Minor League Games - Week of September 20-28

andyb 2022-09-19 18:16:42 UTC #1

Final week. Lehigh Valley is the only team still playing. Not sure there will be any late Reading promotions because they have already done the obvious ones and some players (Rojas, Ortiz, De La Cruz) will be headed to Arizona shortly.

A little Johan Rojas legging out a triple here on a ball to left-center for your viewing pleasure:

Guys we've said it before but Johan Rojas is really, really fast ‍♂️ ‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/Mu6aHHEfaA
— Reading Fightin Phils ( @ReadingFightins ) September 18, 2022

And the rolling boxes:

phillychuck 2022-09-19 23:43:35 UTC #2

Wow the camerawork on the Rojas triple is historically bad. I love the cut in shot of the legs of the people sitting in the stands...while he was sliding into 3B.

andyb 2022-09-20 19:58:22 UTC #3

Hall and Painter get the Paul Owens awards for 2022.

andyb 2022-09-21 18:58:05 UTC #4

Darick Hall 4-4 last night. I ask why again is he not on the major league bench instead of a 3rd catcher we have not bothered to use in over 2 weeks.

andyb 2022-09-22 03:11:03 UTC #5

Hall 2-3, 2 BB, HR. Good inning from Griff also.

andyb 2022-09-24 15:40:50 UTC #6

Hall with another HR last night in a 4-1 loss. McGarry also with a scoreless inning keeps him in play for the last week roster. Castellanos will come up for Sands. Hall still could come up for Munoz or Guthrie.

McGarry probably would require an injury to get a callup. Assume the Phillies would prefer to fix someone like Brogdon rather than roll the dice on a young player.

zambonir 2022-09-24 15:47:42 UTC #7

I reckon Falter going to the rotation, as well as Eflin, pretty much ended the McGarry scenario.

There are guys we hopefully still won't even see pitch in the wild card round, even thought they're on the roster.

Still doesn't sound like they're that interested in putting Hall on the playoff roster either, but either way they obviously wanted him to keep getting ABs until LHV's season ends.

andyb 2022-09-24 15:51:36 UTC #8

That first round wild card roster probably has 12 pitchers and 14 hitters. No reason to keep both the 4th and 5th starter on it. For the 1-game wild card teams went much further of course, dropping down to 10 or 11 pitchers.

An extra left-handed power hitter off the bench who will only pinch hit actually makes more sense in the playoffs than in the regular season.

zambonir 2022-09-24 16:18:53 UTC #9

It does, but the last time Thomson talked about it he sounded like a guy who would rather have a more versatile extra bench player.

allentown 2022-09-24 16:20:34 UTC #10

Hall/Hoskins should be a powerful platoon.

zambonir 2022-09-24 17:03:29 UTC #11

Except there wouldn't be enough ABs for Rhys. But if Harper missed the first month or two of the season Hall just gets that job back.

I should think they at least get Hall back up to the big club, give him one start (and maybe a second once they clinch) and see if the PH situations present themselves.

allentown 2022-09-24 17:09:31 UTC #12

Perhaps Rhys get 1/3 of the ABs against RHP and pinch hits. Truth is that while Rhys pulverizes LHP, he has a very pedestrian (for a 1B/DH) .746 OPS against RHP. Having either Hall or Hoskins coming off the bench when the handedness of the pitcher changes, would be a big boost against RPs.

zambonir 2022-09-24 17:34:21 UTC #13

Heh, but you are also making the case against paying Rhys his 2023 salary, and the case for why his trade value's not high (along with the defense). A LH 1B with all of Rhys's same flaws is more valuable simply for the fact that there are more RHPs. Hall at 1B with Castellanos and Vierling against LH starters might actually be a good answer assuming Harper returns to LF.

Of course Castellanos is merely adequate from his weak side as a DH/poor fielder too, if much better than Rhys (.780 career but an unplayable .695 this year).

andyb 2022-09-28 17:06:41 UTC #14

Last night's game rained out (and will not be played). Pigs are playing now to close out the season and down 3-2. RBI 2B for Kingery. Coonrod and Tayler Scott (both on the 40) not that impressive in their pitching stints though imagine they will head down to Philly to stay in shape just in case.

andyb 2022-09-28 20:09:24 UTC #15

Pigs win finale 4-3. Ali Castillo plays all 9 positions to close it out. Darick Hall even plays a little RF though I think it might have been just to let Castillo play 1B for an inning. If there were AAA fantasy baseball those Lehigh Valley players are getting lots of positional eligibility.

And that is a wrap on the minor league season. To be continued in the winter thread in Arizona next week.

RolenRules 2022-09-29 01:56:30 UTC #16

Kingrery actually had a decent season at AAA. 0.716 OPS that included a 14.7% walk rate. His plate discipline of course had been an issue. Also 17 stolen bases. I'm not suggesting he should supplant Segura next year - I have advocated for Maton - but maybe Scott could serve as a utility player next year.

RTaylor 2022-09-29 02:29:03 UTC #17

Ali Castillo played every position in LV's final game.

Philsmania 2022-09-29 02:31:05 UTC #18

Maybe Stott can go back to Allentown next season.

allentown 2022-09-29 02:52:48 UTC #19

What? That's really pretty awful. For a 28-year-old former major leaguer, that's not at all impressive. Look at the OPS of the other players at Allentown. So many of Scott's teammates did significantly better. My take on Kingery's season: He's cooked. I hate to say that. I had great hopes for Kingery. That walk rate you love also came with a .229 BA and striking out in over a third of his AB. It could be the effects of long Covid, but I see no way to cast 2022 as an encouraging season for Kingery.

zambonir 2022-09-29 03:10:50 UTC #20

Well, it was better than last year! And he did quite well in July and September, less so in August. I think you can write off May and June as shaking off the rust. At this point I don't know that it has anything to do with COVID (or that he's ever spoken of having long COVID per se, he just started suffering physical injuries while he was still recovering from plain old unvaccinated COVID in 2020). But he had major surgery, didn't come back from it until mid-May and only had 305 ABs. Heck, he has barely had a single season's worth of ABs at all levels over the last three years.

So no, you can't count on him at all, but he doesn't have to be cooked, either physically or mechanically, and might finally be able to get of the woods next season. Whether that can or should be with the Phillies - or if there is any scenario where he even stays in the organization once they don't pick up his option - who knows, but so long as you've got him and are paying him (and he doesn't even take up a 40-man spot) he can at least try to win a job come March. Otherwise, he could be someone else's genius dumpster-dive (if the Phillies let that happen).