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| Brody Colvin threw well. Picture by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
I'm going to make an admission- it was so damn cold on Tuesday night that I left in the 7th inning and went home. I try to make it a habit to see the Lehigh Valley-Reading scrimmage every year. It's nice to get a look at some of the prospects closest to the big leagues, before the season even starts. I was not alone in attending amongst Phillies bloggers though, apparently. Crashburn Alley and Phuture Phillies were both there too.
No I'm gonna go all Flyers style here, and give out "stars" for what I saw in the game, and what I expect to see this year.
READING-
- Brody Colvin (pictured above)- This was not the same guy as last year, so far as I can tell. His change-up looked really good at times, and certainly was fooling some guys, which makes me believe his fastball probably looked good too (the two compliment each other). I was sitting by the Reading dugout and didn't have the benefit of an accurate radar gun (the stadium one sucks), but he did seem to get stronger as the innings went. The story I was told on him from last year (and 2011) was that his motion to the plate was inconsistent and sapped some of his power out of his arm. His motion looked very smooth in this game. He went four innings of one run ball against a fairly potent looking AAA team, so there's not much bad to say here.
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| Sebastian had a good night for Reading. Picture by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
- Sebastian Valle's night was pretty good too. He had a 2 RBI double in the right-center field gap, and threw a runner out at second base trying to steal (I think it was Cesar Hernandez). It's pretty clear that the Phillies are demoting his star a bit in favor of Tommy Joseph, but nothing I saw in this game convinced me this guy can't play.
- Anthony Hewitt- Yes, he struck out. Yes, I know there's not a lot of hope. He also did mash a nice double against Ethan Martin, and flashed the tools that made him a first round pick. He had the double, had two hits, made a nice throw, and stole a bag in one night. I have little to no expectations of what will happen with him in AA, but on this night he did enough to still get noticed, which is something.
- Collier and Duran both really didn't get enough of a sample size for me, but both can move.
- Austin Wright- the lefty was impressive to me. He's not a guy with gas (at least not in 35 degree, ridiculously windy conditions), but he's a smooth delivery-lefty, and had a nice breaking ball.
My expectations are mixed for Reading. For the first time, Lehigh Valley is really the home of the prospects, and Reading has a lot of guys who are "they can make it if…" types. We didn't get to see Biddle, Buchanan, or Rosin, but the two starters we saw on this night both were impressive enough for me to want to see more. I think this team has enough pitching to win more than they lose, but it's more about the individual performances of a lot of these guys, at least to me. I'm really intrigued by the Valle/Rupp situation behind the plate.
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| Joseph has a gun of an arm. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
LEHIGH VALLEY-
- Tommy Joseph (pictured above)- At the plate, he did nothing to set the world on fire for this night, though his spring was very encouraging. Behind the plate, he flashed a very plus arm, easily throwing out Duran (I'm pretty sure it was him at least) in the first inning. I'm excited to see what he does this year.
- Cesar Hernandez- There isn't a lot to discuss with him on this night, but that I have high hopes for him. Call him Galvis, minus a little glove, but plus some bat, while in the minors. I like his potential, and have been a fan for several years. With the exception of April of 2011, I don't know when he hasn't hit decently in the minors.
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| Ethan Martin. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
- Ethan Martin looked really good, on the whole. His fastball appeared to have good velocity and movement, and he sailed through three innings with 5 K's. The only negative I could say is that he hit a guy and walked a guy, so his command isn't rock-solid, but he never encountered any trouble from that. I'm excited about this Lehigh Valley rotation, him especially.
- Adam Morgan- He really struggle on this night. It was really cold though, and being that I don't think he's ever started a year up north, this is new to him. He had great velocity too, but a lack of command.
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| Cody Asche. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
- Cody Asche- He had a nice single that I saw, and seemed fine down at third, for the limited sample size we had. I'm happy the Phillies challenged him a bit in AAA, as if he's going to be the next third baseman, he's gotta show he can handle it this year.
- Tyson Gillies- This guy's really under the gun this year, as the Phillies are definitely trying out other speedy outfielders who could block his path. He hit .300 last year though, and he had a nice hit early on in this one too. I still see potential here, but this is an absolute must year for him.
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| Darin Ruf. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
- Darin Ruf- He had a really pretty single (should have been a double), just inside the chalk at third, to plate one in the first. He also had no incidents in the outfield, despite the windy night. I really, really hope we're watching him by June in Philly, but we'll see.
- Justin Friend- I was impressed by this guy. He really was fooling the Reading hitters in his work time. He'll be interesting to watch against AAA competition.
My expectations of the IronPigs are really high. Their rotation is full of guys with futures, their line-up has a lot of talent, and there's some solid depth here. This team should be one of the best ones in the International League, if the Phillies don't start shuttling guys up to the bigs.
It's worth noting tonight that Lakewood also opens up their season, and their line-up for tonight is out, from their Facebook:
The BlueClaws Opening Day Lineup – Roman Quinn ss, Angelo Mora 2b, Brian Pointer lf, Art Charles 1b, Willie Carmona dh, Mitch Walding 3b, Carlos Tocci cf, Yan Olmo rf, Chace Numata c / Jordan Guth RHP. Do you LIKE this lineup?
I'm super excited about Quinn and Tocci, and pretty excited about Walding too. These guys are far, far away from the big leagues, but the talent is definitely there.
So, here's a few predictions for the year-
- Jon Pettibone will be the most consistent pitcher in a staff full of solid AAA arms, but that's no knock on the other guys there. I'm expecting big years from Martin and Morgan too. I'm not sure what we get from Cloyd, because command is such a big part of his game, or from Rosenberg, who's doing this to work on refining his pitches. I'll predict another big AAA year from Cloyd, and a solid enough year from Rosenberg.
- The only thing stopping Lehigh Valley from a playoff run is the possibility of the Phillies selling at the deadline and calling the kids up. I'm expecting big, big things from this line-up, especially Joseph and Ruf, who are the most solid bets to be on the 2014 Phillies. Asche could play his way into that discussion too.
- Reading will put up a winning season, but miss the post-season. Jesse Biddle will be really good, after a slow April, while the light-bulb finally goes on for Brody Colvin. Seth Rosin will also pitch his way onto the radar this year.
- Anthony Hewitt hits 25 homers in AA ball, re-kindling his MLB hopes.
- It's gonna be a solid year for Edgar Duran.
- Clearwater is an also-ran in the first half, but wins their division in the second half, as guys come up. Kelly Dugan comes back from injury and puts up some very good numbers.
- Lakewood won't impress as much in the first half as you will hope, as Tocci adjusts and Quinn learns to switch-hit. Watch them come July though.
- Larry Greene will be back in Williamsport, and the power will finally come out.
- Shane Watson dominates in Lakewood.
With that…. play ball.
