We’ll get back on track with the voting for #25. Im planning on leaving the voting open for about 24 hours for each of the remaining spots, so make sure to check in once a day and get your vote in. I’m also finishing up the writeup for the SONAR scores for catching prospects, which should be done in the next day or so. Colby Shreve, who has yet to throw a pitch in the Phillies system, takes the voting at #24. Its a leap of faith at this point, but the pre-surgery template looked pretty outstanding, and there haven’t been any reports that I’ve read indicating he’s had setbacks, some rehabs take longer than others. I initially thought I’d have Shreve higher on my list, but when I sat down to produce my Top 30, he ended up #29. There was a bit of write-in support for Jesus Sanchez, Matt Way, and Jonathon Villar. I actually was able to add all of them to the polling for #25, so check below for more.
Jim Salisbury’s “State of the Phillies” series
February 5, 2010 — phuturephilliesOver at CSN, Jim Salisbury has been going position by position through the Phillies system, talking about the prospects the organization likes at certain positions, etc etc. So far he’s covered catcher, first base, and second base. Check out his writeups and feel free to discuss them in this post, which I can bump up if it falls off the first page. Thanks to reader “David” for pointing out the story to me.
Also, a thank you to Todd, a contributor here who maintains the updated depth charts and 40 man roster entries you can find at the top of the main page. He recently created a spreadsheet in google documents with every player in the organization, prospect and career minor leaguer alike, and how that player was acquired. You can find it on the Rosters Page at the top of the site or by clicking here.
Reader Top 30; #24
February 5, 2010 — phuturephilliesLeandro Castro steamrolled his way to the #23 spot, taking 30% of the vote and edging out Zach Collier and Colby Shreve. Michael Schwimer received the most write-in support, so he’ll enter the ballot for #24. I won’t waste any more words here, you know the drill by now. Upward and onward.
SONAR takes on SS prospects
February 5, 2010 — phuturephilliesSorry for the delay after the 3B writeup, I took some time to get all of the pitcher reports in order, but now we’re moving on to the shortstop position, one of the toughest to evaluate, along with catchers. If you’re new to the concept of the SONAR score, I recommend you read the intro here, and then check out the reports for 1B, 2B, and 3B. SONAR is a look at what a player has accomplished statistically, looking at the metrics that are most indicative of future success, and putting it into the proper context with regard to league, level and age. Its a one year score, based on pure 2009 data, and is not meant as a replacement for scouting reports, just as a supplemental piece of data, one which should be used in conjunction with other evaluation methods. After 2010, a new statistic will be introduced which combines 2 years of SONAR data to form a weighted score. For now, we just have one score for 2009. Lets get right into it.
Next Signing
February 4, 2010 — greggis….Oscar Villareal. The 29 year old right handed reliver is best known for the several years he spent in the Arizona organization, including years of moderate to good production in the mid to late innings for the Diamondbacks. He is coming off of Tommy John surgery, but is a nice “depth” signing to add into the bullpen mix. He last pitched in the majors in 2008 for the Astros, going 1-3 with a 5.02 ERA in 35 appearances, and spent last season recovering from his surgery. Villareal has thrown over 75 innings in relief three separate seasons, with his ERA below 4.25 in each of those years.
Reader Top 30; #23
February 4, 2010 — phuturephilliesJon Pettibone wins the runoff for #21, so he takes that spot with Yohan Flande sliding in at #22. There were a number of write in votes for #21, including Julio Rodriguez, John Mayberry Jr, Austin Hyatt, Michael Schwimer, and Jesus Sanchez. Rodriguez and Mayberry were written in before I believe, so I’ll go ahead and add those two guys to the voting this round. If you want to vote for someone not on the ballot, please vote other, and then in the comments type “OTHER – and your player here” so I can record it. Thanks.
