- The Phillies activated Vince Velasquez from the disabled list today and will insert him into the rotation, with lefty Adam Morgan shifting to the ’pen, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We’re going to get a look at him in that role for the time being, which doesn’t mean he’s never going to start again for us,” said manager Pete Mackanin of Morgan. In 57 2/3 innings out of the rotation this season, Morgan has a 6.55 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. However, he’s also an extreme fly-ball pitcher that has been highly homer-prone this season, which has negated his otherwise solid K/BB numbers.
Phillies Rumors
Phillies Notes: Catchers, Herrera
- Phillies manager Pete Mackanin admitted Saturday that he’s in a bind with his team’s catchers, Carlos Ruiz and Cameron Rupp. “That’s the hard part of about this job. You have to give up something to get something, and right now we need offense. At least right now, Cam offers more offense,” Mackanin told Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “However, is it more important to guide the young pitcher and bring him along with some veteran experience?” With his .270/.306/.483 batting line and seven home runs in 183 plate appearances, the 27-year-old Rupp has been a bright spot in a toothless Phillies offense, though his 48:6 K:BB ratio doesn’t bode well going forward. However, while Mackanin’s worried about Rupp’s ability (or lack thereof) to aid his pitching staff, the backstop has graded well in the pitch-framing department this year. That’s not true of the 37-year-old Ruiz, who has also contributed to Philly’s offensive woes with a .219/.311/.333 line in 119 trips to the plate. Nevertheless, Mackanin is bullish on Ruiz’s game-calling abilities, notes Gelb.
- Mackanin had center fielder Odubel Herrera shag fly balls in right field prior to the Phillies’ game Saturday, but that doesn’t mean a position change is coming. “If he reads something into it, good,” said Mackanin (via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). “Maybe he’ll think that he needs to do better. There’s nothing imminent. There’s no plans for me to move him out of there.” Notably, Herrera ranks last among qualified center fielders this year in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-7) and also grades poorly in Ultimate Zone Rating, but he has combated his fielding woes with a stellar .299/.392/.427 offensive showing and eight home runs through 319 PAs, also adding 41 walks against 58 strikeouts.
Draft Signings: 6/25/16
Here’s a roundup of key draft signings not yet covered here at MLBTR.
- The Phillies have signed fifth-round lefty Cole Irvin to an above-slot deal worth $800K, well over the $417,500 value of the 137th pick, reports Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (Twitter link). Mayo and colleague Jim Callis ranked Irvin as the 138th-best prospect entering the draft, noting that the Oregon standout possesses a 93 to 94 mph fastball and two occasionally above-average secondary offerings – a slider and changeup. Irvin has a solid chance to crack the majors as a back-end starter, according to the MLB.com duo.
- The Tigers have signed fourth-rounder Kyle Funkhouser for $750K, significantly above the pick value of $526,200, as Callis tweets. The Louisville righty was a first-round pick by the Dodgers last season, but he opted not to sign after sliding down draft boards. The righty suffered diminished velocity this year, resulting in his stock dropping still further — MLB.com’s scouting report notes that he threw 88-92 MPH with secondary stuff that was weaker than it had been previously. Callis notes, though, that Funkhouser’s stuff improved as the draft approached.
- The Orioles have agreed to terms with their second-rounder, No. 69 overall pick Matthias Dietz, Callis notes (on Twitter). Dietz will receive $1.3MM significantly above his pick value of $934,400. The Illinois community college righty stands 6’6 and throws 91-94 MPH, touching 98, with a hard slider. He is committed to TCU.
- The Giants have signed Vanderbilt outfielder and second-rounder Bryan Reynolds, as Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The selection, at No. 59 overall, was the Giants’ top pick, since they forfeited their first-rounder with the Jeff Samardzija signing. Via a tweet from Callis, Reynolds will receive $1.35MM, above the pick value of $1.09MM. Callis notes that Reynolds rated as a first-round talent, but he ultimately slid in the draft. Via MLB.com, the switch-hitter has solid tools across the board, but none rank as outstanding, and some scouts fret about his strikeout proclivities.
- The Dodgers have signed 11th-round pick A.J. Alexy for $600K, almost $500K above his pick value, Callis tweets. As Baseball America noted in its pre-draft scouting report (subscription only), the Pennsylvania high school righty currently throws 88-92 MPH, although he’s 6’4 and projectable, with the talent to throw three pitches in the big leagues. He was committed to Radford. The Dodgers should have space to sign him in part because they picked college seniors in the ninth and tenth rounds, and because second-rounder Mitchell White signed for significantly below his pick value.
Phillies To Limit Vince Velasquez's Innings
Phillies right-hander Vincent Velasquez and his agent, Scott Boras, have talked about an innings limit for this season, the 24-year-old told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “The agents and I discussed it a little bit, but I don’t know the definite answer, an exact amount of innings. I don’t know, I’d want to say roughly like maybe 150 or something, maybe 160 tops,” said Velasquez, who has been on the disabled list since June 9 with a strained right biceps. “I would say, philosophically, we’re probably in the same ballpark,” stated team president Andy MacPhail. Velasquez has never racked up more than 124 2/3 innings in a season, as Zolecki notes, and was up to 61 2/3 frames this year before landing on the DL. The hard-throwing Velasquez recorded a 3.65 ERA, 10.65 K/9 and 3.21 BB/9 over that 12-start span, further establishing himself as one of baseball’s most exciting young starters, so it’s no surprise that both Boras and the rebuilding Phillies want to protect the ex-Astro.
