It’s the first week of spring training games for the minor leagues and I needed a vacation. So naturally, I am here in Clearwater not only to enjoy myself for a long weekend but to give you the people a little update on all the top prospects in the Phillies system (and eventually a bonus first hand look at a top tier MLB draft prospect). So here’s a recap of some of the notable prospects from the first two days of my excursion.
Wednesday was somewhat of a nail-biter for me as by the time I arrived at the Carpenter Complex about midway through the two minor league games. It was mainly AAA and AA players in the two games vs the Atlanta Braves. I ended up my entire time watching the last five games of the AA game, which also comprised of players who are likely bound for Clearwater. Here are the three that caught my eye:
- Jojo Romero – It was a somewhat shaky outing for Romero, who ended up logging three innings. He was around 88-92 on his sinker. Overheard from a scout that he hit 94 a couple times on his four seam. His curveball looked effective at times ,while he didn’t seem to have a feel for his change-up in this outing. Defense did fail him a few times but his command wasn’t showing in his outing. He will likely begin the year in Reading.
- Daniel Brito – One of the few prospects who played on the AA roster who will likely end up in Clearwater, Brito was the first prospect I saw when I arrived. He ended up having the best day. In the three trips I witnessed, he drew a seven pitch walk. He followed that up by ripping a ball just out of the reach of the first baseman battling back from 0-2. In his last one, he hit a chopper to 2B, and busted his tail up the line to nearly beat it out. Brito’s issue last year was really that he wasn’t strong enough and that it was his first year of full season ball. The athleticism, and strong bat-to-ball skills makes him an intriguing prospect and a more interesting trade chip if he continues to progress with Kingery and Hernandez in the way of his natural position of second base
- Mickey Moniak – It was a day to forget for the 2016 #1 overall pick. Similar problems existed in this game as he struggled recognizing and catching up to offspeed pitches. He even dropped a ball in center that he should of caught, but it was clear he was battling the sun before getting under the ball. It’s obviously one day in spring training, but it certainly didn’t alleviate concerns.
Thursday (Day 2) featured mainly A ball players from the Phillies and Blue Jays organizations. It was a day where the were a number of blown pickoffs, a lot of southpaws and a split in games. The players below ended up being in the game the Phillies lost, but they had caught my eye the most.
- Francisco Morales – Of the pitchers ranked in the 11-20 range on the Minor Thoughts list, Morales was the one who peaked my curiosity the most. While I did not get to see any radars on him, Morales fastball was a bit shaky early on allowing a couple of hard hit balls to the first few batters. He eventually settled in and his fastball became his best pitch, keeping it constantly down in the zone. He flashed a decent looking change-up and slider but he didn’t have a great feel for them in his two innings. His mechanics were very clean, and he repeated it well. Morales will remain in Clearwater for extended spring training before heading to Williamsport.
- Jhordany Mezquita – The 8th round pick in last year’s draft, who was originally going to be an international signing, had a pretty nice two inning showing after replacing Morales. Mezquita showed some decent sink and run on his fastball, which ranged 89-92 mph. He kept his fastball down in the zone for the most part and showed a curve with a nice big break on it that he had an inconsistent feel for. After his first inning of work, I ended up taking only one video in his second inning as the sunscreen started to seriously burn my eyes (go figure). But he ended up working out of his second inning rather quickly. The southpaw might follow the same path as Morales and eventually end up in Williamsport.
- Cole Stobbe – Stobbe has quick hands and shows above average raw power, but you rarely see enough because of his issues recognizing and laying off breaking balls. Today was a good litmus test of that. In his first at-bat, he crushed a two run home run over the leftfield wall on a first pitch fastball. He then ended up striking out his next two times up, freezing on a curve and flailing at another breaking ball in the dirt. He then drew a seven pitch walk in his final at-bat. The Phillies paid big money for Stobbe back in 2016, going over the 3rd round slot value. After posting a .203 average and 30.7% strikeout rate, Stobbe will have to make some big adjustments as he heads to Lakewood in his first year of full season pro ball.
https://twitter.com/JPhils90/status/974335667923767296
Photo of Jojo Romero Courtesy of Baseball Besty