Philliedelphia

Michael Stutes Likely to be Called Up After Aumont Sent Down to AAA

(Philliedelphia/Danielle Wilson) 

Good news, the bullpen is about to get a little stronger.

With Phillippe Aumont's recent struggles, he was sent down to AAA Lehigh Valley after tonight's ballgame, per Todd Zolecki. This season, Aumont is facing a 4.15 ERA, and has allowed six earned runs on 17 hits in 13 innings pitched. He has also walked ten and struck out 15. A corresponding move will be made on Friday, but it seems that Mike Stutes is the obvious choice.

This season in Lehigh Valley, Mike Stutes has been excellent. In 20 games and 27 innings pitched, Stutes' ERA sits at 3.33. He has allowed 10 runs to score all season, walking 11 and striking out 25. However, in the past ten games, Stutes has allowed just one run to score. The Phillies are losing a sub-par righty in Aumont, but they're gaining a strong righty in Stutes.

Ruben Don't Care Who You Want Up

Don't even think you'll see Asche....

Tonight at the IronPigs game, we saw Joe Savery, Mike Stutes, and Jake Diekman all throw scoreless innings in a 14-5 win. This prompted my buddy Drew to ask why these guys are down, and B.J. Rosenberg is up. I suppose the company line is that Rosenberg is stretched out to be a long man. That's fine, but it's not like he was an overly effective starter in AAA, his ERA was 4.30. I'm not even sure he's an upgrade on Valdes, or that we need a long-man all that bad to begin with. For that matter, I think it matters less who wins out amongst fringe major league arms for the seventh job than the fact that the Phillies have a bullpen half full of them.

This wasn't the only incident of this kind of debate tonight. Why not bring up Darin Ruf? Well, I happen to be in the pro-Ruf crowd, but do you think bringing him up is going to totally turn the fortunes of this team around? He's hit decently well in AAA ball, but decently well doesn't translate into Albert Pujols the way some people imagine. Do I think he's provide needed pop, sure, but where would he play? How well would he play there? These aren't easy questions.

Fans always want to see the best talent, even if only by marginal standards, up with the real club, playing real games. I understand that. What fans have to understand is that this won't change the season that much, and Ruben Amaro has other concerns. Sometimes that higher-ceiling prospect has a flaw in his game that could be exposed in the majors, and needs more work first. Sometimes bringing up that prospect could cause a playing-time issue that diminishes the value of a veteran the GM would like to trade away for something. Sometimes they know a prospect isn't as good as the stats say. Having Ruf up for 200-300 plate appearances is probably not going to either increase his trade value, or save the season. Sure, he may have more power than say John Mayberry Jr., but Mayberry is out of options, and plays better defense, both of which are concerns to a GM. You can say Ruf is better than Mayberry, and I may agree with that evaluation, but show me the difference that makes it worth it to have Ruf sitting instead of playing, to DFA Mayberry, and to give up the defense. If you can't clearly quantify, or the difference isn't crazy obvious, there's no reason to make the move, right now. Would I do the move? Yeah, I would. Is it possible that there are concerns that I don't know enough to share with the front office that cause them to have a different view? Yeah.

This is going to be a concern all year. There are talents in the upper minors, guys like Cesar Hernandez, Cody Asche, Darin Ruf, Jesse Biddle, and others, who fans will want to bring up to the big league club as that club continues to struggle in different areas. The odds are that we won't see many, or any, of them before September. It's just as possible that next season, with these guys possibly on the roster, that fans will lament the guys we let leave before them. This is the "Johnny-come-lately" nature that we all have naturally as fans, and need to fight. Just as bad as you want to see these guys come through the door instead of the "AAAA" guys like Rosenberg and Cloyd, you have to try to not get mad when they're going through their growing pains later. We've went through this with Dom Brown, and tonight he hit his club leading 8th homer. Is he perfect, or complete yet? No, but he's about the only player so far this season who has shown any kind of upside or future potential that we can be excited by. There's a good chance that next season we watch he and Freddy Galvis start and continue to blossom, while some of these young guys people want to see come up. Just realize that patience is a virtue, both now and later.

