Good use of time
Phillies’ minor leaguers have worked hard to improve
Aaron Fultz was a 25-year-old father of two in 1999 when he started the season with the Fresno Grizzlies, the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League.
The left-handed relief pitcher was one step away from his goal of making the major leagues, which he accomplished the following year.
Fultz spent parts of eight seasons with the Giants, Rangers, Twins, Phillies, Indians, Tigers and Rockies before spending two summers in independent ball and, eventually, turning to his current career as a pitching coach in the Phillies organization.
He starts his second season in that role with the IronPigs, the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate.
Fultz’s first season at Lehigh Valley was unlike any other.
There were no crowds, no games, no on-field entertainment and no postgame fireworks at Coca-Cola Park. There were just drills, instruction and scrimmages for the couple dozen players on the taxi squad, who had to prepare in case the Phillies needed them.
There was no 2020 minor-league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so those not on the major-league roster or taxi squad were on their own.
Fultz recently talked about how almost all of those players were diligent in their workouts away from organized baseball. He knows he would not have responded the same way in 1999.
“I would have started electricians’ work the day I got home, unlike our guys, in all honesty,” Fultz said. “They took advantage of the down time to get their bodies stronger. With all the information now, the different sources, all the drills, they got stronger and better.
“Obviously, you can’t replace innings and games, but their actual throwing, their strength of throwing and their stuff, they got better. That was 22 years ago.
“I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do that stuff, and I wouldn’t have had the desire to either. I had two kids [and] I had to put [food] on the table.”
Fellow left-hander David Parkinson, the Phillies’ 2018 minor league pitcher of the year, was one of those players who put in the time after not getting an invitation to the taxi squad.
Parkinson was 10-9 with a 4.08 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 22 starts in 2019 with Double-A Reading. He spent last season throwing in Mississippi, working with a trainer in Orlando and studying data gurus at Driveline Baseball in Seattle.
The 25-year-old will not be the same pitcher Reading fans saw in 2019.
“[Parkinson] really changed some stuff,” Fultz said. “He’s always going to be changing stuff, though. He is a big thinker. He always overanalyzes stuff. He is intelligent.”
Fultz said he’s seen 10 to 15 minor-league guys this spring who made the most of the historic season that wasn’t.
J.D. Hammer, who had some success in his first 20 majorleague games in 2019 before struggling upon his return to Triple A, is another Fultz has liked. The hard-throwing righthanded reliever spent some time last summer with the taxi squad.
Bailey Falter, a 23-year-old left-handed starter Fultz worked with in 2018-19, is someone IronPigs fans should get a look at once the 2021 season begins. May 4 is the tentatively scheduled Opening Day.
Falter made 14 starts in 2019 with the Fightin’ Phils before being shut down with a UCL strain. He is back to 100%.
“He’s stronger, throwing with more velocity,” Fultz said.
Enyel De Los Santos also has more life on his pitches after struggling in 2019 with the Phillies. He remains in big-league camp this spring because of his return to the form he showed when he dominated Triple A in 2018.
Mauricio Llovera, Damon Jones and Adonis Medina are other starting pitchers who could start 2021 with Lehigh Valley. Llovera was one of several Phillies minor-leaguers who had visa issues and got to spring training late.
Left-handed reliever Kyle Dohy, who pitched in three games last season with the Phillies after an up-and-down stint in 2019 with the IronPigs, is another one on the cusp of the majors. He looked good this spring before a lat injury slowed him down.
Gary Jones returns for his fourth season as IronPigs manager. He was not with the taxi squad in 2020, but based on what he learned from talking to the Phillies roving instructors,
Jones said those players made the most of their time in an unusual setting.
“It was different from the perspective that the guys were not getting the same type of competitive spirit against guys in another uniform,” Jones said. “You have to have mental discipline to do that every day.
“But it was a great opportunity to get to the major leagues. I don’t know if guys have had a better route in any one given year because of things with COVID and the expanded rosters.
“It wasn’t easy spending three to four months there working out every day, playing some [simulated] games. You have to be strong do that grind every day.”