

            We will be rooting for him – and all of our prospects.

            1. Thank you for the kind words guys. I can take the criticism, I was a stockbroker at 21 years old!haha. I appreciate everybody’s comments on here and as everybody knows throughout the years I have always rolled with the punches. Just have to point out positives at times because there are quite a few that people seem to overlook. He has 61 RBIs and less than 340 at-bats which I think is pretty good. I know his average could be higher obviously. I know my son and he will prove everybody right or wrong whatever side of the fence you’re on when he gets his extended chance… I hope it is with the Phillies. I really do. Any ways, Rooting for the Phillies to make playoffs!!

               1. When I chat with a parent on this site I always remember being down at spring training about 4 or 5 years ago (2017?) when Zach Eflin was there trying to make the team. Most of his extended family from Florida was there too (including his Dad who was ALL BUSINESS – he was laser focused on his son and everything and everyone else was a distraction – not that I blame him). Anyway, I got to know Zach Eflin’s grandma a little bit and, my gosh, what a nice lady! She actually emailed me within 5 minutes after he was promoted later in the year – so kind. But the reason I say all of this is that I recall sitting there and chatting and her asking me “is your son playing here too?” I almost fell off the risers laughing, but, it was nice to get to know someone whose family member was trying to make the majors and see the whole process from a very different perspective.

            2. Great post Catch

         3. Hi Matt

            I have said many times on here that by all accounts Mickey is a great person. I have never, ever, ever said anything bad about him as a person or any other player for that matter. I separate the person and the professional baseball prospect very clearly. I have only ever offered constructive criticism about his probability of becoming a productive major league player, which is an exceptionally hard thing to achieve. This is a blog where we talk about prospects and the Phillies. Not all things are sunshine and roses. Becoming a major league regular is very, very hard. People being skeptical that a prospect with a career .303 minor league OB% can make the jump to be a major league regular is very reasonable.

            I appreciate your kind words about my son. I highly doubt that he would achieve anything close to the level that your son has already achieved. I am very certain that Mickey is much better than my son will ever be. I am very candid with him and very realistic about his baseball ceiling. I don’t take constructive criticism about his baseball skills negatively at all. But if he ever makes it to the minor leagues, I will be sure to tell him to ignore posters on sports blogs…opinions are like a**holes and there are a lot of a**holes on sports blogs.

            1. It’s clear that Matt M is a very mentally strong person. I can pretty much guarantee that if my son were part of a local professional sports organization, I would probably stop reading the blogs, stop listening to sports radio and perhaps not even read all of the newspaper. But I agree with v1 that people on here try very hard not to separate the individual from the performance on the field.

               1. Sorry, I meant to type people try very to separate the individual with the performance. My apologies.

      2. Thank you for some sanity. He’s not a major leaguer at this time. Let him hit 300 with 20 homers and he’ll get a shot. Either us Haseley or Randolph. Bohm needs to bounce back in a big way because right now he looks like he’ll start at AAA next year. These guys need to earn their way up. Honestly, only Vierling and Williams earned a promotion.

7. Great information, Matt. Love the Joe G story. And I do agree, getting sent up and down (especially for a young player) isn’t easy.
   I know everyone here is pulling for Mickey. v1 also wants to see Mickey/all of our prospects succeed. He’s just strict when it comes to his opinions. He does it all by the numbers (and I’m not saying that’s wrong). Sometimes, it’s OK to consider other factors, especially age vs level of competition.
   Whether it’s here or somewhere else (hopefully here), I’m confident Mickey will get a shot to play in MLB and prove himself.

   And BTW … you get an A+++ for being a tremendous baseball dad. Mickey is lucky to have you.

   1. Thanks Hinkie! And V1, you know I would never come on here and participate if I wasn’t ready to handle criticism! You are right, he needs to get on base more which I think will come as he becomes more selective with his pitches. He seems to be doing that at least when he is right at the plate. Mickey has always been a bit of a late bloomer and later to get acclimated to situations on the way up. I think he is about to do his thing! We will see. He is playing in the Arizona fall league by the way because he really is taking things seriously and wants to get his at-bats in. They are really happy he is doing it. I think they thought you was going to say no when they asked him! Haha.There is a chance Maton is as well and they would probably room together if so. You didn’t hear that here!

      1. Mickey has absolutely improved this year, adding strength and more power. He needs to be more selective at the plate but getting more at bats is the only way to improve in that regard. We ALL hope he continues to improve and forces his way into the major leagues.

