Minor League Games - April 9th, 2024

[Squire]

AAA: Durham at Lehigh Valley (TBD) - 6:45PM
AA: Portland at Reading (TBD) - 6:45PM
High A: Jersey Shore (LHP Braedon Fausnaught) v. Hickory - 6:00PM
Low A: Fort Myers at Clearwater (TBD) - 6:30PM

Rolling Scores Here - https://www.milb.com/scores/2024-04-09/all/all/phillies

Rolling Boxes Here - https://www.mlb.com/prospects/stats/affiliates?teamId=143&date=04/09/2024

[andyb]

Last week in review:

Phillies Minor League Recap (Week 2 4/2-4/7)

[Squire]

Justin Crawford HR

[phillychuck]

LV scored 10 and lost by 16. ???

Jersey Shore 8-1 win.

Reading won 9-8

CLW lost 5-4.

[bkox]

LV scored 10 and lost by 16. ???

the positives.., position players gave up 11 of those runs.

And Kerkering pitched a good inning with 2Ks

[andyb]

Walks seem plentiful in the upper minors this year - but in AAA they actually increased the size of the top of the zone back to where it was 2 years ago. Last season the offense increased when they took away the "high" strike.

Still only automated systems in AAA and the FSL, so all those Reading walks for Rincones and Rodriguez are through the old system. Apparently the experiment in the FSL is to add 3 inches to the width of the strike zone (from 17" to 20"). That sounds significant to me and wonder if we will see K levels spike.

[andyb]

Felix Reyes has always been intriguing to me. He is big and strong and they keep trying him at more difficult defensive positions.

"That ball might have gone over the entire Catawba Valley." Felix Reyes' first home run of '24 is a no-doubter! 8-1 Claws. pic.twitter.com/AyDU9KnGzk

— Jersey Shore BlueClaws ( @BlueClaws ) April 9, 2024

And here is Crawford. Opposite field though looks like a high fly ball that just barely got out.

Touch 'em all Justin! Crawford goes deep to open the scoring in Hickory! pic.twitter.com/dpe9zMjv3E

— Jersey Shore BlueClaws ( @BlueClaws ) April 9, 2024

[Austinfan]

Kroon is ripping at Lehigh, my sleeper seems to be "woke."

[zambonir]

Too bad he's like the Phillies' 6th right-handed hitting IF (between the bench and the minors) when they still have zero left-handed hitting OFs (well, 1 or 2, in the minors).

[Austinfan]

If Kroon is for real, what makes him special is the ability to play all three OF spots (playing CF in Lehigh), 2B and 3B.
That makes him what Merrifield was 5 years ago.
Only LH bats are Ricketts and Ricones at Reading, Ricones just drew 4 walks, a power hitter with patience has a future.

Castro and Rodriquez are switch hitting IFs, but remains to be seen if either has a ML future.

[zambonir]

If they are focused on making sure he plays more OF this year that's good. But he's still not a prospect (any more than Kody Clemens is at this point).

I was thinking of Dahl and Muzziotti, as far as LHB OFs.

[andyb]

Kroon is 27. It is nice that he is hitting but he SHOULD hit in AAA at that age. He is insurance for Merrifield, but that is for the older Merrifield who they would not have gone out and signed if they believed in Kroon. All credit to him for getting healthy and improving, but he really has not done much to suggest he is any more than a AAAA insurance policy.

[Austinfan]

Kroon has the cumulative PA of a 24 year old prospect. Injuries and COVID created an unusual career profile.
It takes about 2000 PA for a college hitter, 2500 for HS/LA to develop.
A few develop faster, but most need time.

[zambonir]

A late-bloomer is still late. Cheap old depth is not without its uses but it's still not the same thing - nor does it have the same ceiling - as cheap young depth. He's the same age as Matt Vierling who's already been in the majors for four years, and his numbers in AAA probably don't mean any more than Jake Cave's did even if Cave truly is old (as is Dahl).

[andyb]

Development is physical as well as based on experience. There just are not a lot of players that get better after 27. Kroon could be on the negative side of the aging curve before he even gets started.