The Phillies announced today that they acquired 19 year old Victor Arano from the Dodgers to complete the Roberto Hernandez deal. Arano was signed by the Dodgers in 2012 out of the Dominican Republic and has shown promise this year going 4-7 with a 4.08 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 22 games (15 starts) for Great Lakes, the Dodgers Single A affiliate. What sticks out even more, with the number of minor leaguers the Phillies have that struggle to throw strikes is a very impressive 2.1/8.7 BB/K ratio for Arano. At least on paper, the Phillies have something to work with here. I wouldn’t expect him to land with an affiliated team in the organization this weekend, but do expect to see him in Clearwater for the Florida Instructional League.
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Hot or Not
A final Hot or Not, spanning the last 11 days from August 14th thru present….Two words, Maikel Franco…Wondering if the acquisition of Jesmuel Valentin had a short term effect on Andrew Pullin’s production?Can we implement the additional position of “short fielder” for Willians Astudillo….?Outstanding numbers for Art Charles this week, including a game where he walked five times….Mitch Guellar has regressed to pedestrian numbers once again…Expect to see Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez in Philly this time next week…Very disappointing season for Jan Hernandez.
Hot Hitters: Willians Astudillo (.625, 15-24); Andrew Knapp (.526); Tyler Henson (.421); Chris Serritella (.364, 6R 2HR 9RBI); Maikel Franco (.364, 8HR 4HR 8RBI); Jake Fox (.351, 6R 3HR 7RBI); Carlos Tocci (.333); Aaron Brown (.333); Peter Lavin (.324); Art Charles (.323, 12R 4HR 8RBI); Honorable Mention: Crawford, Quinn, Green Continue reading Hot or Not
Lehigh Valley Report
The final conclusion is that put simply, Lehigh Valley is not a good team. They have little to no timely hitting and their starting pitching has been simply abysmal which has led them to where they are which is at the bottom of the Northern Division of the International League. Entering the seasons final week plus, the ‘Pigs are 59-73 and in last place, 17 games back. Lehigh Valley finishes their four game series with Pawtucket tonight, trying to salvage a win before returning home for a 9 game home stand before closing out the season with two on the road against Scranton.
‘Pigs Prospects: Maikel Franco has hit in 3 of his last four games, including a walk off HR last Sunday. Prior to that, Franco had been in a 3-30 funk, during which he saw his average drop from a season high .251. Over the last 33 games, Franco is hitting .285 with 6HR and 22RBI. He is the ‘Pigs leader in HR(12) RBI(64) and 2B(29). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Report
Jesmuel Valentin announced as first PTBNL from Dodgers
The Phils announced this evening that they have added 20 year old Jesmuel Valentin as the first of the two “players to be named later” in the Roberto Hernandez deal. Valentin had been the Dodgers 1st round pick (51 overall) in the 2012 draft and is a Puerto Rico native. He is currently ranked anywhere between #12 and #18 among Dodgers prospects.
In 2014, Valentin is hitting .282/.352/.433 for Class A Great Lakes, with 7HR 47RBI and 24 SB, to go along with a .976 fielding percentage in 104 games at 2B. Valentin, the son of former major leaguer Jose Valentin, is likely to report to High A Clearwater, unless the Phils decide to bump up Andrew Pullin (a worthy candidate for promotion) for the final two weeks of the season. Originally a shortstop, Valentin is considered a plus defender who has swung a good bat this year and shown a good deal of speed.
Hot or Not
Second to last edition of Hot or Not for 2015, with a look back at August 5th-15. I would like to see Kelly Dugan spend the last two weeks in Lehigh Valley…Freddy Galvis, 5 tool player?…Getting excited about Andrew Pullin who has been very consistent since early May…Cameron Perkins has fallen below the Mendoza line, approaching 200 AAA AB’s…Adam Loewen has shown me enough to scare me if the Phils dont give him some sort of opportunity. He could end up in another organization and have success…I expected to see Dan Child in Reading at some point this year. Instead, he was just demoted back to the GCL.
