This past week, I spent time at each of the Northeast affiliates of the Philadelphia Phillies scouting some of the intriguing depth pitchers in the organization. This report won’t have the usual pitching stats I give out because of time spent on video editing, so I apologize in advance if you were looking forward to that. And as for the opposition, not much stood out for Rochester and Hagerstown on those days, so no players to really highlight.
Lehigh Valley vs Rochester (5/21)
Pitching Report
- When Drew Anderson broke out in 2016, there was a thought that he could ride his 95-97 mph and good curve and slider to a future role as a #3/4 type starter. His stuff took a step back last year and his command was fairly average, leading to him dropping out of the organization’s top pitching prospects. Anderson’s outing on Monday vs the Twins’ AAA affiliate can simply be described as wildly effective. While not many balls left the infield, he didn’t have pinpoint command throwing just 51 strikes amongst his 86 pitches, while walking three batters. It didn’t feel like his fastball (92-95) was really sharp in this game. He’s also one of the few pitchers in the system I’ve seen the last couple of years who really does lose velocity late into his starts. In the last couple of innings he was in the 90-93 mph range. When it’s going good, he gets a little armside run and sink on his fastball to generate weak contact. Anderson’s main secondary weapon was his slider which was hovering around the mid 80s and was showing really sharp sweeping action, but it’s command was inconsistent. Anderson really surprised me on Monday when he only threw just four curveballs, which has been his most effective weapon in the past. Perhaps this was just a gameplan for that night, but Anderson is at his best when his curveball is incorporated more. He flashed his change-up (82-84) a bit more than his curve which had some fade and depth. To me the consistent loss of velocity late in to starts makes me think he might be better suited for a bullpen role in the future where he could be a multi-inning reliever.
Position Player Report
- For years, Mitch Walding (5th round, 2011) has been stewing in the system as a third base prospect who had the size of a power hitting third baseman but could never put it all together. Last year we started to see some signs of that in Reading, as he crushed AA pitching for 25 home runs in 401 PA. And while he had his typical high discipline and strikeout rates (career 11.2% BB, 26.8% K), he still couldn’t crack the barrier to hit for a decent average (career .243, high .269). We are getting that more this year as he entered today hitting .278. Part of the reason for this can be pointed to a more line drives, as he has a career high rate of 25.8%. While he’s still hitting for power, hitting for his seventh home run on Monday night, Walding’s fly ball rate took a bit of a dip from a really high 51.4% down to 37.1%. This has balanced out his contact type rates more evenly to a point he has become more well-rounded. While he will never have be a great defender at third base because of his footwork, he can certainly hold down the position much in the way we watch Maikel Franco in the bigs. If Walding’s offensive projection continues to go up, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s fighting for a big league roster spot next year in spring training, if not here than with another organization.
Reading vs New Hampshire (5/23)
Pitching Report
- Wednesday night could have went one of two ways for Arauz. Either his junk style of pitching would get hammered against an elite lineup or he would generate weak contact against an aggressive lineup. Unfortunately it wasn’t the latter. Facing a lineup featuring five of the top 30 Blue Jays prospects (according to MLB Pipeline), including the trio of All-Star sons (Guerrero, Bichette, Biggio), Arauz got torched for six runs (five earned) in five innings. From the start, Arauz’s command was really shaky throwing just 2/8 first pitch strikes in the first inning. He was running pitches way inside to right-handed bats, backing up his breaking ball. He hung his change-up a few too many times and ended up allowing five extra-base hits. When Arauz is going good, he locates his fastball (86-89) with good armside run. He throws a decent looking slider with moderate depth and tilt and a change-up with good fade at times, but looked a bit flat on this day. Arauz could take advantage of a lineup as aggressive as New Hampshire because of the amount of movement on his pitches. But when command is off and no pitch is better than average without extraordinary deception (Kyle Young comes to mind here), it’s tough to escape an outing from an aggressive and talented lineup.
Position Player Report
- Zach Green has had a long journey in his professional league career since being a third round pick in 2012. He’s had a number of injuries (96 games career high), inconsistencies (career 6.6% BB, 26.5% K) and has been flipping between both corner infield spots, shifting to 1B this year. In a Reading lineup that has had a lot of resurrection seasons, Green is finally putting together a solid power campaign, hitting his eight home run of the season on Wednesday night and beginning a stretch where he would hit three home runs over a four day span (10 for season). Despite a 31.1% strikeout rate, Green has hit .299 with a .962 OPS and has walked at an 8% rate (something he hasn’t done since walking at a 10% rate in 2013). Green’s ceiling is probably no more than a corner infield bench bat, but the amount of swing and miss and lack of other tools outside of power probably prevents him from reaching that point.
