I haven’t had time to put the finishing touches on the prospect grades system because of my move, and I’m still without internet and tv at home, so the grades will have to wait a few more days, but I hope to be able to get enough done over the weekend so we can start in next week.
So, with my continued lapse of new info here, I thought I’d throw out a topic of discussion and get YOUR opinion. If you had to decide right now, who would your Top 10 prospects for the Phillies be? Use whatever criteria you’d like. Just post them below in the comments and if you’d like, give your reasoning.
Phuture Phillies 
1. carrasco – he proved last week that he has the highest upside of any pitcher in the minors.
2. outman
3. mathieson -i don’t care that he’s injured, i still love his arm.
3B. savery
4. happ
5. cardenas
6. garcia – i still like his BB rate, and his K rate has taken a step forward. i think he’ll bear watching over the second half of the season.
7. costanzo
7B. drabek – i think this is where he’ll belong once they allow him to open up next season. as is, i don’t think he belongs this high.
8. kendrick
9. carpenter
10. donald – his performance should merit a higher grade, but i’m not sold on his bat, so he’ll need to perform at higher levels for me to elevate his grade.
10B. mattair – personally, i would move him to RF, but that’s just me. i think his athleticism would play better there, and i think he’ll have problems fielding 3B full time.
11. segovia
12. golson
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In no particular order:
– Myers – Maybe he will be the toolsy outfielder who finally pans out
– Carrasco – complete game shutouts have a way of getting you noticed
– Jamarillo – a Ruiz/Jamarillo tandem (maybe a 60/40 split in favor or Ruiz) would serve the Phils
– Costanzo – tossing aside the scary strikeout and error totals, and considering that he is probably *not* the answer at 3b, he still looks like he has some nice pop in his bat, and apparently quite a strong arm (that’s two of the five tools right. That’s gotta count for something)
– Drabek – knocking wood, but there haven’t been any immaturity issues. Was doing pretty well before his injury
– Kendrick – showed a lot of nice things in his debut
– Cardenas – not sure which position he’ll end up at though, but if his ceiling is as an Utleyesque hitter, that he’ll find a position somewhere
– Savery – if health issues aren’t an issue, then he might be the potential steal of the draft
– Bisenius – Potential closer of the future?
– Zagurski – I guess he’s still considered a prospect. He has certainly performed well (IIRC he has only been scored on in 2 out of 9 appearances), and in tough situations
Heh. I was actually afraid that I would have trouble coming up with 10. I didn’t want to include Taylor, Mattair, or D’Arnaud (too early), and there are certainly a few others I could easily have included.
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In no particular order, these are the best IMO of our prospect list, which are a bit more than 10:
Pitchers:
Carrasco, Outman, Kendrick, Overholt, Happ, Bisenius, Mathieson, Carpenter, Castro, Drabek, Monesterios, Severy, Stott,
Position players:
Donald, Marson, Cardenas, Myers, Golson, Milner, and, surprisingly, Costanzo…of late.
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carrasco
drabek
outman
cardenas
Happ
garcia
jaramillo
Monesterios
carpenter
bisenius
THis doesnt include the draft picks from this year as some of them arnt signed and i want to reserve judgement until i see them this summer and fall. Maitheson is hurt, Myers and costanzo have underwhelmed completely and the other hitters are second grade, some slowly working their way up. Kendrick and Zagurski are in the bigs so dont qualify anymore. Segovia has underperformed when it counted. Overholt and some of the other young guys in the lower levels deserve consideration but dont breach the top 10
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A couple things..
1. How has Myers underwhelmed? He’s 18 and getting ready to play in his second season, probably at Williamsport.
2. Pitchers are rookie eligible until they hit 50 IP in the majors, so both Zagurski and Kendrick can still make it (for now) until they breach that innings threshold.
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I’ll limit myself to guys who aren’t on the big-league roster (thus no Kendrick, Zagurski, Mathieson or Bourn) and have actually played for an affiliate (thus no 2007 draft picks). No rhyme or reason to the comments.
1) Carrasco
2) Cardenas
3) Drabek–I think that if we’d seen his 2007 numbers thus far a year ago at this time, most of us would have been beyond thrilled.
4) Outman
5) Happ
6) Golson–The trends are good, even though the numbers aren’t quite where one would like them. He’s still just 21. Next year might be the make-or-break.
7) Myers
8) Costanzo–I’d love to see a testimonial from Forbes or Mike Drago or anyone who sees the R-Phils regularly, to the effect of “he’s working hard and learning a lot.” Clearly, some aspects of his game are in pretty good shape, others not at all. I like the idea James raised on TGP of giving him a try in the outfield.
