Minor League Games - Sunday, July 9, 2017

[Austinfan]

If Galvis keeps improving at the plate he's more than a placeholder.

If this sustained streak is for real (i.e. a product of good coaching and not just a statistical fluke), and he turns out to be a .750+ OPS hitter who's one of the best fielding SS in the majors, what exactly is Crawford going to provide? If you actually watch Galvis hitting, Stairs has really helped him develop a more compact swing with excellent bat speed, and Freddie is becoming more selective and learning how to work an AB. The two HRs weren't flukes, both were off the facade of the upper deck and neither was the product of overswinging, both were picture perfect strokes.

The assumption that a 27 year old player can't possibly improve is a bit tenuous, sure, many are maxed out, but some, especially defensive first players, have been known to make major jumps. So instead of jumping to conclusions on insufficient data, see how the season unfolds for both players.

[zambonir]

What is this "sustained streak' you speak of? He had a good June but his OPS In the last 28 days is .701, almost the same as his season. I know today's game rewards power but he still makes too many outs, and I don't yet see enough evidence that he's capable of putting up a .320 or .330 OBP consistently.

That's not to say I mind if the Phillies keep him until the off-season, but that's mostly because I don't think his value is that high right now anyway. Crawford or no Crawford, he is a placeholder because he's leaving for another team by next July if not sooner. On the day the Phillies extend him we can stop calling him a placeholder.

[Austinfan]

Compared to last season, Freddie's BB% is up from 4.0 to 6.4, his K rate down from 21.8 to 16.6 while maintaining the same ISO.
After today's game he finishes the first half with an OPS close to .720.
Let's see how he does the second half.

[California_Dreamin]

Thought this was the minor league thread? A 3-2 day with LHV, Lakewood and Williamsport wins and close Reading and Clearwater losses. Agree with Squire that Williamsport is a very fun team to follow but young hurlers could leave much to be desired.

Early returns on several of the recently drafted hitters is very positive.

[Austinfan]

Kinda strange, the teams are winning less the last few weeks but the top 50 or so prospects are playing better, a number have stepped up or broken out of slumps, Walding for example.
The player who's really taken off this year is Tromp, and Tocci has stepped up his game, not only hitting over .300, but walking more the OF is suddenly going to be very crowded in a year or two.

[schooldoc]

Not sure if it was posted elsewhere, but here is an interesting and informative Q&A with Joe Jordan, courtesy of Mitch Rupert. Mitch (who I think lurks here every now & then) does a terrific job covering the Crosscutters.

http://www.sungazette.com/sports/local-sports/2017/07/phillies-pleased-with-pitching-development/

[California_Dreamin]

AF..the reason for less winning is because of the lack of starting pitching right now in the minors. Far too many relievers are starting and this creates a situation where some of the teams are simply having to use too many pitchers in a game and PC's rule applies here...if you use enough hurlers, one of them is going to have a bad day and this has cost the teams some wins.

Heck, it nearly happened at Williamsport today, where a late 8-3 lead turned into an 8-7 nail biter before the game finally ended.

[phillychuck]

CD is right about the pitching. LV isn't going to stay 20 games over .500 with this rotation:

Eshelman (great)
Appel (no further comment)
Thompson (where'd his stuff go?)
Cesar Ramos (AAAA pitcher)
Mark Leiter (coming back to AAA when Eflin returns to Philly?)
Brandon Leibrant

unless Leiter and Leibrant are better than we've projected around here.

Reading's rotation right now is

Drew Anderson (OK)
Tyler Viza (young guy taking his lumps)
Tommy Bergjians (below average AA pitcher)
Cole Irvin (newly promoted, we'll see...)
and some combination of relievers (Sanchez, Casimiro, Richy?)

Elniery Garcia's return could help them a lot.

Clearwater has lost its best hitters to AA, but its rotation is still solid:

Jose Taveras
Franklin Kilome
Alberto Tirado
Jacob Waguespack (underrated performer so far)
Edgar Garcia
JoJo Romero (recently promoted)

and they have 2 or 3 good back-up starters (Garcia, Quinn, Dominguez). Their problem is scoring runs right now.

