Minor League Spring Training 2018: 3/14-->Games have begun

[andyb]

I think his is likelier to dominate at CLW than at Lakewood. Lakewood may frustrate him. I'd just leapfrog him to CLW.

I am not a fan of double jumping players in general, especially young ones. It actually does not bother me if he gets frustrated a bit. The mission is to learn and Lakewood is a good test. Expectations for a 19-year-old should be appropriately modest. We should be happy with a 750 OPS and 12-15 HRs and a chance to improve other aspects of his game in a low pressure environment. The year is about development, not pushing him to the majors as quickly as possible.

[phillychuck]

I agree, but in Ortiz's case he may not be that frustrated. He wasn't frustrated hitting in WMPT, which is arguably just a bad a place to hit as Lakewood. I wouldn't double-jump him, but I might move him to CLW mid-season.

PS--Iove the ability on this forum to simply post videos. We should get a lot of minor league highlights linked here during the season.

[Austinfan]

Lakewood didn't stifle Hoskins, did force him to focus on contact instead of HRs, still had a .900+ OPS.
It'll be a good test for Ortiz, but I think he may surprise.

[phillychuck]

Crazy thing on Sunday .. Muzziotti got an AB in the big-league game. That almost never happens for low-A or rookie league players. Phils must love him.

[andyb]

Crazy thing on Sunday .. Muzzotti got an AB in the big-league game. That almost never happens for low-A or rookie league players. Phils must love him

Now we are at the point where they reward minor leaguers for working hard and having decent camps.

[Freemzy]

I hope Muzziotti bypasses Short Season Williamsport this season and jumps to low Class A Lakewood. He turns 20 Dec. 27, so he may go to NYP League, but Phillies should challenge him by starting him at Lakewood.

[phillychuck]

I agree with this--if they like him and he's ready they need to challenge him.

[Freemzy]

They challenged Arquimedes Gamboa and Daniel Brito, and they both performed well at Lakewood last season.

[Squire]

I'll be stunned if Muzziotti is NOT on the Lakewood roster to start the year. It looks like that notwithstanding his mediocre season last year, Moniak is going to Clearwater with Haseley.

My guess on the projected OFs right now are:

Lehigh Valley: Dylan Cozens, Andrew Pullin, Danny Ortiz, Colin Cowgill (if he takes the assignment or Jiandido Tromp if he doesn't)

Reading: Cord Sandberg, Zach Coppola, Jiandido Tromp, Cornelius Randolph, Jan Hernandez

Clearwater: Adam Haseley, Mickey Moniak, Jose Pujols, David Martinelli

Lakewood: Simon Muzziotti, Jhailyn Ortiz, Josh Stephen, Kevin Markham, Malvin Matos

Bubble guys are Danny Mayer and Yahir Gurrola

[phillychuck]

Nice minor league results on Friday v. Pirates:

AAA game (3–1 win)
Drew Anderson started and was outstanding — he allowed one hit and one walk over five scoreless innings while adding five strikeouts.
CF Zach Coppola went 2–4 while SS Malquin Canelo went 2–3 with a double.
Anderson's spring has been very encouraging

AA game (4–1 win)
Franklyn Kilome was very sharp, allowing one run on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts over 4.2 innings.
CF Adam Haseley went 3–4 while 2B Daniel Brito was 2–4. SS Jose Antequera was 2–3 with a double. 3B Jake Scheiner and DH Henri Lartigue also had hits.
Haseley was great again. Although it's unlikely, they could bump him all the way to AA given the great spring and strong college background.

Hi-A game (6–3 win)
Bailey Falter gave up one run on four hits over four innings with five strikeouts and one walk.
RF Jhailyn Ortiz, likely headed to Lakewood, went 2–4 with a double, home run, and three RBIs. 2B Grenny Cumana went 2–3 with a double.
The following players had one hit each: CF Simon Muzziotti, SS Nick Maton, 1B Quincy Nieporte, 3B Dalton Guthrie, C Colby Fitch.
Lakewood has some really interesting prospects this season (apparently headed there)

Lo-A game (8–3 win)
David Parkinson and Julian Garcia each threw three scoreless innings while Randy Alcantara threw 2.2 scoreless innings.
C Rodolfo Duran and 3B Jack Zoellner each had two hits and RF Danny Mayer was 1–3 with a home run.
Most of these guys are headed to extended spring right now...nice to see they're succeeding!

