Pitchers and Catchers are required to be at the complex today and workouts will start tomorrow.
CATCHERS
Cam Rupp-3rd Round 2010 University of TX and now 28 will be the starter. Cam is the perfect catcher IMO big sturdy tough, solid defensively and hits just enough with some pop to keep things in the line-up moving. I think he struggles a little with game planning and communicating with the pitching staff so I would like to see that cleaned up a little this year.
Andrew Knapp-2nd Round Draft in 2013 Drew is your classic switch hitting catcher. Not great defensively but the SH bat is always intriguing to MLB teams as more and more you see teams wanting to give the regular back-stop a reduced number of starts. Now 25 the time is now for him to land the back-up job and demonstrate what he can do for a potential trade down the road. He doesn't really fit here.
Jorge Alfaro-Via the Cole Hammels trade Jorge appears ready defensively to handle a MLB role if and when they decide to make that move. The bat has real power and if they can get it polished up just a tad this kid can be a big league catcher for many years to come. I'd say he gives you at least what Rupp does offensively with more in game power and a much better defensive and game calling profile.
Further down in the system you have a few names Grullon, Lenin Rodriguez, Numata and so on. These guys are all so far away and low level picks it's not the time to talk on any of them yet.
PITCHERS-PART 1
It's been a really long time since this system was this deep in Arms. I'm not sure any of them are the next Cole Hammels but there are a few names that might be close.
Sixto Sanchez-At 17 he really lit it up in the GCL. Very much in the mold of Pedro who he says is his idol. This kid has electric stuff and a real feel for pitching.
Francisco Morales-A big dollar sign out of VZL he is a big righty with plenty of velo at only 17 Y/O. In 4 years these 2 might be 1 and 2 at CBP.
We'll fill in with a bunch of guys that I would say could be solid rotation pieces but not really an Ace or a 1 profile starting with the obvious at MLB level already and then working our way down the system.
Eickhoff, Velasquez, Nola all should be in the rotation this year all are young and under team control for quite a while. Velasquez has the best stuff and if he can maintain some arm health and develop a pitch to neutralize lefties a little better he would be the closest thing to a 1.
Eickhoff is your classic horse and just grinds. What he lacks in stuff he makes up the difference with an above average curve and pounding the zone with strikes.
Nola is that guy in my opinion that will be off and on and with some arm trouble last season it begs the question will he be able to stay in the rotation long term. Not a lot of velo to start with he relied on precise command and variable arm slots to mix in his slider and curve to keep pitchers off balance.
Jake Thompson also a piece in the Hammels trade is another RH without big velo but a really good CB and heavy sink on the FB. He'll just need to be ultra precise at the MLB level to get the most out of his stuff.
Zach Eflin came over in the Jimmy Rollins deal. He has tremendous upside IMO if he can get his knees healthy and strong. He actually does have good FB velo sitting 92-94 with real good sink. What he is lacking is something to keep hitters off of his FB. Needs to really develop a good CU or slider and then I think he can be a really strong 2-3.
Monday, February 13, 2017
Monday, January 30, 2017
TOP PROSPECTS 2017
A top prospect list is the thing to do it seems. MLB network works a list into just about every program they air this days and frankly it does get annoying after a while. But the kids in our Phillies Org do deserve to get some recognition.
With that in mind here are 25 guys that present some intrigue for both the near and maybe 4-5 year future:
JP Crawford
With that in mind here are 25 guys that present some intrigue for both the near and maybe 4-5 year future:
JP Crawford
Mickey Moniak
Jorge Alfaro
Rhys Hoskins
Dylan Cozens
Nick Williams
Cornelius Randolph
Sixto Sanchez
Franklyn Kilome
Adonis Medina
Andrew Knapp
Scott Kingery
Ricardo Pinto
Kevin Gowdy
Elniery Garcia
Mark Appel
Alberto Tirado
Andrew Pullin
Ben Lively
Nick Pivetta
Josh Stephen
Jhalyn Ortiz
Cole Stobbe
Malquin Canelo
Jesse Valentin
Forrest Gump made the famous "Box of chocolates" phrase about life and I think the same can be said for baseball prospects.
I do think this is the year where we will see more contributions from some young guys. I think JP Crawford who kind of kicked off our rebuild and was the 16th player taken in the 2013 draft will be up in May or June to take over the SS position.