Cole Hamels Would Have Been Willing To Pitch For Red Sox
Cole Hamels, whose contract permits him to block deals to 20 teams, would not have prevented the Phillies from sending him to the Red Sox, writes WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. “It was a team I would have played for,” says Hamels, who adds that he believes the two sides were never close to trade. The Red Sox pursued Hamels before the Phillies traded him to Texas, but the lefty could block a trade to Boston, and at least some members of the organization believed that was an obstacle. The Hamels deal has, of course, worked out well for the Rangers so far — Hamels was solid down the stretch last year and has a 2.79 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 this season. There’s still plenty of time for the trade to turn out well for the Phillies, however, with Jerad Eickhoff already performing well in the big leagues and Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Jorge Alfaro and Alec Asher all looking like potential future contributors. Here’s more from the East divisions.
Klentak On Trade Deadline, J.P. Crawford
- Phillies GM Matt Klentak says that the “feeling out process” has begun for summer trade activity, as Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com reports. Still, he suggests that it’s largely been quiet for Philly thus far. Klentak also discussed the progress of top prospect J.P. Crawford, explaining that some early struggles at Triple-A are just part of the maturation process and noting that he has continued to exhibit a mastery of the strike zone.
Phillies Agree To Over-Slot Deal With Kevin Gowdy
The Phillies have reached agreement on a well-over-slot bonus with 42nd overall draft pick Kevin Gowdy, per Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball (Twitter links). He’ll take home a $3.5MM payday, representing a significant boost over the $1,536,200 slot value.
Gowdy is a high school righty from Santa Barbara, California. He obviously caught the attention of the Philadelphia brass, which utilized savings from its deal with top overall pick Mickey Moniak to draw Gowdy away from his commitment to UCLA.
Philly lands a player that was rated the 24th overall draft prospect coming in by ESPN.com, which credited his quality breaking ball. He could eventually grow into a bigger fastball, per the report, though it remains to be seen how he’ll fill out his frame. And Gowdy’s third offering (a change-up) is said to need further development, along with his command.
MLB.com and Baseball America weren’t quite as hopeful of Gowdy’s future, with both ranking him just inside the top forty prospects. That’s not to say that those outlets don’t see the upside; all appear to agree that the tools are there for him to develop into a quality big league starter.
Phillies Sign Mickey Moniak
The Phillies announced that they have agreed to terms with high school outfielder Mickey Moniak, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft earlier this month. Terms of his bonus were not disclosed by the team, but MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports that Moniak received a $6.1MM bonus (Twitter link). The No. 1 overall pick came with a slot value of $9,015,000 this season.
Moniak, who turned 18 just over a month ago, rated as the No. 5 overall prospect in the class on the pre-draft rankings of Baseball America, ESPN’s Keith Law and Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. However, the bulk of mock drafts from those outlets in the days just prior to the draft had forecast that Philadelphia would indeed tab the California native as the top pick in this year’s draft.
Moniak had been committed to UCLA but will forego college and instead embark on his professional career. The aforementioned rankings heap praise onto Moniak for his hit tool, grading it as the top high school hit tool in the entire draft. He’s an above-average runner that is said to have great instincts in center field, and each of the reports above expresses confidence that he can stay there. Moniak doesn’t project to develop significant power due to a fairly slight frame, though Baseball America invokes a comparison to Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich — an outcome with which the Phillies would surely be thrilled.
The Phillies, per Callis, had an overall draft pool of $13,405,200, which was the second-largest among all big league teams this season. Because Moniak didn’t command the full value of that slot — and it’s worth noting that none of the players selected first overall have commanded full slot value since the current iteration of draft signing rules was implemented — the Phillies will be able to reallocate roughly $3MM worth of savings to later picks. Among the notable high school names drafted by the Phillies that may require over-slot deals to break college commitments are second-round pick Kevin Gowdy, third-round pick Cole Stobbe and 11th-round pick Josh Stephen.
Mackanin Frustrated By Phillies' Poor At-Bats
- Phillies skipper Pete Mackanin sounded frustrated with his team’s lack of success at the plate following yesterday’s loss to the D-backs, as the Inquirer’s Matt Gelb writes. “We need some professional at-bats,” said Mackanin. “The guys are all not the type of hitters who are established.” Mackanin has tried various lineup alterations and motivational tactics for his position players, but the production hasn’t been there, resulting in a team that is presently on pace to finish with the second-worst team OBP in Major League history. As Gelb points out, a number of the team’s top prospects getting closer to the Majors. With a number of placeholders currently in the lineup, it stands to reason that the Phils could dip into their farm if the MLB stopgaps continue to underwhelm.
Phillies Unlikely To Make Offseason Spending Splash
- Though the Phillies have very little money tied up in future salary commitments beyond this season, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer doubts the club will be significant spenders in free agency this winter. The Phils are still comitted to their youth movement, so it doesn’t make much sense to sign a big-ticket veteran at this stage in the rebuilding process. With another year or two to establish the young core, Gelb figures the Phillies could strike in the 2017-18 free agent market or the star-studded 2018-19 market.
