All in all, a solid start. Crawford is a disappointment, Brown, Walding et al are now nonprospects, Sandberg flashed and is now reverting to his norm. But there are lots of bright spots and the depth is tremendous, especially pitching. When you hold guys like Ortiz and Gowdy back in XST, well . . . The system is getting close to the point that when someone stumbles, instead of "woe is me," it's becoming "next man up."
LEHIGH:
Crawford - very disappointing, coming off a mediocre stretch last year, and even worse this spring. Nor is he turning it around, .216 BA his last ten games. The one good sign is his BB/K ratio. He's 22, so he's young, but not outrageously young, for AAA. Something is wrong here, is it correctable?
Hoskins - putting up Ryan Howard type numbers at 24. .315/.408/.635/1.044. It's not a fluke, since he's been hitting like this since his first month in Williamsport. There are zero red flags, no home/away split, no platoon split, 28BB/34K.
Cozens - crazy split in the first two months. Big Home/away split .981/.634, much smaller LH/RH split this year. Since Lehigh isn't a hitter's park, not sure what that's about. Still a work in progress who needs a full year in AAA.
April: .136/.211/.296/.507 - 8BB/40K
May: .330/.386/.689/1.075 - 9BB/30K
Quinn - .274/.344/.389/.732 - 18BB/49K - not close to ML ready, he needs to make much better contact to use his great speed, played better in May, with more power, fewer Ks. Has to build on that.
Alfaro - a good but not great prospect at age 23. .282/.309/.400/.709 - 3BB/56K. ML pitchers would eat him up right now, no idea of a strike zone. Still needs work on defense. Knapp may end up the catcher of the future.
Williams - .313/.497/.279/.810 - 7BB/59K pounding the ball in May and started to draw some walks, if he doesn't expand the strike zone as pitchers nibble, he has a shot, big platoon split .896/.643
Perkins - at 26 is a marginal prospect, but has made big strides this season .290/.387/.490/.877 - 19BB/25K compare to 21BB all last season, someone is teaching him to be patient.
Lively - at 25 is a little old, but after a so-so year at Reading in 2014, turned the corner and has continued that progress this season. WHIP under 1.00 last year and this year. May be doing it with smoke and mirrors, but some really good smoke!
Eshelman - yeah, he has marginal stuff, except no one can hit him. SImilar to LIvely. Eventually with both, we'll see if it translates to the next level.
Pivetta - may have struggled in Philly, dominant in Lehigh. ML experience should focus him, now he knows he can't just blow it by ML hitters. But he has the big time heat.
Thompson - up and down season, two awful starts, then a solid stretch, brought up, sent down, then his last two starts were bad. I may just ignore his start and look how he progresses the next few months.
Appel - at 25 he's regressing, forget his #1 pick status, something is seriously wrong. Expect to see him in the bullpen soon, don't think he's salvageable as a starter
PInto - first few starts ok, then the roof caved in, finally moved to the bullpen. Watching him in Philly, he has closer stuff (95-97, excellent changeup) but is a year or two away, but definitely a good move for him.
Venditte - great numbers, 9 hits in 27 IP, but then you see the 15 BB, that won't translate to the next level, where hitters aren't as easily fooled - your basic AAAA pitcher
Milner - junk balling sidearm LOOGY, made the transition to RP in 2015, dominated Reading in 2016, struggled in AAA, now mastering that level, limited but might have a LOOGY role
Murray - hurt in ST, 19K in 12 IP then demoted to Reading. Expect him back.
READING
Pullin - .952 OPS last year in Reading, .991 this year, past the SSS phase, time to move up. .750 SA on the road this year, so it's not a ballpark effect. No platoon split last year, big one this year.
Kingery - .323/.403/.682/1.084 - 24BB/38K is ridiculous at any position, much less a small 2B. Joe Morgan as a comparison is starting to look almost credible. No home/away split, no platoon split.
Tocci - .308/.377/.379/.757 - 14BB/31K, won't turn 22 until August, showing improvement this year, weird home/away split, 11BB/10K at home, 3BB/21K on the road, go figure.
