Phillies Land Gabriel Lino in Thome Trade
It’s not often I head to the park having never heard of a catcher only to leave believing he was a future big leaguer. The last time it happened was in 2010 After seeing Giants Hector Sanchez gun down an opposing runner at second base with a 1.93 second rocket from his knees and swing the bat from both sides of the plate. More recently, Gabriel Lino left a similar impression in April as the starting catcher for Dylan Bundy‘s professional debut as a member of the Baltimore Orioles organization. With his being dealt to the Phillies as part of the Jim Thome deal, Lino finds himself in an organization that has had quite a knack for developing young catchers in recent years.
Having recently turned 19, the 6-foot-3, 200 pound Lino has the frame to become even bigger at full physical maturity due to his being a bit disproportionate through his upper body when compared to his lower half. In fact, Lino may already be 20-30 pounds heavier than his listed weight as my game notes indicated his being thick through the hips with a need to “lean up”. And while this does raise some questions about his ability to remain behind the plate, his being a bit awkward as a young man still growing into his body leaves me thinking there’s room for increased athleticism. An increase in athleticism would serve as a counterbalance for additional size gained allowing him to still project well defensively as a catcher.
Additionally, Lino’s defense is still a work in progress which also bodes well for his continuing to improve. His arm strength is his best asset, but a poor transfer resulting in a slow release including a bit of “wind up” in the back of his arm action mitigates the ability to cut down an opponents running game. In terms of receiving and blocking, the foundation is there for Lino to be strong in both areas, although I’d like to see him do more to protect his bare hand in a squat. One aspect of his defense which really stuck out is his ability to stay low and sway left and right to frame pitches without having to move his mitt. It’s rare to see that kind of agility through the hips for a player of Lino’s stature – Especially at the Single-A level.
Beginning with batting practice, Lino displayed impressive power potential with bat speed to spare. He also has an idea of how to stay inside the ball and I was impressed by the way he utilized his hands in his swing. On a Delmarva team including multiple second rounders and an over slot bonus baby, Lino’s batting practice session was the most impressive.
Fast forward to game action and Lino hit a line drive double down the left field line and followed it up with another hard hit fly ball which ricocheted high off the right field fence. He mixed in a few unbridled swings-and-misses as well and displayed a weakness chasing breaking balls low-and-away. Lino’s swing was noticeably harder than in batting practice causing a longer swing path and I suspect he’d still have power to spare if he ratcheted down the aggressive cuts a notch or two. Additionally, his coiling like a snake and cocking his hands two, three or even four times is simply a timing mechanism Lino was not repeating which makes any sort of consistency nearly impossible. Quiet the moving pieces and teach Lino to trust his explosive hands to generate power and he could morph into a quality minor league hitter with a fall revamping his mechanics in instructs.
Newest Phillies prospect Gabriel Lino is still an embryo in his development and will require significant time and patience if he is to realize his potential. With a .218/.282/.340 line in full season baseball, the South Atlantic League has proven to be an extremely aggressive placement for the young catcher. Maybe a demotion to Williamsport of the New York Penn league will jump start his bat, but don’t let the poor numbers fool you. Lino has the tools of a major league catcher and a good one at that. Without question, Lino ranks as one of the top-5 catching prospects I’ve scouted in person in terms of talent and ceiling. The Phillies did well to turn a cheap, one year stopgap in Jim Thome into a talented teenage catcher. Many of Ruben Amaro‘s moves have drawn the ire of the Fangraphs crowd and rightfully so. But for as small as this move looks on paper, it’s a big move for an organization thin on minor league talent.
Great acquisition by Amaro in this deal IMO. I know people say that fans overvalue their own prospects, I think the Phils got a big time high-upside guy in Lino. The loss of Simon is fine, but Lino was really an intriguing prospect.
As an Orioles fan I agree with you. Most evaluators have had great things to say about Lino and his upside and I am disappointed the O’s gave him up for half a season of a 41 year old DH. Great move by the Phillies
While low A Delmarva is a long way from the majors, I don’t see anyone unseating Weiters. With concerns about Lino’s size and his ability to move out from behind the plate, perhaps this was towards his peak value. I don’t see getting full value on a major league ready but blocked version.
They may not be able to get full value, but if Lino developed as anticipated, they’d get a lot more than half a season of a 41 year old DH, even if that 41 year old is Jim Thome.
I have to agree with the Orioles fans who are a little bummed to have lost a quality prospect. Lino is a quality catching prospect and those don’t come around too often from my experience. Don’t take my comments about his ability to stick behind the plate as a cause for major concern. He’s 19. He’s a big kid. I’m forced to take it into consideration and work through it in my mind because it’s simply more difficult for larger players to catch and catch well.