         1. Murray……IMO, Moniak should be in the Phillies OF…LF or CF next season to start.
            Defensively he bolsters the teams overall DRS……financially his control-aspect gives the club more flexibility…..offensively, he has put inthe minor league ABs and now to time to for him to show what he has learned thru development.

            1. Agree, Romus….as DD likely moves on from Cutch and Doobie, I think they might have something in Vierling as a platoon option in LF, and considering Moniak’s trouble against lefties, they might make a productive tandem, especially if the POBO goes after an elite CF.

               1. mark8:29……right, Vierling and Moniak in a platoon may be a viable combination.
                  Vierling has that versatility aspect going for him also….first base..

                  On versatility…i wonder where Kingery is in their plans?
                  I see also they are having Arky Gamboa playing CF, so they are trying to produce a team of Kiki Hernandez’

      2. What Hinkie said is 100% true. We are all pulling for him.

         We have a right to have an objective opinion on his baseball skills. As Catch said above, no one on here tolerates being mean or criticizing a person. Critical of skills, yes. Not of the human.

         and we all recognize that prospects don’t improve linearly. sometimes there are late bloomers that make the big jump.

         We dearly need our farm system to produce mlb regulars. that is another thing that you may be seeing Matt. We are all so tired of having no contribution from our farm system.

   2. btw, it is not true that I base my pov “all by the numbers.” I read a lot of scouting reports too.

      but you are right, that I root hard for all of our prospects.

      1. You’re right, v1. You do reference reports. Sorry about that.

         1. I appreciate the solid input which Jim, Hinkie, v1 and others consistently provide. Your research efforts and analysis help us be better informed and maintain perspective. As I looked at an Orioles-Phillies box score earlier this week, I decided to do a deeper dig on Cedric Mullins. I was impressed to see his 2021 MLB numbers, which most teams would love to see their CF produce: .302/.369/.535/.904 with 5.9 WAR. This year is his age 25 season; he turns 26 on 10/01/21. His minor league numbers don’t differ materially from Mickey M.’s. I’d like to know if Mullins can point to some breakthrough development, of any kind (swing plane, concentration, timing) that he credits for his turnaround. All too frequently we witness the Cardinals and Dodgers bring along players who outperform their minor league numbers by wide margins, and now even the Orioles are enjoying a similar outcome. I know these success stories fall into the small sample size category, but I’ll remain optimistic that Mickey once again will prove to be a late-bloomer and discover – probably with little help from our staff – what change he needs to implement to be a meaningful contributor in our OF in future years.

            1. One guy in the Philli org. who could fit into that category of a MLB player who outperforms his minor league metrics, is Darick Hall.
               Of course in his case it is more the batting average, and a little of his K-rate, that have lowered his expectations, but his power/ISO metrics have been overall pretty good thru-out his minor league career.
               I have been a fan favorite from the DBU time ….undoubtedly he will have to move on to another organization, so hopefully he can break out and become a solid MLB player.

               1. Good point(s), ts.

            2. There are plenty of examples of late bloomers. and of course, more examples of players who never bloom. moniak may become a late bloomer. Let’s hope so.

               that said, Cedric Mullins’s minor league stats and Moniak’s minor league stats are not that similar.

               The biggest difference is in K rate. At AA Mullins had a K rate in the low 13% range. Moniak’s K rate in AA was 22%, almost double. At AAA Mullins K rate was ~15.5%. Moniak’s is 24.4%. The big difference here is swinging strike rate. Cedric’s was around 7% in AA and 7.5% in AAA. Moniak’s swinging strike rate is approximately 14% in both levels. Again nearly double. Obviously if you put fewer balls in play, your batting average is not good. If you swing and miss a lot, then you will be behind in the count. not rocket science really.

               Just basic math here. If both Mullins and Moniak have 100 PAs. Mullins will put the ball in play 85 times and moniak 76 times. assuming they both have a .300 BABIP, that means that Moniak will have a .228 batting average and Mullins a .255

               Also Mullins routinely had a higher walk rate than Mickey in the minors. Mickey’s walk rate is up this year to 7.9%. That’s decent. not exceptional, but decent.

               There is also the issue of hitting left handed pitching. Mullins has never had an issues with LHP. Moniak has struggled against same handed pitchers.

               These are my objective concerns. I want him to succeed. We need him to be a productive mlb player badly. but my concerns are his contact rates and his ability to hit LHP. those have been my concerns for several years and while mickey has gotten stronger and hitting for more power, I don’t see him as a 30+ homer guy in the majors. More like a 10-15 homer guy. So he has to have a high OB% to be a positive contributor.

