It is no secret that the Phillies system came into the 2014 season with a long list of injuries.  Coming out of spring training the system was relatively thin, with normal depth players forced into starting roles for many affiliates.  Since the start of the season, the injuries have gotten worse, not better.  The Phillies have made the most of this situation and been aggressive in pressing young players into challenging roles while they work to get the regulars healthy.

Catchers:

The Phillies entered the year with two catching injuries in Andrew Knapp and Chace Numata.  The extended spring roster was composed of 5 catchers who had never played above the GCL.  When Cameron Rupp went down the Phillies bumped Sebastian Valle to AAA and Chad Carman to AA.  Rather than get an org filler catcher to fill the gap, the Phillies reached down to Extended Spring Training and brought up a pair of teenagers in top catching prospect Deivi Grullon and 19 year old Jesus Posso.  Both were above their head, but in the safety of the Clearwater complex. Continue reading Phillies Making the Most of Bad Injury Situation →

All of the stat lines are still very small sample size, but here are some stat lines that are intriguing me for a variety of reasons.  These stats may not continue, they may improve or decline, but nevertheless they are things that are showing me something now.

Tommy Joseph: 8.6% BB% 12.1% K% .220 ISO

Joseph is a guy that had a ton of helium last spring coming off of Spring Training.  He started slowly and then injuries ended his year.  Joseph’s line so far is a little bit pedestrian .240/.328/.460, due to a .220 BABIP.  Joseph’s hit tool is never going to be an asset, but if he can keep the srikeout rate under 20% and show the plus power, he is a big leaguer.  The reports on the defense are a bit cooler, he still has trouble with recieving, but the arm strenght is still there.  I am cautiously optimistic on Joseph.  I want to see more from him, but a full year in Reading will be good for him. Continue reading Some Stat Lines That Intrigue Me →

Yesterday we took a look at the hitting trends as hitters progress through Reading on the way to AAA.  The goal today is to give a much shorter overview for pitching stats.  There are more gaps in this group of players, and it is further muddied by the combination of starters and reliever.  Additionally the group as a whole is fairly week due to trades and burnout before reaching AA.

For this study we followed Jon Pettibone, Kyle Kendrick, Trevor May, Vance Worley, Phillippe Aumont, Jake Diekman, Justin De Fratus, J. A. Happ, Michael Stutes, B.J. Rosenberg, Tyler Cloyd, Austin Hyatt, Jesse Biddle, Carlos Carrasco, JC Ramirez, David Buchanan, Adam Morgan, and Joe Savery.  For the stats we are looking mostly at fielding independent statistics, so BB/9, K/9, HR/9, and FIP.  Continue reading The Reading Mirage: Pitching Overview →

Every year a prospect emerges in Reading and puts up huge numbers that excite Phillies fans.  Sometimes those players sustain their surprise, but more times that not, the player fades off to mediocrity.  For this study I took 18 players that played for Reading in the past 6 years.  Those players were Cameron Rupp, Darin Ruf, Derrick Mitchell, Leandro Castro, Cody Asche, Matt Rizzotti, Jim Murphy, Mike Costanzo, Jason Donald, Lou Marson, Freddy Galvis, Cesar Hernandez, Sebastian Valle, Maikel Franco, Tuffy Gosewisch, Michael Taylor, Steve Susdorf, and Domonic Brown.  All players were chosen for playing both Clearwater and Reading, and in all but two cases in Lehigh Valley.  The sample sizes across the levels are not equal and individual stats may not have stabilized enough to make individual declarations at this time.

In terms of stats, I started with the triple flash lines (batting average, on base percentage, and slugging) and their derivatives (OPS, ISO, BABIP).  Then I looked at defense independent statistics, strikeout percent, walk percent, and home runs per plate appearance.  Lastly in cases where batted ball data existed (seasons 2011 or later), that data has been included.  Additionally the age of each prospect was recorded.  In cases of multiple seasons at a level, I first looked for the larger sample size, if not, then the season preceding the promotion to Lehigh Valley.  In terms of aggregate numbers I am looking at pure unweighted averages of rate stats and percentages, this is an effort to weight each player equally. Continue reading The Reading Mirage: Hitting Overview →