Ahh, some good news. Per the Phillies website, the Phillies acquired Francisco Rosario for cash considerations. Baseball America ranked Rosario, now 26, the Blue Jays #5 prospect, which more an indictment of the lack of talent in Toronto’s system than Rosario’s prowess. That said, he throws hard, he pitched well in AAA last year after being converted to the pen, and he’s a cheap option to chew up some innings in what already looks like a suspect bullpen. He’s out of options, so we won’t see him in AAA I don’t believe, but since he is still a “prospect”, I felt I’d pass this along to those that haven’t seen it. Last week, I did a write-up on Rosario, you can check that out here if you missed it.
Monthly Archives: April 2007
Opening Night preview
Just a real quick preview of tonight’s action. Also, I’ve made a few more adjustments on the team rosters.
Lakewood v Greensboro, 6:35 PM
Carlos Monasterios v TBA
Game Preview
Clearwater v Dunedin, 7:05 PM
Freddy Garcia (Rehab Start) v TBA (Possibly Brandon Magee)
Reading v Harrisburg, 7:05 PM
Landon Jacobsen v TJ Nall
Season Preview
Draft and Follow Report, 4/5
I mentioned Rashad Taylor a few days ago, but I wanted to give an update on all of our DFE’s at this point. So here we go.
Rashad Taylor (as of 3/30): .444/.543/.808 in 99 AB, 5 2B, 5 3B, 7 HR, 32 RBI
Shawn Epps (as of 4/4): 30 IP, 2.70 ERA, 24 H, 9 BB, 29 K
Bobby Haney (as of 4/4): 74 AB, .297 BA, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 2/3 SB,
Gerard Mohrmann (as of 4/4): 14 IP, 9.64 ERA, 13 H, 10 BB, 16 K
Daniel Faulkner (as of 4/4): 26.2 IP, 1.69 ERA, 16 H, 14 BB, 23 K
Yazy Arbelo (as of 4/4): 60 AB, .338 BA, 2 2B, 6 HR, 24 RBI
Patrick Murray (as of 4/4): .410/.453/.484, 7 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 22 RBI
Ty Manumaleuna (as of 4/4): 97 AB, .247 BA, 8 2B, 1 HR, 19 RBI
Nick Morreale See Below
Note 1: Yazy Arbelo is still being listed on the Seminole website with the team roster, but he is no longer listed on the stats page, and his stats from the NCAA JuCo site don’t appear updated, as most of his teammates have close to 100 AB. I’ve put a note in to a few people, no one has any idea or they haven’t gotten back to me.
Note 2: Nick Morreale’s school hasn’t sent stats to the JuCo website that lists all statistics for all D1-D3 schools. Nick’s father, who has left a few comments with us this spring, had this to say
I just came back from a week in Arizona watching my son, Nick Morreale and his teammates play some ball. Nick was 8-10 and 3 walks with a 4 RBI’s in the games I was able to see. He is splitting the catching duties with another young man who was also drafted in the 2006 Draft by the Mariners. In talking to Coach Cirelli, he plans on using Nick at Third base when not catching to get his bat in the lineup. The baseball is very competitive down there with most teams in the league having 3-5 draft picks each. The pitching is always 88-90+.
I appreciate the update on Nick.
Note 3: Shawn Epps was out of action for a while with a tweaked lower back, per this article, but appears to be back and healthy. Tip o’ the cap to JE for the link.
That’s all the info I have at this point. I don’t have a subscription to PG Crosschecker, which does a ranking of all the draft and follow players in the spring, maybe when that is posted, someone can drop us a line and let us know where Rashad Taylor and Daniel Faulkner rank, as they look like our two best bets. If anyone has any other info, articles, or anything else on our guys, please pass it along to me, either in the comments section or via e-mail. Thanks.
UPDATE 1 —> Thanks to JE again for the Patrick Murray link, for some reason, the link I had saved wasn’t working.
The minor league season is upon us
On the eve of the minor league season opener, I felt a little preview was in order. Check back tomorrow for a full update on our 2006 Draft and Follows, but for now, let’s take a look at the upcoming season for each of the Phillies full season affiliates.
Lakewood, South Atlantic League: Lakewood, the defending SAL champions, open their season tomorrow night with a 3 game series at home against Greensboro. The 2006 team was built on pitching, and the 2007 team figures to be much of the same, with a rotation featuring first round pick Kyle Drabek, Edgar Garcia, and a bunch of live arms in Carlos Monasterios, Darren Byrd, Jarrod Freeman, Michael Dubee, Andrew Cruse, and Alex Concepcion. Up the middle, the Phillies feature Adrian Cardenas at 2B and Jason Donald at SS, a tandem which is likely to climb the organizational ladder together. The outfield will most likely be a four man rotation, with Quintin Berry and Gus Milner being to the two prospects to keep your eye on. CJ Henry, acquired in the Bobby Abreu trade, will shift from SS to 3B this season, and though he has been disappointing, he’s still young, and could still turn into a decent prospect.
Clearwater, Florida State League: The Threshers are coming off a somewhat disappointing season, having gone 67-72 in 2006 and finishing 5th in the FSL West division. This season, however, they figure to be a bit better, and will be backed by arguably the strongest pitching rotation in the minors. The starting rotation will feature Carlos Carrasco, Josh Outman, Drew Carpenter, Dan Brauer, and Pat Overholt, meaning you will see a legitimate prospect pitching every evening for Clearwater. In the bullpen, Brett Harker is the logical choice to close out games, and he’ll be supported by Will Savage and Mike Zagurski in the late innings. On the offensive side, the team could again struggle to score runs, with Brad Harman and Jeremy Slayden the only real offensive forces, unless Welinson Baez finally steps forward and displays the tools he shows in practice. Lou Marson figures to be the every day catcher, and is responsible for handling a very talented pitching staff.
