Minor League Games - Friday, July 26, 2019

[kikutaro]

Norfolk Tides (40-64) @ Lehigh Valley IronPigs (50-52) 7:05 pm | Gameday
Keegan Akin (4-4, 4.66) vs. Enyel De Los Santos (5-5, 3.73)

Final (Top 9)
Lehigh Valley 11, Norfolk 2

Notable

Phil Gosselin 3-3, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR, BB
Ali Castillo 3-4, 3 RBI, 2B
Deivy Grullon 1-3, RBI, 2B, 2 BB, K
Rob Brantly 1-4, R, BB
Shane Robinson 2-4, 3 R, BB
Mitch Walding 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB, 2 K
Malquin Canelo 1-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB, 2 K

Enyel De Los Santos (W, 5-5), 7.0 IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 2K, game score: game_score
Kyle Dohy 2.0 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 2K

Reading Fightin Phils (61-43) @ New Hampshire Fisher Cats (45-58) 7:05 pm | Gameday
N/A vs. Hector Perez (7-4, 4.53)

Game Over (Top 9)
New Hampshire 5, Reading 1

Notable

Luke Williams 3-4, R, 3 2B
Darick Hall 0-4, 3 K
Josh Stephen 1-2, 2B, 2 BB
Jose Antequera 1-3, 2 K

Spencer Howard 4.2 IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 10K, game score: game_score
Jonathan Hennigan (L, 2-2), 2.1 IP, 4H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 1K

Charlotte Stone Crabs (62-41) @ Clearwater Threshers (54-50) 6:30 pm | Gameday
Tobias Myers (5-1, 2.95) vs. Andrew Brown (2-5, 7.12)

Final (Top 9)
Clearwater 6, Charlotte 5

Notable

Jhailyn Ortiz 1-4, R, 2B, K
Nick Maton 2-4, R, 2 RBI
Nick Matera 0-3, R, BB, 2 K
Matt Kroon 2-2, R, 3B, BB, SB
Dalton Guthrie 2-3, CS

Andrew Brown 5.0 IP, 6H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 2K, game score: game_score
Kyle Arjona 2.0 IP, 3H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 2K
Austin Ross (W, 5-1), 2.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 2K

Greenville Drive (48-57) @ Lakewood BlueClaws (42-61) 7:05 pm | Gameday
Alex Scherff (4-9, 5.00) vs. Manuel Silva (3-4, 4.12)

Final (Top 9)
Lakewood 2, Greenville 0

Notable

Rafael Marchan 2-3, 2B, BB, K
Luis Garcia 0-4, 2 K
Malvin Matos 2-3, BB, CS
Seth Lancaster 2-3, R, 2B, BB
Hunter Stovall 2-3, RBI, BB, K, SB
Yerwin Trejo 2-3, RBI, BB, SB

Manuel Silva (W, 3-4), 5.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 5K, game score: game_score
Ethan Lindow (S, 2), 4.0 IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 6K

Williamsport Crosscutters (13-27) @ Batavia Muckdogs (24-17) 7:05 pm | Gameday
Brett Schulze (0-0, 0.00) vs. N/A

Final (Bottom 9)
Williamsport 5, Batavia 3

Notable

Nate Fassnacht 0-4, 4 K
Logan O'Hoppe 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B, K
Herbert Iser 2-4, R, RBI, 2B
Johan Rojas 1-4, 2B, K
Jake Holmes 0-3, 2 K
Nicolas Torres 1-3, R, 2 K

Brett Schulze 2.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K, game score: game_score
Spencer Van Scoyoc (W, 2-1), 1.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 3BB, 1K
Anton Kuznetsov (H, 1), 2.2 IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 1BB, 1K
Chris Micheles (S, 1), 3.1 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 5K

GCL Tigers East (10-13) @ GCL Phillies East (12-9) game 2 (makeup of 7/10 ppd) | Gameday
N/A vs. N/A
(postponed: wet grounds)

Postponed
GCL Tigers East , GCL Phillies East

GCL Tigers East (10-13) @ GCL Phillies East (12-9) 10:00 am | Gameday
N/A vs. N/A
(postponed: wet grounds)

Postponed
GCL Tigers East , GCL Phillies East

GCL Phillies West (15-7) @ GCL Yankees East (8-14) 10:00 am | Gameday
N/A vs. N/A

Suspended: Rain (Top 4)
GCL Phillies West 7, GCL Yankees East 1

Notable

Edgar Made 3-3, R, 2 RBI, HR
Andrick Nava 1-3, R, RBI, HR
Rixon Wingrove 0-3, 2 K
Keaton Greenwalt 1-1, R, RBI, 2B, SB
Sal Gozzo 0-0, R, 2 BB

