Galvis starts hot in winter ball; no left for Ruf
Four days into Venezuelan winter ball play and Freddy Galvis has made a splash in his return to organized baseball while Darin Ruf is awaiting his chance to gain experience in left field.
Galvis starts hot in winter ball; no left for Ruf
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
Four days into Venezuelan winter ball play and Freddy Galvis has made a splash in his return to organized baseball while Darin Ruf is awaiting his chance to gain experience in left field.
Galvis had not played in a game since June 6 because of a fractured back and performance-enhancing drug suspension. He was 4 for 5 in his first Venezuelan game and is 8 for 18 in four games total with two home runs and a double.
Galvis, 22, is playing shortstop for Aguilas del Zulia. He could be starting at third base for the Phillies on April 1.
Meanwhile, Ruf has started three of four games for Tiburones de La Guaira. Each time he has batted cleanup. But twice he has served as designated hitter and once as first baseman.
Ruf is hitting 1 for 12 with a double and four strikeouts.
When discussing Ruf's winter plans, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said he expected Ruf would primarily play left field in Venezuela. It is a position both team and player believe requires more work time. The Phillies, of course, do not have any say in how winter league teams manage their rosters. They can reach out to teams with suggestions or requests.
The director deportivo of Tiburones is Jorge Velandia, who is the Phillies' assistant minor-league field coordinator.
"He's going to be playing for Jorge Velandia, so he will be out in left field every day," Amaro said in late September. "It should be a good experience for him."
So far, it has yet to happen. There is time; they play a 63-game schedule in Venezuela. But this is a situation worth watching.
Other notable Phillies in winter ball:
OF Tyson Gillies (Venezuela): 7 for 15, 4 R, 1 2B, 1 3B
2B Cesar Hernandez (Venezuela): 3 for 13, 4 R, 4 SB
C Sebastian Valle (Puerto Rico): 2 for 6, 2 R, 1 HR
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Vote: Phillies: Stay or Go?
Asche is leading the Arizona Fall league in doubles after the first week of the season and is hitting .350 with no errors at the hot corner.— Dull- @dull: While I agree that Asche is probably the best player, we have to guess what Ruin Tomorrow will do, and his history does not involve bringing up young players and letting them sink or swim. He had a chance to do that with Dom Brown, and replaced him with Hunter Pence for a whole season( July to July). Galvis doesn't have much more experience than Asche, but he played here already , so Ruin will give him the first shot.— drbob1
- Where Galvis fits will depend entirely on what Amaro can accomplish in the off season. I'm expecting atleast 2 big additions, either through FA or by trade(don't want Bourn). Been sayin it for a couple yrs now, we don't play to our ball park like we did in 08. Our starters our great but they make one little mistake and it's a 3 run homer that would normally be a pop up in most places and we just don't have the offense to respond. It's putting too much pressure on our staff to be perfect. We must get more power.— The Pink Floyd
- If they don't go out and get Headley, then they are taking the same risk they took last year, which is, that they believe Utley will be ready for a full year. Your opening day lineup will have Frandsen at 3rd, and Galvis at 2nd. Before that happens, (no ifs about it) if they can't get Headley, they have to get 2 productive outfielders, not one.
If they do get Headley, then Galvis will start at 2nd, and they can get by signing or trading for one outfielder. They don't have to overpay to get a star setup man for they 8th. They can get 2 guys (like Durbin and Romero in 2008) for moderate money, and hope one or both have career years. That way, we don't have the weakness of last year, where they relied on Contreras as the 8th inning RH guy. Also, we don't have to overly rely on all of the young guys, and they can develop better.— laser5 - You also have to understand the age difference and roster dynamics between Asche and Galvis. Galvis was in the minors at 17. Asche went to college and didn't hit the minors until he was 21. As a result, Galvis played over 500 games in the minors. Asche has played less than 200. Even Mike Trout played more than 200 minor league games before getting his call-up. Due to Galvis's young age when he started in the minors he was also at (or close to) Rule 5 status. I can't remember when he was added to the 40 man roster but he almost surely would have been even if he didn't play in the majors to avoid exposing him to Rule 5. And, as it turns out, we needed him on it anyway last year with Utley not being able to play. Now that he's been on the 40 man there's no easy way to take him off without exposing him. Meanwhile, Asche has a much longer clock running since he started 4-5 years older than Galvis. So the way they're treating Asche now makes sense even if you dislike Amaro.
We should get a look at Asche in spring training and also get a longer look at Galvis.— s - I want to see Gillies in cf next year. Forget about another Amaro retread. He has brought a lot of garbage in here with bad contracts at the position player level. Unfortunately it sounds like the Stroll is going to be leading off again listening to Chawlie's recent mumblings.— wo_fat
- How will Galvis hit when he's not doping?— LMparent
- Good to see Galvis looking good early this winter, but I don't see him as the answer for third base.— TennPhan
- Last spring Freddy Galvis was overused in spring training. I understand trying to give him as much experience as possible preparing him for second base. I think in the long run that wore him down. Nobody in the lineup was hitting much except for Carlos Ruiz. The team asked a lot from Freddy Galvis. Too much. Freddy will hit. I never expected to say this but Chase Utley is holding him back. Freddy played excellent defense and showed a high level of situational awareness. Much more range than Chase. Chase didn't hit much at the end of the season. It'll be interesting how it plays out. They must field the best team. I'm grateful for Chase Utley's contributions in the past. He's DH material now. I would just as soon keep him than move him and take the salary hit. The team would be foolish to offer him arbitration for 2014. Unless he steps up the way Ibanez did.— PhilsfaninNebraska
- if the phillies can acquire chase headley(doubtful),then the infield solidifies and they can concentrate their efforts to land that 7th/8th inning reliever they so deperately need...i'd give up a lot to get headley,but galvis at 3rd base is worth a shot...he cannot be any worse than polanco/wigginton and cholly isn't sold on frandsden as an everyday player...available 3rd basemen are a scarce commodity so there aren't many options here...too bad ruf can't play there..— jabac
- Freddie and Gillies are #2 #3 in offense in their league,Freddie leads in total bases. How will he hit when not doping? Pretty good by the looks of it. He will be tested a lot and I am sure already has been so assuming he is doping is kind of taking a bad guess.— pattymac3
- youk gonna be a 3B and cody ross in RF, book it. Galvis super-U, and Ruf will eventually take platoon away from Dumminick. CF more murky, i can see McClouth coming here if we throw enough his way, and a platoon with he and Dingle.— UnaBlogger
- Just hope we don't trade away good pitching prospects that will produce later for another team for old expensive has beens or never were beens. Hope we learned about giving up on prospects-Gio Gonzalez ring a bell? Look towards the future with our prospects such as Brown, Ruf, Asche, Biddle, May, Galvis, Gillies, et al. Couple of prospects we got for Shane V and Pence also show promise. The future looks bright so I hope we don't trade the future for instant gratification that will last only very briefly.
— skipdog