Darin Ruf Putting Pressure On Domonic Brown With Hot Streak

Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr.

Darin Ruf hit his third homer in three days yesterday. He's 8-for his last-13, with three doubles and three homers in the last three days. He was off to a slow start, but now starts to look like he's ready to go.

The Phillies seem content to leave him in AAA right now. With that said, if he keeps it up, and they continue to hit with inconsistency, how long does he stay down? No, he won't play first, but he's playing more left-field. So is Dom Brown. Dom's not lighting the world on fire right now. Delmon Young hit well last night, but that's not enough sample to call him safe.

It's a story to watch. If Ruf keeps hitting, it will get more and more difficult to justify him in the minors.

Phillies Top Pitching Prospect Jesse Biddle Is Named Pitcher Of The Week

Courtesy woodbats.blogspot.com

Phillies top pitching prospect Jesse Biddle has been named the Eastern League's pitcher of the week, reports the Philadelphia Daily News.  

Biddle had two very impressive outings in the last week.  The first was a 16-strikeout performance on Monday, April 22 against the Harrisburg Senators.   Biddle followed that up with a 10-strikeout performance his next outing, in which he pitched six innings.   All in all during last week, he was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 26 strikeouts.   That's a pretty decent week.

The closest a minor leaguer has come to that 16 strikeout total in a game was both Adam Walker and Randy Wolf, who struck out 13 in starts in 2001 and 1999, respectively.  Of the two, Randy Wolf would go on to pitch in the major leagues from 1999 to 2012.  After being cut by the Milwaukee Brewers last season, Wolf has yet to find a job.

This news is certainly encouraging to the Phillies, who could be facing a rebuilding after this season, or even during this season, should the team not be in contention by the trade deadline.

Pettibone, Biddle, and Ranking the Young Arms

So Jon Pettibone threw really well last night for a big league debut, which doesn't shock me. Sometimes a good debut means you're a future Cole Hamels, sometimes it means you're Carlton Loewer. You shouldn't get overly excited, or totally dismissive, because he did pitch good, but lots of young guys have quick success before people have seen them much.

I have seen plenty of Pettibone though. I saw him a couple times last season, and I saw his first start in AAA this year. He is not a future ace, but he could and should be a decent big leaguer some day. He's got a nice 91-92 type fastball, and a good sinker when he's on. His best games are the games that put you to sleep. That's a profile that seems to go high end #3, and low end #5. I wouldn't put too much stock into last night, or his two rough starts in AAA.

Pettibone was not the "big" start by a young guy last night. That still goes to Jesse Biddle. All he did was punch out 16 last night in Reading, over 7 innings. If you were wondering, I haven't seen him pitch yet, and it's one of the things I really want to do this summer. And every summer going forward.

So far this summer I've seen Ethan Martin (twice), Pettibone, Cloyd, Brody Colvin, and Zach Miner (ouch) start minor league games. In terms of what I saw, I was probably most impressed with Colvin to be honest, and he's actually come out of the gates okay for once, pitching to a 3.97 ERA in his two starts before going on the 7 day DL (I'm not sure why). I did see Adam Morgan in the Lehigh Valley-Reading scrimmage, and he looked bothered by the extreme cold that night, but he's pitched excellent since then.