Eduar Segovia 2.0 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 3K, game score: game_score

DSL Phillies Red (30-12) @ DSL Mets1 (22-20) 10:30 am | Gameday
N/A vs. N/A

Final (Bottom 9)
DSL Phillies Red 8, DSL Mets1 3

Notable

Uziel Viloria 0-3, 2 R, RBI, BB
Jefferson Encarnacion 2-4, R, 2B, K
Adony Mejia 1-3, R, RBI, 2B, BB, K, CS
Kevin Escalante 1-3, 2 R, RBI, SB
Wilbert Garcia 1-3, R, RBI, 2B, BB, SB

Neyker Ibarra (W, 2-3), 5.0 IP, 3H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 5K, game score: game_score
Sergio Sanchez (H, 1), 3.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 4K

DSL Mets2 (22-25) @ DSL Phillies White (27-20) 10:30 am | Gameday
N/A vs. N/A

Final (Bottom 9)
DSL Mets2 8, DSL Phillies White 4

Notable

Giuseppe Peguero 1-4, BB
Carlos Rondon 1-3, BB, K
Juan Herrera 0-2, RBI, BB, SB
Raymond Mora 1-3, R, BB, SB
Raulyn Blanc 2-3, R, RBI, BB, K
Leandro Pineda 0-1, 2 R, 3 BB

Fernando Ortega (L, 0-3), 0.2 IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 1K, game score: game_score
Edinso Aleman 5.0 IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 3K

(click on the start time for box scores)

[schooldoc]

Jim Salisbury confirms Spencer Howard's promotion and scheduled start for Reading tonight.

Big night for untouchable Phillies pitching prospect — could he help in...

[Squire]

And more GCL cancellations for wet grounds. Can we please send one of our GCL teams back to the Appo League so they can play some actual games?

[andyb]

And Salisbury goes straight to the unrealistic headline of whether he could help this year. Let's see him get age appropriate hitters out first. I also think we now have evidence that his body may not be ready to throw major innings of mid-90s fastballs. Even if he is successful at Reading, I would be really cautious with him. Getting him to 80-100 innings total this year (40 so far, 6-8 starts remaining) might be about right.

[bkox]

And Salisbury goes straight to the unrealistic headline of whether he could help this year.

As Jim notes, it’s not “out of the question” that Howard factors into September plans. Phillies had entertained a similar scenario with Sixto Sanchez last summer, but he got hurt and the team collapsed. https://t.co/YRiucElDaC

— Matt Gelb ( @MattGelb ) July 26, 2019

[zambonir]

Salisbury doesn't write the headlines, though I'm sure he mentioned it in the story too. But y'know, click-click.

[bigegypt0417]

And Salisbury goes straight to the unrealistic headline of whether he could help this year. Let's see him get age appropriate hitters out first.

Age appropriate hitters is a term you invented to explain his success...while also ignoring how inexperienced he was when he was drafted. Also...Howard is not old for High A. In fact he's right at the league average.

[phillychuck]

We've had the age-level discussion before. League average age IS old for the league. In all minor leagues the non-prospect spots are usually devoted to slightly or significantly older players who are either progressing more slowly or are helping out the team by playing at a level where they are comfortable and proficient already.

College prospects in high-A ball are usually 21, maybe 22. Howard is about to turn 23. He's a little over a year older than most prospects in the league (not most players).

Given his limited experience I agree with BE that his progression is fine, but he was old for high A when he was playing there.

[andyb]

He is older than the better prospects drafted out of college in his draft class. Not old for his level or too old to be a prospect. This is not something invented. Top college prospects usually start out in high A in their first full season and then hit AA at the beginning of their second full year. That is a typical progression. Now Howard has a July birthday so shows up as a year younger on Baseball Reference than many other college players in his draft class, but he is still a bit old for a top 50/100 prospect relative to the class and year he was drafted in.

None of this is controversial. None of it makes him a non prospect. It just means we need to discount some of the stats he put up against lesser prospects or younger players. It seems you are just trying to be argumentative here. Saying he is a bit old for a top prospect is true when he was at Clearwater (and Lakewood last year). There may be very valid baseball reasons for this promotion path because of his limited comparative pitching experience. That still does not change the fact that he was a level below most of the top college pitching prospects in his draft class.

[phillychuck]

I wonder how badly hurt Alexis Azuaje is? He had a great start for DSL Red, but has been missing for a couple of weeks.

[andyb]

I was hoping to see him in GCL, but they never play any more....

[bigegypt0417]

He is older than the better prospects drafted out of college in his draft class. Not old for his level or too old to be a prospect. This is not something invented.

