Minor League Games - August 22, 2024

[Squire]

AAA: Rochester at Lehigh Valley (TBD) - 7:05PM
AA: Reading (LHP Braedon Fausnaught) at Binghamton - 6:35PM
High A: Jersey Shore (RHP Mitch Neunborn) at Brooklyn - 7:00PM
Low A: Dunedin at Clearwater (TBD) - 6:30PM
Rookie: Season Concluded
DSL: Season Concluded
DSL: Season Concluded

Rolling Scores Here - https://www.milb.com/scores/2024-08-22/all/all/phillies

Rolling Boxes Here - https://www.mlb.com/prospects/stats/affiliates?teamId=143&date=08/22/2024

[kmc1019]

Need to go to the minors for some joy tonight:

-Aidan Miller, red hot this month, 3 hits including HR plus a walk. Also up to 20 SB for the year
-Bryan Rincon returning from injury

Sadly, Mick Abel had a start that looked more like his average this year and less like recent successes.

[andyb]

It will be interesting to see if Miller starts playing a bit of 3B when Rincon gets back up to Jersey Shore. Good to see him back as he was at least holding his own at Jersey Shore in a park that suppresses offense.

I think Miller will stay at SS as his primary position, but Rincon probably needs to play some. Could easily see Miller being promoted past Rincon at some point also. They are almost the same age.

[kmc1019]

Baseball America has caught up to my trumpeting of Miller's strong August and highlighted him in their Daily Prospect Report today:

Aidan Miller, SS, Phillies: After hitting .195/.317/.317 over his first 32 games with High-A Jersey Shore, Miller has been on a tear in August. Over 17 games this month he’s hitting .353/.413/.632 with 10 extra-base hits. On Thursday, Miller had one of his most impressive performances to date with the BlueClaws. He went 3-for-3 with a home run, three runs, two RBIs and a walk. His strong combination of bat-to-ball skills and power, make him one of the more exciting players in the lower minors.

[kmc1019]

Replying to thread with some notes from games on Sunday 25th:

-Another double-digit K gem for Reading from Eiberson Castellano. Great line 6IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 11K
-Eduardo Tait w HR for Clearwater

[andyb]

Last week in review from Steve Potter. One positive thing buried in the bridge league comments: Alirio Ferrebus was back on the field. Catcher may be too crowded at Clearwater, but he has been out close to a month with a sprained ankle shortly after his FCL promotion.

8/25/24 : Minor League Week in Review - 8/19 to 8/25

[andyb]

Too lazy to setup the new threads, but here is Matt's week in review plus the link to Tuesday's rolling boxes:

Phillies Minor League Recap (Week 22 8/20-8/26)

Rolling Boxes 8/27:
https://www.mlb.com/prospects/stats/affiliates?teamId=143&date=08/27/2024

Dahl is back and hit a HR. Clemens hit one Sunday I believe. And Stevenson was 2-3. So all of our lefty bat candidates for September seem to be doing well. Rincones with another HR. We will need to see him in AAA to see if Reading is helping him a lot, but he does seem to show enough power to see him as at least a platoon bat in the majors.

[phillychuck]

Rincones' HR last night would have gone out of Grand Canyon. I think most of his have been way out of the park, actually. He has light tower power.

[andyb]

Would definitely like to see Rincones in Arizona again this fall to make up for lost time. He was there last time but I don't think he got as much playing time as the top selections to go there.

Edit - Had to watch it myself. It is a relatively compact swing for a power hitter:

Gabriel Rincones Jr. launches home run number 11 to even up the game! pic.twitter.com/ZevFS9DwcW

— Reading Fightin Phils ( @ReadingFightins ) August 27, 2024

One other thing from last night. Rincon was activated from rehab at Jersey Shore and played SS with Miller at DH. It will be interesting to see what positions they play going forward when both are on the field. I think it is OK to give Miller half the starts at SS and more at 3B when Rincon is at SS, but they have done this yet. Miller has only played SS so far as a pro.

[phillychuck]

Andy, I think they will switch between SS and DH. I don't think the Phils want anyone to think that Miller is a "utility player" right now. Kills his trade value. Rincon is a special fielder, though.

[andyb]

I don't think anyone would say Miller is a utility player if he played some 3B. It just seems that he should be prepared to play either SS or 3B by the time he makes the majors in a couple of years.

Now they may just do the DH alternating this year because we are down to the last week plus playoffs, but I would definitely think next year's plan should have options, especially if he starts at Reading where Rincon should hopefully get to at some point next year also. Caba has been a SS exclusively also except for one inning in the DSL, so eventually something will have to give as they all get closer to the majors.

[phillychuck]

Andy, don't you think the Phils will trade one of those three in the next year or so? They have high value and are blocked by Turner, Bohm, and Stott, all of whom are relatively ensconced at their positions.

[Matt_Winkelman]

No team is going to judge Rincon, Caba, or Miller if they play some 2B or 3B while one of the others is at SS. Also I think it has been sort of alluded to, but given the Phillies current infield situation there is a large chance that Miller's path to a first call up is an injury and then filling in at the position of who is hurt. From there you can figure things out, but he is almost certainly going to need to learn 3B and/or 2B. As for trades, Rincon and Miller are 2026 Rule 5 (Miller was 19 when drafted) and Caba is 2027, so they have at least 2 years to figure out who to keep or trade before there is any deadline.

[andyb]

I guess we have next week in addition to this week in A ball. Jersey Shore is 2 GB in the second half standings, so it will be interesting to see if there is a playoff push. Reading season goes a week longer so possible someone like Miller could get a brief look there at the end of the season. Clearwater has already made the playoffs from the first half. LHV has an outside shot at the second half also being 3 GB at the moment.

[fish]

I’ve been watching Dante Nori trying to get a feel for him. He’s not doing well production-wise, but he’s keeping his head above water in A ball in his draft year which was probably the best we could have hoped for. His hit tool looks to be as advertised- at least in the sense the he looks balanced, in control, consistent and recognizing pitches. He’s so quiet in his setup and swing it’s hard to tell to what extent he has quick-twitch athleticism. The speed is there and he looks strong enough, but as Keith Law noted at the time he was drafted, he’s going to need to make some adjustments to unlock some power to become more than a singles hitter. At this point his game logs read singles, ground outs and Ks, and he’s good for one AB with an exit velocity over 90 mph. So, promising, but hopefully he looks a little different at the plate next year.

[phillychuck]

fish, does he look better than Moniak out of HS to you? Moniak bulked up, found a power stroke, and is going to have a MLB career at least. Nori is faster and seems to have better pitch recognition, but Moniak didn't have power, either, when he was drafted.

[fish]

fish, does he look better than Moniak out of HS to you?

Pretty similar - Moniak had a little bit of motion with his hands in his swing and a stride, so by comparison Nori’s quiet hands and no stride makes him look a bit smoother and balanced. Nori looks like he sees the ball better and is more patient, which was never a strength for Moniak. And of course Moniak didn’t fit into his uniform until he was 22/23, so Nori has that going for him.