Being that the Phillies are likely to have 2 or 3 openings in next year's rotation, how do all of these young arms rate right now? I'll give you my best crack, which I'll base on their ceiling and likelihood to actually be a starter in the end. I think it's obvious who I'll rank #1, but still, here's my list:

1. Jesse Biddle- I'd be kind of surprised if he didn't make the 2014 rotation right now. He's got a 2.16 ERA in Reading, which makes it very possible that he is in Lehigh Valley by June or July if he throws like that. Simply put, he strikes me as a guy who flies through these levels and opens next season as a fourth or fifth starter, unless they hold him back until June.
2. Adam Morgan- I'd be pretty surprised if Morgan is not making his MLB Debut before the end of this season. He's dominated the minors since we drafted him out of Alabama, and he's dominated AAA so far this season. He's the best pitcher so far on that team, as he's been on every team so far that he's been on. He's got a solid fastball, and a great slider. If he can work on a third pitch, he's ready. He's not yet, but he will be soon.
3. Jon Pettibone- Am I ranking him higher than you would? I suppose so in some cases. I think he's the safest guy in the system. Pettibone is a guy who has to consistently get ground balls, but he can grow into that guy. I'm hesitant to compare him to Kendrick, if for no other reason than I think he may be ahead of where Kendrick was, but being a sinker-baller, Pettibone does have to do the same things we used to say Kendrick did.
4. Ethan Martin- He's certainly more talented than Pettibone, but he's in AAA and still has some struggles with control and command. He's got a great fastball, and actually good stuff on the whole, he just seems to get behind in the count sometimes and get into trouble. I'm a believer he ends up being a closer or high-leverage spot reliever some day. He's a strong bet to make the bigs.
5. Brody Colvin- He's a guy with a high ceiling, and he came out of the gates well, but now he's on the DL. I'm not sure why, but he was a late scratch from his last scheduled start. This is kind of a make-or-break year for him, and he could fall on this list. He could also move way up it too.
6. Seth Rosin- He's throwing pretty well so far, and seems to be adapted after being traded for Hunter Pence last year.
7. Tyler Cloyd- I don't think he can make it as a full-time starter. He's a AAAA guy at best.
8. Austin Wright- He's on the DL right now. I liked his numbers last year, but have never seen him.
9. B.J. Rosenberg- I think he's a reliever, which is why he's so low on this list. I like that they have him stretching out though, and getting more innings.

This is just my early take on these guys, and their likely outcomes. In a month this could change. For now, it's based on a small sample size of this year, and their pedigree in the rankings.

Phillies Prospect Roman Quinn Runs Around Bases In 14 Seconds

Wanna see Phillies prospect Roman Quinn round the bases really, really fast? Wanna see him do it again? How about a third time? Okay enough is enough, but damn this kid is fast. 

Yesterday, the Lakewood BlueClaws took on the Hagerstown Suns (Nationals) at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood. During the game, the 19-year-old Roman Quinn hit an inside the park home run and rounded the bases in remarkable fashion at 14.1 seconds. Wow.

Dude, he ran so fast that he crossed home plate before the ball was back to the cut-off man (in shallow right).

Quinn is hitting .308 (8-for-26) with a .357 OBP and a .462 SLG in six games while playing shortstop for the BlueClaws.

If this kid can stay healthy and remain this fast for the next few years as well as improving his hitting and fielding (and if the Phillies don't trade him away), he would be a suitable infielder at the Major League level. 

Here's what Quinn had to say after the game (Video: Josh Norris).

Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.

BlueClaws Raising Money for the Shore

From the BlueClaws' Facebook

Chalk one up for the pride of Ocean County, the Lakewood BlueClaws. They're playing some baseball now down along the Jersey Shore, in the same area that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. That in and of itself is a kind of miracle. If you saw the destruction down there last fall, you'd be amazed.

You'd be even more amazed to know that they're one of the things helping to re-build there. They are wearing "Restore the Shore" jerseys all weekend, and auctioning them off at the end. The jerseys don't have the player's name on them, but rather the name of a destroyed town from the storm. The proceeds from the jerseys will go to the BlueClaws charities relief efforts.

Reviewing the Exhibition Game, Previewing the Minor League Season

Brody Colvin threw well. Picture by Richard Wilkins Jr.