Finally, Lakewood features

Suarez
Fanti
Medina
Falter
Sixto
and Paulino as the sixth starter

They seem to be OK.

[bigegypt0417]

If Galvis keeps improving at the plate he's more than a placeholder.

If this sustained streak is for real (i.e. a product of good coaching and not just a statistical fluke), and he turns out to be a .750+ OPS hitter who's one of the best fielding SS in the majors, what exactly is Crawford going to provide?

So you mean is Galvis turns into something he's never been then we keep him?

Galvis is a placeholder and will be traded to make room for Crawford unless he falls to pieces again.

[bigegypt0417]

winkleman

Cornelius Randolph

He was hitting .320/.469/.540 in 15 second half games coming into today

Kind of a weird stat but in the last 10 games Randolph has k'ed 9 times and walked 10 times...OBP is up to .346

[andyb]

K's and BB's go together for players that work deep counts, especially those with a little power or if they at least have power in their approach.

[EDmuch]

JP Crawford, the Dom Brown of the infield.

[bigegypt0417]

JP Crawford, the Dom Brown of the infield.

Randomly picking a prospect that you waffled on and making a comparison isn't really that impressive. Basically you are using the fact that some prospects fail to make a point...which you can't because Dom Brown absolutely raked in the minors.

[Austinfan]

It's actually what you see with top hitters as they develop discipline.

If you are good at squaring up on the ball, and don't swing at bad pitches, you won't necessarily walk a lot, because you're making a lot of solid contact and putting the ball in play. You don't K a lot because you force the pitcher to throw you something you can hit. Ironically some guys who walk a lot are disciplined hitters who foul off more hittable balls than the best hitters and thus run deep counts more often (more BBs but a lot more Ks).

[saycheese]

Dom Brown always had a hole in his swing. It got exposed (except for one month) in the majors. Crawford issue to me is between his ears. The talent is there, the swing is still good, he has a decent eye at the play. Maybe dropping so much in the BA ranking will humble him ( I honestly never understood why he was so high) and the light will finally go on for good.

[Austinfan]

I don't think Crawford needed to be humbled, I just think he got promoted too fast on the basis of his glove and never got a chance to settle in, work on his swing mechanics, develop power and learn how to hit. Which is why unless he tears it up the second half, another half season to a season in AAA ball won't be the worst thing to happen to him.

[bigegypt0417]

I don't think Crawford needed to be humbled, I just think he got promoted too fast on the basis of his glove and never got a chance to settle in, work on his swing mechanics, develop power and learn how to hit. Which is why unless he tears it up the second half, another half season to a season in AAA ball won't be the worst thing to happen to him.

again...if by the end of the season we're seeing this version of JP Crawford he will be in Philadelphia in 2018. I know you seem to advocate for the "old Phillies way" but Galvis will not be the reason Crawford stays in AAA.

[bkeich]

CD is right about the pitching. LV isn't going to stay 20 games over .500 with this rotation:

Eshelman (great)
Appel (no further comment)
Thompson (where'd his stuff go?)
Cesar Ramos (AAAA pitcher)
Mark Leiter (coming back to AAA when Eflin returns to Philly?)
Brandon Leibrant

You know, even with that rotation I bet they keep winning. They have 3 guys competing for the most HR in the minors, it seems like every trip through that lineup at least 1 of Hoskins, Kingery or Cozens gets the pitcher. If Alfaro can put his immense power on the ball and Crawford can start / continue to be a threat that lineup would win a ton of games even with bad pitching.

[saycheese]

I agree he got promoted too quickly, he in my opinion was put on a pedestal by BA and others having him a top 10 prospect in baseball. I never saw that, I saw a kid who had a good eye, was good defensively but a crappy attitude. Certainly a MLB player but not the future star that comes with being a top 10 prospect.
Ray Rhodes used to say that too many of his players had the Pro Bowl Glide. I think Crawford was believing too many of the headlines and forgot you still have to work hard to get to MLB baseball. Now maybe the past month has changed him. But I do think he needs to be in the minors at least through the rest of this year and probably the start of next year.

[julio]

JP Crawford, the Dom Brown of the infield.

IMHO, this is a troll. It adds nothing to the discussion.