Roman Quinn also is a pretty good bet to see somewhere around 300-350 PA's as a platoon and defensive replacement type player to the two 1 year deals we have in LF and RF.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Sept 8 2016
23 Games left 62-77, 20 games back. 284 749 Mickey Moniak the 1:1 overall pick is hitting and opsing in the GCL He is 18 and will be 19 next May where I expect him to be doing his thing at LKW.
Cozens won the ESL MVP and Rhys Hoskins the ROY. Clearly Rhys has the better all around hit tool. He's a pretty sure bet to play and hold his own in the MLB. Cozens is more suspect as the K rate is high and the OPS against lefties is pretty bad but that said the athleticism is off the charts and his size and speed are reminiscent of a Chris Davis.
Crawford and Williams are experiencing AAA growing pains. Crawford will be fine Williams maybe not.
Alfaro has been up and down both offensively and defensively but a catcher has so much more to worry about than a traditional position player I expect him to be fine speaking of catchers Chooch was traded last month making Howard the last player from the 08 WS.
Klentak is coming up on his 1 year anniversary. I expect him to stay the course with acquiring draft picks and young talent. I expect him to give Hellboy a QO and collect a draft pick that is and assumes Jeremy doesn't stick it to them and accept the 1 year $17 million.
You'd like to say they have a trade chip in Odubel Herrera a young controllable player that looks like an everyday center fielder al beit with little pop. What is he worth in terms of young talent back or a upside controllable arm will determine if he is moved in the off season. At the moment he is really your best trade chip.
Pitching still has a ways to go. Nola went down with arm issues still waiting to see if TJ is required and while Eflin has knee issues his arm talent was noticeable but inconsistent. Jake Thompson's 6 starts thus far were lack luster as evidenced by his 1.53 WHIP. Still just 22 there is a lot there for him to work with.
The bright spot for sure was Velasquez and while the results in terms of innings were average the stuff is definitely that of a front line starter 10.4 K/9 is exceptional now if he can work on a change or a pitch with more arm side run to get lefties out he can take another step forward in 17.
Finally and overall the organization needs to get better at developing the approach of their young hitters and really emphasizing the importance of staying in the strike zone, seeing pitches and driving the ball the other way.
Cozens won the ESL MVP and Rhys Hoskins the ROY. Clearly Rhys has the better all around hit tool. He's a pretty sure bet to play and hold his own in the MLB. Cozens is more suspect as the K rate is high and the OPS against lefties is pretty bad but that said the athleticism is off the charts and his size and speed are reminiscent of a Chris Davis.
Crawford and Williams are experiencing AAA growing pains. Crawford will be fine Williams maybe not.
Alfaro has been up and down both offensively and defensively but a catcher has so much more to worry about than a traditional position player I expect him to be fine speaking of catchers Chooch was traded last month making Howard the last player from the 08 WS.
Klentak is coming up on his 1 year anniversary. I expect him to stay the course with acquiring draft picks and young talent. I expect him to give Hellboy a QO and collect a draft pick that is and assumes Jeremy doesn't stick it to them and accept the 1 year $17 million.
You'd like to say they have a trade chip in Odubel Herrera a young controllable player that looks like an everyday center fielder al beit with little pop. What is he worth in terms of young talent back or a upside controllable arm will determine if he is moved in the off season. At the moment he is really your best trade chip.
Pitching still has a ways to go. Nola went down with arm issues still waiting to see if TJ is required and while Eflin has knee issues his arm talent was noticeable but inconsistent. Jake Thompson's 6 starts thus far were lack luster as evidenced by his 1.53 WHIP. Still just 22 there is a lot there for him to work with.
The bright spot for sure was Velasquez and while the results in terms of innings were average the stuff is definitely that of a front line starter 10.4 K/9 is exceptional now if he can work on a change or a pitch with more arm side run to get lefties out he can take another step forward in 17.
Finally and overall the organization needs to get better at developing the approach of their young hitters and really emphasizing the importance of staying in the strike zone, seeing pitches and driving the ball the other way.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
JUNE 2 AND THE AIR IS OUT OF THE BALOON
First with the draft being next Thursday let's link to the latest Mock http://www.fueledbysports.com/2016-mlb-mock-draft
Lot's of chatter late says we are going with Puk. Not sure how I feel about that. My concerns are all with his command and his lack of secondary pitches. Yea the FB is live but that doesn't matter in the big leagues if that's all you got.
