Minor League Games - Sunday, June 18, 2017

[kikutaro]

Syracuse Chiefs (21-44) @ Lehigh Valley IronPigs (45-24) 1:35 pm | Gameday
Jaron Long (0-0, -.--) vs. Mark Leiter (0-0, 6.92)

Notable

Cameron Perkins 2-4, R, 2B
Pedro Florimon 1-3, R, RBI, HR, K
Dylan Cozens 1-3, R, RBI, HR, BB
Nick Williams 2-4, 2B, CS
Angelo Mora 1-3, R, 2B, 2 K
Jorge Flores 2-3, RBI

Mark Leiter (W, 1-0), 6.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 6K, game score: 78
Pat Venditte (H, 5), 1.0 IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 3K
Jesen Therrien (S, 1), 1.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1K

Reading Fightin Phils (38-27) @ Binghamton Rumble Ponies (36-27) 1:05 pm | Gameday
N/A vs. Chris Flexen (1-1, 1.98)

Notable

Scott Kingery 0-4, 2 K
Carlos Tocci 3-4, R, 3B, K
Harold Martinez 1-4, RBI, 3 K
Nick Rickles 2-4, 2B
Malquin Canelo 0-4, R, 2 K

Mario Sanchez (L, 4-2), 6.0 IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 2K, game score: 42

Clearwater Threshers - Off

Hickory Crawdads (27-43) @ Lakewood BlueClaws (40-30) 1:05 pm | Gameday
N/A vs. Ranger Suarez (4-2, 1.95)

Notable

Arquimedes Gamboa 2-3, 2 R, BB, 2 SB
Raul Rivas 0-3, R, BB, 2 K
Darick Hall 2-4, R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, K
Enmanuel Garcia 0-3, 2 K

Ranger Suarez 5.2 IP, 7H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 3K, game score: 56
Trevor Bettencourt (W, 3-1), 3.1 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K

DSL Phillies White - Off

DSL Phillies Red - Off

(click on the start time for box scores)

[Austinfan]

2 out of 3 today.
Cozens with #16, Hoskins 15, Williams 14. But Kingery leadds them all with 18 dingers. Though he had a 0 for 4 today.
Alfaro walked! Stop the presses.

[schooldoc]

Lakewood needed a win today and a Kannapolis loss to win the first half division title. Lakewood did their part, but unfrortunately West Virginia didn't do their part by defeating Kannapolis. So, the Intimidators win it by percentage points at 39-29, compared to the BlueClaws' 40-30.

On to the 2nd half for the Claws beginning on Thursday at Delmarva.

[bigegypt0417]

Alfaro has walked games in a row.

[allentown]

After a bad start to 2017, Cozens got his average up to .250 today and continues to hit HR.

[bigegypt0417]

After a bad start to 2017, Cozens got his average up to .250 today and continues to hit HR.

He's been very good since May 1st.

His adjustment took about 100 at bats.

[nycphils]

On Cozens: Weirdly, he's mashing at home but awful on the road for the full season, with a .580ish OPS

Best news of all is he's done reasonably against left-handers on the full season - has a .733 OPS

[Austinfan]

Cozens is making progress, but I'd keep him in Lehigh all season.

[andyb]

A prospect quietly having a decent season after coming back from injury is Arquimedes Gamboa. 13/17 BB/K ratio is good and he has shown hints of some power and speed this year and last. He was a major candidate to be overmatched in Lakewood but has held his own and is now doing better than Brito who looks like he is tiring a bit in his first full season. All 3 of our 19-year-olds (Moniak, Brito, and Gamboa) are doing relatively well in a tough offensive environment.

[bigegypt0417]

A prospect quietly having a decent season after coming back from injury is Arquimedes Gamboa. 13/17 BB/K ratio is good and he has shown hints of some power and speed this year and last. He was a major candidate to be overmatched in Lakewood but has held his own and is now doing better than Brito who looks like he is tiring a bit in his first full season. All 3 of our 19-year-olds (Moniak, Brito, and Gamboa) are doing relatively well in a tough offensive environment.

