Minor League Games - Thursday, May 17, 2018

[kikutaro]

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (20-17) @ Scranton/WB RailRiders (19-19) 10:35 am | Gameday
Tom Eshelman (1-3, 6.48) vs. Josh Rogers (3-3, 2.98)

Notable

Dean Anna 1-4, 2 R, 3B, K
Collin Cowgill 2-5, K
Danny Ortiz 1-5, 2 RBI
Dylan Cozens 0-5, 3 K
Joey Meneses 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR, BB, K
Alexi Amarista 2-4, RBI, K

Tom Eshelman 5.0 IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 2K, game score: 48
Hoby Milner (H, 4), 1.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 0K
Victor Arano (H, 1), 1.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K
Austin Davis (BS, 1), 1.0 IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 1K
Jacob Waguespack (L, 0-4), 1.2 IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K

Reading Fightin Phils - Off

Palm Beach Cardinals (24-15) @ Clearwater Threshers (16-24) 7:00 pm | Gameday
Anthony Shew (4-1, 2.11) vs. Mauricio Llovera (2-3, 3.48)

Notable

Adam Haseley 2-4, RBI, K
Darick Hall 1-4, R, RBI, HR, K
Henri Lartigue 1-4, 2 K
Jose Antequera 2-3, R

Mauricio Llovera (L, 2-3), 3.2 IP, 7H, 5R, 5ER, 1BB, 3K, game score: 28
Jakob Hernandez 2.1 IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 3K
Alberto Tirado 3.0 IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 2K

Lakewood BlueClaws (21-17) @ Greensboro Grasshoppers (16-20) 7:00 pm | Gameday
Will Stewart (4-0, 1.26) vs. Brady Puckett (1-3, 1.99)

Notable

Jake Scheiner 1-5, RBI, 2 K
Daniel Brito 0-5, 2 K
Kevin Markham 1-4, 2B, K, CS
Quincy Nieporte 0-3, BB, 2 K
Gregori Rivero 2-4, R, RBI, 3B
Nick Maton 2-4, R, RBI
Dalton Guthrie 2-4, RBI, CS

Will Stewart 6.0 IP, 5H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 7K, game score: 68
Julian Garcia (W, 1-1), 1.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K
Addison Russ (S, 7), 1.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 2K

(click on the start time for box scores)

[andyb]

Did not see this posted earlier, but Keith Law went to Reading to look at JoJo Romero:

Law: Scouting a Yankees-Phillies prospect duel and a rising Nats star

Interesting outing and scouting report. He started the game throwing 88-89 the first few innings but was 92-94 starting in the 5th inning. Final 2 pitches (99 and 100) were 95. Sounds like he was working through some mechanical issues getting loose over the course of the game.

"I did notice early in the outing he was rolling or spinning off his front foot when he landed, which at the very least can pull a pitcher off line and cost him command. Otherwise, he has a starter's delivery and gets on top of the ball well from a 3/4 slot. Whatever was affecting him early in the outing -- after two innings, he'd thrown 45 pitches and looked like he wasn't long for the game -- he got over it and pitched much more like a potential mid-rotation starter."

[Squire]

I really am sad to see Bad Dylan Cozens back. I think he is 3 for his last 42

[Austinfan]

I think Cozens is cooked, they've been working with him for three years to shorten his stroke and make better contact, and at some point you think there are innate physical limitations that are being exposed. It's become obvious that his Reading season was a home park artifact (and good reason for the Phillies to invest in fixing the park), as his road numbers at Reading match his career.

[andyb]

The 23-year-old with close to an 800 OPS in AAA is "cooked"? He is just streaky and actually seems perfectly capable of mastering AAA for the year. He is not that much worse than Nick Williams for instance who is a useful MLB player at the minimum.

[SerAdonisKingery]

Trying to do a current top 10 prospects is an ugly chore right now. With the graduations (Kingery, JP, Alfaro) and poor performances, it's hard to feel great about it. Sixto is the clear #1. Our 1st round pick will almost certainly go to #2. Despite a few poor outings I'd probably put Medina next. Spencer Howard and De Los Santos are the big risers. Gamboa is the only one holding steady. Anyone want to take a try at one?

