Minor League Games - April 19, 2022

[Squire]

AAA: Rochester at Lehigh Valley (RHP Colton Eastman) - 7:05PM
AA: Harrisburg at Reading (RHP Jack Perkins) - 6:45PM
High A: Asheville at Jersey Shore (RHP Victor Vargas) - 6:35PM
Low A: Tampa at Clearwater (RHP Micah Ottenbreit) - 6:30PM

Rolling Scores Here - https://www.milb.com/scores/philadelphia-phillies/2022-04-19

Rolling Boxes Here - https://www.mlb.com/prospects/stats/affiliates?teamId=143&date=04/19/2022

[andyb]

Behind the paywall, but Andrew Painter 14th on this week's hotsheet:

Hot Sheet: Baseball's 20 Hottest Prospects From The Past Week (4/19/22)

[fish]

Andrew Baker looks to have made a huge step forward this year- last year he just looked like a guy with no other idea on the mound than to throw as hard as he could. His breaking ball and command are significantly improved - he was throwing a plus breaking ball for strikes and to chase, while still throwing a high 90s fastball. Big league stuff, just needs to keep refining his control.

[andyb]

Quinn with a nice opposite field swing here. I think he gets a shot with the big club fairly soon. Maybe one issue with the lineup is zero speed at the top. Makes it really easy to throw all our fastball hitters offspeed pitches with runners on base. Quinn is also a bit better right-handed, so a Herrera/Quinn or a Moniak/Quinn platoon would work.

Roman Quinn with an RBI double down the left-field line for Lehigh Valley, he later scored on an errant pickoff throw to give the Pigs a 6-1 lead pic.twitter.com/bBxPHhEsCE

— Mitch Rupert ( @Mitch_Rupert ) April 20, 2022

[zambonir]

I think you might still be more enamored with Roman Quinn than the front office actually is, as anything other than AAAA depth. Just don't see how they clear that roster space (though I suppose Moniak to the 60 would do it). Muzziotti is probably still better defensively even if that wouldn't be a platoon. And the minute you add Quinn he probably ends up getting hurt and then he's still taking up a roster space (unless it's serious) and either Vierling or Muzziotti come right back.

[andyb]

Roster space is not an issue. They'll figure it out if they have to. Quinn just might be the single CF they have that could put together a 700+ OPS with speed and defense. Stuff they lack on the team currently.

The other reality is that they are choosing from entirely bad options.

Vierling - exit velocity and a few good weeks (coupled with mediocre AAA performance) does not mean he is ready or better than Quinn.
Moniak - hurt. Deserves a chance when healthy, but again has not shown he is major league platoon starting quality
Herrera - declining as he ages. Will get a chance with a short leash.
Muzziotti - clearly not ready without AAA offensive time

So who is better than Quinn? No guarantees from anyone and I am guessing the front office wanted to throw another low cost option in the mix. Quinn could easily be as good as these options and the 40-man spots tend to solve themselves.

[zambonir]

But Quinn actually hasn't ever been that good in the field as a CF and his OPS over the last three seasons is .668, .576 and .595, so where is this .700 player coming from? He lost the job on merit just as surely as Vierling is now doing, except Quinn's already done it twice. That his career OPS is even close to the first figure stems entirely from his performance as 25 year-old.

Herrera's a wild card. I'm hoping this being his first real season after all that inactivity and instability will result in a fairy consistent performance (by his standards). If the defense isn't as good as last year hopefully the bat is better. If the defense is the same as last year and the bat holds up, he's fine. He was pretty decent last year (WAR-wise) and was always meant to be the starter this year (if only due to the platoon division).

I will concede that in the end giving Quinn a look is no differerent than giving a Jankowski or Bonifacio a look. Just not sure they actually have to fill the hole quite yet.

[andyb]

But Quinn actually hasn't ever been that good in the field as a CF and his OPS over the last three seasons is .668, .576 and .595, so where is this .700 player coming from?

I bet they have minor league analytics that tell them much more than the small major league sample about how good a CF he is. I think he is at least average.

And the 750 OPS is looking at he has done in the upper minors (785 in AAA, 793 in AA) and figuring he would improve off his SSS major league record. Maybe it is more like 725, but it is also a 725 OPS with a decent BB rate. 362 AAA OBP.

It is kind of indisputable that he has been better in AAA than Vierling (690 OPS) and Moniak (746 OPS but only a 299 OBP). Why would you not give him a chance? He may be the best CF you now have and it is not like you lose the other options in he gets hurt.

[zambonir]

How much minor league analytics can they have on him? I don't think his AAA performance means much all these years later (it does mean something for the two other guys, sure).

And he's never been better than Herrera, even if they've both had some ugly low points.

I'm not saying he's a bad fifth OF, if he replaces Vierling or as a RH alternative to Moniak or Muzziotti. But it's an indication of how badly things are going that we're even talking about it - and after he couldn't even make the Marlins roster, to boot!

[flyers19rw]

The Phillies know about as much about the capabilities of Quinn as any franchise in the game. If Moniak's spring was a mirage; Vierling's play last fall was as well; Muzziotti isn''t ready yet for MLB play and Herrera goes off on one of his baseball walkabouts, having Quinn in reserve isn't such a bad move. When he is healthy, he can play the game. Of course that's rare. However, in a pinch he might do.
There really is a dearth of decent CFers in the game and the good ones aren't available. Some folks want Buxton but he's about as healthy as Quinn.

[zambonir]

All kidding aside who that is important on the Phillies actually knows anything about Quinn at this point? Nobody of note who drafted, developed or coached him at any level is here except for the major league staff that oversaw his two worst (and typically injury-prone) seasons.

I'm not ripping on him, I just think if he was named "Travis Jankowski" we wouldn't be thinking about ways to get him on the 40 until there was no other option (never mind that the actual Jankowski would be a good option). We still imagine Roman as a semi-beloved player who might still have potential, instead of a AAAA OF you wish you didn't have to consider using.