2017-2018 Winter Leagues

[nycphils]

Hey, two hits and a steal for Randolph!

[andyb]

Randolph continues to struggle in Arizona. 5-29 with 3 BBs. Good side is only 6 Ks so there is a little bad BABIP luck going on. Garcia and Cleavinger combined to give up 10 runs a couple of days ago, so things also look less good for them. Best players in AZ have been Edgar Cabral (.368) and JD Hammer (5.1 scoreless innings).

In the Dominican Kilome gave up 1 ER in 4 IP in his second start. Perkins is hitting well (.350) while Quinn has struggled a bit (2-17). Stassi has hit a couple of HR in Mexico. Tromp has been struggling in VZ and looks to be on the bench mostly.

[andyb]

Hopefully he is not hurt, but Quinn was released from his Dominican team a week ago:
https://www.vicbaez.com/noticias-y-estadisticas-de-los-toros-del-este-45/

It is not like that team has any other OFs that are doing well. Latin American teams ARE very performance oriented, so it is possible this was nothing more than going 2-17 and the team trying somebody else.

[andyb]

Colombian league has now been going for a week or two. I think all or most of the Phillies are on the Toros team:
http://www.lcbp.com.co/files/estadisticas/toros.htm

Lower level of play. Alfaro hitting .320 with an 800+ OPS looks nice until you realize that Luke Williams is hitting .344. Gamboa and Paulino and a couple of others there too.

[baseballoldie]

Some Phillies on the Caimanes too in the Colombia league - http://www.lcbp.com.co/files/estadisticas/caimanes.htm

[andyb]

Pan Am U23 qualifying:
http://premundial-u23.fedebeis.com.pa/U23panama/paginas/estadisticas/ofensiva.pdf
http://premundial-u23.fedebeis.com.pa/U23panama/paginas/estadisticas/pitcheo.pdf

Good news is Jan Hernandez (.273, 2 HR) and Harold Arauz (12 scoreless innings) played well. Bad news (sort of) is Jonathan Arauz with a 1000+ OPS.

[andyb]

The last of the winter leagues in Puerto Rico starts tonight:

Puerto Rican Winter League to begin Jan. 5

Possible appearance by Jesmuel Valentin so there is a Phillies angle to look for. He becomes more interesting if he is healthy and we deal Cesar Hernandez or Kingery. It would be great for him if the team likes his SS defense to be a backup there. He is clearly behind Floriman now, but maybe in the second half of the season he would not be.

[zambonir]

I can't imagine he's that behind. Developmentally, sure, but he's probably further down the road in his injury recovery, and he's on the 40. Florimon certainly isn't going to do what he did in last year's SSS so it's probably a pretty even spring training contest unless they promised Pedro some kind of edge when they released him (but presumably the big carrot for him was a better major-league salary).I would agree that by mid-season Valentin is either a utility man of the future or headed off the roster.

[andyb]

A bunch of Phillies in action last night in PR. Tromp with a HR. Tomscha, Jan Hernandez, and Valentin all with 2 hits. Limited 18-game schedule. Tromp washed out in Venezuela after only 5 games so this gives him a chance to repair his standing a bit. Hernandez strikes out way too much and has less value in the OF (he is listed as a 2B on the roster but played RF) but he is the type of guy that could hit 30 HR in Reading next year. And Valentin as discussed has a legit chance to play in Philly next year and be an inexpensive utility guy for a few years.

[andyb]

Yacksel Rios in action also in his native Puerto Rico. Struck out the side in 1 inning. Nobody seems to mention him as a contender for a roster spot but he was really good in AA and AAA last year and then just gave up a few HRs in the majors (when he had not been especially HR-prone in the minors). Does not have lights out stuff but seems to have no issue going 2 innings which has value.

Valentin 5-12 with a BB through the weekend. Probably assume the quality of play is off a bit this year so not sure what these stats mean.

[bigegypt0417]

Maikel Franco suspended from his winter league team for excessive partying...it seems.

[bkeich]

Maikel Franco suspended from his winter league team for excessive partying...it seems.

How to NOT understand that your career is in dire danger.

I guess the idea that he would report in the best physical shape of his career and try and turn things around is dead. Boy is he going to be surprised when he isn't batting cleanup.

[Austinfan]

Look for 3B to become an organizational priority.

[andyb]

Puerto Rico will be winding down in a few day. Valentin has been very solid. .279 with an .807 OPS. A little power and good patience. He does not offer quite the defensive flexibility or speed that Floriman does, but it is a positive sign that he is playing well and healthy and he will likely see lots of time in Philly this year.

Jan Hernandez has also been solid though has not shown much power. He might be doing a Cozens-like makeover to his game by cutting down his swing a bit. Tromp on the other hand has struggled. He just seems a tweener to me that is not likely to hit enough to overcome the holes in his game. Certainly slots behind Pullin and probably Cozens for potential OF callups this season.

[andyb]

Interesting look at the many factors involved in pulling together this winter's Puerto Rican winter league. Stadiums doubling as FEMA sites, some with no working lights. 5 teams consolidated down to 4. Jose Valentin is one of the managers. Playoffs will wrap up this week and then Puerto Rico will put together a team for the Caribbean World Series which they won last year.

After Hurricane Maria, things remain far from normal for Puerto Ricans. But they...

[andyb]

PR regular season over. Valentin faded a bit. Ended up hitting .250 with a bit of power (4 XBH) and 10 BB for a 714 OPS. Tomscha had the best season though he is less of a prospect. Jan Hernandez had a decent season that is showing a little progress around the strike zone (.298/375/368) with 6 BB and 11 Ks (which for him is pretty low).

Yacksel Rios was up and down in relief. 2.35 ERA in 8 games but as a major leaguer was a little more advanced than his competition.

Santurce beat Mayaguez in the 2 vs 3 1-game playoff so Valentin's team is eliminated but Tomscha and Hernandez go to the best of 5 finals.

[Austinfan]

For Valentin, production was less important than just getting some PT before ST.
This is a key season for him, a utility job is waiting to be taken if he has a good AAA season.

[andyb]

Valentin has a shot at the utility job out of spring training if he plays well and the team is OK with his SS defense. He is on the 40-man roster and Floriman is not. That is an advantage for Quinn too. Both players have enough minor league experience that a major league job is not a stretch - and both also look like utility players at this point anyway.

We have a couple of 40-man spots we can burn of course (Joseph, a couple of relievers) if we need to so there is no roster crisis. It is just better in the long run if you don't have to do it.

[allentown]

Jan Hernandez had a decent season that is showing a little progress around the strike zone (.298/375/368) with 6 BB and 11 Ks (which for him is pretty low).

SSS, I know, but I think those are really strong results for Hernandez. He was old for CLW at 22 this past year, and I'm down on him because his OPS dropped between LKW and CLW -- not a good sign, but this winter performance sets him up for a make-or-break year at Reading this season. He outhit Valentin in a league which I view as superior to FSL. I had great hopes, as did many on the Phillies boards, when Hernandez was drafted. He has been disappointing. These winter numbers are the best he's done in his career and the BB/K ratio is FAR better than he achieved at CLW or at LKW last season (2016). So perhaps he still is a legit, if long-odds prospect.

[andyb]

I don't have much realistic hope for Hernandez, but there is at least a glimmer. He is fairly athletic (though obviously in RF a little less valuable than at 3B) and we know he has legit raw power. I think they may be doing a Dylan Cozens-type swing adjustment with him where they want him to control the strike zone first and then the power will come. He could easily hit 20+ HRs in Reading and if he does that while cutting the strikeouts by 20% he'll at least get another year.