Canelo - .265/.348/.390/.738 - 18BB/42K, very patient in April, then started chasing pitches in May, has some pop in his bat, platoon split LH/RH .912/.651, not evident last year in Clearwater
Tromp - .260/.306/.460/.766 - 10BB/41K - always had a platoon split, but outrageous this year, LH/RH 1.100/.493
Mora - .258/.321/.474/.795 - 9BB/21K, slow start but has been heating up, .350BA his last ten games, another good field LA IF developing pop in his old age
Anderson - slow start, but 6 solid starts in May, 2.88 with 34 IP, 26H, 9 BB, 34K
Watson - horrid May, makes you wonder if the shoulder is going again
Viza - bad start, last to games have been better, but you wonder if he's reached a level where hitters have him figured out
Therrien - absolutely dominating, FB/Slider, 1.26 28.2 14H 3BB 39K, promoted to Lehigh
Rios - merely dominating, 2.08 33.0 18H 7BB 40K
RIvero and Nunez - the "weak sisters" of the bullpen, pitching OK but nothing to raise your eyebrows
Davis - dominated Clearwater, got promoted, pitching well at the next level
Arano - off the DL, a good sign
CLEARWATER
Coppola - .413/.413/.350/.826 - 17BB/26K, and off to Reading to see if he's for real, his future relies on speed, defense and OBP
Rodriquez - .300/.388/.507/.895 - 19BB/28K, turns 23 in June, if he keeps this up, he'll be in Reading in July, afterthought until 2015, then struggled last year in Clearwater and with injuries, seems to have turned the corner
Marrero - .287/.349/.426/.775 - 10BB/24K - 7th rd pick who's 24, but didn't get to play on a regular basis until last season, longshot but might be late maturer
Cumana - .284/.336/.330/.666 - 6BB/9K, 5'5, only 21, another good field LA IF who might fill out
Grullon - .276/.288/.404/.691 - 3BB/41K, another 21 year old LA bonus baby, great potential as defensive catcher, will he learn to hit? 30 BB last year so don't know where his batting eye went
Randolph - .237/.313/.379/.691 - 19BB/47K, hitting .417 his last ten games, so maybe he's turned the corner
Kilome - rocky start, then hit his stride before strange stretch where he threw 6 IP over 3 games, but last 7 IP so he seems to be OK
Dominguez - Pitching great, 2.02 35.2 23H 13BB 45K, then he got hurt, which is the story of his career
Taveras - 23, picking up where he left off in Lakewood, 2.28 55.2 47H 15BB 54K, not sure how much upside he has but he's progressing
Irvin - 23, jumped from Williamsport to Clearwater, struggling a little, that's part of the adjustment process
Tirado - so so as a starter, just lacks good enough control, I think this is just a way to give him more innings until he makes a permanent move back to the bullpen
Singer - fireballing LH RP out of the independent league, 1.69 26.2 16H 11BB 30K
Ed Garcia - only 20, bounced between RP and spot starting, struggled a bit but 33K in 25 IP suggests worth keeping an eye on
Arauz - throw-in was moved to the bullpen this year and jumped from Lakewood to Clearwater, 2.10 34.1 26H 6BB 32K
Gilbert - 6th rd pick in 2015 moved to pen this year, holding his own so far as a LH RP
LAKEWOOD
Moniak - .283/.335/.424/.759 - 14BB/43K, he's 19 and a year out of HS, last 10 games, .316, 2HRs, 5BB/7K, not going to get excited yet, but the arrow is pointing up
Hall - .267/.313/.467/.780 - 7BB/38K, on the one hand he's a 14th rd pick, on the other he's still 21 and has tremendous power
Brito - solid start followed by dismal May (.162/.231/.232/.464), at 19 may be over his head.
Gamboa - hurt so late start to his season, showing solid progress, K rate has dramatically fallen at each stop so far.
Sanchez - doesn't turn 19 until the end of July, they're being careful with him, but: 3.70 24.1 19H 3BB 28K
Romero - only 20, taking it up a level at Lakewood, 2.32 50.1 41H 20BB 53K
Medina - 20, great start to the season but has struggled his last three starts, 3.42 47.1 40H 20BB 54K
Fanti - also 20, absolutely lights out, 1.52 47.1 26H 13BB 53K
Suarez - he's 22, has marginal stuff but is ticking up as he fills out, 1.95 50.2 35H 17BB 60K, needs to be pushed to find out if he's for real
Falter - 20, he's been so-so, but at 6'4 175, has plenty of time to fill out that frame and make a big jump
HIbbs - 23, power pitcher, basic college senior long shot but: 0.00 28.0 7H 9BB 30K, needs to be promoted and tested
Bettancourt - 22, another college pitcher overwhelming younger hitters: 0.51 17.2 10H 2BB 31K
