Talk to Chuck
We had a chance earlier on Tuesday to sit down for a few minutes with Phillies Assistant General Manager for Scouting and Player Development Chuck LaMar. Here are a few comments from the man in charge of the Phillies farm system:
- Pennant Races as Player Development: It is part of their development. Anytime you can put a young man in that position to develop, when the games mean something, it’s better for us from an evaluating standpoint. It’sb etter for us from a teaching standpoint, and it’s better for them. We’ve been fortunate here in Lakewood, we’ve got a pretty good run going. It couldn’t have worked out any better.
- On Brody Colvin (this is before his start on Tuesday night): The strides have been tremendous and they’re not surprising, not only because of his ability but because of his make-up. We never push a player up until they can handle adversity at that level. He got off to a slow start but boy, he’s pitched extremely well. He has ability, everyone can see that. What I like more than any pitcher in this organization is the way he goes about his business. he’s truly the leader of this staff here in Lakewood.
- On Jonathan Singleton: He’s got a lot of things going for him. I hate to keep using the word “make-up,” but he has a tremendous make-up. He loves to play the game. He has an outstanding work ethic, was raised the right way, and his humble. Physically, he’s got strength, balance, eye/hand coordination, pitch recognition that a lot of kids his age don’t have. What you’re seeing is not a fluke.
- How much do you stress make-up to your scouts? A lot, if you’re trying to win a championship. A lot of teams draft players to get them to the big leagues. The Phillies are trying to win championships, and there’s a big difference between getting there and being that kind of player. You can’t be that player on a winning club without that “burning desire to succeed.” It takes a special person to play in front of 40-50,000 on a nightly basis, and that’s what we’re looking for.
- Why now for Domonic Brown, who was promoted to Lehigh Valley last week? We wanted him to get at least a half-season under his belt in Reading. He came into spring training on a mission and handled himself very well in major league camp. Sometimes when they go down, there’s a two week withdrawal, but he handled himself well from the time he got back. His numbers speak for themselves, but he even missed two or three weeks or his numbers would be even better.
- On Harold Garcia and his 31 game hitting streak with Clearwater: Go back to make-up. He’s as good a worker as there is in our minor leagues. He came here and second base, his defensive skills were a bit in question, but he’s such a good worker, that he got voted the top defender at second base in this league. We had two guys that had hammy problems in spring training, and Garcia beat the other guy back by six weeks. Anytime you hit in 31 straight, that’s pretty good in slow-pitch softball. Hopefully we’ll get him up to Double-A in a few weeks and he’s got a chance to play in the Major Leagues because he wants to.
- How do you see the system now compared to before the Cliff Lee trade? I think we’ve reloaded, much of that at the lower levels. We might be a little thin at the upper levels and it will take us a while to replenish that. But most organizations would love to say they’re rebuilding at the upper levels with Mathieson, Zagurski, Brown, Gillies, Galvis, and Gose. That’s a pretty good group, but everyone is using the term “rebuilding.”
LaMar is in town this week to see the BlueClaws and we thank him for his time.
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