Minor League Games - Friday, July 28, 2017

[Austinfan]

They put him right into the starting rotation, which they don't do unless they think he's a prospect.

This might be the same guy:

"It’s the first reported European signing in the new international signing period. 19-year-old Spanish right-handed pitcher Ramon Rosso has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. The player of CB Barcelona apparently impressed the scouts during the Dodgers tournament in Valencia in February and later at the MLB Academies Tournament in Sant Boi. Rosso has made eight appearances for Barcelona in the Spanish Division de Honor, starting seven games. He went 1-5 with an ERA of 5.17 with 50 strikeouts and 48 walks in 38 1/3 innings. He reportedly reaches 90 MPH with his fastball. Besides Federico Celli, Misja Harcksen, Federico Giordani and Sven Schuller he is the latest European minor leaguer in the Dodgers organization. Fellow Dodgers signee Joel Valera got released this spring."

However 7/2/15

Ramon Rosso, RHP
— Dominican Republic (b. June 9, 1996), 6-4, 215
— signed by Juan Garcia-Puig/Doug Skiles/Engle

So I don't know if they're the same guy, maybe he pitched in Spain then moved to the DR. Or there are two different guys with the same name signed by the same team in the same year?

However, no record of him pitching in the DSL until this year, maybe he had a arm injury, got cut by LA, and picked up by the Phillies.

[andyb]

That is the same guy. We've been talking to him for a while. He is Dominican but spent enough time in Spain to think he may not have played as much baseball compared to other Dominican kids while growing up.

Probably not a prospect but the promotion makes him at least somewhat interesting.

[Austinfan]

He may well be a prospect, given his frame and his lack of LA playing experience, he may have slipped through the cracks.
Phillies have left a number of kids in LA until 20 or 21, letting them fill out and work on their stuff, then rapidly promoting them once they arrived stateside.
Rosso could have easily add 3-4 MPH since the Dodgers signed him, we'll know when he pitches enough to get scouting reports.
The better question is why the Dodgers gave up on him.

[andyb]

21 year olds in rookie ball are rarely prospects no matter what. All stats need to be discounted.

[bkox]

Chooch was a 21yo in rookie ball.. but yes I know he is the exception and not the rule

[Austinfan]

Pitchers are different, they often add velocity between 18-21 while they fill out.
If they don't have great command or secondary stuff initially, Phillies will delay their promotions, work on them in XST and in the weight room.
Makes sense, if they're not polished like Fanti, rushing them may kill their confidence and they won't learn anything getting pounded.

[andyb]

You keep going back to this "pitchers are different". Well everyone is different so that is a meaningless point.

An older pitcher with more experience and developed physical tools has a huge advantage against younger players. In the same way that Austin Listi has an age and physical advantage.

Statistically 21-year-olds in rookie ball (DSL or GCL) rarely make it pure and simple. Their stats are meaningless. None of that means one guy can't make it. But it does mean every stat you see on that one guy is meaningless. He is the same age as Mackenzie Mills who we just acquired that will now be 3 levels ahead of him in Clearwater. So it is likely that Rosso is a non-prospect (like Listi) even if he is a good story and is playing very well.

[Austinfan]

You see far more pitchers start late than move up quickly, especially LA pitchers.
The difference is that hitters can hit or they can't, physical maturity adds power but doesn't make a lot of difference with bat speed and vision.
With a young pitcher, big different between throwing 88-89 and 92-93 - Ranger Suarez is a good example.

The stats don't make you a good prospect, they merely indicate that you've mastered that level of play and time to move on.
The lack of stats are concerning for that reason, if your stuff is so good, why do you look so bad?

[allentown]

I think the big point is that age-inappropriate players have a huge advantage over the younger competition, especially in DSL and rookie leagues, where you are playing against largely 16-18 year olds, who are inexperienced and generally far from fully physically developed. A 21-year old LA pitcher may well gain velocity as he continues to mature physically, but -- as you say -- any stats he puts up in a very age-inappropriate league must be severely discounted. Whether LA, H.S. draftees or college draftees, 21-year olds should be at Williamsport, Lakewood, or even higher -- especially if a serious prospect. The Braves' top prospect, OF Ocuna, is in AAA at age 19 -- and playing very well.

[Austinfan]

However, each player is different.
Ranger Suarez put up great numbers in LA and even stateswide, but throwing 88-89 he was an afterthought, when he jumped to 92 last year, he suddenly was put on the fast track. They didn't care about the numbers, they knew how he was pitching and ranked him according to that knowledge.

Rosso hadn't pitched anywhere (maybe Spain) until this year (no LA stats), so he's probably very raw. He totally dominated the DSL, which suggests great stuff, the reason he's probably at GCL is because he's just come to the US, so from a culture shock standpoint it's easier to have him pitch in the GCL for a few weeks, then go to FIL. We'll know what they think of him next year by where they start him, if he's at Lakewood or Clearwater at 22 they think he's a real prospect.