A top prospect falters
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A top prospect falters
Matt Gelb
The outings at double-A Reading are grimmer each time for Trevor May, the Phillies' top pitching prospect. Last week, he walked eight Portland Sea Dogs in five innings. On Monday night, he served up four home runs in five innings to the Altoona Curve.
The 22-year-old is saddled with a 5.25 ERA in 20 starts this season, and even that is deceiving. He started well with five wins in five April starts for a 2.40 ERA and stellar 33-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio without allowing a home run.
His line since then?
74.2 IP, 76 H, 57 R, 53 ER, 52 BB, 71 K, 18 HR, 6.39 ERA
The jump from the Florida State League to Eastern League is one of the toughest tests for a young pitcher. What is so discouraging is that May handled it fine in the first month only to falter.
A scout who has recently seen May said, predictably, he is routinely missing up in the zone with his pitches. The home runs are certainly disconcerting, but the walks are even worse.
Early in his minor-league career, May was a pitcher who averaged more than five walks per nine innings. Last season, in his breakout year for single-A Clearwater, he lowered it to four per nine. This year, it's back up to 5.2.
The Phillies saw all of the promise May offers during the first month of the season. The next three demonstrate how far the 22-year-old has to go before reaching the next step.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
This a real bump in the road, but this kid has great stuff. Not all prospects jump through the minors like Cole Hamels did. Even Cole was dominant through the minors and pitched well when he came up, I'm sure most of us/he would like to forget that 2009 season when he wasn't prepared. May will get it together. Part of making it in the majors is going through tough times and figuring it out. That is the stage he is in and when he comes out of it, he'll be moving upward again.— drhoffman- This comment has been deleted.— Owner of Junod
- Yeah, other than the fact that Brown hasn't had a bad season in the minors and in his last month as a regular with the Phillies he was one of their leading hitters hitting .296 with a .398 OBP in 20 starts last July- which represents his last 20 starts as a Phillie. He raked in Major League spring training this year too. — jtj06
- Julio Rodriguez is having some command issues lately also, which makes him grooves FB like May. Maybe is something wrong with the catcher(s). It's weird to have two of your best pitching prospects, who were two of the best 5 pitchers in the FSL last year struggle at the same time.— EL Zorro
- So is the catcher some 30 something career minor leaguer who gets upset when a pitcher shakes him off? — towman
- Phils seem to have real good instructional personnel at all levels..who exactly is the last player, in majors or minors, who has ever showed improvement?— warbiscuit
- I love to hear all of these comments that the Phils have never produced talent and essentially the organization is a mess. You fail to realize that it takes time for young players to develop and also they traded 4 of the Top 50 prospects in baseball (Singleton, Gose, Darnaud, & Cosart) in the last 3 years. All of you were fine with the deals when they happened and you know you were.— FABER
- as crashburn alley points out, Phils greatest farm system depth in is future middle relivers which is about the worst thing you can say about a team's farm system... the trade of Singleton, Santana and
Cosart for a middling corner ourfielder who can't field or run will serve as constant reminder for the next 15 years of the dangers of hiring an inept inexperienced g.m. and delegating to him the ability to make trades— warbiscuit - Dope — DogBiscuitthedope
Has anyone else noted the irony....the baby aces are mimicing pitching like the major league aces.— 64 survivor- May was great when it was April?— Horst Muhlman lives on in all of us
- Is there any organization like the Phillies that consistantly overrates their prospects like they do? You can run this headline and story every year.— jimmymack
- Yeah, the Yankees and Mets. Every prospect who has made the big club is penciled in to the Hall of Fame.
— John621 - In spite of the usual know-it-alls, drhoffman has the right take on young Mr. May. I have seen him pitch and believe me, he will be fine.— dwp66
- I don't know who this "Owner of Junod" is, but she/he certainly seems to be obsessed by race. What a bore!— tbjama
