The Good Phight Prospect Report 8/29

Welcome to The Good Phight prospect report, where we bring you all the latest updates within the Phillies farm system. After years of underwhelming prospect performances and not much hype coming through the Philadelphia pipeline, there has been a steady turnaround since Dave Dombrowski took the helm. Let’s take a look at which prospects are pitching well, smashing the baseball, or are on the move.

Promotions

• 2022 first round pick Justin Crawford has been promoted to Clearwater (A)
• 19-year-old Hao Yu Lee was promoted to Jersey Shore (High-A)
• Outfielder Ethan Wilson has been promoted to Reading (AA)
• Shortstop Luis Garcia was promoted to Reading (AA)

Injury News

Some unfortunate injury news came out of Leigh Valley in the past two weeks as outfielder Simon Muzziotti was transferred to the 60-day IL with a partial tear in his right patellar tendon. The move to the 60-day IL was expected as Muzziotti had been injured during a game in the middle of August.

It is disheartening to see the 23-year-old’s season end this way as he had recently found his footing between Reading and Lehigh Valley. Fortunately, it is just a partial tear, so Muzziotti could return in time for Spring Training 2023.

Hao Yu Lee

It was announced during the past week that infielder Hao Yu Lee had been promoted to High-A Jersey Shore. The nineteen-year-old second basemen tore it up during 258 at bats at Clearwater, slashing .283/.384/.415 with an OPS of .799.

Yu Lee wasted no time carrying over his success to the next level. For his first hit at High-A, Lee destroyed a baseball for a solo home run. The middle infielder’s swing is steady and his hands are incredibly quick, as seen below.

Justin Crawford

In the weeks following the 2022 MLB Draft, Justin Crawford wasted no time tearing up the competition in rookie ball. The seventeenth overall pick slashed .297/.395/.351 in thirty-seven ABs while adding in eight stolen bases. Crawford’s plate discipline and understanding of the strike zone was solid in his brief stint, posting five walk to six strikeouts.

In his Threshers debut, the son of Carl Crawford batted leadoff, an early sign of the confidence the organization has in the speedy centerfielder. During the Friday night game against Tampa, Crawford swiped two bases, immediately showing off the elite speed he possesses.

‘Junior Aces’ Update

How did our collection of promising young arms do this weekend?...

Griff McGarry - 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, WP, 1 GB, 1 FB (69 pitches, 42 strikes)
Andrew Painter - 6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 6 K, HR, 3 GB, 4 FB (89 pitches, 63 strikes)
Mick Abel - 2.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, HR, HBP, 1 GB, 3 FB (75 pitches, 44 strikes)

McGarry wound up taking the loss in his contest, in which he didn’t pitch terribly efficient. Andrew Painter was dominant up until the 7th inning which he began to get in trouble. Mick Abel was the worst of the Junior Aces. It could be very likely the young buck is running out of steam. A FotB (friend of the blog), Matt Winkelman, has noted that he heard Abel was going to be limited to 100 innings this season and currently sits at 94. If this was indeed Abel’s final outing of the season (and they don’t push him beyond with extra innings in AAA playoffs), his final 2022 season line will look like this:

94 IP, 84 H, 47 R, 43 ER, 42 BB, 113 K (4.12 ERA)

That might not seem dominant for a Top 50 prospect, but remember this is just his 2nd professional season, he just turned 21 and is already in AA.