September call-up: Cody Asche?

Had it not been for Darin Ruf and his record-breaking season at Reading, perhaps the most talked about hitting prospect in the Phillies’ system would be third baseman Cody Asche.

Asche, the 22-year-old 2011 grad from the University of Nebraska, is headed into his third season as a pro after batting a combined .324 at Single-A Clearwater and Double-A Reading in 2012.  By all accounts, it doesn’t seem as if he has much time to go on his minor league career.

“He’s another guy whose bat is going to play,” Reading manager Dusty Wathan said. “He has a tremendous upside with his bat. To be at this level one year out of the draft is exceptional. The last guy who was at this level just one year after the draft was Pat Burrell and he was a first-round pick. Cody was a fourth-round pick and he wasn’t expected to be here. He was expected to maybe be at Clearwater at the end of this year.”

Indeed, Asche appears to be on the fast track. In 68 games in Double-A, Asche hit .300 with 10 homers and was named to the Eastern League All-Star team. That was after batting .349 with a .378 on-base percentage for Clearwater.

Clearly, Asche can hit, but it wasn’t always as easy as he thought it was going to be. After batting .327 with 12 homers in 54 games during his last year at Nebraska, Asche thought he’d jump in at Low-A Williamsport following his selection in the fourth round of the 2011 draft and just keep on hitting.

Boy was he wrong.

Instead he hit .197 in his first year of pro ball with 50 strikeouts in 64 games. He also was playing second base, because, as Wathan explained, the organization liked his bat so much that it was willing to take a chance on him anywhere in the field.

But after a few adjustments, a bunch of mechanical changes and a more refined mental approach, Asche could be knocking on the clubhouse door in South Philly sooner rather than later.

Wathan said that Asche simply “hit himself out of [Clearwater].”

Now Asche has to get a firmer grip on playing third base.

“He skipped a level and only spent a half-year at the level he skipped. He’s done an outstanding job,” Wathan said. “But the one thing he has to work on is third base. It’s not really his fault. We had him at second base [in 2011], so we lost valuable time there in getting him some action there with him not playing third. I think we were just trying to get him some at-bats and it ended up being at second base.”

The decision to move Asche back to third base did not come about because it appears as if the Phillies will be seeking a new third baseman in the not-so distant future (though it didn’t hurt). Plus, with 36-year old veteran Michael Young in the final year of his contract, Asche’s bat is impressive enough that the Phillies’ brass wanted to find him a stable position.

In the meantime, Wathan added that he wouldn’t be surprised if Asche opens the 2013 season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

“Put it this way: if he starts the season at a higher level next year, he can handle it,” Wathan said. “If he comes back here, will it hurt his development? I don’t think so. I think we’re in a good spot with him. He got here so quickly — he’s not far from the big leagues. There’s not a lot more he has to do.”

Comments

[dlhunter]

This is an interest experiment with a longer post. Not sure I like it.

[Bonehead]

There are plenty of instances of guys who began as defensive liabilities, but worked their butts off to become adequate defenders. George Brett being one of the best examples.

Here's to hoping.

[epicurean]

Does anyone want to set the over/unders for Asche's 2013 season? I am feeling too cynical about his potential to do so myself.

[Fat Turtle]

I think 'september call up' is probably the wrong title for this article considering the Phils gave up Worley for an aging 3b with bounce-back potential.. unless the team is underwater at that point. I think the expanded wild card puts us in playoff contention regardless. I like the long format, I don't mind reading and I enjoyed all the pull quotes.

I'd lay down an over-under for Asche but I've never seen the kid hit... only read about him.

Long-time reader, 1st time poster.. i'll play the optimist

[RedBurb]

The Phillies didn't trade Worley for Young. They traded Lindbomb and Lisalberto Bonilla for him.

[Edmundo]

Chubby Reptile, even if Young has a good year, AND the team is in contention, AND Asche hits well at AAA, you would want to bring him up if only for pinch-hitting and the dreaded double switch.

Keep being optimistic, my friend.

[Kendrick Appreciation Society]

Nice post on Asche. It's good hearing someone in the organization talking about him. Of course, he's not likely to be candid about the down sides of Asche, but a good read nonetheless. I'd expect to see Asche by September unless he bombs this year.