Lot of rumors around Lino that he is older than listed and does not have a strong worth ethic. He started red hot but has hit well below .600 since April. Long, long way to go here. Very conceivable the 0.5 or so WAR Thome provides in 4 months will be more than Lino provides in a career.
Lino may never reach the majors, but there is a chance he does and there is a chance he ends up accumulating much more WAR than what you’re getting from Thome. But what’s the point in a “guaranteed” 0.5 WAR for a season where the O’s most likely don’t make the playoffs? The hope for Lino is that he’d be able to contribute in some way some time in the future on a team that was competitive. Taking a chance on that outcome seems much more logical than getting half of a win when half of a win won’t mean anything.
Man. A guy hitting below .600? What is this trash.
If he doesn’t have a strong work ethic, then he wouldn’t be in LoA. A raw guy like him needs to work hard to be in his position.
It’s true that he had a red hot April and it’s also worth noting he had a solid June. A .231/.296/.415 isn’t terrible for a 19 year old who is one of the youngest guys on the team especially considering an unlucky BABIP.
Matt P,
You get a +1 vote for me for this comment. Well said!
Steve, you are right in that there’s a long way to go. For players like Lino where so many pieces need to come together for the prospect to become a big leaguer, countless things can go wrong. However, I’m still comfortable calling him a “guy” (future MLB player) because the raw ability is so impressive.
As for his age, I have no idea.
Interesting batting stance and swing. During the in-game footage, his forward weight distribution and hand position was reminiscent of Albert Belle, but the waggle is a hybrid Brandon Phillips & Mike Aviles.
Yes, but there was only one Albert Belle and he was freakishly strong to pull it off. Sometimes, we get wrapped up in comparing stances to players where it’s working and just assume it can work for everybody when, in fact, it won’t. For me, young guys with simple set ups just work best. Master the basics and then add the personal touches later.
Interesting aside is that Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan spent the last 7 years working in the O’s system…
Knowing that, it makes sense for a Director of Player Development to attempt to pluck a few personal favorites from his former org.
Kinda like how Dayton Moore is always getting guys he was attached to in Atlanta?
Or Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer acquiring Rizzo…. Or the Mets front office bringing in Padres/Blue Jays products.
Maybe this dude turns out to be a worthwhile major leaguer, but the most interesting thing about this trade is that Philly is seemingly conceding that it’s going nowhere this season, and that trading away veterans for as much minor league talent as possible is the way to go. Right?
Who’s next?
Trading Thome actually made a lot of sense for the Phillies regardless of the standings. He can’t play the field, and hasn’t been effective as a pinch-hitter. A trade to an AL team was the best way to extract value from this particular asset.
I didn’t get that from the deal. Howard is rehabbing and Thome is a surplus piece once he returns. If I’m the Phillies and have a shot at Lino, I’m making that deal regardless and living with Mayberry in the lineup for a few games.
Agreed. Thome’s back prevented him from playing the field at all. He was only a PH for the Phillies, and Thome wasn’t adjusting well to having irregular ABs (and primarily facing LOOGies). It’s no coincidence that he only started hitting once interleague play started.
There really was no other option than to trade him. Phillies fans were expecting a PTBNL or cash considerations, so this is an incredible windfall.
Robbie G. – Thome can’t really play the field anymore. Not a sign they’ve given up, though that might not be far off. As for Lino, I am intrigued. I would guess he’ll be the org’s 2nd ranked catching prospect behind Sebastian Valle and ahead of Cameron Rupp and others.
How bad of a GM does Duquette have to be in order to make Ruben Amaro look good?
Duquette is a bad GM? Everyone thought this Orioles team was a 100 loser. His career W/L percentage is somewhere around .530. He fleeced Colorado for Hammel. Why exactly is he bad? This trade is about 95% likely to be dust in the wind for both teams.
I agree Steve. It’s a nothing for not much trade. No one looks smart here. Orioles got rid of a player they probably won’t need for a player that gives them a little benefit, Phillies did the same. Not like the Phillies traded Ryan Howard for Mike Trout.
Regarding Duquette, I was very impressed with the amount of talent Delmarva had. I know it wasn’t all Duquette, but their farm system has more pieces at the lower levels than I can ever remember.
Duquette has been taking heat from some Orioles fans for giving up Single-A prospects too easily (e.g. Randy Henry), and this just adds to that fire. But the truth is, no one knows if any of these guys will sniff the majors.
Alan,
I think you are underestimating the ability of quality professional scouting with your “no one knows” comment. Freak injuries aside, I’ve found contacts nail projections on guys more often than not and are always working to improve using misses as a guide. There’s a reason scouts call players “guys” and refer to them differently than other players on the field.