Phillies need their Lakewood teens to tear up South Atlantic League | Bob Brookover
The BlueClaws have five teenagers on their roster. It's their first stop in a full-season league.
LAKEWOOD, N.J. - For most of baseball's elite players, especially the ones drafted out of high school or signed as 16-year-old international free agents, the first real trip into the burning flames comes at the low-A level. If you were selected in the first round the previous year or you graduated to the Gulf Coast League from one of the summer leagues in the Dominican Republic, teams hope that you're ready for a full-season league by the age of 19, if not younger.
Most players that age are not ready.
For the Phillies, Lakewood in the South Atlantic League is the first full-season test for minor-league players, and the BlueClaws started this season with five players 19 years old or younger on their roster. Only one of the 14 teams in the league has more players 19 or younger. The Braves' affiliate in Rome, Ga., has seven, including Ian Anderson, the third overall pick in last year's draft. Atlanta's farm system is considered one of the best in baseball, which is something to keep in mind as the Braves compete with the Phillies to catch the New York Mets and Washington Nationals in the NL East.
The Blue Claws' five players 19 or younger include 18-year-olds Mickey Moniak and Sixto Sanchez, both of whom are high-profile prospects. This space was used earlier this week to describe Sanchez's overpowering fastball and beyond-his-years feel for pitching that could allow him to make a rapid ascent up the minor-league ladder. You're also sure to read plenty about Moniak before the season is over because the first overall pick in the draft demands that kind of attention.
The three 19-year-olds at Lakewood are second baseman Daniel Brito, shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa and pitcher Bailey Falter, who will turn 20 next week.
Brito and Gamboa were considered the Phillies' top two international signings in July 2014. Brito signed for $650,000 and Gamboa received $900,000. So far, it has been Brito's bat that has impressed the most among all the Lakewood prospects. The Venezuela native carried a .392 average with three home runs and a 1.044 OPS into Lakewood's game Tuesday night against Hagerstown.
Gamboa hit .200 in 35 games at Williamsport last season but was batting .280 through six games this season before going on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.
Moniak and Brito also played together last year for the Phillies' Clearwater-based team in the Gulf Coast League and they had very similar seasons. They both hit .284. Brito had 17 extra-base hits in 47 games. Moniak had 16 extra-base hits in 46 games. Brito had 25 RBIs. Moniak had a team-leading 28. Brito had a .776 OPS compared with .749 for Moniak.
Both were deemed ready by the Phillies to skip short-season Williamsport and open this season at Lakewood. It's like being freshmen in a league of elite seniors because they're going against drafted college players and foreign players with far more experience.
"It's awesome that the Phillies have shown the confidence to put us in low A where not a lot of young guys start out," Moniak said. "It's definitely a confidence booster for me."
Nelson Prada, the Lakewood hitting coach, suspects Moniak, Brito, and the other youngsters will swim in the deep end of the pool.
"When players have talent, they adjust to any league," Prada said. "They have quick bats, good hand-eye coordination, and all of that allows them to make adjustments. It's always good for guys like that to be in this league young because they can get quality at-bats in front of fans over a full season. That is always better than being down in Florida and playing with no fans. That's not what baseball is really like. And if their performance is not good, they have the opportunity to come back next year."
That would be the disaster scenario for the Phillies because they need to start developing superstars, and the first trip into the fire is so often a great indicator of what the future has in store. Mike Trout, for example, landed on the cover of Baseball America for the first time when he was 18 after hitting .362 for Cedar Rapids in the Midwest League, which is the equivalent of the South Atlantic League. He graduated to high-A ball halfway through the season and was in the big leagues by 19.
Washington's Bryce Harper, at 18, demolished South Atlantic League pitching on his way to double-A Harrisburg before the season was over. Low-A was no match for Houston's Carlos Correa when he was 18, either. He hit .320 with an .872 OPS. You knew Scott Rolen could play when he was in low-A at age 19. Cole Hamels also was only 19 when he posted a 0.84 ERA in 13 starts at Lakewood before moving to Clearwater in his first full professional season. The Phillies need Sanchez to be that kind of dominant this summer.
"I think it's a tough league in some minds, but we won't use the youth with this group as an excuse," said Marty Malloy, Lakewood's first-year manager. "The good thing about this group is they have no fear. These guys don't shy away from competition. Brito, the start he has got off to, who would have thought that would have happened with him being 19 years old and the first time in a full season? Moniak, he does everything good and he's a baby, too."
The Phillies need their teenagers to dominate down the shore this summer because that's always the first sign that something special could be headed to Philadelphia.
@brookob