As far as the big club is concerned we just got swept by the Nats and now sit a game below .500 and 4th in the division. Tommy Joseph was called up 5/13 and since then has appeared in 14 games. Hitting just .244 with a .250 OBP the frustration again has been inconsistent playing time but just yesterday news broke that Howard is definitely going to be on the bench to clear his head for the next 4-5 games. In my opinion it should be more than that.
Our great starting pitching to start the season has cooled off a little bit and advanced scouting gets out and more video is recorded Vincent is starting to hit that wall that all young pitchers run into. This game is not that easy and to be great you have to re-invent yourself constantly pitch to pitch AB to AB.
Odubel has been the lone shining star of consistency his BA still sits around .300 and his OBP is soaring high at .427.
On the Pharm Crawford was promoted a week or so ago to LHV and Alfaro is maintaining his hot start. Jake Thompson is really struggling with AAA hitters while Eflin has made great strides. Appel is on the DL as is Randolph. Nick Williams has been really steady in AAA as there is a lot to be said for a 22 year old position player holding his own in that league.
Kingery is coming on and Cozens is having a decent season at AA. So much baseball still left to play we'll see where we are come June 30. The draft will be complete and some of the underperforming veterans will be released or traded and quite possibly some of the rookies may be seeing their numbers called up to Philly.
Lot's of chatter late says we are going with Puk. Not sure how I feel about that. My concerns are all with his command and his lack of secondary pitches. Yea the FB is live but that doesn't matter in the big leagues if that's all you got.
As far as the big club is concerned we just got swept by the Nats and now sit a game below .500 and 4th in the division. Tommy Joseph was called up 5/13 and since then has appeared in 14 games. Hitting just .244 with a .250 OBP the frustration again has been inconsistent playing time but just yesterday news broke that Howard is definitely going to be on the bench to clear his head for the next 4-5 games. In my opinion it should be more than that.
Our great starting pitching to start the season has cooled off a little bit and advanced scouting gets out and more video is recorded Vincent is starting to hit that wall that all young pitchers run into. This game is not that easy and to be great you have to re-invent yourself constantly pitch to pitch AB to AB.
Odubel has been the lone shining star of consistency his BA still sits around .300 and his OBP is soaring high at .427.
On the Pharm Crawford was promoted a week or so ago to LHV and Alfaro is maintaining his hot start. Jake Thompson is really struggling with AAA hitters while Eflin has made great strides. Appel is on the DL as is Randolph. Nick Williams has been really steady in AAA as there is a lot to be said for a 22 year old position player holding his own in that league.
Kingery is coming on and Cozens is having a decent season at AA. So much baseball still left to play we'll see where we are come June 30. The draft will be complete and some of the underperforming veterans will be released or traded and quite possibly some of the rookies may be seeing their numbers called up to Philly.
Monday, May 2, 2016
15 AND 10
Our Phillies finished the month of April above .500. Andres Blanco is hitting .323 with a .400 OBP. Hererra has a .449 OBP with 23 walks over 18 K's. Franco leads the team in HR's and RBI's.
The pitching is equally impressive Velasquez is 4-1 with .89 WHIP, a 1.44 ERA and 39 K's in only 31.1 IP. Nola carries a .88 WHIP and Eickhoff a 1.12 WHIP. The BP has seen some unlikely hero's in Jeanmar Gomez with 8 Saves in a 8 Save Opportunities. Hector Neris is equally impressive with 24Ks in only 15.1 IP. I hope his arm doesn't fall off.
That's the good. The bad is Howard and Ruf have combined to form the worst 4 hole stats in MLB with a .658 and .481 OPS between them. Bourjos is hitting .171 with a .195 OBP. Galvis has a knack for timely hits but again his overall consistency is not that of an everyday SS in the bigs. Tyler Goeddel our Rule 5 pick-up this season has only 25 AB's through 25 games that to me is absurd. If you thought enough of the kid to keep him on the 25 man roster after a very mediocre spring training then they should have committed to play him everyday. If not send him back to Tampa or see if they will let you keep him down on the farm where he can play everyday.
Speaking of the Farm and our prospects. JP is still in AA probably bored and looking for a new challenge. he's hitting .278 but has an incredible .418 OBP, contrast that with what Galvis is doing and you can see how that would be a huge improvement on the big club. Still he is only 21 so more minor league seasoning is a good thing but c'mon let's bump him up a level.
Jake Thompson is struggling at AAA and hopefully that is because he is working on something specific. Appel is seemingly putting some really good starts together and finally Nick Williams is showing signs of life at 22 in AAA. He is hitting .299 with a .742 OPS.
