The Instructs Camp Phillies and Blue Jays squared off again this afternoon in BayCare Ballpark, a 1 PM contest. The Phillies prevailed by a count of 7-2 in a seven inning game.
Notes :
Jhailyn Ortiz ( 22 yrs old ) had a day, he went two for three with a single and grand slam home run. He posted five RBIs and scored three runs. The home run was crushed onto the left center field berm in the second inning. Jhailyn led the minor league organization this season with 23 home runs. His season was cut short at Reading with an apparent rib injury however he’s now moving great in camp ( made a nice play in left field to cut off a possible double and keep runner at first base ). In yesterday’s game he showed off his arm on a play in right field by throwing a rocket to second base to almost nab a runner moving up from first base on a single … shouldn’t have been close but he made it so. Jhailyn is a candidate to attend the Arizona Fall League, we believe he’s gonna shine out there.
Jamari Baylor ( 21 yrs old ) tripled and walked in three plate appearances. Today he also impressed defensively at shortstop. In the fifth inning he ranged far to his glove side on two sharply hit ground balls, fielded them and in the same motion threw strikes to first base to record outs. It’s as fluid as we’ve seen him as a fielder, we know that Jamari has put in a great deal of time with multiple coaches to improve his glove work … the two plays today were testaments to the efforts. His bat speed has always been top drawer … couple that with the defensive work we saw today and he’s gonna make folks notice. Good for him, great young man !
Alexeis Azuaje ( 19 yrs old ) tripled off the left center field wall in three at bats. He’s shown the ability to drive the baseball out of the yard this summer and just missed a dinger on the ball hit today. Alexeis is a middle infielder whom we’ve seen primarily at second base. He made a slick catch and flip to second on a grounder in the 6th inning for a 4-6-3 double play.
Nick Matera ( 25 yrs old ) doubled off the right field wall and scored a run in two AB’s. Nick was the primary catcher at Reading to start the season before suffering a knee injury on June 15th. He returned to action on 8/15 on a rehab assignment with Clearwater and Jersey Shore. Solid receiver who can swing the bat.
Ethan Wilson ( 21 yrs old ) showed really good bat to ball skills in his third AB … with a drawn in infield ( runner on third ) he shortened up his swing and lined a single to right field to score the run. Good looking hitter.
Instructs Debuts :
OF Yemal Flores ( 17 years old ) and C Rickardo Perez ( 17 years old ) both had an AB today. Both are up from the Dominican Academy. Flores subbed into center field defensively for the last couple of innings. Simon Muzziotti ( 22 yrs old ) also played today, he was most recently with the Iron Pigs in Allentown. Simon needs as many AB’s as possible as he missed most of the summer with issues getting into the states from his native Venezuela.
On the Mound :
LH Erik Miller started and struck out the side in a perfect first inning. He appeared to have a more compact delivery than we’ve seen before. Velocity was still there as he touched 94-95 repeatedly with the four seamer. We believe Erik is also a candidate for the Arizona Fall League … has a four pitch mix and missed most of the season this year with shoulder issues … could use the work.
LH Christopher Soriano, RH Alex Garbrick, RH Matt Russell & RH Konnor Ash each threw an inning. Russell showed us a little Johny Cueto like delivery hesitation with a couple pitches, delaying his leg kick and release of the ball. He also touched 95 mph with the heater today.
RH Jose Pena Jr ( 18 yrs old ) threw two innings … we continue to be impressed. He got five ground ball outs with a heavy sinker ( ranged 92 to 95 mph ) and struck out one batter. His arm action and delivery ( as pointed out today by Jim Peyton ) is reminiscent of Hector Neris. We saw sinkers ( 14 pitches ), a four seamer ( 5 pitches ) and a slow hook ( 4 pitches - 76 to 78 mph ) in this game. He’s a quick worker, gets the baseball and goes … excited to see more of him 👍💪.
We also saw International Scouting Director Sal Agostinelli today, he always makes time to say hello.
Here’s a link to some great photos taken by Mark Wylie at yesterday’s game https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/10-4-21-fall-instructs-photos-mark-wylie … once he edits today’s I’ll post on my website
That’s a wrap … as always
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
Erik Miller
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