Reading, Eastern League: The Reading Phillies finished 71-69, good for 3rd place in the Southern division of the Eastern League. The 2007 team is going to lack in position player prospects, as really only Mike Costanzo and Javon Moran can still be considered legitimate prospects. There are plenty of minor league veterans, guys like Juan Tejeda and Joe Thurston, so they could still score some runs, but not a whole lot to get excited about, prospects wise. On the pitching side, things are a bit brighter, as the rotation should be fronted by Matt Maloney, Kyle Kendrick and Julio De La Cruz, being rounded out by Tim McClaskey and free agent pickup Landon Jacobsen. The bullpen will likely be led by minor league veteran Chris Key, who saved 20 games for Reading last season. He’ll be joined by Nick Evangelista, Nate Johnson and new acquisitions Heath Totten and Anderson Garcia. Of the bunch, Garcia and Evangelista are worth watching, but both will need to really show a solid performance to still be on the prospect radar at this time next year.
Ottawa, International League: The Phillies first and last season in Ottawa begins Friday night against Rochester. The Ottawa roster figures to be in a state of flux for much of the season, as guys like Joe Bisenius, Zach Segovia, James Happ, Eude Brito and Fabio Castro move between Ottawa and Philadelphia on a need or merit basis. The rotation figures to be Brian Mazone, Happ, Segovia, Brito and Castro, but Segovia’s first start of the season is likely to come in Philadelphia, and he’ll most likely head to Ottawa once Freddy Garcia comes off the disabled list. Joe Bisenius could join him when Jon Lieber returns, unless another move is made. Happ will likely make his major league debut this season, and Brito might see a spot start here or there, or could eventually be used in the bullpen, depending how things shake out. On the offensive side, the only real prospect is Jason Jaramillo, who might make his big league debut in September, or possibly sooner depending on the health of Barajas and Ruiz. The rest of the lineup is filled with minor league veterans like Brennan King, Ron Calloway, Carlos Leon and Gary Burnham. Yoel Hernandez will likely close out games while Bisenius is in Philadelphia, and if he’s to regain prospect status, he needs to do it quickly. Brian Sanches is another possibility to close games, and he’ll be joined in the pen by minor league vets in Kane Davis, Jim Crowell and John Ennis.
It should be a fun season, make sure to check back daily for game recaps, prospect analysis and other features as the season unfolds.
Minor league rosters are updated
If you check the roster links to the left, you’ll see that I’ve updated Lakewood through Ottawa, based on the info given on the official websites of the affiliates. Some surprises;
CJ Henry starting at 3B in Lakewood. I knew he was being moved to third, but I thought he’d start at Clearwater. Welinson Baez was bumped to Clearwater, a move that doesn’t appear to be based on merit. Pat Overholt has been moved back into the starting rotation, and will begin in Clearwater. I knew the Phillies had given thought to this, and felt he had the stuff to start, but I thought they’d still fast track him in a bullpen role. The Clearwater rotation has the potential to be one of the best in the minors, with Brauer, Carpenter, Carrasco, Overholt and Outman you’re five starters. I’m also surprised to see Slayden starting in Clearwater, he seemed like an obvious double jump candidate based on his age.
Sam Walls is also missing from all of the minor league rosters, which leads me to believe he’ll stay in extended spring training and might join a full season team when he’s ready. D’Arby Myers is also absent from the Lakewood roster, which is a huge disappointment to me. From glancing at the minor league ST games, it looked like he was doing well enough to warrant the jump. Now it looks like he’ll remain in extended ST and then either join Williamsport or join Lakewood later in the season. This will definitely diminish his prospect status though. And finally, no sign of 2006 draft picks Jacob Dempsey and Charlie Yarbrough at Lakewood, no idea what their situation is.
Once the season starts, we’ll have a better idea of where the outfielders will line up and what role the relievers will play, and the roster pages will be further updated.
UPDATE —> Tim Moss has been released. Moss has to go down as one of the bigger busts of the last 5 years, just plain awful. Also, congrats to Joe Bisenius for making the 25 man roster.
UPDATE 2 –> Dempsey was in fact axed, along with Zac Cline, Matt Olson, and Max De La Cruz
Two nice Rashad Taylor articles
Rashad Taylor, our top draft and follow for this season, has really put up some solid numbers thus far this season, and people are noticing. This article, from the San Francisco Examiner, talks about Taylor in depth and his season. The last line of the article is the most telling
Ultimately, Taylor’s goal — maybe sooner than later — is to go pro.
“That’s what I want to do,” Taylor said. “If a good four-year school comes along then I’ll take that into consideration, but that’s what I want to do. I want to play pro ball.”
Because Taylor wasn’t a huge prospect in June, the Phillies might be able to sign him on the cheap, especially with his desire to play pro ball. The Palo Alto Daily News also has a small blurb on Taylor, just scroll down half way. Taylor has refined his swing and added lots of torque and power. The blurb mentions a batting practice ball he hit somewhere in the neighborhood of 480 feet….not bad. The good news is, his power has translated onto the field, with a .700+ slugging %. The previous article mentioned he tweaked his back a few weeks ago, which is limiting his power, but his overall approach is still outstanding.
I’ll do a further update on the rest of our DFE’s some time this week. Thanks to e-mailer Christopher for the two articles above.
Phuture Phillies 