A Look at the 2014 IronPigs

So, it's not even Spring Training yet, but we're thinking about baseball today. The Phillies roster picture is certainly not clear yet, but the IronPigs is even further out. For one, you need to have an idea where the MLB roster is at, and secondly, you need a clue into their thinking on prospects.

From what they say, there's at least a shot to see Cesar Hernandez, Darin Ruf, and Freddy Galvis back here, or at least two of them. While I doubt that Bobby Abreu would accept an assignment if he missed the team, Leandro Castro, Tony Gwynn Jr., and Clete Thomas might. Still, Hernandez or Ruf could take a slot away from one of them, as probably will Tyson Gillies.

All these battles… let's make sense of them.

• Pitching Staff- I'm pretty much on the record that I think Jon Pettibone gets stashed here early. He takes up one spot. Dave Buchanan and Greg Smith are both back here, and both threw well for the IronPigs. I think Buchanan might start in Reading, but Smith is here. Chris Bootcheck had   a nice season for the Yankees AAA team last year, and he's in camp for the IronPigs. It's also worth noting that Chad Gaudin, Mario Hollands, Cesar Jimenez, Jeff Manship, and Sean O'Sullivan are all going to big league camp, and all have started. Jesse Biddle could be considered here, though I doubt it. If Ethan Martin and B.J. Rosenberg miss the big league club, they could end up in this rotation.
• Infield- They have to sort out the mess behind the plate, but I'm guessing that Cameron Rupp and Lou Marson end up here, though I'm personally rooting for Tommy Joseph to come impress in camp. I don't see what options there are besides Maikel Franco at third base, but they are saying they like him in Reading right now. Shortstop is a fight between Andres Blanco and Ronnie Cedeno, with both being subject to bumping if Galvis ends up here. Second base is the wild-west right now, though Cesar Hernandez or Galvis could end up playing a lot here if sent down. First base appears to be Cody Overbeck's to lose, though Jim Murphy could come challenge him here. Of course, they say they're going to look at Franco at First too.
• Outfield- Gillies, Aaron Altherr, Zach Collier, Kelly Dugan, and of course Ruf and Hernandez are all on the 40 man, and Castro, Dave Sappelt, Gwynn, Thomas, and Steve Susdorf are all going to be in some kind of camp. I would guess that Gillies, Hernandez, Castro, and Susdorf are the likely candidates.
• Bullpen- I could try to predict this, but what a mess it would be. I'm looking at Aumont, Savery, Horst, Garcia, and some others from the 40 man filling this group out.