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| Eickhoff won't be back. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
I'm always excited for baseball season, and obviously i'm always pumped for my Phillies. This season though, I'm more pumped for the IronPigs, if for no other reason than the opportunity to see all the talent the Phillies have amassed coming through. Trades that sent Cole Hamels and Ken Giles, among others, to contenders in return for prospects, have changed the outlook for the future immensely.
Not only will the IronPigs have talent, they will have competition. There are a lot of players in the Phillies camp who will be trying to come down and have spots. Many positions are crowded, and the Phillies will have to make some tough choices in forming this roster.
The Rotation-
Case in point, this is one crowded area for the Phillies to sort out. David Buchanan, Severino Gonzalez, and Alec Asher all saw MLB time last season. Jake Thompson, Mark Appel, and Zach Eflin all are highly regarded prospects that the team has picked up in recent trades, and all are either ready or close to it, for this level. In any normal situation, Ben Lively would be looked at here. Chris Leroux and Anthony Vasquez both started significant games for the Pigs last season. Reinier Roibal, Joely Rodriguez, and Tom Windle could even be considered if the Phillies wanted to.
Reality here though is that the Phillies need to balance pitchers they may use in the majors this season against prospects. You have to figure Adam Morgan into this discussion as well, if he is the odd man out for the fifth starter job in Philadelphia. My sense here is that Appel, Thompson, and Eflin are all locks to be here. If I had to guess beyond that, I would bet on Morgan obviously, and Buchanan winning the last two spots in this rotation. Gonzalez and Asher will be considered for the Reading rotation, or in Asher's case, the bullpen.
I expect the Reading rotation, for what it's worth, to include Lively, Nick Pivetta, and Ricardo Pinto to start the season. They may go with six spots there, so the possibility of Gonzalez and Asher starting there is definitely possible.
The Line-Up-
There's so much to be excited about here. Andrew Knapp, Brock Stassi, Nick Williams, Roman Quinn, and maybe even J.P. Crawford will all start out here. That's a crowded squad to start out.
I expect we'll see an infield of Knapp, Stassi, Angelys Nina, Crawford, and Ryan Jackson to start the season. I suspect our outfield will be Williams, Quinn, and Cedric Hunter to start out.
The Bullpen-
There's a lot coming this way from the Major League camp. Some combination of Andrew Bailey, Luis Garcia, Dalier Hinojosa, Elvis Araujo, Michael Mariot, Hector Neris, Colton Murray, Edubray Ramos, Jimmy Cordero, Tom Windle, Anthony Vasquez, James Russell, Joely Rodriguez, Reinier Roibal, Ken Roberts, Ryan O'Sullivan, Yoervis Medina, Chris Leroux, Bobby LaFramboise, Gregory Infante, Frank Herrmann, Ernesto Frieri, Greg Burke, Nick Fanti, Alec Asher, Jeremy Bleich, and Edgar Ibarra will make up the seven man bullpen in Allentown- and probably in Reading too. I have Bailey and Hinojosa winning jobs in Philadelphia though- so let's operate with them out for now.
It would seem unlikely that Garcia, Araujo, Neris, or Murray isn't here. It would be very surprising if Ramos, Cordero, or Windle is here, and not Reading. That leaves three spots in AAA, and four in AA to work with. Vasquez or Leroux is likely to make the AAA squad as a long man, pushing that number down to two. I suspect the Phillies will want to see a lefty make this bullpen besides Araujo, so watch for Russell, Roberts, and LaFramboise to lead one battle, with Bleich and Ibarra also being considered. On the other side, I expect Frieri to be given a chance to accept a spot, and if not, watch Medina.
Bench-
Lock in Gabriel Lino, Taylor Featherston, J.P. Arencibia (who will DH a lot too), and Christian Marrero. That leaves one more spot. I could certainly see the Phillies putting Cam Perkins here and pushing Hunter to the bench, but I think it's more likely they look at either trying to keep Burriss here or K.C. Serna if Burriss doesn't come down.
