Trevor May makes his Double-A debut, but don't call him a Baby Ace
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Trevor May makes his Double-A debut, but don't call him a Baby Ace
David Murphy
Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of the Baby Aces moniker that has become attached to the two or three or, depending on who is doing the labeling, four pitchers who starred together at Class A Clearwater last season. First and foremost, none of these guys are elite prospects, at least not according to the majority of media outlets that cover such things. In fact, only one of the two or three or four pitchers -- Trevor May, Brody Colvin, Jonathan Pettibone and Julio Rodriguez -- was consistently ranked in the various Top 100 lists that were published this spring (most notably by Baseball America).
Rays lefty Matt Moore? He's a Baby Ace. Tigers righty Jacob Turner? He's a Baby Ace. Yankees lefty Manny Banuelo? He's a Baby Ace.
May? He's ranked 69th in the nation by Baseball America, 19 spots below former teammate Jarred Cosart, who was the Clearwater pitcher who had the best claim to ace-dom, but who was traded to Houston as part of a package for Hunter Pence last July.
Put it this way: Ten other organizations have at least two pitchers ranked higher than May, the Phillies highest, and only, ranked pitcher. The Pirates have two pitchers in the Top 15. The Mariners have two in the Top 21, the Cardinals two in the Top 27, the Rangers two in the Top 31. The Diamondbacks have three pitchers in the Top 25, the Braves three in the Top 50. The Athletics? Baseball America ranks four of their pitchers as better prospects than May.
That's not to slight May or any of the other young arms you might want to throw into the mix. Part of following the minor leagues is following them with context, and watching these guys with the thought that they will someday become aces isn't realistic, or, for that matter, fair.
Anyway, before I go suck an egg, the point of this post: Trevor May made his debut for Double-A Reading last night, picking up the victory against Portland. The strikeouts, 6 in 5 innings, were there, as they have been throughout his career with the Phillies. So too were the walks (3 of them). The final line: 4 runs on 3 hits in 5 innings, 5 groundouts, 3 flyouts, along with the aforementioned 6 strikeouts.
Since we're looking at that box score, Tyson Gillies went 4-for-5 with a triple and three runs, Jiwan James went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs and two RBI, while Leandro Castro went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs.
James and Castro are two of the more interesting under-the-radar prospects this season. The Phillies have been waiting for James' bat to come around for awhile now, but from what I saw in spring training his body gives you at least some reason to hope. He was always a kid who was remarkably, almost unhealthily, skinny for his 6-foot-4 frame. His MILB.com profile still lists him at 180 pounds. Well, trust me: the kid ain't 180 pounds anymore. Guy became a man over the offseason. Or maybe he started eating breakfast. Either way, his frame has filled out to the point where, eye-balling it, I'd put him at closer to 195 or 200 right now.
Castro, meanwhile, is just fun to watch at the plate. He has this short, compact frame that generates a quick sort of line-drive power. Last year, he hit 10 home runs in under 300 plate appearances. It wouldn't shock me to see him play his way up the radar this year.
Here's the article on May's performance from Mike Drago of the Reading Eagle.
I am happy to see some perspective for minor league players. Players like D Brown didn't have a chance to fail because of all the hype. Organizations like the yankees and Phillies place tags on minor leaguers more for PR and trade bait than actual hopes of them in Philly. Look at the can't miss prospects traded for Lee and Do. Let the guys simply get better. Everyone is not the next Mantle or Gibson. Do you rember Roger Repoz? He was the next Mantle in the 60s.— wmontanez27- I don't know if I agree with the whole PR thing, but I agree with your premise. If anything the Doc and Lee deals show more about the volatility of prospects than their overhype... and don't forget, we did give up Travis D'Arnaud in the Doc deal who looks like a star. Kyle Drabek could flame out or turn it around and be a stud, just look at Aumont - from the scrap heap to a future closer candidate... they're just so unpredictable... — leeal02
- I agree, with no perspective of what other teams have you would think these are legit aces. Good article Murph — Haus_wreck
- The term baby aces came about after Cosart, Colvin and May had strong seasons in Lakewood. Cosart is gone after having a middling year in Clearwater. Colvin didn't make the jump to Reading. Only May lived up to the hype. Now the term is being attached to pitchers (Pettibone and Rodriguez) who are obscure prospects.— tgray83
- Yep to be clear I've never heard anybody who wasn't in the media/blogosphere use the term Baby Aces. Hell, our paper might have coined it for all I know. It's largely harmless, but like you said wmontanez27, all it does is create the perception that these guys are giant failures if they don't thrive at the big league level.— dmurph003
- Gillies and Valle the ones to watch. James is Brown part 2. Sure the Phils would love Gillies to dominate, see AAA and take over for Vic next year, in a perfect world.— WFChamps
- Accepting the fact that the present Phillies are all getting older it is important to follow up on future Phils down on the farm. We all need hope that these so-called prospects will continue developing and replenish the team in the near future. Good scouting and drafting is imperative. Does sound like last years draft might produce a good prospect or two. Phillies must stay the Big Dog now and in the future.— skipdog
- Castro never met a pitch he didn't like...He makes Valle look selective...That being said,, he does have tools, and a very quick bat...May just needs to hone in on his command...His stike/ball ratios get horrendous, and that can do him in as he moves up...When he's on, he's lights out...Pettibone is really polished...Rodriguez sneaky, with a curveball slower than Livan Hernandez...Reading will be worth watching.— bearsfriend
- None of the guys traded for Cliff Lee were can't miss prospects, montanez, FYI. The can't miss prospect at the time was Brown.— EL Zorro
- Trevor May can be a very good 2/3....Jesse Biddle can be an ace if he puts it all together.— Romus
