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
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.
How about a position player? When are the Phillies going to start developing some position players? This obsession with pitching as though nothing else matters is crazy. Have you looked at this lineup lately? Have you looked at the ages of some of these guys? I guess the up and down saga of Domonic Brown is it huh? And btw, why not bring him back up and just stick him in left? What do we have to lose at this point? Could he possibly be a worse hitter than Galvis?— JLH
Comment removed.- Seems like the only hyped prospect to actually make it to Philly instead of being traded was Dom Brown. And that hasn't worked out so well, at least yet. Even of the prospects traded away in recent years, none has really done anything, and several have either regressed or gotten hurt. So while I'd love to see this kid mowing down hitters at CBP in a couple years, if he can net a Major League bat it's a no-brainer
- I sat behind home plate last night at Reading and watched every pitch May threw. His curve is nasty and almost unhittable. His fast ball has good movement (not great, but that will come). They have three or four pitchers there throwing almost as good as May. They don't call them the "Baby Aces" for nothing...— Russ
- no team is going to trade one their best players in april especially to a division rival— smiggs13
- Ludicrous deal rk.......agree that we need to develop some positionplayers. Could be the organization looked at being set for 5 more years in the infield so has been concentrating on pithcing, plus it seems like youcan get more in a trade for a pitcher than a position player.
And "yes" Murph, wins do matter....they are the only thing that matters.....the highway is littered with losers who once had golden arms but didn't know how to "WIN". Winners, win....no excuses.....simple as that.— Mark1npt - So when King Felix won the Cy Young in 2010 record after leading the league in innings pitched and ERA, it was his fault that he only won 13 games because the offense couldn't hit for him? Wins relies on offense, which is an element the pitcher has zero control over. It's as outdated a stat as there is in sports
- 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! - ACtually I lettered 3 years in college thanks, and you completely missed my point. You can't look at simply wins and losses to define a successful pitcher. I'm not talking about scenarios when you're protecting a lead. In fact, the opposite. I'm talking about the fact that a Felix Hernandez can go out there and maybe give up 1 run, toss a complete game with 10 strikeouts, and his team loses because the offense doesn't score runs. Conversely if I get shelled for 7 runs and my offense puts up 8, that doesn't mean I'm a winning pitcher. Jamie Moyer had an ERA above 5.00 in 2007 and won 14 games because he pitched for a team that could hit. So he's a better pitcher than Felix Hernandez?
- Here let's take it a step further: You take the top 5 pitchers in wins and I'll take the top 5 in ERA from any given year, and we'll put them on two teams both with the same lineup. Assuming the offense generates identical production for both pitchers, my guys are going to win more games because they give up less runs.
I think we can both agree someone like Cliff Lee certainly plays to win the game, period. He has a sub-2.00 ERA through 3 starts and has yet to get a win. Why? Because the offense hasn't hit for him. That's not his fault, and I'm not taking Joe Blanton over him just because Joe Blanton has a win under his belt. That's really the only point I'm making here - That said, if you'd like to ridicule me for my ineptness at posting comments (sorry about that first one coming out numerous times), go right ahead, I have no defense.
- Where did I say you should look solely at wins and losses to define a pitcher? I said nothing of the sort. Another problem with the world today, no one knows how to debate by actually addressing the question at hand.
Then, by not addressing the actual point, you use the Moyer vs Hernandez example (which, again, had nothing to do with my point), to attempt to ridicule an argument I didn't make. You must be a regular caller to sportstalk radio!
YOU said "wins" is "as outdated a stat as there is in sports", which is ridiculous. I was responding to that statement. - Speak for yourself buddy, the poster I was responding to said "wins are the only thing that matters." You're the one who felt the need to jump in and misinterpret my entire point. Then concluded your post with a similar conclusion that "You play (and pitch) to win the game, period!"
So if you don't want to be ridiculed, then maybe mind your business