9) Carpenter–Got his head handed to him last night, but his numbers suggest a good idea of how to pitch.
10) Castro–I wonder whether he’d be better served working as a starter or reliever.
Honorable mention: Maloney, Garcia, Donald, Bisenius, Jaramillo, Marson, Monasterios, Overholt, Slayden
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d’arby myers was an unintended omission from my list. out of sight, out of mind. i have no problem slotting him ahead of kendrick.
bisenius, i would put just behind carpenter.
zagurski goes to the back of the line.
fabio castro also deserves a spot on the list. so here’s my updated list:
1. carrasco
2. outman
3. mathieson
3B. savery
4. happ
5. cardenas
6. garcia
7. costanzo
7B. drabek
8. myers
9. kendrick
10. carpenter
11. bisenius .
12. donald
12B. mattair
13. segovia
14. golson
15. zagurski
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Carrasco, Drabek, Kendrick, Mathieson, Cardenas, Outman, Costanzo, Bisenius, D’Arby Myers, Marson, Golson, Garcia, Maloney, Zagurski, Segovia, Brown. That was supposed to be top 15, roughly in that order, of guys who have actually played for us in a US minor league.
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Looking at the lists provided by others, I see I missed Donald and Carpenter. So, to update:
Carrasco
Drabek
Kendrick
Mathieson
Cardenas
Outman
Donald
Costanzo
Carpenter
Bisenius
Myers
Marson
Golson
Garcia (big talent, results have been very spotty)
Maloney
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1. Carlos Carrasco – Anything really need to be said?
2. Kyle Drabek – Great stuff, 2:1 K:BB, 2:1 GB:FB, over 7.5K/9. Although, according to minorleaguebaseball.com, he hasn’t pitched since May 26…anyone know what happened?
3. Scott Mathieson – Got knocked around in the majors last year, but he had no business being there anyway, as he clearly needed more minor league seasoning. Definitely has the stuff, and if he follows the normal Tommy John path and comes back with an extra 1 or 2 MPH, could be a real nice pitcher.
4. Adrian Cardenas – Looks like he may actually be a baseball player, not an athlete like so many Phils prospects. If he can keep up his current pace as a 19 year old in Lakewood, it would be quite nice.
5. Kyle Kendrick – 9 unearned runs in 81 innings tells me that he had bad defense behind him in Reading(and it wasn’t much different in Philly on wednesday, only they weren’t called errors). Looks like a solid 4th or 5th starter type, nothing spectacular, but he can pitch.
6. Josh Outman – Looks great in Clearwater right now, but he’s really gotta keep the walks down, and I think that the ERA is park-deflated.
7. JA Happ – I think enough’s been said about him in the past.
8. Joe Savery – I know he hasn’t played in the Phils organization yet, but when the scouting report on a guy is: top 5 talent in the draft, fell due to injury concerns, grades out to be a better Randy Wolf, it’s too hard not to put him on a list like this. And hey, if he doesn’t pan out as a pitcher, he could probably take a try at 1B or LF with that bat of his, which is nearly singlehandedly carrying Rice right now.
9. D’Arby Myers – I have no clue why they’re moving him so slowly, but a .783 OPS with 11 SBs as an 18 year old in the GCL is impressive. If he puts up the same kind of numbers in Williamsport, he may jump up this list.
10. Jason Donald – Another guy who could launch up this list if he keeps performing as he is. 22 in Lakewood was old, and thus his performance is tempered a bit. But he seems to be just as hot in Clearwater right now.
Notable guys who didn’t make the cut:
Pitchers: Monasterios/Garcia/Segovia/Carpenter: All are failing miserably right now, and need to show that previous flashes were more than just flashes to regain prospect status. Carpenter isn’t doing as bad as the rest, but his performance is still less than inspiring.
Hitters: Golson/Costanzo: Golson still doesn’t have a high enough average or OBP to warrant a move up. Costanzo is really hot right now, but he’ll tail off as always.
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1. Carrasco. Talent was always there. But, he seems to have shaken his problem with meltdowns when he gets in a jam.
2.Drabek
3.Cardenas. All the tools . Has a great attitude and showing maturity well beyond his 19 years.
4.Mathieson
5.Myers. Tools, attitude and good work ethic. Be patient. He’ll be worth the wait.
6.Bisenius
7.Carpenter. He starting to put it all together.
8.Donald
9.Durant. Lots of progress since GCL and FIL. He’s a RH Howard in the making.
10.Mitchell. A little raw. Now playing 3B. Good combination of talent and work ethic. Will surprise alot of people in 2008.
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