Don't forget to visit Blueclaws Backstage for the full reports.

[phillychuck]

Saturday's games v. the Jays were not as encouraging as Friday's:

AAA game (3–3 tie)
Enyel de los Santos started and gave up one run over 4.2 innings, allowing four hits and one run.
Seranthony Dominguez threw 1.1 scoreless innings with Tyler Viza and Alexis Rivero throwing 1 each.
Andrew Pullin was 2/4.

AA game (7–0 loss)
Tom Eshelman started and gave up one run over four innings of work.
3B Luke Williams went 2–4 while SS Arquimedes Gamboa, CF Mickey Moniak, LF Adam Haseley, and 2B Jose Gomez all had one hit.

Hi-A game (2–1 win)
Connor Seabold started and gave up five hits and one run over four innings while striking out five without allowing a walk.
Jake Waguespack threw three scoreless innings in relief. That's a long outing for a guy who was basically a closer.
CF Simon Muzziotti had a hit and an RBI. Also adding hits were 2B Grenny Cumana, SS Nick Maton, DH Quincy Nieporte, and 3B Dalton Guthrie.

Lo-A game (4–3 loss)
Ramon Rosso started and threw four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five.
RF Ben Pelletier and LF Yahir Gurrola had two hits apiece while LF Josh Stephen went deep.

Again, please check Greg Giombarresse's blog Blueclaws Backstage for full details.

[bigegypt0417]

It seems Jhailyn Ortiz hype is starting to take off...

Jim Salisbury on Twitter

[andyb]

What happened to the 215? If he is 258 and Cozens is 270 what is going on with our strength program?

[bigegypt0417]

What happened to the 215? If he is 258 and Cozens is 270 what is going on with our strength program?

He looks pretty lean in the videos that are loaded.

[andyb]

He looks pretty lean in the videos that are loaded.

I think Salisbury made a mistake on that tweet. Taking some report from when he was 16 and just assuming it is still true.

[Austinfan]

Waguespack was converted to a starter last year in Clearwater:

Clearwater 10s 3.26 47 44 1 11 48
Reading 6s 3.50 36 37 2 12 33

"His fastball velocity has gone from 88-92 mph to 91-94 mph, touches 96. He's really getting everything out of his body in his delivery right now, and he's not working hard to throw hard. Waguespack credits the Phillies development program, as they worked to teach him how to get the most out of his lower half in his delivery. Along with the uptick on the radar gun, Waguespack also added a cutter since turning pro, a weapon which Jordan praises as "a really quality pitch." Since moving into the rotation, Waguespack has had to mix in more of his changeup and curveball, and has recently begun throwing a mid-80's slider" [which is probably his cutter]

He was a college free agent, but at 6'6 225, you can see how fixing his mechanics could add velocity.

[phillychuck]

Yeah, AF, I thought they had moved Waguespeck to the rotation to give him work, not because they thought he would be a starter. It seems, given his velocity, if he has enough secondary pitches he should be starting, since that skill is more valuable. Thanks for the info.

Hope Sixto gets healthy soon--he was sick, not injured, by the way, but hasn't thrown yet this spring. Plenty of time for him.

PS--Hoskins homered twice in a AAA minor league game on Saturday.

[phillychuck]

To make sure you see it, let me repeat...I wouldn't be surprised if Haseley starts in Reading. With a college pedigree and an incredible spring with the "AA" group, he may earn the jump.

[andyb]

Hope Sixto gets healthy soon--he was sick, not injured, by the way, but hasn't thrown yet this spring. Plenty of time for him.

Had the flu (see article on the 20th). I am actually fine if they hold him back the first week or two of the season. Innings have gone from 54 (though with some additional XST innings) to 95 last year. 125-130 seems a good number for this season and that would mean shutting him down for the last few weeks anyway if he does not miss turns.

[gmwannabe]

Speckie is one of my sleepers of the year as a starter. looking forward to seeing him in reading.
gm