Hot Hitters: (Min 18 AB’s) Kelly Dugan (.441, 5R 6RBI); Willians Astudillo (.423); Malquin Canelo (.412); Tim Zier (.395, 7R 9RBI); Freddy Galvis (.366, 10R 3HR 8RBI); Carlos Duran (.361, 6R 4SB); Andrew Pullin (.353); Zach Collier (.348, 7R 4HR 6RBI); Russ Canzler (.342, 6R 2HR 8RBI); Rhys Hoskins (.333, 8R 2HR 6RBI); Brian Pointer (.333); Anthony Phillips (.333).
Not Hot Hitters: Gabrial Lino (.107); Leandro Castro (.114); Cameron Perkins (.121); Carlos Alonso (.120); Emmanuel Marrero (.125); Deivi Gruillon (.125); Derek Campbell (.138); Angelo Mora (.138); Chris Serritella (.143); Art Charles (.156); Dylan Cozens (.161) Continue reading Hot or Not
Who’s Going Up
Two weeks until the day that those on the 40 man roster (and a few others) have been waiting for, as the Phillies will be adding players to their roster come September 1. With the Phils out of contention, the goal of the call ups is different this year. Unlike most years where the September call ups add a few bats to the bench that will be used late in games or pitchers who will be called upon to eat up innings in blowouts, this September has the potential to be a try out camp of sorts for several. Taking a look by positional area:
Catcher: Cameron Rupp is likely to be added as a third catcher come September. He is already on the 40 and every team calls up a third catcher. He has been awful offensively this year and taken a major step backwards on the prospect chart, but being surrounded by Chooch, et al, can only help him.
Corner Infield: I would be surprised if Maikel Franco were not called up and seeing considerable playing time in September. Simply no reason not to.
Middle Infield: Expect to see both Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis back in Philly in what will be a very crowded middle infield in September. Both Galvis and Hernandez are out op options after this year and the Phils will have to keep them on the roster all year next year or risk losing them in waivers, a likely scenario if they try to sneak them through.
Outfield: I see a slight chance of either Tony Gwynn Jr or Leandro Castro getting a call up, but both would need to be added to the 40 man roster.
Starting Pitchers: None
Relievers: This could really be a cast of characters getting added in the mix. Assuming Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez’s arm hasnt fallen off by September 1st, I would like to see him go up. For $4M a year, I hate to see him spending too much more time anchoring the Lehigh Valley bullpen next year. Luis Garcia certainly deserves to go up based on his lights out performance for Lehigh Valley this year , and should be given perhaps a last shot to see if it translates to the bigs. Phillippe Aumont, Hector Neris, Ethan Martin and BJ Rosenberg are all only the 40 man roster as well and potentially could be called up. I am perfectly satisfied that I have seen more than enough of Aumont in a Phillies uniform for one lifetime. Martin continues to have the most upside and has pitched well as of late, so if I were to choose one of the three it would be Ethan Martin with Neris, and Rosenberg in back of him. It is noteworthy that if my records are correct, both Aumont and Rosenberg will be out of options coming into 2015.
Discuss.
Around the System–Relief Pitchers, LV, Reading and Clearwater
Lehigh Valley
Phillippe Aumont, 25, Acquired from Seattle in 2009; 31 games, 2-1 with a 3.47 ERA; 49.1IP 42H 33BB 58K; 1.52 WHIP; 1.41 GO/AO; .236 opp avg; 6.0BB/10.6K per 9; .210 vs. LHH, .258 vs. RHH. Aumont has pitched fairly well for Lehigh Valley, albeit with the continued high walk rate. He has failed miserably in his multiple opportunities with the Phillies this year and last, leaving his future in the organization a real question mark.
Luis Garcia, 27, Signed as a free agent in 2013; 33 games, 2-0 with an 0.71ERA; 19 saves; 38IP 27H 12BB 37K; 1.03 WHIP; 1.70 GO/AO; .199 opp avg; 2.8BB/8.9K per 9; .203 vs. LHH, .194 vs. RHH, .125 opp avg over last 30 days. The minor league line simply cant get better. Garcia has been consistently dominant at the minor league level and has not been able to translate to major league success in multiple chances. Continue reading Around the System–Relief Pitchers, LV, Reading and Clearwater
Lehigh Valley Weekly Report
Been awhile since the last update so, here it goes….Following a 10 game losing streak, Lehigh Valley has won 9 of their last 13, albeit with a 6-1 trouncing last night,and currently sit at 58-66, and in last place of the Northern Division of the International League, 12 games behind division leading Syracuse. The ‘Pigs play two more in Columbus before returning home on Friday for a four game series against Buffalo.
