I am back from my hiatus, and so there is 4+ weeks to recap, so a bunch of surface thoughts to follow. Also Lehigh Valley’s season is continuing, but barring some crazy occurrence this will be the last “weekly” update and then there will just be a season update.
Hitter Spotlight
SS Aidan Miller
Since I last wrote about the minor leagues Miller went and hit .333/.507/.490 with 17 walks to 12 strikeouts in 15 games. He stole 8 bases, but was caught 5 times, putting some blemishes on what has been an absolutely magnificent last month of the season. Reading made a trip to Hartford right at the trade deadline, and since then Miller has an even 28 walks and strikeouts in 35 games and is hitting .353/.482/.594 with 17 doubles and 5 home runs. He didn’t light AAA on fire in his one week there, but it wasn’t like he was bad while he got on base. He is unquestionably the Phillies best hitting prospect and probably will get some nods for best prospect in the system over the winter.
Pitcher Spotlight
RHP Griff McGarry
McGarry will get one last start later this week for the IronPigs, but given where things started, his year has been remarkable. He had a 3.25 ERA in 72 innings with Reading with a 5.6 BB/9 and 12.9 K/9. In this last stretch he had 3 good to dominant outings after a poor one, and had 11 walks and 29 strikeouts in 19 innings with a 2.84 ERA. Since the start of August he has started 8 games with a 2.41 ERA over 37.1 innings with 20 walks to 62 strikeouts. He has reached double digit strikeouts 3 times. It seems like the rotation is the role that works best for him, which may not be what works best for major league clubs, but hitters can’t hit him (4 HRs and a .187 batting average against) and that is generally a positive thing regardless of anything else.
Notes and Thoughts
- No one is going to call it a good season for Andrew Painter even if he matches his good start last week with a good one tonight. He has seen a lot of growth and is going to end up almost at 120 innings pitched this season which will put him among the organizational leaders. Even in his good start his slider/cutter/horizontal breaking ball had inconsistencies that he will need to clean up.
- The previous high in plate appearances in a season for Aroon Escobar was 186, he had 538 this year which far surpasses his 434 plate appearances total coming into this year. He definitely faded at times over the summer, but hit 3 home runs down the stretch with the BlueClaws before getting a taste of Reading.
- Justin Crawford was finishing the year strong (3 HRs in a 5 game span in late August), but a collision with Otto Kemp seems to have prematurely ended his season. He ended up being blocked by the reemergence of Max Kepler, a very good Brandon Marsh season, and the acquisition of Harrison Bader more than anything he did.
- It wasn’t a particularly good debut for Gage Wood who was wild in his two appearances (including a terrible 1 inning postseason start). There is some work to be done, but also drawing conclusions from 3 innings really is not gaining anything.
- Since I last wrote, Dante Nori was promoted to Jersey Shore and then to Reading, and then listed as one of the Arizona Fall League participants. He only hit .250/.347/.313 in those three week, but 9 walks to 10 strikeouts while speed running two levels isn’t bad. Since the start of June, Nori has hit .279/.388/.407 with 52 walks to 51 strikeouts while stealing 41 bases.
- It has been a mixed bag for Alex McFarlane in the bullpen (14 IP 14 H 7 ER 7 BB 13 K), but the velocity has ticked up and he has either hit his innings limit or the Phillies have seen what they need to see for Rule 5 protection. He should stay in the bullpen going forward.
- It wasn’t a dominant end to the season for Jean Cabrera (4 GS 19.1 IP 19 H 8 BB 19 K 4.19 ERA), but he set a new career high in innings at 137 innings which led the Eastern league. He pitched better away from Reading and showed month over month improvements for most of the season.
- Whenever it looks like Gabriel Rincones Jr. is putting things together he gets hurt, but he has responded this time by hitting .338/.466/.634 with his characteristic number of walks. He still has zero extra base hits off of LHPs, but he has hit righties really well and should be in the mix next spring.
- Casey Steward missed two weeks with an injury and when he came back was in the bullpen. His velocity has ticked up across the board with his fastball sitting 94-96, touching 97 with his cutter and sweeper looking much sharper. In his 6 games he walked 3 and struck out 9 and opposing batters hit .167/.286/.208 off of him. Between this stretch and his one spring inning in the prospect showcase, he probably should be a reliever full time next year.
- Since August 22, Felix Reyes has hit .378/.395/.634. You can quibble with the 3 walks in 20 games and strikeouts being slightly up, but he crushed doubles throughout August and earned a promotion to AAA where he homered in his first game. He has not drawn rave reviews from scouts, but he had one of the best offensive seasons among all minor leaguers, not just Phillies.
- Raylin Heredia hit 5 home runs in his last 9 games of the year to really put a positive spin on what at times looked like a lost season.
- In a season that started in the DSL, Zuher Yousuf ended up pitching 4 innings of 1 one run ball in the FSL playoffs. In his 13 games he never allowed more than one run. He had a 2.08 ERA in his 21.2 innings in the FSL, albeit with more than half his walks on the season. He is a fun pitcher to watch going forward.
- Danyony Pulido is still deeply inconsistent, but he ended his Threshers season with a 1.17 ERA and didn’t allow a run in his last 6 games while also posting some multi inning appearances. His slider has produced some gaudy numbers while he has suppressed damage overall.
Injuries and Transactions
Org Roster and Depth Chart are up to date with injuries and level assignments, but may not be accurate with Development List assignments that are no longer relevant.
Links and Things
Videos and Posts
Welcome back, good to read from you again.
Love your work, thank you, Matt!
Love the recap. I feel the top 15 prospects the Phillies currently have are the best 15 they’ve had in decades.