[UPDATED 5/3/25 FOLLOWING ROSTER MOVES 5/2/25]
The old ‘report card’ trope is so tired. Let’s take stock of the bullpen group in Allentown, and what relievers you might have to choose from if you’re the Phillies, and you need bullpen help. Let’s take a look at the market for relief help at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Before you go out at the trade deadline and give away the farm to acquire rental relief help, it might behoove you to give a couple of these guys some run. Who knows? You might just find yourself a Jeff Hoffman or an Andrew Bellatti in there.
In a past post, we outlined who these guys are and where they came from. Here, you’ll merely see notation if a guy is on the 40-Man Roster ($$), has significant MLB experience (++) or is more of a minor-league free agent pick-up (##).
Along with that is their stock rating. Are we BUYing what they’re selling? Are we HOLDing on to see what they really have? Are we SELLing? Not necessarily cutting them or throwing them in the river, but not really considering them for any type of promotion or MLB usage right now.
RHP Nicholas Padilla (##) BUY
1-0, 0.00 ERA in 9 Games. Has had a cup of coffee in the big leagues. Battled injury a bit last season. May have an option available if he’s added to the 40. He should get a shot at some point, we think.
RHP Brett de Geus ($$) HOLD
2-1, 0.00 ERA in 8 Games. Chosen off waivers from the Marlins, he’s been really solid since he had a chance to settle in. He’s been thrown into some high-leverage spots for the ‘Pigs. I’d like to see more, first, but he is a veteran who knows what he’s doing and he’s on the 40-man.
RHP Koyo Aoyagi (##) BUY
0-0, 1.00 ERA in 9 Games. He wasn’t brought in from Japan to sit on the bench or play in the Minors. He should get a look-see at some point. The submarine style is a different look for hitters. Take out one bad outing to start the year, and he’s been lights-out.
RHP Guillo Zuñiga (++) STRONG BUY
1-0, 1.17 ERA in 8 Games. Big Zuni can bring it. Reminds me of a right-handed Alvarado although he doesn’t have quite that much juice. Recently had his first outing that wasn’t stellar.
RHP Joel Kuhnel (++) BUY
1-0, 1.42 ERA in 11 Games. He’s been used in more of a middle-relief role, but sometimes as a fireman as well. 82 games of MLB experience.
RHP Austin Schulfer (##) HOLD
1-0, 2.84 ERA in 7 Games. He’s already had a stint on the Dev List. He has no MLB experience. He could be worth a look at some point, but I’d continue to challenge him in Triple-A for now.
RHP Seth Johnson ($$) HOLD
2-1, 3.47 ERA in 8 Games / 4 Starts. His relief appearances have been good–probably more walks than we’d like. He’s still settling into the new role; we’ll hold for now but he will be a BUY soon enough–and he’s on the 40-man.
RHP Max Lazar ($$) SELL
1-1, 3.75 ERA in 10 Games. Not suggesting we give up on him, but he hasn’t looked quite right this season. It’s a crowded bullpen down here. He needs time to get things together this season. Heck, I wouldn’t even quibble with a stint in Reading if he just needs more opportunities to get on the mound.
RHP Devin Sweet ($$) SELL
0-0, 4.82 ERA in 9 Games. It’s a small sample but we haven’t been impressed. We don’t know everything that’s going on, but we’ve kinda seen enough. He is the spot-starter for today’s IronPigs game, so perhaps that will add some clarity.
RHP Michael Mercado ($$) SELL
0-0, 7.94 ERA in 7 Games. See also: Max Lazar. Mercado just hasn’t looked right this season. Not giving up or throwing him in the river, but he’s not shoving his way back to the big leagues, either.
LHP Nick Vespi (++) HOLD
Was added to the Development List. 0-0, 12.79 ERA in 10 Games. He has 3.88 ERA in 45 MLB games in his career and he has great hair. But, mostly he’s THE ONLY LEFTY! So, we’ll see where this goes.
RHP Jose Cuas (++) RELEASED
I guess he was a ‘SELL’. 1-0, 13.50 ERA in 7 Games. He has 132 Games of MLB experience with a lifetime 4.37 ERA. The side-arm delivery shows a different look, but he just didn’t have it this season. We wish him luck going forward.
RHP John McMillon (##) HOLD
0-0, 15.43 ERA in 6 Games. He’s the “Stuff Merchant” around here. He had a short stint in the bigs with a 1.69 ERA but he doesn’t always know where the ball is going. We had the opportunity to watch him warm up one game, and even the bullpen catcher was having problems. If he can get it lined up, though, it could be special.
RHP Daniel Robert ($$) HOLD
0-0, 1.54 ERA in 10 Games with Triple-A Round Rock. He was a 40-man casualty that the Phillies grabbed. He has a modicum of MLB experience and throws hard, per reports. Let’s see what we have before touting a call-up, but since he’s already on the 40…
RHP Nabil Crismatt (++) BUY
3-1, 2.73 ERA in 6 Games / 6 Starts. He’s been in the IronPigs rotation, and started slow but has been excellent of late. Perhaps he only wants to be a starter, but his experience in the big leagues is strictly as a reliever, so he’s included on this list because the Phillies should be comfortable calling him up to fill whatever role they need.
There are some guys there that could be in line for an opportunity. 40-man roster spots could be made available. The Phillies should exhaust their supply of Triple-A relief talent before any type of panic move at the trade deadline. After all, that’s part of why they signed these guys.
See you at the park,
@Kram207
Featured Image of RHP Seth Johnson by Cheryl Pursell. It was cropped to fit the space.