‘Pigs League Leaders, Hitting (thru 8/11/14)Maikel Franco is 6th in AB’s (439) and 10th in RBI’s (59); Russ Canzler is 10th in doubles (28) and 7th in slg % (.489); Tyler Henson is 5th in strikeouts (111)
Pitching: Sean O’Sullivan is 9th in losses (9) and 5th in HR allowed (15); Greg Smith is 10th in losses (9), 6th in IP (134.1) and 7th in starts (23); Brad Lincoln has the 8th worst ERA (4.69); Luis Garcia is 3rd in saves (19); Brad Lincoln is 9th in walks allowed (46) Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report
Around the System–Starting Pitching, Lakewood, Williamsport, GCL
A look at Starting Pitching at the lower levels of the organization.
Lakewood
Ranfi Casimiro, 22, Signed as a free agent in 2010; 22 starts, 4-9 with a 5.21ERA; 107IP 116H 55BB 77K; 11HR allowed; 1.34 GO/AO; .269; 1.60 WHIP; 4.6BB/6.5K per 9; .265 vs. LH, .273 vs. RH; .299 with RISP; 2-4 with a 5.48ERA in 9 starts post all star game. Pretty consistent mediocrity for Casimiro all season.
Tyler Viza, 19, Phils 32nd round pick in 2013; 21 starts; 3-14 with a 5.27ERA; 110IP 151H 21BB 63K; 8HR allowed; 1.7BB/5.1K per 9; 1.14 GO/AO; .322 opp avg; 1.56 WHIP; .307 vs. LH, .338 vs. RH, .271 with RISP; I have no idea why the Phils stuck Viza in Lakewood as a 19 year old all year. He was hit around consistently and would have been better served to gain some confidence in Williamsport mid season
Jon Prosinski, 23, Phils 10th round pick in 2013; 22 starts, 4-8 with a 5.22ERA between Clearwater and Lakewood; 120.2IP 152H 27BB 68H 8HR allowed; 1.48 WHIP; 2.0BB/5.1K per 9; 1.58 GO/AO; .305 opp. avg; For Lakewood: 13 starts, 4-4 with a 4.33 ERA, 1.40 WHIP. Generally a very disappointing season for Prosinski where he was demoted mid season and been slightly above average for Lakewood. Continue reading Around the System–Starting Pitching, Lakewood, Williamsport, GCL
Williamsport Game Report, 8/6/14
Another in a long series of excellent reports by NYPhilsmaniac19.
August 6 Williamsport Game Report
WP played at Hudson Valley last night and looked like the losing (record) team that they are. They failed to get key hits with runners in scoring position, were shaky in the field, and K’d 13 times (though the home plate ump had a huge strike zone).
PITCHING:
Feliberto Sanchez started and was hit pretty hard. Here is a synopsis of his innings.
1) Gave up an oppo single into LF on 0-2 pitch/Baserunner took off for 2nd- Grullon’s throw went into CF, Aaron Brown charged hard as the runner took off for 3rd and the ball went right through him which allowed the runner to score. (This was a harbinger of the sloppiness to come)/Hard Lineout to CF/Hard groundout to 1st
2) Foul Popout to RF/K on a FB (half-hearted swing)/Line single over 2Bman’s head/During next AB, ball squirted through Grullon’s legs- he ran back and grabbed it at the cutout behind home, threw from his knees and nailed the runner who took off when he saw the ball get by. VERY impressive play from Deivi.
3) Hard hit oppo single between 1Bman and 2Bman/E-3 grounder that Hoskins couldn’t field cleanly/Hard Lineout to CF/Weak swing that led to an oppo RBI single/4-6-3 DP, Campbell (2B) made a nice glove flip to Marrero who relayed and got the runner. It was a cool play, but it looked like Campbell could have taken it himself and made an easier DP due to his proximity to 2B.
