Minor League Games - Monday, May 27, 2019

[kikutaro]

Buffalo Bisons (20-26) @ Lehigh Valley IronPigs (26-21) 1:35 pm | Gameday
Conor Fisk (1-2, 5.81) vs. Tom Eshelman (1-0, 2.25)

Final (Top 9)
Lehigh Valley 5, Buffalo 0

Notable

Lane Adams 1-4, 2B, K
Deivy Grullon 0-3, R, BB, 2 K
Andrew Romine 1-4, R, RBI, 2B
Mitch Walding 0-4, RBI, 3 K
Ali Castillo 3-4, R, RBI, K
Rob Brantly 2-4, R, RBI, HR
Malquin Canelo 2-4, RBI, 2B, K, SB

Tom Eshelman (W, 1-0), 7.0 IP, 4H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 7K, game score: game_score
Austin Davis 2.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K

Reading Fightin Phils (27-19) @ Harrisburg Senators (31-19) 12:00 pm | Gameday
JoJo Romero (0-2, 8.18) vs. Wil Crowe (5-3, 3.30)

Final (Top 9)
Harrisburg 4, Reading 3

Notable

Adam Haseley 2-4, RBI, 2B, K
Cornelius Randolph 2-4, K
Luke Williams 0-2, BB, 2 K
JoJo Romero 1-2, R, 2B

JoJo Romero (L, 0-2), 6.2 IP, 6H, 4R, 4ER, 0BB, 5K, game score: game_score

Clearwater Threshers - Off

Kannapolis Intimidators (21-29) @ Lakewood BlueClaws (17-33) 6:35 pm | Gameday
Johan Dominguez (2-2, 1.61) vs. Victor Santos (2-5, 3.79)

Final (Bottom 9)
Kannapolis 4, Lakewood 1

Notable

Jonathan Guzman 1-3, R, BB, 2 K
Luis Garcia 1-4, 3B
Ben Pelletier 0-3, BB, 2 K
Malvin Matos 0-3, K, SB
Jimmy Smith 0-3, 2 K
Cole Stobbe 0-3, 2 K

Victor Santos (L, 2-5), 4.0 IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 4K, game score: game_score
Francisco Morales 2.2 IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 1BB, 4K

(click on the start time for box scores)

[nycphils]

My favorite prospect Carlos de la Cruz would seem to need lots of reps to learn how to recognize spin...ahead in the count this season (and presumably getting mostly fastballs from Low A pitchers in that situation) he’s slashing .333/.467/.556. My man can hit a fastball. However, when behind in the count, he’s .200/.214/.218...ooof. Needs reps to improve his eye early in the count to get to those favorable counts, and recognize spin and hit the breaking ball better than he does now when he gets behind. But at 19 y.o., 6’8”, 210 lbs (undoubtedly on his way to 240+ when he matures) he will be a monster if he can do it.

What a great pickup for an undrafted guy by the scouting staff, no matter what happens.

[phillychuck]

Who kidnapped Tom Eschelman and then returned him last week? Nice, nice start for LV today. And Romero pitched well 2X through the lineup. Reading left him in a little long. 5 hits from Moniak, Haseley, and Randolph. 4 singles, though.

[Austinfan]

Moniak and Haseley now over .260. Steadily inching their way up to respectability.

[teabag259]

I had high hopes for Cole Stobbe. Too bad it isn’t happening for him.

[nycphils]

.473 OPS repeating Low A is...not good. Ugly waste of a 3rd Rd draft pick.

[julio]

Most 3rd round picks don't make it. Of those that do make it to the majors, very few have valuable careers. I looked at b-r -- of about 450 players taken in the 3rd round over the past 15 years, a total of 15 (!) have amassed 10 major-league WAR or more.

[nycphils]

Moniak with 8 BB for the year in over 175 ABs. No chance to be a MLB regular that way.

[julio]

Moniak with 8 BB for the year in over 175 ABs. No chance to be a MLB regular that way.

His BB rate this season is 4.4%, in what is still a small sample size. His career BB% is 5.1%. That's not good, but there are more than a few major leaguers who have had substantial careers with similar BB%. Note also that in Moniak's 2019 data, he's literally two BB short of his career BB% (e.g., had he walked 10 times instead of 8 times, he'd be at his career average).

I get the impression that some people here go out of their way to find things to kvetch about.

[nycphils]

Interesting. I get the impression that some people go out of their way to condescend to anyone making a comment that doesn’t meet their standards of fairness or viewpoint.

[Austinfan]

Well, it's generally advised to avoid blanket statements that lend themselves to contradiction by easily researched facts.

So, if you rephrased your original statement as follows:

"Moniak's lack of plate discipline will make it more difficult for him to make it as a MLB regular."

It would be hard to argue with an observation that is factually accurate.

[phillychuck]

Moniak's usual BB rate of 5% isn't an asset for him. It's well below normal for every level of baseball. He's made some progress offensively this year, he needs to either add power or patience or both as his next development step. I'm still rooting for him; he's still young; but he's still a significant way away from being a positive MLB contributor.

I'd love to see him hit over .280 at Reading this year and OPS over .780. Right now he's at .263/.730 with above average power. Something that surprised me is how much Reading is playing as a pitcher's park so far this year (weather?). Moniak's OPS+ is 113, or 13% above average when park and league adjusted. And he's 3.2 years younger than the average player in the Eastern League.

I don't know any factual information on his defense, but I've read scout's opinions that he's 'average at best' in CF. If he was able to improve his D to 'well above average' that would help his projection, too.

[bigegypt0417]

Interesting. I get the impression that some people go out of their way to condescend to anyone making a comment that doesn’t meet their standards of fairness or viewpoint.

you may want to research our points a little more before you make your blanket statements which tend to focs on the negative...

You came to ignore about the walk rate of a player who has been hitting well and who isn't walking or striking out...he just seems to be seeing the ball really well. Perhaps if you tried being balanced you'd avoid being labeled.

[bigegypt0417]

He had a terrible april but when you're young for the league that can happen...

His slash line for may is much better...

316/343/480 with an OPS of 823

Lets see how the rest of the season plays out.