Andrew Knapp is a pure hitter and could easily be on the big club right now but not as a catcher. touch decision there. He could be a call up to play 1B everyday but then he loses any chance of developing behind the dish. I would start to wonder "can this kid play left field a la Kyle Schwarber?"
One surprise is Tommy Joseph, remember him? The supposed prize of the Pence to the Giants trade. No longer viewed as a catching prospect because of concussions he is now getting his AB's at 1B. He's OPSing 1.074 in AAA at just 24 he should be in the mix as a call-up given Howard and Ruf's putrid starts.
Staying on the catching theme Jorge Alfaro was tearing it up in Reading hitting .500 and OPSing 1.274 through 38 PA's but got hurt...again. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. Current Injury is right oblique strain.
Draft is getting near as you know we hold the 1st overall pick. Pitching is still Groome in my eyes. he is as polished as they come out of HS and low innings on that arm as opposed at the pitching prospects in college. As for Position players still no clear cut guy you would say is a 1:1 but Kyle Lewis is killing the ball at Mercer College. I love his profile 6'4" 215 pounds, raw power and athletic enough to play some CF, enough arm to move to RF if necessary.
The pitching is equally impressive Velasquez is 4-1 with .89 WHIP, a 1.44 ERA and 39 K's in only 31.1 IP. Nola carries a .88 WHIP and Eickhoff a 1.12 WHIP. The BP has seen some unlikely hero's in Jeanmar Gomez with 8 Saves in a 8 Save Opportunities. Hector Neris is equally impressive with 24Ks in only 15.1 IP. I hope his arm doesn't fall off.
That's the good. The bad is Howard and Ruf have combined to form the worst 4 hole stats in MLB with a .658 and .481 OPS between them. Bourjos is hitting .171 with a .195 OBP. Galvis has a knack for timely hits but again his overall consistency is not that of an everyday SS in the bigs. Tyler Goeddel our Rule 5 pick-up this season has only 25 AB's through 25 games that to me is absurd. If you thought enough of the kid to keep him on the 25 man roster after a very mediocre spring training then they should have committed to play him everyday. If not send him back to Tampa or see if they will let you keep him down on the farm where he can play everyday.
Speaking of the Farm and our prospects. JP is still in AA probably bored and looking for a new challenge. he's hitting .278 but has an incredible .418 OBP, contrast that with what Galvis is doing and you can see how that would be a huge improvement on the big club. Still he is only 21 so more minor league seasoning is a good thing but c'mon let's bump him up a level.
Jake Thompson is struggling at AAA and hopefully that is because he is working on something specific. Appel is seemingly putting some really good starts together and finally Nick Williams is showing signs of life at 22 in AAA. He is hitting .299 with a .742 OPS.
Andrew Knapp is a pure hitter and could easily be on the big club right now but not as a catcher. touch decision there. He could be a call up to play 1B everyday but then he loses any chance of developing behind the dish. I would start to wonder "can this kid play left field a la Kyle Schwarber?"
One surprise is Tommy Joseph, remember him? The supposed prize of the Pence to the Giants trade. No longer viewed as a catching prospect because of concussions he is now getting his AB's at 1B. He's OPSing 1.074 in AAA at just 24 he should be in the mix as a call-up given Howard and Ruf's putrid starts.
Staying on the catching theme Jorge Alfaro was tearing it up in Reading hitting .500 and OPSing 1.274 through 38 PA's but got hurt...again. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. Current Injury is right oblique strain.
Draft is getting near as you know we hold the 1st overall pick. Pitching is still Groome in my eyes. he is as polished as they come out of HS and low innings on that arm as opposed at the pitching prospects in college. As for Position players still no clear cut guy you would say is a 1:1 but Kyle Lewis is killing the ball at Mercer College. I love his profile 6'4" 215 pounds, raw power and athletic enough to play some CF, enough arm to move to RF if necessary.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Spring Training Review
The Phillies will head north in a few days. All in all they managed a winning record and played really good baseball. Franco led the league in bombs and seems poised to pick up where he left off before his 2015 injury.
Vincent Velasquez looks legit. His stuff is the real deal and maybe he is not an Ace today but he definitely has the potential to grow into that. After all look what happened to Jake Arrietta once he left Baltimore.
Herrea is just a really nice player and no doubt now that he is a solid everyday MLB player.
The rest of the team to start is just meh but wait that leaves out Nola and Eickhoff. I think both will be good pitchers but neither appear to have the upside that VV has. That's not a bad thing as I think Nola fits very well as an above average 3 and probably will have some years where he flirts with 15 wins. Same for Eickhoff.
