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

[zambonir]

jeez.....the guy is a fan of Coppola posting for the first time and the entire board groupthink jumps all over him.

Yeah, c'mon guys. Apologize to Coppola's mother. : )

(But seriously, give Freemzy credit for further explaining him or herself.)

[allentown]

Zach Coppola has 32 XBH in over 1000 AB's.

He shouldn't be clogging up space...

I don't take that harsh a view. I think what Coppola did with a bat at CLW in the first half of 2017 was fine, especially for a guy who is excellent as a base stealer and defensively. The power is lacking and likely will always be lacking, but a .413 OBP and .826 OPS at CLW are actually very good at CLW. I said he needs to repeat Reading, because he seemed unable to handle AA pitching. He's far from the first player to do poorly after a mid-season promotion. Most pick back up the next season. I want to see how well he hits at Reading this season. For the type of hitter he is, I'd like him to strike out a bit less than he did at both levels last season.

[JoeBas]

I'll take a 2 run bloop any day.

[Austinfan]

The OBP is what he does better than Revere, and he may have a stronger arm.
But he has to do that at higher levels.

[andyb]

The OBP is what he does better than Revere

Except Revere has a .382 minor league OBP and Coppola is .368 while also being a couple years younger at each level (age 23 season is AA for Coppola, majors for Revere).

[teabag259]

Coppola reaches base twice today with a 2 run single and a walk, stole a base, and scored a run.

[andyb]

Keith Law with some Phillies nuggets in his column:

Jhailyn Ortiz - looked good, power is real, more of a fringy runner than described previously
McKenzie Mills - put on 20 pounds, sitting 90-92 now and touching 94.
Luis Matos - GCL sleeper from DSL last year (OF with 597 OPS but speed in DSL last year, $110K bonus)
Francisco Morales - 95 to 97. Possible Sixto-like breakout
Spencer Howard - mixed impression, 90-93 with "zero life" but showed 4 pitches including a feel for a change

Keith Law's Grapefruit League takeaways: Mining Florida for its East Coast gems

[phillychuck]

Read on another site that Luis Encarnacion has been released. Big bonus ($1M), #4 ranked international in the 2013 class, top 30 prospect after a good 2015 season, since then his K% has been in the mid-30% range. Never learned to make consistent contact.

[Freemzy]

I’m a guy. Not the kid’s mom. Just a minor league fan who goes to a lot of Lakewood and Reading games.

[phillychuck]

Zambonir was kidding.

The posters have been a bit rough on Coppola. Sometimes prospects who don't hit like Rhys Hoskins get very little respect. And, if you look back far enough in our thread history, even guys like Hoskins take a few shots from fans who are somewhat negative in outlook.

If they get a shot we all root for 'em, though!

[zambonir]

My emoji didn't render properly, accidentally hit the space bar

[DurhamBull]

I’m a guy. Not the kid’s mom. Just a minor league fan who goes to a lot of Lakewood and Reading games.

Always glad to welcome a phellow phan. As someone who lives far away from the land of cheesesteaks, jimmies, and soft pretzels, I'm grateful for your view from the bleachers! The only time I've seen the Blue Claws is when they played the Asheville Tourists.

[Freemzy]

Spent four years in the Marine Corps (1976-80), so I’ve been demeaned before. No worries. Thanks Durham Bull and Chuck.

[bigegypt0417]

Zambonir was kidding.

The posters have been a bit rough on Coppola. Sometimes prospects who don't hit like Rhys Hoskins get very little respect. And, if you look back far enough in our thread history, even guys like Hoskins take a few shots from fans who are somewhat negative in outlook.

If they get a shot we all root for 'em, though!

Coppola is a good organizational player. I think it's fair to doubt his ability to play at higher levels not because of the fact he isn't Hoskins but he isn't even Ben Revere. With the tools he does have if he even develop gap power he may be a ML 4th or 5th outfielder but we haven't really seen that.

[fish]

Spencer Howard - mixed impression, 90-93 with "zero life" but showed 4 pitches including a feel for a change

Hopefully just a bad day- life on his fastball was supposed to be Howard's big selling point.

[Slinging_Southpaw]

True. Seems like it wasn't that long ago that Hoskins wasn't Hoskins either. Drafted in 2014, wasn't a Top 30 prospect(BA) in 2015 and didn't exactly burst onto the scene until 2016, then, still many though he may just be a product of the friendly confines at Reading. Now, may be the face of the team.

[tom81]

Semper Fi Freemzy! 1978-1981 for me.

[Slinging_Southpaw]

Jar heads.
101st Airborne 1977-80.

[Austinfan]

Why you have to look at splits for Reading, to me only the away games count for hitters.
Which makes Pullin puzzling, he hit really well on the road when he was in AA, but not in Lehigh.

[andyb]

All games at Reading count. You just have to adjust for stats. Everything is a small enough sample size where you sometimes get players who play better at home or on the road. One needs to adjust for the splits when analyzing the stats, but that does not mean the splits are everything. Pullin still benefited from the home park. He just played better on the road that year.