Minor League Games - August 2, 2024

[Squire]

AAA: Lehigh Valley (RHP David Buchanan) at Jacksonville - 7:05PM
AA: Hartford at Reading (RHP Robinson Pina) - 7:00PM
High A: Jersey Shore (RHP Mitch Neunborn) at Hudson Valley - 7:05PM
Low A: Jupiter at Clearwater (TBD) - 6:30PM
Rookie: Season Concluded
DSL: DSL Colorado at DSL Phillies Red (RHP Brad Pacheco) - 11:00AM
DSL: DSL Phillies White (RHP Eduardo Robles) at DSL Marlins - 11:00AM

Rolling Scores Here - https://www.milb.com/scores/2024-08-02/all/all/phillies

Rolling Boxes Here - https://www.mlb.com/prospects/stats/affiliates?teamId=143&date=08/02/2024

[Squire]

Jaedon Calderon watch activated

[owaistabish]

Hopefully something there as well, as well as Jorge Julio, son of former Orioles closer, Jorge Julio. He is only 17 all season this year.

[andyb]

Looks like the "bridge" league post-FCL starts today and both Nori and Burkholder are playing.

8/2/24 : First “Bridge League” Match

[owaistabish]

Tait -2 run home run
Saltiban - solo HR
Mathison and Spikerman with their first hits

[Squire]

I always liked this draft

[Austinfan]

Tait is starting to look like he could be truly special, still 17 and showing no problem handling low A ball.

[andyb]

Nice game from Burkholder in the bridge league. Side sessions from TJ recovery pitchers McFarlane and Marty Gair (13th round JC pick last year has not pitched for the Phillies yet but was the kind of injury bet pick we have made in past drafts on big arms that we did not really do this year).

Matt on Gair after the draft last year (not sure whether they suspected he needed TJ at the time of the draft):

They did fit a velocity monster into the group in 6’6″ Marty Gair (13) who routinely was touching up to 98-99 while sitting in the mid 90s. It is an over the top fastball and curveball shape that looks like a dominant 1-2 punch as a reliever if they can get the control in order.

8/2/24 : Minor League Roundup

[phillychuck]

Tait HR yesterday:

https://www.milb.com/video/eduardo-tait-s-two-run-home-run?t=playerid-806953

[andyb]

One begins to wonder if Tait might be our 3rd best prospect (behind Painter and Miller). Still need to know more about his defense, but the bat could probably play anywhere the way it is developing. Latest home runs have been mostly pull power, but he has shown power to the opposite field previously. Guys like Crawford and Caba have done nothing wrong. I just wonder if Tait has a higher ceiling and the risk seems to be diminishing every day.

[Austinfan]

Given he's 17, there should be a lot more power to come in 3 years. At 6'0 175 he wasn't an early bloomer like Ortiz.
K rate in DSL (at 16) 17.9%, FCL 14.6%. A little elevated in a very small sample in Clearwater, but I suspect as he gets acclimated, it should come down. This isn't a swing from the heels power, this is contact power.

He may turn out to be a good enough hitter that they'll find a spot if catching doesn't work out. Has the arm for RF.

$90K signing. Maybe we should spend more on scouts in LA and less on bonuses.

[Squire]

I would say 3rd best prospect behind Painter and Crawford. Miller has not been good at all a Jersey Shore.

[phillychuck]

I agree with Squire, although Miller should be given a while to adjust to high-A and the awful environment for hitters at JS. We should probably take into account that he has played more games this year than he probably ever has, and in steamy weather conditions for the most part. The first-year-pro wall is real.

Tait is very big in the gluteus maximus area. I would expect that outfield is not in his future. 3B, maybe.

[andyb]

Miller's BABIP plummeted from .340 to .253. His BB and K rates are only slightly worse which is pretty good for somebody his age. The stats are colored a bit by bad luck and it is a relatively aggressive promotion for a high school kid.

He has things to work on certainly and probably is on more of a 2026 timetable, but his small step back in High A is still not a great concern and his offense (i.e. power) may play better in the majors than Crawford. This is not to say anything bad about Crawford. He is looking more and more like our future CF ahead of Rojas these days. He just needs to figure out how to get to midlevel power in his swing.

[phillychuck]

I think Crawford has enough power to be a functional offensive player. I'd rather he hit 300/400/420 than 270/360/460. He's a perfect old-school #1 or #2 hitter. He already has more pop than Doug Glanville or Duane Kuiper did.

[andyb]

It is just more difficult to hit for a high average today though. I just worry someone like Crawford ends up more like 270/330/400 as a ceiling. Perfectly acceptable CF regular, but not as valuable as someone with more power. It is an issue with Bohm if he ever drops back into being more of a .270 hitter. Without power his average or below average defense is just not that good.

Pitching is really good today. Good teams do damage hitting mistakes.

[Austinfan]

If Crawford can play elite defense like Rojas, .730 OPS would probably make him a 3-4 WAR player.

[andyb]

But we don't know he can play elite defense. Frankly Rojas was elite last year but not this year. The fact remains that it will difficult for Crawford to be an above average regular without showing at least average power.

[fish]

He may turn out to be a good enough hitter that they'll find a spot if catching doesn't work out.

I don’t think I’ve ever noticed Tait behind the plate (except for his enthusiasm)- that’s probably a good thing.

Side note- Caba’s transfer is so fast- like the moment he touches the ball it’s in its way to first.