4) Line 1B to LF/Walk/WP moved up runners, 4-3 RBI groundout/SF to pretty deep LF/6-4 FC
5) Ground single up the middle/Grullon threw runner out attempting to steal (another excellent throw), swinging K/6-3 easy groundout
Sanchez was done after 5. His control was good, but they hit numerous hard shots. The shoddy fielding didn’t help him. Based on the stadium gun, he topped out at 88 and mostly sat at about 85. Not one pitch that I saw (gun didn’t show up until the 3rd inning) was below 82 so not much difference between his FB and off-speed pitches.
I was pleased to see that Chris Oliver came on in relief but I shouldn’t have been. The first two batters reached on plays that should have been made- throwing error by Hernandez, then a hot shot grounder that went right through Hoskins at 1B (ruled a hit, but was right at him). After an RBI groundout and a lineout, Oliver walked to next two (4 pitches and 7 pitches), the inning ended on a liner that Brown ran down in the gap in left-center. The next inning Oliver gave up 2 singles, a double steal, 2 more walks, and a run. Oliver did top out at 94 on the gun. He was mostly in the high 80’s with his FB and 75-76 with his offspead stuff.
Mark Meadors came on in the 7th with bases loaded and one out and got out of the jam stranding all three of Oliver’s runners. Meadors also had an easy 8th giving up just one single. He was throwing in the mid 80’s.
OFFENSE:
Cord Sandberg went 2 for 5. After fouling off 3 two-strike pitches, he smoked a base hit up the middle that almost hit the pitcher in the head. He then fouled out to third, K’d swinging at a high FB, and singled on a swinging bunt up the 3rd base line but then got thrown out trying to advance to 2nd when the throw went by the 1Bman. The last AB, he K’d looking on a pitch that was clearly outside to end the game.
I was not impressed with his wheels. He failed to score from 1st on a no doubt double to the wall by Tromp in the first, and although he was awarded a hit on the swinging bunt, a good throw would have gotten him. He had an uneventful night in RF.
Jiandido Tromp went 2 for 4. He doubled in his first two AB’s- the first was over the RF’s head in RC, and the second was a hard grounder just inside the 3rd base bag. He struck out in his other two AB’s (swinging at a high FB, and looking at a pitch that appeared to be outside). He took some mighty swings but was able to do a better job of making contact once he had two strikes. He tracked the ball well in LF.
Aaron Brown went 0-4 with 2K’s (both swinging). He did advance a runner from 2nd with a no-out groundout to the 1Bman. His other out was a hard liner the other way that was caught by the RF. Brown went back well on two liners over his head that he caught. The ball that got through him on Grullon’s overthrow was a case of him charging over-aggressively. I can see what people say about how the fans will love the way he plays the game. He struck me as being much more serious and focused than the rest of the team before the game.
Rhys Hoskins (pronounced like Reece- I was curious about this) went 1-3 with a 5 pitch walk. His single was a liner between the SS and 3Bman. His two outs were a shallow very high flyout to CF and a hard hit 6-3 RBI groundout. On defense, he did not impress though he did make a nice tag on a wide throw from Hernandez at third. He made one error on a grounder and could have been charged with another.
Wilson Garcia went 1-3 with a walk. He smoked a double into the LC gap, grounded out hard 4-3, and hit a weak liner to the 2Bman. No defense to report as he DH’d.
Derek Campbell went 1-4 with a hard line single up the middle and a looking K. He also flew out to deep RF and popped up to 2nd. He played a solid 2B.
Jan Hernandez had a rough day. He went 1-4 with two K’s, a lazy flyout to CF and a soft single over the SS’s head. He made a throwing error on one play and Hoskins saved him from getting charged with another. He did not appear to play with much urgency,
Deivi Grullon had a nice day throwing out runners trying to steal (besides the one he threw into CF in the 1st). They did execute a double steal but he held onto the ball because the runners got a great jump. At the plate he went 1-4 with a hard line single up the middle.
Emmanuel Marrero had the roughest of all days as he took the Golden Marrero going 0-4 with 4 K’s. He and Campbell (who played 2B) had trouble turning DP’s which could have bailed the Cutters out a few times.
submitted by nyphilsmaniac19
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