Struggling Aumont sent to Clearwater
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Struggling Aumont sent to Clearwater
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
At the end of spring training, Phillies assistant general manager Chuck LaMar and his developmental staff had a long debate about whether to send righthander Phillippe Aumont to double-A Reading or single-A Clearwater.
Aumont, the top prospect acquired in the off-season trade for Cliff Lee, had only made eight starts as a professional pitcher. He spent all of 2009 as a reliever but the Phillies viewed him as a starter.
The meetings ended with the decision of sending Aumont to double A. On Sunday, after 11 starts with Reading, Aumont was demoted to single A.
LaMar said he regretted the original decision to send Aumont to Reading.
“I thought we made a mistake,” LaMar said Sunday. “I told Phillippe that today. Hindsight is 20-20. But we probably put him in a situation that was extremely hard for anyone.”
Aumont was 1-6 with a 7.43 ERA at Reading. He pitched six no-hit innings in his fourth start of the season, leading LaMar and others to begin thinking it could work out.
Since that outing, Aumont has a 10.73 ERA. In 49 2/3 total innings at Reading, he struck out 38 and walked 38. Opponents hit .284 off of him.
“It’s consistency,” LaMar said. “His stuff is there, but at the double-A level, you not only have to have stuff; you have to have command of that stuff and be able to use it consistently. Right now he’s just a young kid with stuff who had to be able to use it. In the bullpen, where Seattle had him, you can come in for just an inning and go stuff. But as a starting pitcher throwing 100 pitches at the double-A level, you need to have more than that.”
LaMar said the team plans to keep Aumont as a starter. He may not start games right away for Clearwater, instead pitching three- or four-inning stints at a time to build his confidence back up with some positive results.
“We think he’s going to pitch in the major leagues,” LaMar said. “We think he’s going to pitch in the major leagues for the Phillies. We like his size. We like his stuff. We like his competitiveness. He also had to continue to gain confidence in himself. Ability can only take you so far. At some point you have to have results.”
Good thing we "restocked" our farm system with this stiff.— toccheyhockey
Que the whiners.- Its not whining to note that the Phils main stated reason for the Lee trade has worked out poorly so far.— RG
- Thanks Ruben.— F. Harry Stowe
- This kid was burried before he ever threw a pitch for double A. Hopefully going down will help build his confidence and he just needs to forget who he was traded for and get rid of any expectations that anybody puts on him and just work to get better.— Phillyphan26
- The kid is not a starter. They should be grooming him to replace Lidge.— UncleEddie
- Instead of having two aces to weather this current hitting slump we get a total bust. Also perhaps Ryan Howard's recent woes has more to do with him dating a hot model (Selita Ebanks) than his big contract :)— davi
- He's a big guy-6'8",I think- with a lot of moving parts in his delivery. Considering the conversion back to starting and reworking his delivery it was an overly ambitious decision to start him at Reading. He's got time to work it out. Clearwater should be a better place for him. The results of the Lee trade won't be known for at least 3 years.— Rick Wise Guy
- na rube did a wonderful job letting lee go and signing, gload, baez etc...great job— tooltime
Comment removed.- Que the whiners? That translates to "what the whiners". A guy named rico should know better.— P Even
- Is all baseball people stupid or is it just Rube? In what other sport would you trade "MVP's" for prospects that may someday play in the big show? And maybe even for us! Jeez, give me strength!— NittyGritty
- It's not whining to note Aumont has sucked. Can he turn it around? Sure. But Aumont is more project than prospect right now, no doubt.— stormrider
- What makes me the most upset about trading Lee was that the Phillies didn't even let most of the league know they were shopping him. They should of let everyone know (like the Jays with Halladay) and field the many offers they would have gotten. With Lee only costing 8 million this year and having whole year left under contract, we all know the Phillies would have received numerous offers from teams. They would have had a ton of great prospects dangled in front of them. Instead, the Phillies don't let other teams know and just work specifically with the Mariners because of the Gillick connection. Stupid, stupid move. And what makes it even worse is that they don't even get any of the Mariner's top 5 prospects. For Cliff Lee, they should of gotten 1-3 or 2-4, at least a darn good package. They gave him away for nothing. And the stupidity of the trade is compounded even more now that Blanton (who they chose to keep over Lee) has been awful and Happ is hurt. On the other hand, Lee has pitched great, giving up less than 2 runs a game and striking out 7-10....all in the AL where they face 9 hitters, not 8 like the NL. I hate to say it, but I think Ruben has made horrible decisions with this team since becoming GM. Ibanez to 3 years, signing bullpen retreads like Herndon and Beaz, having no bench the last two years (Gload, Dobbs, Francisco, etc.), and failing to maintain a great pitching staff with Lee and Halladay. He should of never traded for Halladay if he wasn't going to keep Lee.— eaglegrn21
- As a "Negadelphia" ex-pat I try to stay positive, but darn if @eaglegrn21 didn't absolutely hit the nail on the head.— nyphilsphan
