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| Jesse Biddle throws for the Phillies |
Jesse Biddle, shown above, is one of the decisions facing the Phillies in assigning minor leaguers this Spring. He's not alone. Tommy Joseph, Maikel Franco, and more are tough calls too. So what do I think they look like? For a primer, here's my big league projection. Here's my last IronPigs projection too.
Here we go:
Rotation: Crowded-
I've got Miguel Gonzalez here, and Jon Pettibone. Those two are pretty much locks. I have Greg Smith making this team too. Jeff Manship has been great in camp, and I think right now he has a spot, if he wants it. That would leave one spot, and I am going to take a guess that this spot would be Ethan Martin, since they'd want to stretch him out, but he won't be ready. Right now I'm guessing David Buchanan wins the spot, and Chris Bootcheck gets DL'ed. I think O'Sullivan gets released. I think Jesse Biddle starts out in Reading.
Just an alternative theory here- they could put Gonzalez in Reading to get more work there, and keep Bootcheck or O'Sullivan on the team.
Bullpen: Hard to Figure Out-
I've got Stutes, Aumont, Garcia, Horst, Camp, Jimenez, Friend, Simon, Shreve, and a few others as options. The smart move is to not keep all the big league cuts. They won't probably listen though, because they need options in the event of injury. As a result, look for Shreve and Simon to be the guys on the chopping block.
Position Players: Depends on the Cuts-
There are lots of battles here. Assuming that Ruf makes the Phillies, and Hernandez and Galvis do not, those two are here. Where do they play? Not an easy question. My guess is all over.
There's a battle at catcher- Joseph vs. Rupp- from which I think Rupp wins, since they view him as more of a big league back-up type, so his timeline is shorter. There's a battle at first- Murphy vs. Overbeck- from which I think Overbeck starts ahead, but must show some form of a future this Spring. I think Cedeno and Blanco's battle is kind of to start at Shortstop (though Galvis' status determines that), and I think Cedeno probably has the edge there. For that reason, I have the infield of Rupp (catcher), Overbeck (first), Galvis (shortstop), Maikel Franco (third and first), Cedeno (short when Galvis isn't), Reid Brignac (utility), Lou Marson , and Albert Cartwright (second). Blanco and Tyler Henson could make this team, at least one of them. If Galvis makes the Phillies, that could also change things.
In the outfield, I have Hernandez, most of the time, Gillies, Collier, Castro, and Gwynn. It's kind of a crapshoot though.