I'm going to make an admission- it was so damn cold on Tuesday night that I left in the 7th inning and went home. I try to make it a habit to see the Lehigh Valley-Reading scrimmage every year. It's nice to get a look at some of the prospects closest to the big leagues, before the season even starts. I was not alone in attending amongst Phillies bloggers though, apparently. Crashburn Alley and Phuture Phillies were both there too.

No I'm gonna go all Flyers style here, and give out "stars" for what I saw in the game, and what I expect to see this year.

READING-

• Brody Colvin (pictured above)- This was not the same guy as last year, so far as I can tell. His change-up looked really good at times, and certainly was fooling some guys, which makes me believe his fastball probably looked good too (the two compliment each other). I was sitting by the Reading dugout and didn't have the benefit of an accurate radar gun (the stadium one sucks), but he did seem to get stronger as the innings went. The story I was told on him from last year (and 2011) was that his motion to the plate was inconsistent and sapped some of his power out of his arm. His motion looked very smooth in this game. He went four innings of one run ball against a fairly potent looking AAA team, so there's not much bad to say here. 

Sebastian had a good night for Reading. Picture by Richard Wilkins Jr.

• Sebastian Valle's night was pretty good too. He had a 2 RBI double in the right-center field gap, and threw a runner out at second base trying to steal (I think it was Cesar Hernandez). It's pretty clear that the Phillies are demoting his star a bit in favor of Tommy Joseph, but nothing I saw in this game convinced me this guy can't play. 
• Anthony Hewitt- Yes, he struck out. Yes, I know there's not a lot of hope. He also did mash a nice double against Ethan Martin, and flashed the tools that made him a first round pick. He had the double, had two hits, made a nice throw, and stole a bag in one night. I have little to no expectations of what will happen with him in AA, but on this night he did enough to still get noticed, which is something.
• Collier and Duran both really didn't get enough of a sample size for me, but both can move.
• Austin Wright- the lefty was impressive to me. He's not a guy with gas (at least not in 35 degree, ridiculously windy conditions), but he's a smooth delivery-lefty, and had a nice breaking ball. 

My expectations are mixed for Reading. For the first time, Lehigh Valley is really the home of the prospects, and Reading has a lot of guys who are "they can make it if..." types. We didn't get to see Biddle, Buchanan, or Rosin, but the two starters we saw on this night both were impressive enough for me to want to see more. I think this team has enough pitching to win more than they lose, but it's more about the individual performances of a lot of these guys, at least to me. I'm really intrigued by the Valle/Rupp situation behind the plate. 

Joseph has a gun of an arm. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr.

LEHIGH VALLEY-

• Tommy Joseph (pictured above)- At the plate, he did nothing to set the world on fire for this night, though his spring was very encouraging. Behind the plate, he flashed a very plus arm, easily throwing out Duran (I'm pretty sure it was him at least) in the first inning. I'm excited to see what he does this year.
• Cesar Hernandez- There isn't a lot to discuss with him on this night, but that I have high hopes for him. Call him Galvis, minus a little glove, but plus some bat, while in the minors. I like his potential, and have been a fan for several years. With the exception of April of 2011, I don't know when he hasn't hit decently in the minors.

Ethan Martin. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr.

• Ethan Martin looked really good, on the whole. His fastball appeared to have good velocity and movement, and he sailed through three innings with 5 K's. The only negative I could say is that he hit a guy and walked a guy, so his command isn't rock-solid, but he never encountered any trouble from that. I'm excited about this Lehigh Valley rotation, him especially.
• Adam Morgan- He really struggle on this night. It was really cold though, and being that I don't think he's ever started a year up north, this is new to him. He had great velocity too, but a lack of command.

Cody Asche. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr.

• Cody Asche- He had a nice single that I saw, and seemed fine down at third, for the limited sample size we had. I'm happy the Phillies challenged him a bit in AAA, as if he's going to be the next third baseman, he's gotta show he can handle it this year.
• Tyson Gillies- This guy's really under the gun this year, as the Phillies are definitely trying out other speedy outfielders who could block his path. He hit .300 last year though, and he had a nice hit early on in this one too. I still see potential here, but this is an absolute must year for him.

