We’re into June and now the IronPigs lineup is as interesting as ever. And it’s not just about who these guys are right now, but their storylines and their potential roles going forward.
We’re using the lineup from Tuesday night, just for reference:
Dylan Carlson CF: The former first-round pick of the Cardinals does have 570 games of MLB experience, but just hasn’t made it stick just yet at that level, with St Louis, Tampa, Baltimore and the Cubs. He did bat almost .300 in a short stint with AAA Norfolk last season. He’s a tall rangy dude with some power who’s been filling the center field role with Berroa up with the Phillies. Here’s what’s interesting: He’s a switch-hitter who can theoretically help you from the right-hand side, as an outfielder who is athletic enough to play all three spots. However, he’s batting .168 right now at Triple-A and has only tapped the power from the left-hand side. In yesterday’s series preview we noted that with guys getting healthy, it’s time to see something from Carlson. Sure enough, he led off last night and hit two doubles, scoring one run in the 8-7 loss.
Felix Reyes LF: The young slugger just keeps hitting. And, hitting the ball hard. On the season in Triple-A, he’s hitting .328 and OPS-ing 1.028. It’s right handed power but he can and will take it to all fields. Here’s what’s interesting: He’s going to be swinging. You don’t want him to lose his aggressiveness, but perhaps a modicum of restraint when he gets his next MLB opportunity. He might be a guy who needs some runway at that level that the Phillies can’t give him right now. He made a really nice rangy play in left field last night, and if he can play a corner without being a fielding liability, that might get him some of that run that he needs in the big leagues.
Gabriel Rincones, Jr RF: He’s back and he’s moving around well on his balky knees. He even got caught stealing last night–feeling good enough to give it a try. Here’s what’s interesting: He got the start last night against a lefty–albeit an opener. It will be notable to see if the Phillies continue to develop him as a platoon player out of the box or if they let him work things out against lefty pitching to see if he can become a more rounded player.
Otto Kemp 3B: His position is hitter. The fielding has been sketchy at 3B and in LF. It’s been tough for his bat to get into a rhythm on the MLB level as a bench player. We’ll see if he can lock in during this stint in the minors and make it work on the next level.
Liover Peguero 2B: He made several excellent plays at second base last night. They’ve bounced him around the infield. With two hits and two walks last night he was on base four times and scored three runs. Here’s what’s interesting: He’s a much more mature player as a hitter, fielder and overall compared to when we saw him coming up with Pittsburgh. If he bats righty and plays a plus second base? Could he have some value in the Soto/Stott axis? Probably not right away, but we’d say that he’s an interesting depth piece for the remainder of this season.
Keaton Anthony 1B: He’s back from his pre-season foot injury and not running terribly well. But he’s doing Keaton Anthony things and that means hitting the ball and getting on base. Here’s what’s interesting: If they give him a chance in left field as they were doing before the foot injury, he could be an interesting right-handed platoon option, perhaps a more reliable bat with more contact compared with Reyes. If not, he’s just a cool player to have at first base every night for our AAA lineup.
Bryan De La Cruz DH: He’s played a decent right field for us this season. He admits that he doesn’t like playing in the cold and doesn’t play well when it’s cold. It’s not cold any longer, and he’s heating up. Three hits last night, 7 total bases including a three-run jack. Here’s what’s interesting: He’s your right-handed corner outfield replacement if he can get it going. His May numbers were not impressive. He needs to get hot now if he wants to be an option for the Phillies in RF in place of Garcia. It’s time to watch his numbers on a game-to-game and small sample basis to see if he’s getting hot.
Dylan Moore SS: He was 0-for-5 with 2 K last night and should have been given an error on an early grounder that went under his glove. He’s interesting as a player who could pop up at any position on the field on any given night, but his bat is just not playing as he’s hitting .222 in Triple-A, and the Phillies already tried that on the big team.
Paul McIntosh C: His bat was heating up recently, but he didn’t get a hit last night. His play behind the plate is not always the best, either. He came over from the Marlins in the Luzardo deal and is 28 years old, a former 34th round pick of the Angels out of West Virginia.
That was last night’s lineup, here’s the guys who were on the bench:
Christian Cairo INF: He’s on the 40-man and he can get on base. There’s not a ton of power there but he’ll take a walk. Notable: He’s a fun player to watch at AAA but owes some run to Aidan Miller’s unavailability, perhaps.
Carter Kieboom INF: The former top Nationals prospect is corner infield and not always sharp about it. Notable: Dude can hit in AAA but hasn’t figured it out in the MLB at a few different locations. He’s a good bat to have in a AAA lineup.
Caleb Ricketts C: He’s on the prospect lists and he does have some pop in his bat. He needs to stay healthy and put it all together with his defense and his bat.
Ronald Moore INF: Notable power hitter RoMo has really tapped into his power this season. We kid, but after seeing him in Reading for a while we know he always plays the game hard and we’ll take the long balls when we can get them.
Lou Albrecht C: Kind of a roving organizational catcher, he’s currently on the active roster and can help with bullpens and as an extra guy.
Bonus: Reading
If you made it this far, here’s a couple guys in Reading who are not on the prospect lists, but playing very well:
Braydon Tucker RHP: A free agent signee out of Indiana he’s been killing it as a starting pitcher. It might be time to challenge him with AAA.
Austin Murr OF/INF/DH: Chosen from Detroit in the minors phase of the Rule 5, He is .311/.918 and playing every day. Perhaps never a prospect but he’s one of the glue guys who hold that Reading lineup together. Worth a look.
See you at the park(s),
@Kram207
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