Minor League Games - June 17th, 2023

[Squire]

AAA: Toledo at Lehigh Valley (TBD) - 6:35PM
AA: Hartford at Reading (LHP Josh Hendrickson) 6:45PM
High A: Jersey Shore (LHP Jordan Fowler) at Wilmington - 6:35PM
Low A: Tampa at Clearwater (RHP Estibenzon Jimenez) - 6:30PM
FCL: FCL Phillies (RHP Daniel Mejia) at FCL Yankees - 10:00AM
DSL: DSL Mariners at DSL Phillies Red (RHP Adilson Peralta) - 10:00AM
DSL: DSL Philies White (RHP Pedro Reyes) at DSL Rays - 10:00AM

Rolling Scores Here - https://www.milb.com/scores/2023-06-17/all/all/phillies

Rolling Boxes Here - https://www.mlb.com/prospects/stats/affiliates?teamId=143&date=06/17/2023

[kmc1019]

Raylin Heredia (and andyb, on his behalf) ‐ we are here and ready to acknowledge your existence.

[Patchmk88]

Pretty good night on the farm for our prospects. Did Ortiz get sent down to AA? I thought he was playing pretty well in AAA

[bkeich]

Guessing Ortiz was sent down to play 1B and allow for Hall to play in AAA for now.

[Austinfan]

The way Ortiz, De La Cruz and Rojas are hitting, it's a question of when, not if, they get promoted.

Meanwhile, Bergolla might just be a hit as a LA bonus baby, last year in the DSL, 11 BB, 3K. This year in Clearwater, at 18, 6 BB, 3 K. Doesn't hit with much power right now, but still has to fill out, but his combination of discipline and bat control at a young age gets one hoping they've finally found a player.

[bkox]

I know this is a constant theme now, but William Bergolla Jr just has such an impressive feel for the strike zone and approach. Just took a 5 pitch walk where the 5th pitch was called a strike and he challenged it while still taking off his equipment.

— Matt Winkelman ( @Matt_Winkelman ) June 18, 2023

[andyb]

Luis Garcia hit .369 in GCL. Let's not go overboard on Bergolla yet. He'll need to show some power and also have the defense to stay at SS. Quality of Low A now is also down a bit with the lack of a short season A team. Knowing the strike zone is a plus, but I do worry if any of his other tools are plus.

[Austinfan]

He's 18, he's already in low A, he's got an advanced feel for the strike zone, and the bat control to make consistent contact.

Power will come as he fills out over the next 2-3 years, it's not like he needs a lot of power as a SS with a high OBP to be a valuable player - and as a switchhitter, if he can maintain his stroke from both sides, he brings added value.

[andyb]

He's 18, he's already in low A, he's got an advanced feel for the strike zone, and the bat control to make consistent contact.

Power will come as he fills out over the next 2-3 years, it's not like he needs a lot of power as a SS with a high OBP to be a valuable player - and as a switchhitter, if he can maintain his stroke from both sides, he brings added value.

You just don't know any of that. He is a small kid who may never have much power. High OBP means little in the low minors. If he does not do damage in the strike zone he needs to be Ben Revere and he lacks that kind of speed.

It is no surprise that he has an advanced feel for the strike zone as the kid of a major leaguer. He does make decent contact which is good. We don't know too much about his defense yet and whether he has major league range at SS. He might have a pretty high floor, but it also might be a low ceiling. Just don't anoint him yet because he has not done that much yet and there are questions about most of his tools. It sure would be nice for a kid his size to have above average speed but that does not seem to be the case.

[Squire]

I'm not sure "advanced feel of the strike zone" is an inherited trait. I'm definitely glad Bergolla seems to have it but he's been playing stateside for like 2 weeks.

[andyb]

We do tend to see sons and relatives of major leaguers have an advanced feel of the strike zone. They grow up around the game. JP Crawford was like that. Hey, I like Bergolla as a prospect. But he still probably will rank in the 7-10 range for me because he really does not have many tools. He really needs to be a SS defensively. It is just tough to make a Luis Arraez skillset work and become an above average regular.

[andyb]

Probably no need for a Monday thread since all the games are over, but here are the rolling boxes for the complex games.

Philadelphia Phillies Affiliates

Not a great day. No hits for either DSL team (though the Red team only played 1 inning). FCL losing 10-4. Yhoswar Garcia does have a HR though he should be dominating this league.

[phillychuck]

Scouts grade Bergolla's defense as well above average for SS. Should be able to stay there.

Looks like DSL White got no-hit today.

[andyb]

Scouts grade Bergolla's defense as well above average for SS. Should be able to stay there

They said that about Luis Garcia too and he got a little heavier and lost range. Bergolla is just so far away that we don't know yet. MLB Pipeline gives him a 50 fielding grade. Comment really is relaying what the Phillies are saying about him. This is really something we probably don't know for about 2-3 more years until he plays at upper levels. Playing an average SS might not be enough if he continues to have little power.

There just is much that can go sideways with any 18 year old prospect that has barely played. Lots that he could improve on too of course. He might add power and become a smart baserunner. Just right now he does not have much power and is an average runner at best at a position where there are lots of above average runners even if they are not burners.

[phillychuck]

Andy makes a good point, that Begolla could get better as he ages rather than going backwards like Garcia.

[andyb]

I want that to happen of course. Of the two young SS both are playing well early. They have somewhat similar profiles. Caba is a bit more athletic and Bergolla is more polished at the moment. Probably means Caba has a bit higher ceiling and Bergolla has a higher floor. Both probably rank in the 7-12 range in the system. Obviously Bergolla could move up if he hits .350 this year. It will be hard to know much more about Caba from the DSL but hopefully he finishes strong there too.

Bergolla could move quicker because of his major league pedigree, though that just might mean breezing his way to High A next year where it could get more challenging.

[phillychuck]

I'd like to see Casey Martin hit enough in AA to be on the radar, at least...

[nycphils]

Rojas may be an illusion at the plate - he’s got a .900+ OPS at home in Reading, and a sub-.700 OPS on the road. We’ve seen that movie before. Not huge sample sizes, of course, but we have cause to be skeptical.

My favorite prospect Carlos de la Cruz, on the other hand, has fairly even home/road splits.

[allentown]

He does have some strong splits. Certainly a lot more power at Reading, which is an easy power park. Also poor in April, plus in May and June. Poor in day games, plus in night games. Small sample size when you break the season into multiple pieces like this, but splits are stark. Also a lot higher K-rate on the road. Also significant LHP/RHP split, although .694 OPS against lefties isn't awful.