Minor League Games - Friday, May 12, 2017

[EDmuch]

is it possible Kingery could play shortstop???? Probably not.

[Ryles]

Could Kingery play 3B?

[Austinfan]

No. Kingery's arm probably limits him to 2B or LF.

[bigegypt0417]

Cozens with his 7th HR.

[allentown]

Two doubles and a walk for Tocci. Appel a quality start, with over 100 pitches. He still walks too many. Alfaro with 3 Ks and a DP and two low pitches not stopped, allowing runners to advance.

[kmc1019]

Medina with a monster game in Lakewood tonight. Whatever was causing him to not rack up strikeouts last year has apparently changed, double digits tonight. 6IP, 1ER, 10K

[Austinfan]

Cozens ends up with 2 HRs, both off lefties, a very good sign.
Guy to watch is Canelo, walking this year, average close to .300, always was a whiz in the field, Crawford is starting to get squeezed from both sides.

[California_Dreamin]

Cozens with a VERY big night...two home runs and a 2 out game tying single in the bottom of the 9th in an eventual 5-4 victory. As with almost every LHV game we take the good with the bad when it comes to prospects.

The good? Appel had a solid 7 inning start, maybe the deepest he has gone in any game since the Phils got him from Houston. Quinn had three hits and a stolen base and of course Cozens had a great game.

The bad? Another hitless game for Crawford and Williams [ouch] struck out four times in five at bats.

On a night when it appeared for awhile that the system might be facing an 0-4 night, Reading, Lakewood and LHV all came back to win. Only Clearwater, which has been slumping lately, got beat.

As previously mentioned, Medina with a dominant start.

[EDmuch]

When do teh majority agree that it is time to worry about Crawford and/or Williams?

[julio]

Personally, I would suggest that the effort that's spent trying to figure out which prospects to fixate on, based upon perceived shortcomings, is a silly waste of time. We have some prospects who are performing really well...it might make more sense to simply enjoy that, and relax a bit about some who may be struggling at the moment.

On the other hand... if "worry" is necessary for you to enjoy following the Phillies, well then, yes, by all means - but maybe worry about Maikel Franco rather than some prospect? Maybe worry about Aaron Nola's health and durability? Cameron Rupp's defensive shortcomings? The absence of a "true number one" starting pitcher? Lots of things to worry about, if that's what you need.

[California_Dreamin]

julio...that really was my point exactly in my post. With a club like LHV, with as many as 10-12 true prospects, it simply is unreasonable to expect them all to do well every night, its not going to happen.

Thus, we accept the good and the bad every night and hope that the former outweighs the latter. Tonight, as with most nights lately, it has. I am particularly encouraged by the progress of Cozens because he seems to be making the adjustments that he had to make to succeed in a league where pitchers can throw off speed stuff for strikes.

He seems like a youngster who accepts suggestions well if we are to believe the stories on him, and this bodes well for a player who might take well to a solid hitting coach like Stairs.

[California_Dreamin]

Opps Dept....and by the way, of course Crawford was hitless tonight...he did not play. I am so used to seeing him hit 2nd in the order that when I saw an ofer in the 2nd spot I assumed it was Crawford. My bad...it was Perkins. Crawford had the night off.

[zambonir]

The serious answer to when it would be time to worry about Crawford is about 15 months from now.

Yeah, that would be disappointing, but given Crawford's age, Galvis's contract status and the major league team's timetable, that's when the Phillies would have to make some decisions, if in fact Crawford doesn't look like the future, which could mean needing to re-sign Galvis or acquire another SS. But then again, so long as he has some OBP and defense, if the rest of the 2019 line-up is strong they could also break him in slowly.

Williams always struck me as a 50-50 prospect anyway. 50-50 he's merely an ok player vs. a very good one, 50-50 he doesn't make it all. If he and Cozens both pan out one of them will be traded and I'm still not sure either of them start for the Phillies next year anyway (platoon, maybe).

[allentown]

I assume that was sarcasm regarding the recent criticism of Crawford. In any case, he jammed his hand the other night and was out of the lineup. Cozens and Hoskins now tied with 8 HRs -- let the chase begin, as these two highly competitive sluggers push each other for the team, and very possibly league, HR championship. Not a good night for Williams -- still can't handle lefties, but the worst night award goes to Alfaro, with all the runners he stranded, including on a bases-loaded DP. A big hole in his defensive game is blocking low pitches -- he really stands out for his incompetence in this one area. Appel does seem to be improving. His previous start was also a good one, although perhaps he just likes pitching against the Bisons.

[flyers19rw]

I'm wondering if the hype around some of the minor league prospects is having a negative impact on some of the organization's players both in Philly and below? Joseph has to be hearing Hoskins' footsteps as does Rupp with Alfaro. Are they trying too hard to stay ahead of the competition? Perhaps Crawford has assumed obtaining the starting SS job in Philly too quickly? The same may be true with Cousins. Just wondering.

[allentown]

Cozens seems to have righted himself over the past week or so. If that proves correct, he has had a relatively brief adjustment period to AAA. A one month stumble is not at all unusual in moving from Reading to Allentown, especially when making the transition in the cold of April. It was cold last night as well, 54-57 during the game and the flag was totally limp most of the time, so Cousin's HRs were legit. After an awful April, he has a SSS 1.203 OPS so far in May -- his HR rate has doubled and, strikingly, his K-rate has fallen by 60% to only about 18% of PA.

[Austinfan]

The K rate is key for AAA ball, b/c it usually goes up in the Show, and it gives a sense of how well they're making contract.

I think Klentak would never trade for players like Williams and Alfaro, players who lack discipline struggle to develop it.
Alfaro 2BB/36K
Williams 5BB/38K
Cozens 12BB/48K, he's not swinging wiidly, he just has to has to learn how to make consistent contact
Quinn 11BB/38K , awful K rate for a guy who should be focused on contact, bunting, keeping the ball on the ground to exploit his speed

What is worrisome about Crawford is 110 AB, 1 double, 1 triple, a guy his size should have natural gap power.
He really should be worried about Canelo, who is making big strides at Reading 15BB/19K .294/.414/.394/.808 and is also 22 years old.

[zambonir]

I assume that was sarcasm regarding the recent criticism of Crawford

From ED? I don't think so.

[allentown]

That was a response to CD, before I read his later post.

[zambonir]

ah, I see the arrow now, sorry.