Darin Ruf. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr.

• Darin Ruf- He had a really pretty single (should have been a double), just inside the chalk at third, to plate one in the first. He also had no incidents in the outfield, despite the windy night. I really, really hope we're watching him by June in Philly, but we'll see.
• Justin Friend- I was impressed by this guy. He really was fooling the Reading hitters in his work time. He'll be interesting to watch against AAA competition.

My expectations of the IronPigs are really high. Their rotation is full of guys with futures, their line-up has a lot of talent, and there's some solid depth here. This team should be one of the best ones in the International League, if the Phillies don't start shuttling guys up to the bigs.

It's worth noting tonight that Lakewood also opens up their season, and their line-up for tonight is out, from their Facebook:

Lakewood BlueClaws

40 minutes ago 

The BlueClaws Opening Day Lineup - Roman Quinn ss, Angelo Mora 2b, Brian Pointer lf, Art Charles 1b, Willie Carmona dh, Mitch Walding 3b, Carlos Tocci cf, Yan Olmo rf, Chace Numata c / Jordan Guth RHP. Do you LIKE this lineup?

I'm super excited about Quinn and Tocci, and pretty excited about Walding too. These guys are far, far away from the big leagues, but the talent is definitely there.

So, here's a few predictions for the year-

• Jon Pettibone will be the most consistent pitcher in a staff full of solid AAA arms, but that's no knock on the other guys there. I'm expecting big years from Martin and Morgan too. I'm not sure what we get from Cloyd, because command is such a big part of his game, or from Rosenberg, who's doing this to work on refining his pitches. I'll predict another big AAA year from Cloyd, and a solid enough year from Rosenberg.
• The only thing stopping Lehigh Valley from a playoff run is the possibility of the Phillies selling at the deadline and calling the kids up. I'm expecting big, big things from this line-up, especially Joseph and Ruf, who are the most solid bets to be on the 2014 Phillies. Asche could play his way into that discussion too.
• Reading will put up a winning season, but miss the post-season. Jesse Biddle will be really good, after a slow April, while the light-bulb finally goes on for Brody Colvin. Seth Rosin will also pitch his way onto the radar this year.
• Anthony Hewitt hits 25 homers in AA ball, re-kindling his MLB hopes.
• It's gonna be a solid year for Edgar Duran.
• Clearwater is an also-ran in the first half, but wins their division in the second half, as guys come up. Kelly Dugan comes back from injury and puts up some very good numbers.
• Lakewood won't impress as much in the first half as you will hope, as Tocci adjusts and Quinn learns to switch-hit. Watch them come July though.
• Larry Greene will be back in Williamsport, and the power will finally come out.
• Shane Watson dominates in Lakewood.

With that.... play ball.

Reading Fightin Phils To House Two Ostriches At Stadium This Season

(Photo: Fightins.com)

There will be ostriches in the outfield this season at FirstEnergy Stadium. No...this isn't an April Fool's joke. This is really happening.

It seems like the minor league affiliates of the Phillies are getting really creative now-a-days. First the Lehigh Valley IronPigs will offer a pee-controlled video game in their restrooms and now, the Reading Fightin Phils will be the proud owners of two of the world's largest flightless birds.

That's right, FirstEnergy Stadium will be the home of two female ostriches this summer. GM Scott Hunsicker is excited about the new attraction, which represents the team's new image as well.

"Fans can now experience and learn about farming and these unique animals from Africa just by attending a Fightin Phils game," said Fightin Phils General Manager Scott Hunsicker. "We hope that families can fall in love with both farming and baseball from the allure of these magnificent ostriches."

The ostriches will be housed in America's Classic Ballpark in the raised outfield pasture that sits behind the centerfield walls. Before and after each home game at FirstEnergy Stadium, the ostriches will be on display for Fightins fans. The connection that the team has with the farming community in Berk's County means a lot to the fans and the organization.

