Phillies sign two minor leaguers

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I’ve gotten a rash of e-mails in the last two days asking about the two new prospects the Phillies signed, infielder Jakub Sladek from the Czech Republic and pitcher Todd Van Steensel out of Australia. I wish I had more information on these guys, but finding info on foreign prospects, especially foreign prospects from Australia and Eastern Europe is not the easiest task. I’ll try and find out what I can, but it’s doubtful we’ll know much of anything about these guys until they come stateside. The Phillies have been harvesting the prospect waters in Australia for a while, and it looks like Brad Harman and Drew Naylor might have been nice finds, so we’ll see what happens here. Thanks to those who posted the link here and who e-mailed, you guys are very quick on the draw.

25 thoughts on “Phillies sign two minor leaguers”

  2. I was definitely surprised to see the Phils signed someone from the Czech Republic. Can anyone think of any impact europeans in the majors right now? I didn’t think baseball was the big in Europe, any chance it’s going to become one of those hot zones like the dominican, etc.?

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  3. Rick Vanden Hurk from the Marlins is from the Netherlands, I know there are a few others, but I can’t think of it off the top of my head. Alex Liddi, a personal favorite of mine in the Mariners organization, is from Italy.

    Teams are setting up academies in Europe now, and trying to get kids interested in the game. Everyone in Europe plays football (soccer) and rugby when they are younger, baseball really isn’t all that popular, but hopefully it’s growing.

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  6. An exception was made to stock some teams allowing someone with one grandparent from a country to play for said country, hence Piazza playing for Italy. I could have played for Italy at that rate.

    Andruw is from Curacao, which is off the coast of South America, but technically an self-governed part of the Netherlands.

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  7. thanks, i figured piazza wasn’t foreign born but wasn’t sure of the WBC rules. My geography is so rusty i didn’t even know the netherlands had any islands in this half of the world

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  8. Phillies Phans….we finally have our infield sured up…no more platooning at the hot corner….No more having to make subs in the seventh inning at third base for defensive purposes…feliz should be able to hit 30 ding dongs at the bank due to it’s hitter friendly dimensions….people are just so hung up on the whole Santana ordeal…but like I said….last year only 15-13 with a 3.58 ERA…is it really worth it!?!?!?!??!?!!

    http://sportstalkunlimited.blogspot.com/

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  9. Good point about Brad Harman who seems to be developing quickly at the bat. For example he hit .321 the second half in the FSL with 11 homers; .344 in the FSL playoffs with two homers ; .275 in the World Cup games in Taipei in Nov. and in six games over the last two weekends in the Aussie Baseball Federation’s Claxton Shield national tournament he hit .440 with two homers in six games. Let’s see what he does in ST now that he is on the 40 man.

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  10. Santana got off to a bad start last year but finished very strong, the exact opposite of what the Mets did last year. I think it’s also worth mentioning that even though his stats have been going down every year (albeit very slowly) he is going to be in a new league that hasn’t been getting fooled by him for the last 5 years. I expect Santana to do very well for the Mets and considering how much money he’s getting he better pitch well.

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  11. The Santana discussion perhaps should be on a different thread- but Santana did not finish strong last year- 4-5 with an era around 4 in the final 2 months. He has a history of finishing strong- but that didn’t happen last year. but yes, i would have still given him that money.

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  12. There were semi-pro baseball leagues in Italy when I lived there in the early 80s.

    Eight big leaguers were born in the Netherlands including the great Bert Blyleven and the not great Win Remmerswaal.

    Curacao is part of the Dutch Antilles which includes Aruba, homeland of Sir Sidney Ponson.

    Someday we may have Roosians, Proosians, and Englishmen in addition to a Czech or two in the Bigs as well.

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  13. Let’s give the Phillies credit for at least stepping out there and continuing to give shots at international prospects. Anything we can do to bolster the minors outside of the draft is encouraging.

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  15. Phils ink first European player: The Phillies extended their reach to Europe on Thursday, signing 17-year-old Czech infielder Jakub Sladek.

    The 6-foot-6, 220-pound lefty is a native of Prague and attends Gymnazium Nad Stolou.

    “Jakub has a physical presence about him and a left-handed bat that has a chance to be an offensive threat,” scouting director Marti Wolever said. “He’s surprisingly athletic for his size. He has a lot of upside, and at 17 years old, he has plenty of room to develop.”

    The Phillies also signed Todd Van Steensel, a native of Sydney, Australia. Van Steensel, also 17, is a right-handed pitcher out of The Hills Sports High School.

    I found this on the phillies website… figured it was a little more info and is worth noting

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  16. My guess is that the Czech player will turn out to be as raw as any 20th round HS player the Phillies have ever selected. Probably play at GCL for 2-3 years unless he does not show enough to merit playing time there. He is the longest of long shots. I wonder if they would consider putting him in the DSL or VSL (most likely) for a year to get some at bats in a lower pressure situation.

    The Aussie pitcher is another projectible arm. He’ll probably play in the Australian complex for a year and head over to the U.S. for 2009.

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  18. The Phils get a lot of flack for not being present enough in Latin America, whether it’s deserved or not. Perhaps rather than trying to squeeze themselves into an already crowded market they are trying to find the next baseball hotbed. How much more likely would the next great prospect from Down Under be to sign with the Phils if his hero, Brad Harman, was their starting 3rd baseman?

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  19. Rooting HARD for Harman…who would be ready just when Feliz’ contract is finished. Hoping he’s switched to 3rd base at Reading…where he could become THE MAN there and in Philly pending the arrival of Mattair.

    Hoping he does have enough arm for 3rd. Now is the time for him to “step up to the plate.”

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  20. I like Harman, but really, do you think you’d come to be satisfied with the kind of production he’s capable of?

    Trying to find the next baseball hot bed is good, but signing a player here and there isn’t quite how pioneering works. Aussie signings by all clubs (except maybe the twins- they are far and away the kinds of Oz) have tailed off. Mostly I imagine because the initial offerenings have been picked over, now its a wait and see time. Its gonna take a lot of years to grow into anything of merrit, if it every does- but some aussie has to become a star first- and the kind of star that has a personality that draws people and attention.

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  22. Lemme get this straight. We have the worst record in the division when it comes to finding good Latino players that contribute, so now we’re signing Czech players. LOL

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  23. “We have the worst record in the division when it comes to finding good Latino players that contribute, so now we’re signing Czech players”

    Well, thats not actually true anymore. Marlins have gone to pot, Nationals are trying again, but they had stopped for years, the Braves of course do a good job, but they aren’t as successful as they once were. and the mets, well they’re just outspending the league right now. It is troubling to notice that Carlos Pena is the only homegrown latin talent on the mlb roster, but in all fairness, the phillies latin program is as good as its been in 25 years- but they have a lot more work to do.

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  25. The Phillies like cheap labor. The real key is next June—they have 3 picks in the top 50 and 6 in the top 107. They could really bring some talent into the farm system. Time to pony up some cash, boys.

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