Opposition Player Spotlight
- All the headlines in the Blue Jays system have gone to Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Bo Bichette and rightfully so. But it was the third member of the trio of All-Star sons who shined the brightest on Wednesday night and continues to quietly make a name for himself. Biggio started his night driving in the first two runs on a double down the RF line. He followed that up by tripling his next AB after the ball took a funny bounce off the wall in rightfield. He would add an RBI single against Edgar Garcia later in the game to make it a three-hit, three RBI game. Last season in the Florida State League, Biggio hit a modest .233 with 11 HR and a .705 OPS, but had a 13.3% BB. That discipline has been his big calling card since he was a fifth round pick in 2016. This year in AA, he has torn up the competition already hitting .313 with 12 HR and a 1.108 OPS in 184 PA. He has also posted a walk rate over 17% and is playing really solid defense at second base. The scouting world maybe salivating over Bo and Vlad, but Cavan deserves more love than he is getting. There is some worry in their organization whether or not he has the range to play second and even if he doesn’t, his athleticism will aloow him to play anywhere as long as the bat gets in the lineup. There is a legit chance that we see all three of these All-Star sons in the big leagues next year.
Lakewood vs Hagerstown (Doubleheader) (5/24)
Pitching Report
- There maybe nobody with a more unusual delivery in the system than Will Stewart and thus far it has worked to the southpaw’s advantage in low A. A 20th round pick out of high school in 2015, Stewart’s whippy low 3/4 crossfire action gets his fastball (89-93) to sink and run late, creating more groundballs (64% GB%). His change-up fades out dramtically at two different speeds. There’s a hard change at 83-84 that resembles more of his fastballs until it tails off. He can then throw it with a bit of a softer touch in the 80-82 range with a little more loop to it. His slider (78-81) has a bit more tilt and sweep than his softer change. It is also new to his arsenal, as pointed out by Josh Norris, but it has the chance to be an effective third pitch. In Game one on Thursday, Stewart nearly almost went all seven innings and really the only real mistake was that eh left a hanging change-up over the plate to a lefty that got smacked over the centerfield wall for a three-run home run. He now has a 1.45 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP in 49.2 innings to go with a 43/8 K/BB ratio. Every pitch looks so similar coming out of that arm slot, that there’s a chance he could “deceive” his way into the big leagues one day.
- A 17th round pick last year, Kyle Dohy has really made a name for himself in 2018. After scuffling with command in his pro debut in Williamsport (20 BB in 22.2 innings), Dohy has found a bit more fastball command in Lakewood and has made his breaking ball a real weapon. In Game two, Dohy came in after Randy Alcantara allowed a two-run home run to cut the Lakewood’s lead to two in the fifth. He would throw two scoreless frames allowing one walk and three strikeouts. He now has a 43/11 K/BB in 23.2 innings out of the bullpen this year. Dohy has some deception with a quick little hip turn and a bit of a crossfire 3/4 arm action. The way he fires the ball makes it tough for left-handed batters to read him (.103, .395 OPS in 35 PA), particularly his curve which has a lot of spin on a 2/7 tilt and ranges 79-83 mph. His fastball (91-94) can get away from him at times down in the zone, but that’s where you’d rather have those issues instead of up in the zone. He also did a nice job pounding his fastball inside on both lefties and righties. Dohy’s got a good two-pitch arsenal with deception to make him an intriguing lefty out of the pen in the majors.
Position Player Report
- It has been a rough go for the organization’s top power prospect Jhailyn Ortiz. After starting the year .158 with a .496 OPS and 39.1% K, he would go on the DL April 24th and end up missing a month with a shoulder injury. Just a few day removed from the disabled list, Ortiz had his best day of the season on Thursday. In game one, Ortiz ripped the first pitch he saw into LF for a base hit. After striking out on a change-up in his second AB, he would drop a bloop single into shallow RF. In Game two, the ball was hit with more authority. In his first at-bat he took a fastball on the outer third and missed going over the RF wall by maybe five feet and settled for a double. He would add another single past short later in the game and finished the double header 4/7. The month off recovering from his shoulder injury might have cleared Ortiz’s head and allowed him to work on toning back his swing a bit. While he was still being aggressive early in the count, it did feel like Ortiz was hitting the ball deep in the zone and going with the pitch. After going hitless Friday, Ortiz would have another multi-hit game on Saturday, making it three in four games. While the walks aren’t coming at the same rate as last year, a mini-stretch like this maybe the jump start that the teenager has been looking for.
- Jake Scheiner had himself a pretty clutch day on Thursday. In game one, after Stewart allowed a go-ahead three-run home run in the fifth, Scheiner came back to lead off the bottom half and hit a leadoff home run (his seventh of the year) over the left-center wall. In game two, he would have hit a two-run double in the second inning to extend the lead to 3-0. Scheiner has been a part of a 2017 draft class that has gotten off to a really solid start this year. He also may potentially be the best third base prospect in the organization. While Walding has tremendously improved the last couple of years, Scheiner’s athleticism and versatility (played 31 games at 2B last year), low strikeout rates (15.6%) and power potential make him intriguing moving forward. Ceiling-wise we are probably looking at a .270 hitter, 35 doubles, 15-20 home run, 15 stolen base player over the course of a full season. He will likely end up being a swiss-army knife player who will be able to play 1B/2B/3B/LF
Photo of Jhailyn Ortiz courtesy of BaseballBesty