Live from Reading, it's Trevor May
Top pitching prospect Trevor May continues to dazzle at Double-A.
Live from Reading, it's Trevor May
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
All you need to know about Reading can be learned from a quick examination of the names the local minor league baseball club has used over the last century: Coal Heavers, Pretzels, Coal Barons, Mariners, Aces, Keystones, Sox, Brooks, Chicks, Indians, Red Sox, and Phillies. OK, maybe not everything. But all you really need to know right now is that Trevor May is looking more and more like the next blue-chip pitcher to be shipped out of town join the Phillies rotation at some point in the next two or three years.
Last night, in front of an audience that included dignitaries like Phillies president David Montgomery, assistant general manager Benny Looper and pro scouting director Mike Ondo, May held the Richmond Flying Squirrels to one hit and two walks in six scoreless innings, striking out seven in the process.
May, ranked the No. 69 prospect in the minors by Baseball America prior to this season, has had a dominant start to his Double-A career. Through four starts (all of which have resulted in his picking up the win, if that kind of thing matters to you), May has logged 23 innings with 26 strikeouts, eight walks (a 3.25 K/BB ratio) and no home runs. In fact, he has allowed just one extra base hit, which came in his first start of the season. Over his last three starts, May has allowed two runs, nine hits and five walks with 20 strikeouts in 18 innings.
May's performance will be interesting to monitor this season given the current plotlines swirling around the team. Despite all of the young talent the Phillies have traded away over the last three seasons, they still have the pieces it would take to swing a high-profile trade. At 22 years old, May's stock is still rising. Many people think he will prove to be the same caliber of prospect as Kyle Drabek, who was the centerpiece of the Roy Halladay deal in December of 2009.
The other plotline is Cole Hamels' potential free agency. My gut says he ends up signing here, but I also expected a deal to be done by now. So who knows. Fact is, the Phillies have Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Vance Worley all under contract through at least 2013, and likely 2014 (Halladay has a vesting option for that season). At some point, they need to find a way to remodel the offense. Maybe they can do it by using May as a trade chip. Or maybe they decide that their best option is to save money by letting Hamels walk and then spend the savings on offense.
The smartest play, obviously, is to re-sign Hamels and look to deal for offensive talent. May still has considerable work to do before his is major league ready. As far as I can tell, the only Top 100 prospect he has faced is Giants outfielder Gary Brown, who was No. 38 on this year's Baseball America list. Last night, May walked Brown in the fourth inning but got him to ground out in the first and then struck him out looking in the sixth. In an earlier meeting, he again walked Brown, got him to ground out, and struck him out (swinging, this time).
Anyway, that's your Trevor May update for the day. I'm here in Reading watching the Phillies take on Flying Squirrels before a long bus trip up to Portland, Maine. Lots of talent on this Reading team, including outfielder Jiwan James and catcher Sebastian Valle.
- So now you're saying someone else jumped in and posted your sentence about wins being "an outdated stat". I didn't misinterpret nor misjudge your point--I read your post and then even repeated it so I wouldn't lose you with my comment ('cos that's easy to do, obviously!).
It's like discussing with an 8 y/o ("I know you are but what am I? Nyah, nyah, nyah").
Now, if you want to debate the importance of wins in sports, I'm not going to go down road because that's like debating the importance of breathing.
And yes, the world needs many more people like you as opposed to people who listen and then use logic. I once again must remind myself to not enter into a battle of wits with an unarmed man. Ignorance is bliss, continue on your ignorant and blissful (but apparently somewhat angry) way....
- Ah, the people who don't play the game and just look at stats get their say. This is the argument that really encapsulates that thinking--wins as the most outdated stat in sports! Really? When did we stop playing to win and just to generate personal stats? So when you're up 5-1 and trying to finish out a game and pitching to contact to conserve your bullpen/pitch count and give up a meaningless HR, the resulting impact to your ERA is more important? Or even more common, when you're up by a couple of runs and pitching differently because you know you have that margin, and, as a result, give up a run or two--again, your sacred ERA and WHIP take a hit and that means you're a lesser pitcher? You play (and pitch) to win the game, period! (HTML deleted)
- Ah, the people who don't play the game and just look at stats get their say. This is the argument that really encapsulates that thinking--wins as the most outdated stat in sports! Really? When did we stop playing to win and just to generate personal stats? So when you're up 5-1 and trying to finish out a game and pitching to contact to conserve your bullpen/pitch count and give up a meaningless HR, the resulting impact to your ERA is more important? Or even more common, when you're up by a couple of runs and pitching differently because you know you have that margin, and, as a result, give up a run or two--again, your sacred ERA and WHIP take a hit and that means you're a lesser pitcher? You play (and pitch) to win the game, period! (HTML deleted)