He wasn't a top prospect...he was a reliever who converted to starter and had 14 starts under is belt. That is what he was. He was drafted as a project based on scouting and was considered an overdraft.

You're writing a narrative that only exists to attempt to make your point.

[Taudawg]

Most college pitchers begin as underclassman relievers and then are converted to starters after some progression, i.e. Stephen Strasburg. Not saying Howard is Strasburg...the fact that Howard was a reliever in college first is not uncommon.

[andyb]

He wasn't a top prospect...he was a reliever who converted to starter and had 14 starts under is belt. That is what he was. He was drafted as a project based on scouting and was considered an overdraft.

You're writing a narrative that only exists to attempt to make your point.

No, you are just trying to be argumentative. He was drafted 45th overall (9th pick of the 2nd round). Here are the current highest assignments of all the college pitchers drafted in rounds 1-3 (105 total picks) in 2017 (Howard's draft year).

Majors - McKay, Wright, Canning, Martin
AAA - Crowe
AA - Bukauskis, Faedo, Peterson, Houck, Lange, Rasmussen, Abbott, Lowther, Seabold, Stephan, Mills, Baumann, Thompson
A+ - Schmidt, Howard, Doyle, Gaddis, Raquet
A - Romero (off field stuff slowed him)
DNP - Cooper (injured)

So before today he was behind 18 of the 25 pitchers drafted in the first 3 rounds out of a 4 year college in 2017. The last 2 A+ guys were also drafted near the end of the 3rd round more than 50 picks after Howard.

For a guy who was drafted in the middle of this group who is supposed to be one of the top 5-10 prospects in this group, it is indisputable that he has been promoted more slowly than the others. Most of those AA pitchers started the year in AA which is the typical progression for a top round college pitcher.

None of this means he is not a top prospect. His stuff has picked up and looks like the stuff of a number two pitcher. But all that is independent of the fact that his stats and performance would mean much more if they had been against AA hitters this year and A+ hitters all of last year.

I get it. You love the guy and you love arguing. Let's just argue about facts though. And the fact is that he has been promoted for whatever reason a little more slowly than other college pitchers drafted in top rounds. There have been good reasons for this. Those reasons don't change the facts though.

[bigegypt0417]

He wasn't a top prospect...he was a reliever who converted to starter and had 14 starts under is belt. That is what he was. He was drafted as a project based on scouting and was considered an overdraft.

You're writing a narrative that only exists to attempt to make your point.

No, you are just trying to be argumentative. He was drafted 45th overall (9th pick of the 2nd round). Here are the current highest assignments of all the college pitchers drafted in rounds 1-3 (105 total picks) in 2017 (Howard's draft year).

Where he was picked and where he was rated are two different things. When he was drafted it was pretty much discussed as an over draft and that he could have been had a round later. He had 14 career starts in college and with the exception of Nate Pearson, who had 19, no one drafted prior to him had less than 33 with everyone else being over 35.

He was drafted as a project...he was considered and over draft and he's performed well at an age appropriate level. That isn't argumentative...that is the reality.

Spencer Howard was not one of the top arms coming in to that draft.

[bigegypt0417]

In that draft and against his peers it was certainly uncommon.

[bkox]

https://twitter.com/mldrago/status/1154841811816460290

I'm hearing JoJo Romero's next start will come with Lehigh Valley. Will keep an eye out for that. #phillies #fightins pic.twitter.com/tFdqf7e2LE

— Mike Drago ( @mldrago ) July 26, 2019

[andyb]

None of that changes the fact that he was on a slower promotion path than all the pitchers drafted around him and he was only a slight overdraft.

I don't know why you get worked up so much by the observation that he has generally been on the older side of top prospects he has played against. That is a completely independent statement from the one as to whether he was a top prospect. He can still be a top prospect and he has developed the stuff to be one if he can stay healthy. One just needs to discount his stats a bit because of the level he has been at. Bohm at Lakewood meant absolutely nothing. Bohm at Reading is a much more meaningful challenge. Howard's performance at Reading will also mean more.

[bigegypt0417]

None of that changes the fact that he was on a slower promotion path than all the pitchers drafted around him and he was only a slight overdraft.

I think this really comes down to the fact you seem to never take anything in to account other than age and level.

Spencer Howard was over drafted...by probably a round. He was very much inexperienced and needed a longer time to develop. He was also not over old for his level. He has performed very well over the last year. You seem to need to add caveats to every prospect conversation that downgrades that player.

Spencer how is slightly behind those drafted around him and was easily the most inexperienced.

I'm not worked up...I'm just not going to watch as you try to add every caveat to conversations around prospects.

[Jeff05]

Young or old, Howard just struck out the side in his first inning of AA ball!