[Squire]

Anyone else getting annoyed by the never-ending injuries with only general updates. We're coming up on the end of May and Jhailyn Ortiz, Cole Stobbe and Simon Muzzioti seemingly don't exist anymore. Still no callup of Greg Pickett. And the Lakewood manager gives non-answer Phillies speak non answers like "coming along".....and "soon".....

[Austinfan]

I wonder if some of those "injuries" are an excuse to park a player in XST and work on their swing/pitching mechanics.

[phillychuck]

I don't think the guys Squire listed are the kind of players who go to XST during the season to work on things...they're all pretty highly touted prospects. I think some others may be there to do that, but not Ortiz, Muzzioti, Stobbe, or Pickett.

[schooldoc]

I read a couple days ago that Jhailyn Ortiz played 5 innings in an XST game.

So that might mean he's "coming along" and will be back "soon." (Sorry.)

Kyle Young is supposedly making his way north, too. May pitch this weekend for Lakewood according to that report. That'd be nice.

[schooldoc]

A top-of-my-head top 10 prospects list

1. Sixto Sanchez, RHP, Clearwater
2. Adam Haseley, OF, Clearwater
3. Adonis Medina, RHP, Clearwater
4. Enyel De Los Santos, RHP, Lehigh Valley
5. Mickey Moniak, OF, Clearwater
6. JoJo Romero, LHP, Reading
7. Jhailyn Ortiz, OF, Lakewood
8. Roman Quinn, OF, Lehigh Valley
9. Franklyn Kilome, RHP, Reading
10. Spencer Howard, RHP, Lakewood

[allentown]

If that is our top 10, then the farm is in nearly complete disarray. Haseley at #2? A guy who can't quite post even a .650 OPS? That's a really week #2. I'll put Delos Santos at #2. Medina having a poor year and Moniak pretty much horrendous. Moniak doing a little better in May, but still only a .580 OPS for the half month. Haseley is actually doing worse in May.

[schooldoc]

There's certainly room for debate in my top 10....it's a little heavy on tools and light on performance to date this season. Once the SSS argument loses all validity for this year, and of course the draft is over, some changes should be in order.

[allentown]

I'm not saying that you've put together a bad top 10, although I do quibble about a couple selections/placements. There aren't many other clear choices to bump guys out of your 10. What I'm saying is that this is a rather dismal organizational top 10 -- not at all what the Phillies need to or ought to have at this stage of the rebuild. I don't think the issue is SSS. A normal sample size might boost some of the guys a bit, but it won't turn Haseley's .650 OPS into the .850 OPS he needs to be a solid #2 prospect in a top farm. Ditto Moniak at 5 and he has all of last season to add to the current partial season's bad numbers. He may learn and improve or he may thrive if the Phillies allow him to be himself as a hitter, now that he has bulked up a little, but clearly his bad stats aren't the result of SSS. Medina? I fear he is hurt. Hopefully the injury is what caused Ortiz's bad numbers this year. Quinn hurt again. Romero not impressing.-- both walks and HRs way up. Kilome back in Reading does seem to be SSS, since his peripherals aren't all that much different there this year compared to last, but the ERA has ballooned. His Ks are up sharply.

Still, as encouraging as the big Phillies have been this season, the minors have been that discouraging. You don't have Randolph in your top 10, which I think is correct, as he continues to wage his own private war with the Mendoza line.

[Austinfan]

I think this is the "donut" problem I referenced a year ago, the trades brought in a lot of talent at the top of the farm system, but many have graduated, Eflin, Pivetta, Velasquez, Arano, Lively, Wiilliams, Alfaro, while others have faltered, Thompson, Eshelman. Combined with Kingery, Hoskins, Ramos, Rios, Seranthony in the majors as well, there's suddenly a hole at AA and AAA.

I think by August it'll be more apparent what they have at the A ball level and how good the system really is.

[nycphils]

With all the graduations off the preseason list, I think it is interesting to look at who Mayo/MLB lists as the back end of the Top 30 now:

Spencer Howard
Mackenzie Mills
Drew Anderson
Cole Irvin
Luis Garcia
JD Hammer
Kevin Gowdy
Simon Muzziotti
Connor Seabold
Jonathan Guzman
Nick Maton

There will be one more addition soon after Seranthony graduates off the list.