2022 Phillies Minor League Spring Training

andyb 2022-02-16 16:22:26 UTC #1

Since we all would prefer to be optimists on the current labor situation, let's talk about some baseball here.

Prospects are gathering a couple of weeks early for a minor league mini camp with the big league coaching staff. Some pictures from this morning here:

2/16/22 : Infield Drills ! pic.twitter.com/YW9mr3FPBu
— PhilliesBaseballFan.com ( @s_m_potter ) February 16, 2022

January-February 2022 Phillies Minor League Transactions/Discussion

BaseballCat 2022-02-16 17:14:18 UTC #2

Gosh I wish I was in Florida now... There was some talk of spending spring break there for my family, but am glad we had nothing planned since no big league camp. Do like minors camp though. Only have gone once but it was alot of fun!! Someday

Philsmania 2022-02-16 18:20:48 UTC #3

Where's Les?

zambonir 2022-02-16 19:04:54 UTC #4

He moved back north last year.

BostonRoss 2022-02-16 23:11:58 UTC #5

My first business trip in two years is next week to Florida. It should have been more exciting to me.

Philsmania 2022-02-17 16:38:38 UTC #6

Too bad. I always enjoyed his Clearwater journals and how he admitted to hanging out at beachside bars in his roll as "bikini inspector".

Austinfan 2022-02-17 17:16:43 UTC #7

In one sense this may help Mattingly, with the organization attention focused on minor league camp, he can institute changes with more support in his attempt to bring some cohesiveness to the development process.

andyb 2022-02-17 19:56:09 UTC #8

Some detail on the mini camp. Sounds like they are using it to start rolling out Mattingly's new development priorities. 59 players in camp. Big league coaches mostly observing.

zambonir 2022-02-17 22:38:14 UTC #9

The minor league mini camp is not itself new, is it? We just never read about it because all the focus was on the major leaguers. Normally they'd just report now same as the MLB guys and work out separately until the actual minor league ST started (and obviously some of those 59 are people who would normal have an invite to major league ST, and still might).

My question is, how mini is mini? From the sound of that article about pay this thing won't be very long, and then they'll be on their own until March 8 or whenever actual minor league spring training would normally begin.

andyb 2022-02-17 23:57:59 UTC #10

It is new. Normally maybe a dozen minor leaguers were invited to big league camp but that was it. Now many train at the complex, but that is normal for the offseason anyway.

Jim at PhuturePhillies has a report:

zambonir 2022-02-18 01:33:49 UTC #11

Yeah, but it was still considered a mini-camp and I think many, many players were there for it (and is basically that three week period where minor leaguers who arent invited to big camp have to scrape). Separate from the major league invites. From 2/17 last year:

Herrera is technically in the Phillies' mini-camp with other minor-leaguers. He dresses at the minor-league complex, not in the big-league clubhouse, and works out with other players in the mini-camp. But each and every one of those players is eligible to play on the big-league side, and in Grapefruit League games, at any time. If Herrera tears it up in mini-camp, he could push for a look in Grapefruit League action — and possibly more.

Here's the tweet from last year, 12 guys in major league camp, 19 guys in mini-camp. So, bigger number this year, for obvious reasons (including the fact that the would-have-been major league invite guys who can be there are).

https://twitter.com/phillies/status/1361729456956710916?lang=pt

(Also funny to see who was in mini-camp that wound up playing in the majors: Paulino, Vierling, De Los Santos, Hammer, Williams, Herrera. Plus you had Stott and O'Hoppe not yet ready for a proper major league invite.)

I think the distinction really does have a lot to do with money: you get less per diem and housing allowance (if any) in mini-camp. It goes up once real minor league camp starts. Meanwhile the major league invites are living larger.

andyb 2022-02-18 19:29:24 UTC #12

Zolecki filing some reports:

And Gelb on Griff:

andyb 2022-02-21 19:23:56 UTC #13

Not exactly Spring Training, but Mark Appel has some decent ideas in this Twitter thread about MLB should take care of minor league players.

Career minor leaguer here.

My thoughts on minor league baseball’s problems and potential solutions:
— Mark Appel ( @markappel26 ) February 15, 2022

zambonir 2022-02-21 19:54:37 UTC #14

But now that you mention it, is Mark Appel in mini-camp?

andyb 2022-02-21 23:30:16 UTC #15

Probably a good chance unless they restricted it to prospects only. Sadly he no longer qualifies though it would be great to at least see him get a cup of coffee this year. He was not actually on any minor league free agent lists after the season so assume he is Phillies property and is probably in AAA to start the season if healthy (and knowing they are 14 players short of their real roster).

zambonir 2022-02-22 00:53:06 UTC #16

Yeah I think this is his seventh year (not including the time on the restricted list). And you would think if he'd retired or declared FA we would have heard.

OTOH, no mention of the Phillies on his bio, and while he has little to lose at this point anyway, that Twitter thread does seem more like something a player who is no longer bound to a team would do.

Like you say, they could use him so long as the lockout is on. He was supposed to be more of a bullpen candidate at this point I think.

andyb 2022-02-22 15:10:45 UTC #17

Article on Jordan Viars. Hard to know if he is underrated as a prospect yet, but he does seem to have higher end tools than was commonly thought. Bonus Zach Collier mention in the article too as he is apparently still tearing up the Atlantic League.

andyb 2022-02-22 17:45:14 UTC #18

Notes column from Gelb:

Rojas looking to steal 50 this year. Some staff notes about Kaplan the new pitching coordinator. Athletic biomechanics is the new buzzword. And a little Erubiel Armenta mention. Full minor league camp starts 3/2.

fish 2022-02-25 14:53:42 UTC #19

Well here's an interesting story- Clearwater pitching coach Tyler Anderson was made the Australia national pitching coordinator last summary looking to modernize pitching coaching in Oz and turn baseball in the country into a pitching lab.

andyb 2022-02-25 20:56:49 UTC #20

That SI.com site again, this time on Casey Martin. I guess they are hiring stringers again to put up content even if the magazine and website are a shell of what it used to be. Remember Martin was a favorite pick of Barber's, so figuring out how to develop him would help enforce the toolsy draft approach if we can figure out the development side.