Ironpigs 2011 Part 6: The Outfielders

Barring a trade or injury, the Phillies will have Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino and Ben Francisco on their opening day roster.  Ross Gload can also play a corner outfield position (as well as first base) and he is likely to be with the Phillies as a lefty on the bench.  It appears that there should be room for one or two additional outfielders with the Phillies depending on how many pitchers Charlie keeps on the team.  Domonic Brown and John Mayberry Jr. would be the two most likely candidates for the extra spot, with newly acquired Delwyn Young also a strong candidate since he can play either corner outfield position, second base and also fill in at third in a pinch.  The Phillies biggest need in the outfield appears to be another right handed bat.  Brown is a lefty but he is one of the top prospects in all of baseball.  Mayberry bats right handed and Delwyn Young is a switch hitter.  I don’t think the Phillies can afford to keep Brown unless they put him in right field fulltime.   I may be wrong but I don’t see that happening.   Mayberry was told by the Phillies to bring a first baseman’s mitt to spring training so he can learn how to play first base.  That would add to his versatility and would give the Phillies an opportunity to give Ryan Howard an occasional day off against tough left handed pitchers.  While Mayberry has struggled with strikeouts throughout his career, he has proven to be a respectable hitter when facing lefties.   And then there is also Rich Thompson  who will be in  the mix for a position in the Ironpigs outfield for the 4th straight year.    There are also a few free agent signees who have proven over the years to be pretty good hitters at the AAA level.    

In the first 3 years of Ironpigs baseball, Dave Huppert rarely carried more than 4 outfielders on his roster.  It’s a pretty safe bet that if Brown and/or Mayberry don’t make the Phillies they will be with the Ironpigs.  That would leave room for two or three additional outfielders.  Rich Thompson has been a good soldier in his 3 years with the Ironpigs, but could he be asked to start the season in Reading if there is a numbers problem in the outfield at Coca-Cola Park?   Because of his speed and defense I don’t think that will happen.  Nevertheless, there is going to be some tough roster decisions to make this spring.   We all know Thompson, Mayberry and Brown so let’s take a look at the new guys:
 
Matt Miller:  DOB 12/26/82 New Braunfels, TX.  6’2″ 210.  B/T: R/R
Matt attended Texas St. University and was drafted in the 13th round of the 2004 player draft by the Colorado Rockies.  Despite hitting well at every minor league level, he has never played a game in the major leagues.   In 2005 Matt hit .331 in class A and was  league MVP.   In 2006 he hit .307 & was a California League allstar.  In 2007 at AA he slipped to .262 but was still named a Texas League mid-season allstar.  He returned to AA again in 2008 and hit .344 and was a Texas League allstar.   Matt finished the 2008 season in AAA where he hit .331.   He spent 2009 and 2010 with Colorado Springs in AAA and hit .319 in 2009 and .325 in 2010.  He also walked 66 times to go with his .325 average, bringing his OBP in 2010 to .404.  He was a Pacific Coast League allstar in both 2009 and 2010.  Despite one good power year early in his minor league career he is more of a line drive hitter who can hit the ball to all fields.  He has 560 RBIs in his 7 minor league seasons.  Matt was granted free agency after the 2010 season and was signed to a minor league contract by the Phillies with an invitation to spring training.   His ability to hit to the opposite field could serve him well with the short right field porch at Coca-Cola Park.  I’m sure he took notice last year when he was the starting left fielder for the Pacific Coast League in the July 14th All-Star Game.  He went 1-3 with a walk in the allstar game and scored the only run for the PCL.  Hopefully he’ll like playing in the Phillies organization. 

Matt Miller, AAA All Star Game with Erik Kratz catching

Brandon Moss: 9/16/83 Monroe, GA  6’0″  210  B/T: L/R
After his senior year at Loganville High School in Georgia, Brandon was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 8th round of the 2002 player draft.   He was assigned to the Red Sox team in the Gulf Coast League where he played second base.   In 2003 he was moved to the outfield and that’s where he has remained.   He got his first taste of the major leagues on August 6, 2007 but was sent back to AAA when Eric Hinske returned from bereavement leave.  He returned to the Red Sox on September 1st when major league rosters expanded to 40.   In 2008 the Red Sox opened their season by playing the Oakland A’s in Japan.   Brandon started the first game and hit a homerun.  He later split time between Pawtucket and Boston until July 31st when he was part of a major trade involving 3 teams.   As part of the deal, Brandon was sent to Pittsburgh with the Pirates sending Jason Bay to Boston.  The Red Sox also sent Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers in the 3-team trade.  Brandon started 41 games for the Pirates in August and September but he lost his starting job in 2009 after a poor start to the season.  After another poor spring in 2010 he was designated for assignment by the Pirates and later outrighted to Indianapolis.   He hit .282 with 22 homeruns and 96 RBIs for Indianapolis in 2010 which earned him a September callup with the Pirates.   He became a free agent after the season and was signed to a minor league contract by the Phillies. 
For the country music fans among us, Brandon Moss is a cousin to country music superstar Alan Jackson.

Delwyn Young:  6/30/82 Los Angeles, CA.  5’10” 190.  B/T: B/R
Delwyn was drafted out of Santa Barbara City College in the 4th round of the 2002 amateur baseball draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and was signed on June 12, 2002.  In the Pioneer (Rookie) League  he hit .300 with 10 homeruns in 240 at bats.  The following year in class A he  hit .323 with 15 homers.  He moved up to A+ ball in 2004 and hit .281 with 22 homers.   He split the 2005 season between AA and AAA  and combined to hit .305 with 20 homeruns.  Up to this point of his professional career he played almost exclusively at second base.  He began the 2006 season at AAA Las Vegas where he was converted to an outfielder.   He hit .273 with 18 homeruns for Las Vegas that season and  earned a late season callup to the Dodgers.   In 2007 he again played primarily in AAA Las Vegas and hit .337 with 17 homeruns.  He spent the final 2 months of the season with the Dodgers and hit .382 (13-34) with 2 homeruns.   He spent most of 2008 as a Dodgers reserve and hit .246.  In 2009 he found himself back in AAA to start the season but on April 15, 2009 Delwyn was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He played 53 games at second base and 30 games in the outfield for the Pirates that year while hitting .266 with 7 homeruns.  In 2010 he hit .236 with 7 homers.   One of the highlights of his major league career came on June 8th, 2010 when he hit a 2-run homerun to deep right-center field off Nationals rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg in Strasburg’s first big league start.  They were the only 2 runs scored by the Pirates in the game.  Delwyn was granted free agency on November 29, 2010 and was signed by the Phillies on January 6, 2011.

Chris Frey:  8/11/83 Highland, IL  6’1″ 180.  B/T: L/L
Chris played college baseball at Arizona and was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 11th round of the 2005 draft.  After spending 6 years in the Rockies organization he was selected by the Phillies in the AAA portion of the Rule 5 Draft in December.  He is considered an excellent centerfielder and a decent singles-type left-handed hitter without much power.  He has played for Colorado Springs in the Pacific Coast League the past 3 years and has a lifetime batting average of .276 in AAA.  In 1,029 career AAA at bats he has 54 doubles, 18 triples and 8 homeruns.