Signings, Next Round
February 3, 2010 — greggWith just 16 days until pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, the Phillies continue to fill their holes on the minor league rosters with players who are minor league veterans and most who have had a cup of coffee at the major league level. Lehigh Valley should be welcoming back 33 year old Left handed starter Brian Mazone for his third season in Allentown. Mazone was probably the IronPigs steadiest starter in 2008, going 9-12 with a 4.10 ERA in his 164.2 IP. After a brief stint in the Dodgers organization at the beginning of last season he rejoined the IronPigs mid season and was 2-6 with a 3.50 ERA in his 11 starts late in the year. Mazone brings experience and a consistent left handed arm to join lefty Joe Savery in the Lehigh Valley rotation. Read the rest of this entry »
Reader Top 30; runoff for #21/22
February 3, 2010 — phuturephilliesThe voting for #21 was separated by only 1 vote, and as I mentioned, I want to speed up this process a bit because spring training is closing in and we still have stuff to cover here, including my top 30, figuring out assignments for 2010 and a bunch of other stuff. So we’ll do a run-off for #21 between Jon Pettibone and Yohan Flande. The loser becomes #22, and then we add 2 new names for #23. Check below for the poll
Reader Top 30; #21
February 2, 2010 — phuturephilliesJoe Savery edges out the voting for #20 by a very slim margin, just ahead of both Yohan Flande and Jon Pettibone. Another runoff could have been in order, but I’m just going to go with Savery here since he’s leading, and then the vote can go on as scheduled for #21. The voting between Flande and Pettibone should be interesting, and Leandro Castro was close behind. Kelly Dugan and Julio Rodriguez each got a write-in vote that I saw, Dugan gets the edge because he was the first name listed. So check below for the next round.
Brody Colvin arrested
February 1, 2010 — phuturephilliesCheck it here. Sounds like he got into a bar fight. Hopefully the people within the organization get him some help in terms of anger management. They could also give him Cole Hamels’ phone number, he might be able to lend some insight. This is probably nothing to get too concerned about, hes a kid, and kids make mistakes. But its worth mentioning nonetheless.
Reader Top 30; #20
February 1, 2010 — phuturephilliesWe’re going to move things along a bit more quickly now that we’re getting closer to spring training, so we’ll do one poll a day. Mike Stutes edges out the pack for #19. I just very briefly scanned the comments, and Drew Carpenter was the only write in vote I saw, so I’ll add him to this round. Check below for more
Four Phillies scouting reports from BA
January 29, 2010 — phuturephilliesThis content is free to view, so I’ll link it here. BA profiles Aaron Altherr, Harold Garcia, Troy Hanzawa and Anthony Hewitt on their “32nd player team” which is a list of guys who just missed the cut for the annual Top 30’s, and then missed the cut for #31, which they also include if you buy their book directly from BA. Altherr is the most interesting guy on the list, and a guy I’m interested to see in 2010, though I suspect he’s going to go through plenty of growing pains.
Reader Top 30; #19
January 28, 2010 — phuturephilliesBefore we get to this, just a quick mention. Keith Law put up his Top 100 prospects for 2010 today, and only one Phillie makes the list, with Domonic Brown coming in 14th. No surprise there, Law has never been a fan of most of the Phillies prospects, but he surprisingly put Taylor 24th, Drabek 40th, and D’Arnaud 99th. Whether those guys would have ranked as highly had they still been Phillies property is another issue. Now, moving on to #19 in the voting…
Update -> For ESPN Insiders, you can also see his Top 10 for the Phillies here, without blurbs. JC Ramirez at #2 is quite a shocker. He included Ramirez in his “10 who just missed article here.
SONAR takes on 3B prospects
January 28, 2010 — phuturephilliesThe third installment of the SONAR position by position breakdown focuses on the hot corner, looking at the best 3B prospects in the game and how they fared with my newly created metric. if you’re new to the whole SONAR concept, I recommend you start here, then check out the report for first base and second base. Third base has its difficulties, just like the up the middle positions, because the defensive value dropoff from 3B to the positions further down the defensive spectrum is steep, especially the drop from 3B to 1B, which is a common transition for some slow footed sluggers. Check below the fold and we’ll dig right in
Phils Sign Bocock to Minor League Deal
January 26, 2010 — greggThe Phils signed 24 year old SS Brian Bocock, out of the Giants organization to a minor league deal today. Bocock spent last season primarily with Class A Advanced San Jose and hit .241/.303/.339 in 430 AB’s with 3 HR and 48 RBI. He was originally a 9th round pick of the Giants in the 2006 draft and saw some time in the majors in 2008 with the injury depleted Giants. He hit .143 in his 77major league at bats. Bocock provides depth at best for the Phils affiliates as they have lost Miguel Cairo, Jason Donald, JJ Furmaniak and Brad Harmon, among others from the ranks of the middle infield.
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