- Something about Wright bothers me...to me, it seems like he is a 29 year old playing in a 31-32 year old's body. He plays hard, but he plays hurt and if you trade for him, you almost HAVE to pick up the team option he has in '13 (16 million) and HAVE to resign him past that for a few more years. Trading for him would almost certainly kiss Cole Hamels bye-bye, unless you do not resign Victorino and Hunter Pence (arb eligible next year, super 2..eligible FA in 14. Although the 2nd/SS/3rd FA class is pretty barren next year, you could stick Galvis at 3rd and hope Chutley can give you something in his final year.— ESFjellin
- The Phils should consider trading 1 or 2 of their pitching prospects for hitting prospects. They seem to be doing a much better job of identifying & developing pitching talent than hitting talent, and might as well leverage it instead of being an unbalanced franchise.— Bobby G
- Reading is loaded with pitching prospects. Joining May are Cloyd, Pettibone, Rodriguez and Buchanan, who just pitched 6th innings of 1 run ball, allowing 3 hits with 4 K. The staff ERA resembles the Phillies. Only Pettibone's is a little high. Clearwater has a couple of good young arms and I'm not talking about Biddle. He has struggled so far in 3 starts (only 11.1 innings). He has a whooping 7.94 ERA. Jordan Whatcott is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, Lisaverto Bonilla is 1-1 with a 0.96 ERA and Austin Wright 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA. Then there is Brady Colvin, another one of the so called Baby Aces a year ago, who had a nice outing the other day going 6 shutout innings with 6 K followed by a clunker yesterday: 4.1 inn, 7 hits, 5 ER. He's been as inconsistent as a prospect can be.— EL Zorro
- Stop with immediately trying to trade top prospects. They should be looking at bring May up as a 5th starter. You can never have enough pitching.— Phillyexp
- Brown had a setback yesterday, one of those ugly games we have seen from him. After putting a nice couple of games after a very bad start, he committed 2 errors and struck out twice. He was taken out as a part of a double switch in the 7th inning I believe. He has 3 errors in 18 games (although at least in one game he was a DH). That projects to 20+ errors and his 15 Ks, which leads the team, projects to 120+ in a full season. At this rate he'll be a player to be named later in a trade at best.— EL Zorro
- Seems like a young pitcher needs seven days of rest between starts. Due to weather and off days May was pitching on seven days of rest from his previous start. On Sunday because of weather a big lefty for the Clearwater Threshers Austin Wright pitched on seven days of rest between starts too and was so strong he struck out eight of the first ten batters he faced. Then on Tuesday, again on seven days rest, another Thresher's lefty Adam Morgan pitched a four hit, seven innings of shutout baseball for the Threshers.
If you watch minor league baseball it's clear that Wright who is three days younger than May and Adam Morgan another 22 year old lefty starter with Clearwater all have better stuff than Pettibone and Rodriguez. Would not be surprised to see both Wright and Morgan join May in Reading or even eventually go to Lehigh Valley before the season is out.
— Dull - It is true that the Phils have developed pitchers mainly in their system, BUT consider that they traded away superior position prospects such as D'arnaud (C)Singleton 1b,OF)and Villair (SS)in order to acquire the star pitchers WHICH HAS KEPT THEM AT THE TOP OF THEIR DIVISION FOR 5 YEARS.
The main oncoming holes in the lineup are concentrated in the infield, i.e., SS, 3b, 2b and now 1st base w Howard losing offensive effectiveness, too.
These infield problems have hopefully been addressed in the most recent (2011) player draft...when the Phils drafted 6-7 infielders for those positions with commendable early choices.
It is a shame that the loss of Utley was not contemplated but certainly J-Rolls' injuries and the lack of power from 3rd base should have been taken heed of 2-3 drafts ago.
Now the object is to hold out competitively in anticipation of these recent infield draftees with Galvis most likely to gain offensively over this and the season following.
Let's hope the pitching can keep them afloat.— artfulme - I agree that May should not be traded; we don't need to continue this trading of prospects for a short quick fix. Roy will be 35 in 2 weeks, and Cliff will be 34 before the season ends. Hamels is still not signed so the Big 3 will need to be replaced fairly soon. You don't need a team of All Stars to win a WS; it's a bad practice to continue to deplete the farm system.— djmarco
- El Zorro, do you have ADD? You are judging these kids 20 days into the season and are sold on the pitchers and ready to ship Dom Brown out of town. I agree with dom brown, he cannot handle major league pitching. But the pitchers are barely into the season, look at the pitching dominating the league again. Everyone has a low ERA. Just look at the pitchers facing the Philles, they have a combined ERA under 3.00— kozykoz26
- I think the one with ADD is you or have very little knowledge of the farm system. Most of those guys have been in the system for a few years now with very nice success, in particular Pettibone, May, Buchanan and Rodriguez, and almost all of them, inclduing Biddle, Colvin and Bonilla, are top prospects in the Phillies system. They are up to a nice start so far, except Biddle and Colvin. As for Brown, his trade value, like Mick pointed out, keeps going down with every game he plays. You want me to say otherwise. — EL Zorro
- Brownie had 2 errors as EZ points out.
He also is hitting .264 win NO HOMERS,
His trade value is at the Wheelsian level.
Teams dont trade for mediocrity.— NewMick314 - Keep a good upcoming pitcher right where he's at, don't even think about trading him! Just sayin'...— DJ