[lorecore]

Nice post with quotes from the manager. As for the debate on whether he can be a Spetember call up...does it even matter? I mean, Brian Bocock was a September call up.

[lorecore]

If you can ignore all of this Manti Teo news, you'll notice that the Phillies just signed an international FA Sidd Finch. He's a RHP and is said to hit triple digits with his fastball.

[norbertods]

Lorecore: Did the Mets waive him? I thought he had 10-5 rights?

[mainerob]

And I thought the mercurial Sidd had become a player/manager in Japan after his brilliant career ended so abruptly and sadly with the independent League Newark Bears.

How can we ever forget the SI cover story that exposed this once-in-a-lifetime phenom?!

Thanks for the update, lorecore.

[rolo]

lore and norbert, I heard that they've also made inquiries about Toe Nash.

[jbird]

Nice write up, I hope Asche turns himself into something useful for the big club.

[clout]

I know clout bait when I see it. But if jbird says he "can't miss" I'm on board.

[NEPP]

Conservative prediction of Cody Asche in AAA in 2013:

120 G, .475 AVG/.742 OBP/1.502 OPS, 57 HR, 42 2B, 10 3B, 175 RBI

[jbird]

my original post was going to be, ". . . but clout tells me he's not a prospect"... but I thought it to be unnecessarily provocative. Apparently I was wrong.

And I've never said "can't miss". I think Asche has a shot at being a league average 3b. Which, I think would be great. His chances of making that mark are, like any player who hasn't established himself in the majors already, relatively low.

[Bonehead]

I think Cody has better triples speed than that, but I understand you want to keep your prediction conservative.

[Iceman]

"I know it can seem like some of us are just praising everything Rizzo does, and so I understand why people are fighting back on it. But he just happens to be doing a lot of good things. I have no reason to be biased one way or the other. It just seems like they're making a whole series of smart moves. I wish I didn't think so, but I do"

Well, Rizzo has done a few things that were inarguably great. The Gio trade/extension, the Ramos trade. Those were great moves made at the right time that will boost the franchise for years to come.

But many of the moves he's made are certainly up for debate, specifically ones he made this off-season. Those debates have been exhausted and there's no need to re-hash them. But certain people consistently align with Rizzo, going the whole way back to the Strasburg when the declared him "brave" and "courageous" for sitting him. That's when it started getting weird. And now it's just flat-out obvious.

Even when he's made moves that are obvious overpays, the excuse is made that is doesn't matter, because the team is really good, so who cares? And sure, Haper and Strasburg were there for him to draft two years in a row, but he still managed to draft them, so who cares? Well, anyone that wastes their time posting on this site to analyze things objectively should care. The excuses made for Rizzo on those grounds, by the way, are the same excuses that people had no time for when it was Amaro making the careless, 'because-he-can' type of moves. The difference is pretty telling.

I remember when I was younger I went through a phase when my parents couldn't do anything right, and no matter what they did, it p*ssed me off. Conversely, I'd go to visit friends and think, 'God, I wish my parents were like them. Look how much better off they are!' I would lament to my friends how cool their parents were and asked if they would adopt me.

Of course, I was 7 or 8 years old at the time. I eventually grew up.

Can we all admit the following 3 things?

1) Rizzo has made more than a few moves that have helped the Nats in the immediate and will help in years to come
2) Rizzo has made choices through his tenure that are very much up for debate, and many of those choices have yet to reveal themselves as correct or incorrect
3) Rizzo was handed a situation that most GMs would dream of, and most of the current core of the team was built before he was given complete control of the franchise

I don't think any of those three points are unreasonable, nor do they vindicate anyone's opinion on Rizzo.

[bullit]

iceman: i didn't think kids got surly that early.

[Andy]

Rizzo is a better GM than he was a mayor.

[bullit]

lol. less incendiary.

[PhxPhilly]

Like the article. Good work. And yes I am sure Wathan will not publicly discuss Asche's faults.

I'd like to see Asche stay in AA while Phillies sign another 'some guy' for minor league 3B. With Young being handed the major league job I am not sure the Phillies can convince an ex-big leaguer to accept a minor league deal at 3B. But I'd like to see Phillies get a 3B/PH lefty hitter type to take the 25th roster spot, leaving Frandsen as the only middle infielder since Young could slide over as well.