Fans will be also be able to name the ostriches via contest on Fightins.com.

Fans must be a member of the Baseballtown Insider to submit their name choices. Once signed up for the Baseballtown Insider, you will be e-mailed a contest link to submit your name suggestions. All names should be submitted as a pair prior to by Thursday, April 4. Name finalists will be chosen and announced on Friday, April 5. Fightins fans can then vote for their favorite pair of names for the selected finalists.

Maybe next the Phillies will put live snakes in the outfield and Roy Halladay can wrestle them before every game.

You can read the full press release here.

Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.

 

Minor League Rosters Come Into Focus

Ryan Howard will not be an IronPig.

Today, the IronPigs broke camp and went north, as will the other teams in Florida within the system. With their win on Thursday, the IronPigs assured themselves of a winning spring. Today, they assured us of their rotation, announcing that Tom Cochran is staying behind in Extended Spring Training. Between this and the Phillies cuts, I'm comfortable calling the IronPigs roster:

• Rotation: Cloyd, Pettibone, Martin, Morgan, Rosenberg.
• Line-Up: Gillies-CF, Hernandez-2B, J. Mitchell-RF, Ruf-LF, Asche-3B, Joseph-C, Overbeck-1B/DH, Fields-DH/1B, Martinez-SS.
• Bullpen: Stutes, De Fratus, Diekman, Savery, Friend, Jimenez, Miner.
• Bench: Orr, Lerud, Castro, Susdorf.
• DL-Left Behind: Blanco, Cochran.

The staff is impressive obviously, and entirely made up of guys with high upside. The line-up is also prospect heavy, and has lots of positive upside to look forward to this summer. Tuesday night I'll be watching them play Reading in Allentown. Speaking of Reading, no change in the final roster predictions there:

• Rotation: Biddle, Buchanan, Garcia, Wright, Colvin.
• Line-Up: Collier-CF, Hanzawa-SS, Welty-RF, Murphy-1B, Mitchell-LF, Valle-C/DH, Rupp-DH/C, Abreu-3B, Cartwright-2B.
• Bullpen: Simon, Robles, Rosin, Ramirez, Sosa, Ellis, Neris.
• Bench: Suomi, Murphy, Tolbert, Hewitt.
• DL: James, Henson, Johnson.

I'd like to see them start Hewitt in A ball and put Henson on, but that'll wait. The interesting thing here is, they will probably have three catchers break camp with this group. I'll be watching the top of the rotation obviously with Biddle. There's a lot of other talent here too, and guys like Hewitt and Colvin are in basically make-or-break seasons. It will be interesting to see how the Rupp/Valle dynamic plays out too.

To round it out, here's Clearwater:

• Rotation: Hollands, Garner, Stewart, Kleven, Milner.
• Line-Up: Hudson-CF, Altherr-RF, Alvarez-LF, Franco-3B/DH, Martinez-1B/DH/3B, Alonso-1B/3B/DH, Ludy-C, Villalobos-SS, Carver-2B.
• Bullpen: Arias, Shreve, O'Sullivan, Murray, Nesseth, Hernandez, Giles.
• Bench: Lavin, Roof, Stassi, Moore.
• DL: Dugan, Stumpo. 

And, Lakewood:

• Rotation: Watson, Warner, Brady, Stefan, Martinez.
• Line-Up: Quinn-SS, Tocci-OF, Walding-3B, Serritella-1B, Pointer-OF, Greene-2B, Hill-C, Perkins-OF, Arthur-DH.
• Bullpen: Inch, Santos, Rojas, Broussard, Aizenstadt, Cooper, Oviedo.
• Bench: Quaranto, Olmo, Taylor, Mora.
• DL: Numata, Carmona.

I think the only surprise is that Larry Greene was left in camp. Beyond that, things are exactly where we thought they were. Lakewood is going to be really, really fun to watch.