The real funs begin at whichever point in the season JP comes up and Nick Williams comes up and Jake Thompson. Those guys along with Franco have the real potential to be stars and make everyone around them look better. They seem likely to be the next core of getting to the top of the NL East.
Most importantly this team despite the record will be much more enjoyable to watch. I suspect the changes and new faces mean an additional 5-8 wins this year. I like that they extended Pete Mckanin I think he has a good way with players and a sharp baseball mind.
I expect the minor league system to produce value in the next few years and a #1 overall pick shouldn't hurt either.
Vincent Velasquez looks legit. His stuff is the real deal and maybe he is not an Ace today but he definitely has the potential to grow into that. After all look what happened to Jake Arrietta once he left Baltimore.
Herrea is just a really nice player and no doubt now that he is a solid everyday MLB player.
The rest of the team to start is just meh but wait that leaves out Nola and Eickhoff. I think both will be good pitchers but neither appear to have the upside that VV has. That's not a bad thing as I think Nola fits very well as an above average 3 and probably will have some years where he flirts with 15 wins. Same for Eickhoff.
The real funs begin at whichever point in the season JP comes up and Nick Williams comes up and Jake Thompson. Those guys along with Franco have the real potential to be stars and make everyone around them look better. They seem likely to be the next core of getting to the top of the NL East.
Most importantly this team despite the record will be much more enjoyable to watch. I suspect the changes and new faces mean an additional 5-8 wins this year. I like that they extended Pete Mckanin I think he has a good way with players and a sharp baseball mind.
I expect the minor league system to produce value in the next few years and a #1 overall pick shouldn't hurt either.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Draft Watch 2016
Pitchers and Catchers are doing their thing at the Carpenter complex. Jumping Jacks and PFPs daily. Word is just about everybody is present in camp already which is always a good sign. That said one can't ignore where we are today and where we might be a year from now. 2016 is all about the youth and which of those prospects returned to us in the Hamels and Giles deals are ready to emerge.
Secondly we have drafted very well in the past 3 years J.P Crawford, Aaron Nola and Cornelius Randolph but this year will be the highest we've drafted in forever. 1st pick in the draft overall. Let's take a look at some of those names we'll have to choose from
Pitching seems to be the depth of this years draft so we can start there
A.J Puk College Pitcher at Florida
Jason Groome HS Pitcher Jackson NJ
Alec Hanson College Pitcher Oklahoma
Riley Pint HS Pitcher Kansas
These guys pretty much make up the tier you would consider as a 1st overall pick
Position Player strength for a 1:1 is not as deep. There is no Bryce Harper or Carlos Correa this year but we do have:
Kyle Lewis OF Mercer College in GA
Blake Rutherford OF HS Chaminade Prep
Delvin Perez SS out of the International Baseball Academy
These guys are easily top 10 picks but the 1st overall is pretty special and you need to make sure the player's talent is commensurate with that spot.
Other names to watch are Cal Quantrill (father Paul pitched 14 years in the big leagues) and Matt Krook. Both are in various stages of TJ Rehab but both easily would have been strong candidates in the top 10.
http://www.fueledbysports.com/2016-mlb-mock-draft/
Secondly we have drafted very well in the past 3 years J.P Crawford, Aaron Nola and Cornelius Randolph but this year will be the highest we've drafted in forever. 1st pick in the draft overall. Let's take a look at some of those names we'll have to choose from
Pitching seems to be the depth of this years draft so we can start there
A.J Puk College Pitcher at Florida
Jason Groome HS Pitcher Jackson NJ
Alec Hanson College Pitcher Oklahoma
Riley Pint HS Pitcher Kansas
These guys pretty much make up the tier you would consider as a 1st overall pick
Position Player strength for a 1:1 is not as deep. There is no Bryce Harper or Carlos Correa this year but we do have:
Kyle Lewis OF Mercer College in GA
Blake Rutherford OF HS Chaminade Prep
Delvin Perez SS out of the International Baseball Academy
These guys are easily top 10 picks but the 1st overall is pretty special and you need to make sure the player's talent is commensurate with that spot.
Other names to watch are Cal Quantrill (father Paul pitched 14 years in the big leagues) and Matt Krook. Both are in various stages of TJ Rehab but both easily would have been strong candidates in the top 10.
http://www.fueledbysports.com/2016-mlb-mock-draft/
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