Very good to see they haven't been completely overmatched.

[allentown]

All 3 of our 19-year-olds (Moniak, Brito, and Gamboa) are doing relatively well in a tough offensive environment.

I don't think that conclusion can be applied to Brito. I don't know what's up with Brito. He had an .816 OPS in April, along with a .327 BA. He has been really bad in May and June, hitting below .200 for both months and with an OPS under .500 in May and under .600 thus far in June. I don't know if the pitchers found a severe weakness or he is playing through an injury, but I do know that April makes his full season stats misleading.

[Austinfan]

The key issue with age isn't that they're outperforming their peers at the same age, players physically mature at different rates.
Moniak for example, probably isn't physically ready for Lakewood, he needs strength, but his skills are that good that they want to challenge him.
My suspicion is in a year or two he's going to fill out, the power will appear, and he'll "emerge."
Brito and Gamboa, like a lot of LA players, will probably get stronger the next couple years and be better prepared to handle higher level pitching.
However, being 19 they can repeat or struggle for a year or two and it makes little difference to their long-term career trajectory.

[Philsmania]

I don't think Crawford has played in a week now. Why don't they just DL him? Is his injury one of those worse than we originally thought things? Has it been a nagging thing for a while (which might explain his subpar performance so far this season)?

[andyb]

It is more the accumulation of at bats for the season. Brito and Gamboa have had their moments at different points of the season. Many other 19-year-olds would be be given another year in short season ball and we have seen plenty of young Lakewood promotions hit .150.

They are also relatively good defensively at their positions which are important defensive positions. OPS is only one stat. It is more important that they are surviving at a young age against much older players.

[andyb]

They did DL him a few days ago. Groin injury which is often day to day but could also linger for a while.

[bigegypt0417]

The key issue with age isn't that they're outperforming their peers at the same age, players physically mature at different rates.
Moniak for example, probably isn't physically ready for Lakewood, he needs strength, but his skills are that good that they want to challenge him.
My suspicion is in a year or two he's going to fill out, the power will appear, and he'll "emerge."
Brito and Gamboa, like a lot of LA players, will probably get stronger the next couple years and be better prepared to handle higher level pitching.
However, being 19 they can repeat or struggle for a year or two and it makes little difference to their long-term career trajectory.

I think the point was they are doing well at their age and at that level.

The rest of your post is essentially anecdote since the discussion is about how well they are playing and how well they are currently playing and NOT really struggling.

[Austinfan]

Brito is struggling.
Moniak isn't playing well, he's holding up, but no more, remember he's the #1 pick in the draft, expectations should be high.
Gamboa has had a recent surge after struggling for two years.

But I don't worry about their ups and downs, too young to matter.
It's when the struggles become a trend, like Sandberg or Hernandez, that questions arise.
To me, it's about progress, from 18-21 they're maturing physically and learning how to play, after that point, production is more important than potential.

[fish]

I don't know what's up with Brito. He had an .816 OPS in April, along with a .327 BA. He has been really bad in May and June, hitting below .200 for both months and with an OPS under .500 in May and under .

He's got a super aggressive approach- he'll swing early at about anything. It didn't take long for pitchers to realize they shouldn't go first pitch strike with a fastball.

[bigegypt0417]

Brito is struggling.
Moniak isn't playing well, he's holding up, but no more, remember he's the #1 pick in the draft, expectations should be high.
Gamboa has had a recent surge after struggling for two years.

But I don't worry about their ups and downs, too young to matter.
It's when the struggles become a trend, like Sandberg or Hernandez, that questions arise.
To me, it's about progress, from 18-21 they're maturing physically and learning how to play, after that point, production is more important than potential.

So you're basically saying that you've seen progress?

Moniak is making more contacts and striking out less...Gamboa is making progress and Brito may have hit a wall.

My expectation for Moniak are high but he's showing progress for a 19 year old in low A.