I am sorry I have not written as much as I used to. A big thanks to Jeff for taking over the draft previews. Some things happened in the last week and I want to write about current events the way I used to write about current events.
Jesmuel Valentin to Have Surgery for Shoulder Separation
This sucks for Jesmuel who missed out on an MLB roster spot because he was too good this spring. He is still young enough for this to only be a minor set back. It does hurt the Phillies depth, but not too much as any of the AAA veterans are probably as good as Valentin over a short MLB stretch. I expect Valentin will get a good amount of at bats in the Puerto Rican winter league and come into Spring Training with a chance to win a bench job.
The second part of this is Scott Kingery’s hot last week. Kingery has hit 7 home runs in the last 8 games and this is making the calls for his promotion louder. The Phillies have said they are not promoting him right now in response to Valentin’s injury. The Phillies likely have a plan for Kingery’s progression this year, and reacting to small sample changes is not going to cause them to deviate from that. This is only Kingery’s second full season and he only has 75 games in AA so far. A promotion some time in the next month makes sense if he continues to improve, but the Phillies have no reason to rush him.
Ricardo Pinto to the Bullpen?
With Aaron Nola’s return to the majors Nick Pivetta will return to AAA. That combined with Thomas Eshelman’s hot start in AAA has left the IronPigs with 6 starting pitchers. Pivetta, Jake Thompson, Eshelman, and Ben Lively all seem safe to stay in the rotation. Recent articles and starting schedules have the Phillies wanting to give Mark Appel more time in the rotation. That leaves Ricardo Pinto as the odd man out. Pinto has yet to develop the breaking ball needed to stick in the rotation. What he does have is a fastball that sits 91-96 as a starter and a plus changeup. The theory is that in short bursts those two pitches play up to give him two weapons for getting batters of both sides out. Historically, Pinto also has good command and if he has the ability to put batters away, his walk rate should go down. Pinto is only 23 years old so a bullpen move may not be permanent if he makes improvements while in the bullpen. He instantly becomes the Phillies best relief prospect and his status on the 40 man roster could get him to the majors in short order. So far none of this has been confirmed by the team, just strongly hinted at.
Mario Hollands Released:
It has now been a few years of the raw stuff not returning from for Hollands after Tommy John surgery. Hollands was a surprise for the Phillies in 2014 when he came out of obscurity to be competent in the bullpen for much of the year. He is now a cautionary tale that Tommy John surgery is not a 100% success operation. Some times pitchers don’t make it back, and this is why you see teams and players look to avoid surgery.