The DSL season is now a few weeks old and we are starting to get a picture of who are the top performers on the team if not the top prospects.  First of all, here are links to the team roster and statistics.  Box scores can also be retrieved most of the time from the daily calendar under the Phillies division link (Santo Domingo North).

The team is off to a relatively slow start with a 7-10 record.  On the postive side, the roster includes at least 13 players with a birthdate of 1989 or sooner.  This is a little younger team than the Phillies have fielded recently, so a losing record should not be completely unexpected.  Among the younger players, however, there are several that are more than holding their own.  If this team can produce 4-6 players that can make the jump to GCL in the next year or two, it will have done its job for the organization.

Pitchers

The top pitcher on the staff is 21-year-old LHP Yohan Flande.  His age is a red flag on his prospect status, however.  Last year he went 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA and good peripherals (65 IP, 55 H, 12 BB, 60 K).  While two other pitchers got promoted, he did not.  He is pitching very well again this year (1-2, 0.95 ERA, 19 IP, 10 H, 5 BB, 17 K), so he is at least one to watch for a promotion next year, though a jump to Williamsport (ala Sergio Escalona) may be needed for him to have any prospect status.  The other starting pitcher standing out in the early going is Pedro Carpio (RHP, age unknown).  Carpio signed late last year and threw 19.2 good innings with a 2.29 ERA.  He is off to a good start, going 0-1 with a 1.89 ERA (19 IP, 16 H, 4 BB, 20 K).  Hopefully Carpio is still young enough to be a prospect.

There are several younger arms to watch on the staff as well.  6’9″ Carlos Gil is only 18 and the Phillies clearly prize tall, projectble pitchers.  He has pitched OK so far in relief, but is likely a very raw prospect.  Dario Alvarez is an 18-year-old LHP who has been very difficult to hit (0-2, 5.79, 14 IP, 8 H, 14 BB, 22 K).  He is starting, so the team clearly thinks he has potential.  Ebelin Lugo is the youngest pitcher at age 17 on the staff.  He is also starting and is 2-1 with a 2.66 ERA.  With only 10 Ks in 23.2 IP, he will need to start missing more bats to be a prospect.  We will check back later in the year to see how some of the other younger arms are progressing.

Hitters

The top hitter on the team is also the youngest.  Let’s all wish happy birthday to Sebastien Valle today, as July 24th is his 17th birthday.  Valle started the season batting 3rd or 4th, a rarity for such a young player.  He is also a catcher with good size (6’1″, 168).  He was hurt for a few games last week and his stats have tailed off some, but he is still the team’s best offensive player.  So far he is hitting .343 with 7 BB and a .452 OPB.  Add 4 2B, 1 HR and 9 RBI and you have a well-rounded offensive player.  He is listed as a left-handed thrower.  Hopefully that is a mistake as far as his catching prospects are concerned.  The other young player off to a hot start is CF Leandro Castro (age 18).  Castro usually leads off and is hitting .297 with 1 HR and 7 SB.  Castro has only drawn 2 BBs so far, so he will need to improve his plate discipline to be a prospect.

Some of the other younger hitters are also off to decent starts.  18-year-old IF Lendy Castillo is hitting .297 so far.  18-year-old OF Miguel Alvarez is also hitting .294 with some speed (5 SB).  The other mainstays on offense are older players such as Vladimir De Los Santos (age 20) and Juan Carlos Mejia (age 22).  They are less likely to be prospects than the younger hitters mentioned above.

Next up will be a VSL update sometime before July 4th.  Hopefully we can unearth some more information about the better prospects such as Valle.