               1. True, but Mullins was 23 and 24 at AA. Mickey was 21 at Reading. And I’m not telling you Mickey is going to be the next Cedric Mullins. I’m just throwing that into the mix.

               2. Mickey turns a new year older the first month (May) of the season. He played most of his AA season as a 22 year old.

                  That said, his swinging strike rate has been the same at every level. I don’t think age impacts swinging strike that much.

8. I did not realize the Venezuela share of our Latin American prospects was so great. It also begs the question as to whether the Phillies are NOT getting their share of Dominican talent (or the Venezuelan talent might be a little overpriced). There are more Dominican than Venezuelans in MLB overall. So is our strategy wise?

   1. The way the system works, relationships with these kids’ reps/agents/busciones means (almost) everything. Sal Agostinelli has a great relationship with Yasser Mendez, who handles a lot of the Venezuelan kids.

      #REP1Fam dinner with agent Yasser Mendez and clients (from left to right) Johan Rojas, Alexeis Azuaje, Francisco Morales, Simon Muzziotti and Rafael Marchan. pic.twitter.com/dkP6Nh9pll

      — REP1 Baseball (@REP1Baseball) September 30, 2019

      Only Johan Rojas is not Venezuelan in the pic above.

      BTW … can’t wait for the day MLB uses a draft to distribute international prospects. Either include them in the rule 4 (like every other major sport does), or hold a separate international draft.

   2. andyb……yuo are correct, the DR kids outnumber the Ven kids in the majors.
      There is also the thought that on a whole, the DR talent may be considered that much better than that produced from the Ven kids.
      Why….who knows….maybe there are better youth organizational developmental programs in the DR than the Ven.
      Phillies do get their share of high $$$$$ DR kids…Ortiz ($4M), Garcia ($2.5M), Castilo (over $1M) then there was million dollar guy like Encarnacion and 1/2 M like Pujols and Grullon.
      The Ven kid do not get those kind of signing bonuses…not sure if any has even broke 7 figures..
      Is it wise……up until now….probably not as expected…Freddy and Cesar have turned out for the better, not great suprtstars but solid MLB players

      1. I think it is mostly due to the DR having a better development system (and tangentially a more stable government). Venezuela has a much larger population, but I am guessing too many prospects just don’t get great coaching early for a variety of reasons. Now one could say that Venezuela has more potential because of that (i.e. more talented kids that just need coaching and development), but it is not as if our results lately have been that great and it does look like we have skewed more towards Venezuela the past few years.

         If this tilt towards Venezuela is new (i.e. we were more 50-50 10 years ago) then we might have to wait a few years to see if it works. I am not passing any sort of judgement. Just noting that what we had been doing was not working and now we are clearly doing something a bit different.

         1. There is another issue why the Phillies may have ventured more into the Ven market than the DR market….age falsification.
            About 15 or so years ago there were cases of more than a few DR kids…falsifying their ages….making themselves younger than they actually were….at the biscones’ directions.
            https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Lying-about-age-not-uncommon-for-Dominican-1781935.php

            This could have been one factor , of who knows how many, that may have steered the Phillies more into the Ven market.

            1. Not sure that the age falsification was that different in Venezuela (then or now as Yhoswar Garcia is from Venezuela). Certainly that was not a reason to tilt. I am sure we had better relationships in VZ historically (Ruben Sr. managing Zulia for years) but that does not explain the recent shift.

               1. DR had the overwhelming discrepancies and violations with forged ‘age’ paperwork.
                  In fact other than Garcia, I do not recall any other Ven kid with an age issue.

                  “MLB cracks down……MLB opened an office in the Dominican Republic on Dec. 7, 2000, in large part to deal with the growing use of forged documents or false identities by would-be ballplayers…..MLB quickly moved to establish a working relationship with the Dominican Republic’s Junta Central Electoral, which oversees that country’s elections and keeps identity and birth records.
                  “We were concerned about the quality of the work that was being done to verify birth certificates,” said Lou Melendez, MLB’s vice president of international operations. “We brought in our own group of investigators to basically do that work.” It didn’t take long to realize how rampant the problem was and, in some instances,……….”Through that process, we’ve been able to reduce dramatically the players who tried to use somebody else’s identity or a wrong age,” Melendez said. “When we began this process, more than 50 percent did it…….”The buscones (free-lance scouts) unfortunately encourage them (prospective players) to engage in this practice today. That’s not to say one or two don’t get through. These kids are very desperate to sign professionally.”

