A few observations beyond the box score after attending the Williamsport game last night:
-Spencer Howard was more impressive than his box score. I did not see a radar gun, but his fastball was hard and heavy and he got ahead of most hitters. He had some back luck as far as where balls were hit and erratic zone of the home plate umpire. His secondary pitches were not consistent, but I'd have no problem seeing how he fares at Lakewood this year with an eye on Clearwater next year.
-Connor Seabold was dominant, reminded me of Aaron Nola in build, windup and delivery. He might be 1-2 mph slower than Howard with the fastball, but his command was outstanding and he mixed in quality offspeed pitches. Should be advanced immediately and tested at Lakewood or Clearwater.
-Not a great night for either of the two marquee hitters Haseley or Ortiz, but a few notes:
-Haseley has a very different stance than Moniak. He really crouches (in contrast to Moniak being completely upright), which might help generate power from his legs. His swing plane was pretty flat though, and it was tough to see a ton of Home Runs coming from it. He played a flawless CF and looks like a gamer, though. I'd bump him to Lakewood, though he is not dominating in a way that makes me think he should already be in Clearwater
-Ortiz made two outstanding plays in the outfield and displayed remarkable agility doing so. He charged in on a sinking line drive and laid out to catch it. Then he covered an amazing amount of ground during a shift and tracked down a ball near the RF foul line. Offensively, he just missed on a couple of balls and hit towering balls. He misread a couple of pitches and looked bad on swings and misses, but he did not seem to swing at balls out of the zone. If he and the Phillies can manage that body as he grows older, could have a special hitter on our hands.
-Jake Scheiner was the offensive hero of the night, 2 doubles and a home run. He was very aggressive at the plate, will need to work on controlling the zone. Still, he stung the ball to all fields and was our best hitter, at least last night. Seemed to run pretty well on the basepaths also.
Finally, quick hits:
-Greg Pickett is huge, especially in height. Big lofty swing, will make for some majestic home runs, but definitely some holes in it and was late on hard fastballs.
-Luis Encarnacion is physically imposing, but did not look great at the plate.
-Williamsport is a nice little town and BB&T Ballpark (Bowman Field) is really great. Recommend anyone who can make it there go check it out.