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Freddy Galvis, Cesar Hernandez and Building the 2015 Bench

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There are few things to say positively about the 2014 Philadelphia Phillies season. We’re nearing the final stretch to the season and September promotions should bring about an ounce of excitement for the faithful fans that still decide to watch this team. One area of the ball club that has been abysmal this season along with the previous years has been the bench.

The collective group of John Mayberry, Tony Gwynn, Cesar Hernandez, Wil Nieves and Reid Brignac is a group of mostly below replacement level players that don’t provide value offensively or even defensively. Nieves is the lone exception and works well with the pitching staff.

Offensively, the Phillies rank 24th in major league baseball, with a .245 on base percentage this season when pinch-hitting. They have a collective .542 OPS, 19th in the league. Their bench options lack positional flexibility and they struggle to get on base. Regardless of how the manager plays the matchups beyond John Mayberry against left handed pitchers, there are no strong options that will yield a positive outcome.

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Some Roster Shuffling

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Some quick transactions: Nick Rodesky promoted from GCL to Lakewood Aaron Brown promoted from Williamsport to Lakewood Jesen Dygestile-Therrien promoted from Williamsport to Lakewood Daniel Child demoted from Lakewood to GCL Aaron Baker promoted from Lakewood to Clearwater Samuel Hiciano placed on Lakewood disabled list Jesse Biddle promoted from Clearwater to Reading A lot of … Read more

Fastball Velocity and Brandon Leibrandt

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Phillies 6th Round pick Brandon Leibrandt has been on a roll recently which has started the round of questions about how good he can be, which ultimately end up on fastball velocity.  Velocity is the most tangible and quantifiable aspect of a pitcher’s arsenal.  Movement, command, and deception are all in the eye of the beholder and once we start talking secondary pitches the amateur eye is really out of its league.  So we debate velocity and whether it is enough for a pitcher to survive in the major leagues (should the prospect in question survive the other levels in between them and their major league aspirations).

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VSL Phillies fall to VSL Tigers in VSL Championship

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The VSL is only a 5 team league with the top two teams going to the championship.  The Phillies took the first game from the Tigers but the Tigers took Game 2.  A rain delay yesterday allow the VSL Phillies ace Ranger Suarez to take the hill today.  Suarez is a diminutive LHP with a … Read more

Franklyn Kilome

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This post has been a long time coming, but I’m finally here to get you familiar with a very intriguing arm on the GCL roster and his name is Franklyn Kilome. The 19 year old Dominican stands 6’6″ and tips the scales at 175lbs. He sports an old school style delivery with his hands going … Read more

When Should the Phillies Promote Maikel Franco?

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Philadelphia Phillies infield prospect Maikel Franco clubbed another home run Wednesday afternoon, adding to a red hot month of July, where the Dominican Republic native is hitting .344/.366/.604 for a .971 OPS. He’s hit three homers over his past ten games and four in July, almost half of his season total of nine homers on … Read more