9. Mr. M – I wanted the Phillies to draft A.J. Puk but I’m glad your son is in our system. The Mariners have let Kelenic play in the majors all season as have the Angels with Adell. I say let Mick play all next season in center field and let us see where the chips fall.

   1. Matt M,

      I only have three words to say: Go Mickey Mo.

      Okay, a few more: I think Mickey will make it and, if he doesn’t get traded this off-season, he will make it will the Phils. He just needs a little of that confidence in red pin stripes that he has with bacon on his jersey.

      Final note: Thanks for visiting this site and sharing your thoughts.

10. I’m still miffed why the Phillies brought Mickey up when he was super hot at AAA and basically didn’t play him. That obviously hurt his season numbers and probably his confidence.

    1. Totally agree.

11. Mr M.—As a parent of a player we need to be able to handle the highs and the lows of our sons careers. My situation I feel is easier at times because Jeff was an undrafted free agent. Not alot expected of him. Jeff loves the guys he’s been with and I have had the pleasure of meeting them off the field. It becomes a brotherhood with these guys. Mickey is a phenomenal person and player. We all need to understand it’s not easy getting to the top level. How many times do we hear from the guys in charge that they can only play the players that are on the squad. As for Mickey being pulled back and forth is not easy but handles it as a professional. My Jeff is very frustrated and thank god doesn’t look at what has been written about him. EX-getting rocked his last outing but nothing about his previous month and a half of work with era under 3 and last 8 outings of scoreless relief. I’m a proud Dad and will always have my sons back. He’s a tough kid as all the boys (men) are. These young men are not just happy to be there. They want the shot and believe they belong. All we can do is support them and what people say I believe is constructive criticism.
    Sorry for long post–I love the passion of Philly Fans and this site.I’m Philly born and raised. Go Phillies .

    1. Well said, Mr. Singer. And, I think I may have posted this to you (or Mr. Parkinson) before … clubs are always looking for lefty relievers. All it takes is a good couple of months, and an injury or poor performance at the MLB level. Best of luck to Jeff (and you).

    2. Mr Singer. Great post. Yes, baseball is a game of failure. Dealing with the highs and lows is brutal. I see how hard it is for 13u I can’t imagine how hard it is for MLB players. But I agree that you have to ignore fan opinions to keep sanity. You both clearly love your sons. And that is awesome. You are right to be their #1 fan. What both Mickey, Jeff and all of these players have already achieved is exceptional.

       But this blog is not created to share touching father son relationships (although those are nice to hear from time to time). This blog is to discuss Phillies prospects. The good and the bad. It can’t all be sunshine and roses.
       As you point out, becoming an MLB regular is extremely hard and an extremely low probability. On this blog we are all fans but also we try to be critical based on the reality of the high failure rate.

       Life is not baseball. One can fail at baseball but be a huge success in life. I hope all these men keep that perspective.

12. Yes you have. And Ty.

13. Another degree of separation. Not sure I mentioned it before but Billy Sullivan’s dad sometimes works at my office. He’s a super nice guy and I love talking ball with him. I am not sure why Billy was out the last month or so but when i see him again, I’ll ask. In any event, he got me some signed Billy Sullivan balls for my sons, which was very thoughtful and much appreciated. It’s sometimes strange how small the world can be.

14. Hey-My main reason for posting was because of how great this site is for people who don’t get a chance to see all the players going through the system .I’ve experienced most levels with Jeff I have no negative thoughts on anything written about players, especially mine. My point with my son is it’s tough being an undrafted free agent-He watches players moved ahead of him faster because the system has $ and some cases alot of $ invested in them. Phillies own my son for no $ and I’m good with that. But telling your son to be patient and keep head down and keep working is tough on these young men. It’s a growing experience for him and will make him a better man in life for it. So all sunshine and rainbows it isn’t (lol). Maybe a change of scenery would be good for him. Has proved that way for some other players. Phils own Jeff for one more year and he’s 28 now, that also ways on him.
    How bout those Phillies. Playing meaningful baseball in September is great to see.
    Thanks for letting me ramble

    1. Good luck to your son…..reminds me of how long Chris Coste struggled at the minor league levels until he got his chance…post-30 years old.
       One ting some MLB clubs tend to do for those who are their ‘long-time good enduring soldiers’…is give them that opportunity to at least get them on the 40 someday, if just for a brief 6/7 month period, …..but also that 45 days of service in the majors. Gives the player some added benefits post-baseball.

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