Category Archives: Other Stuff

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.

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

VSL Loses Championship Series

Since I’ve been mentioning it pretty much all week, here’s closure for you – the VSL squad lost today on a walk-off error. Two unearned runs in the last couple innings spoiled a fine performance from Ranger Suarez, who ended the year having given up just one walk and striking out 84 in 88.2 IP. Our main man Jesus Alastre was 2-3 on the day. Nice job by both guys all year, and I imagine we’ll hear from them stateside this fall and next spring.

Here’s a link to the box score.

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2014_08_08_vphrok_vtirok_1&t=g_box&sid=milb

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

Continue reading Williamsport Game Report, 8/6/14

Phillies in between rock and hard place with Gonzalez

When the Phillies signed right-handed Cuban fireballer Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez last August, there were hopes that he would slot in to a 2014 starting rotation featuring Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, giving the Phillies a formidable threesome that would allow them to compete. To say the least, that didn’t happen. A lot of other things didn’t happen for the 2014 Phillies, as they have plummeted to the bottom of the National League standings.

Now, the focus must be on 2015, and the focus on next year begins with looking at what is happening in the minors throughout the rest of 2014. Continue reading Phillies in between rock and hard place with Gonzalez

VSL Phillies Make Playoffs – (update) WIN GAME ONE!

The VSL Phillies finished their season Monday, going 36-32 on the year, to finish two games up on the third place Mariners and into the playoffs against a 45-23 Detroit squad. The two leaders begin their three-game championship series today.

Phillies ace Ranger Suarez pitched Saturday, which I believed would have lined him up to pitch a decisive game three Thursday, but he’s been taking five or six days rest all year, so maybe not. The schedule for the five team VSL is such that teams have an off day at least every five days, so to get a five man rotation going, you’re going to see that extra rest for everyone.

In reality, it may not be a necessity for Suarez to throw Wednesday, if it gets that far, even though the team will have been without an off-day since Friday. Short rest for the first time all year in the last game of the year is probably not wise, and the club used Carlos Salazar as a starter Monday, I believe in an attempt to clear three of their regular starters in order, Victor Delgado, Luis Carrasco and Carlos Indriago to work the series. Delgado will likely start today on six days rest, and Indraigo would be out of turn but on five days rest tomorrow, so if they wanted to squeeze him up, they could, as Carrasco had the weakest season of the three. That might leave room to use Suarez on four days rest for the rubber match, if they really wanted to. Still not sure that’s wise. Maybe using him out of the pen today or tomorrow would be smarter.

In terms of stalwarts at the plate and in the field, the Phils have five guys who played pretty much every day, 19 yr-old 1B Joseph Miranda, 16 yr-old CF Jesus Alastre, 19 yr-old SS Jose Antequera, 16 yr-old LF Luis Mendoza and 21-yr-old 2B/3B Alexander Perdomo. The younger two you might consider prospects, while the rest are a bit old for the league (or way old, in Perdomo’s case). Miranda is the slugger, having led the team with 5HR (tied for 3rd in the league). Alastre got on base at a .409 clip, (league leader) and had 13 steals (tied for eighth), and Mendoza had a very nice year for a guy who won’t turn 17 until Thursday. Perhaps he can celebrate a championship and a birthday on the same day.

Keep an eye out in the box score recap tomorrow for an update on game one, and we’ll go from there.

**UPDATE** – Victor Delgado and closer Alejandro Garcia shut out Detroit. Phillies lead series 1-0. Delgado allowed three hits over eight innings. Mendoza and Alastre each pushed runs across, and 17 yr-old 2B Daniel Romero had two hits and scored twice. Game two tomorrow could be the clincher.

Hot or Not

A look back over the last 10 days…..Roman Quinn is putting up some eye opening numbers on the basepaths…An awkening from the dead for Zach Collier….Dylan Cozens has emerged as a “must watch” and is as exciting a prospect as there is in the organization…What has happened to Cameron Rupp? He looks totally lost at the plate…Cord Sandberg stays on the Not Hot list….Aaron Nola continues throwing well for CLearwater, the transition to Reading should be interesting in the short term…Colin Kleven is quitely bouncing back over the last month, pitching very well…As one of the very few high schoolers the Phils decided to spend money on, Sam McWIlliams has gotten out of the gate very slowly.

Hot Hitters:(16 AB min) Roman Quinn (.389; 8RS, 1HR 5RBI, 6sb)Tim Zier (.375, 4RBI); Willians Astudillo (.371); Andy Knapp (.355); Jim Murphy (.350, 5RBI); Zach Collier (.333, 7R 3HR 6RBI 2SB); Clete Thomas (.333); Jake Fox (.325, 4R 1HR 9RBI); William Cuicas (.318, 5R); Dylan Cozens (.316, 1HR 7RBI, 2SB); Maikel Franco (.306, 6R 3HR 8RBI, SB)

Not Hot Hitters: Cameron Rupp (.000, 0-17); Albert Cartwright (.034, 1-29); Angelo Mora (.050); Koyie Hill (.059); Derek Campbell (.087);  Anthony Phillips (.115); Trey Williams(.115); Deivi Gruillon (.143); Aaron Altherr (.146); Cord Sandberg (.148); Wilmer Oberto (.158); Art Charles (.161); Brock Stassi (.162); Aaron Brown (.167) Continue reading Hot or Not