This afternoon the Phillies took on the Rays and were crushed.
Before talking about baseball players I would like to take this opportunity to talk about how unwatchable the Phillies TV broadcast is. During Drew Anderson’s first inning of work the broadcast talked about how great it is to see the young players in camp and how much potential Anderson has. They then spent his second inning of work babbling inanely with Greg Murphy about potential rules changes, barely showing the young exciting pitcher on the mound. I get that there are non on the field things to talk about in Spring Training, but that conversation in of itself was unenlightening and just flat out boring. Broadcast are of course not aimed at me, but I can’t imagine anyone who prefers to listen to TMac and Ben Davis talk about pace of play over watching a prospect pitching.
Speaking of Anderson, he was fine. He cruised through an inning at 92-94 on the TV gun. His curveball was a bit loopy which caused problems in his second inning of work when he hung a couple, one of which left the park. He also showed a pitch or two pitches in the 80s that could have been sliders or changeups, it was tough to tell without pitchFx and an off center camera angle. Anderson was able to spot his fastball on the corners at times, but the big difference between the Florida State League and the major leagues is that any mistake is going to be crushed. He probably isn’t long for camp, but it was good to see two innings from him.
Quick Thoughts:
- Valentin struggled in the field after a great double play with Crawford. It isn’t something to worry about, but it certainly won’t help his chances to make the team.
- Crawford continues to not barrel up the ball, it is also February 27 and Spring Training game number 4. His batting eye is still there.
- Jorge Alfaro continues to look better and better behind the plate. The better his glove gets, the less pressure there is on his bat to immediately perform.
- Miguel Nunez had the same problems as Anderson, but showed a little more velocity.
Not much on the prospect side today as most of the at bats came late in a blowout.
John Stolnis said it in one of his last FF . . . JP just might not live up to his top prospect ranking and I’ve said this for awhile but he’s not. He isn’t going to be a star, he’s not going to be a perennial All-Star , I wouldn’t be shocked at all if he NEVER makes an all star team. Hope I am wrong.
Hmmm …. that’s a dissent from pretty much the entire industry. On the other hand, you’ve certainly provided a wealth of evidence to support that opinion.
His defense is at a level few can reach. Maybe his offense is not elite (he is also only 22 with probably the best plate discipline of any prospect in baseball). Needless to say, I strongly disagree.
I’m also positive with how Crawford drew a walk and I think has yet to strikeout.
I do believe that there’s subconscious bias towards the effect of fantasy stats in evaluation prospects that applies to everybody including national expects. Loud tools and fantasy impact are too key factors in determining top prospects. unfortunately for JPC, the skills he has is non-quantitative. JPC will not hit for power like JRoll, but he will save a lot of runs, will keep the chain moving (via high OBP and decent on base skills) and can create crucial scoring opportunities with his advance plate discipline.
Domo is supposed to be a top prospect but with a lot of question marks — I rather have a prospect that’s not highly touted but has actual skill set to help my team.