Questions for Kevin Goldstein

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KG has offered his knowledge to us and will answer some questions as he’s done in the past, so if you have specific questions you’d like answered, post them in the comments section here and I’ll pick and choose the best ones to send his way.

15 thoughts on “Questions for Kevin Goldstein”

  1. I’ll give you a few questions to pass along —
    1. Last season Garcia was damned as Mr. Bad Attitude by the Phillies brass, what is the view on his attitude and development thus far in 2008?

    2. What is the thinking on problems with AAA team? Guys who have been offensive juggernauts in past seasons can’t crack Mendoza line this year? Jaramillo seems to have regressed. Are the Phillies considering that they may have problems with the manager and coaches at Lehigh Valley?

    3. D’Arby Myers has underwhelmed thus far. Is his wrist fully healthy, and if not, when is it likely to be?

    4. Any word on budget and Philosophy going into the 2008 draft and international signing season? Will the team be more aggressive or is the Arby ‘good of the industry’ quote the modus operandi?

    5. His and Phillies brass’s thoughts on offensive potential of Freddy Galvis.

    6. What is the real deal with Tyler Mach’s non-appearance?

    7. Anybody looking especially good in extended ST that we should be watching as a top prospect. Specifically, thoughts on D’Arnaud.

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  2. Overall the Phillies have one of the weakest farm systems in Major League Baseball, however it seems that most of our talent is stacked in the lower part of farm. We are now starting to see some of our talent trickle up into AA and hopefully it will continue to do so as the year progresses. My question is where does the lower part of our farm system rank compared to the rest of the Majors. How do you rank our last three drafts, has there been an obvious improvement in the last three years with the Phillies approach to the draft. What changes would you make to the Phillies overall draft approach. For example busting slot on young talent, drafting more established hitters, and staying away from prototypical toolsy outfielder.

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  3. What is the perception of the various Phillies prospects in relation to other teams among baseball brass (GMs, scouts, etc.)?

    Context: I ask this question because the Mets were able to pry the best pitcher in baseball from the Twins by serving up a pu pu platter of decent (but by no means overwhelming) prospects in large part due to the “buzz,” if you will, around guys such as Guerra and Gomez. The Phils system was, on the whole, comparable to the Mets, but it seems that many of the Phillies prospects are undervalued by opposing scouts and GMs.

    What I’m really interested in is if the Phils offered up, say, Carrasco, Cardenas and another, could they get a pitcher like Joe Blanton? Or is there a still a stigma against Phils prospects?

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  4. I’d ask him which 3 guys are performing better than he expected plus whether he sees any possible future #1 or #2 pitchers in the Phillies system below AA.

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  5. I’d like to get his take on the “busting slot” question, both if he gets the sense that any of the Phils, Mets and Braves are planning to boost their signing budgets this June, and if he thinks there’s ever a situation in which it *doesn’t* make sense for teams to bust slot.

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  6. Adrian Cardenas got off to a pretty quick start, but has missed as many games as he has played in with back problems. How concerning is it that he is having back problems at such a young age?

    Joe Savery has had a couple of good games, but has not really dominated in any yet this year. What is the early assessment of Savery?

    And of course everyone wants to know about Antonio Bastardo…he is off to a fiery hot start, but overall what is the “professional” opinion or word on the street about Bastardo?

    What about Greg Golson…is he ever going to reach his potential, or are the hurdles just too great for him to overcome? (Specifically wondering about plate discipline.)

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  8. The other night, I saw Gavin Floyd’s huge breaking curveball on ‘Baseball Tonight’. It was the one I read about when he was drafted and threw in Single-A. It seemed to be taken away from him as he climbed the Phillies ladder. Do you think this is a good thing to do to a pitcher? It might have retarded his growth for years.

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  9. Lightning Round Questions:
    Matt Spencer or Mike Taylor?
    Jason Donald or Adrian Cardenas?
    Carlos Carrassco or Josh Outman?
    Mike Durant or Mike Taylor?
    D’arby Myers or Dom Brown?

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  10. 1.) What do you perceive as the strengths & flaws in the Phillies organizational philosophy?

    2.) Same question (strengths & flaws) about their ability to develop players?

    3.) Are the Phillies better suited hiring from within for their next GM (Amaro / Arbuckle) or should they look outside the organization like they did in hiring Gillick?

    4.) The Phillies seem to perpetually be in the lower third of the organizational prospect rankings. What do they need to do to move into that upper third (ie top 10)?

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  11. How much is statistical analysis used in the minor leagues compared to the use in MLB? Certainly prospects have a certain window to prove themselves, but those established at the major league level can sometimes have off-years and still be thought of highly whereas a bad year in the minors for a supposedly good prospect seems to greatly diminish his value. So how does an established player’s or prospect’s percceived value play out, is it more dependent on what the numbers are seen as, or simply how talent evaluators see the player?

    I guess a situation that would pertain to this would be what is more valuable to a club: a great season in the minors for a decent AA prospect, or a good season in the majors for an average player? Obviously factors like what position each player plays, and age come in to play. In general though, which player’s season “had more value.”

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  12. On Castro, I’d like to know why the Phillies started him in AA this season, when he spent most of last season in AAA and did reasonably well — and very well in his AA innings. Does he really have anything more to prove in AA?

    Does Tim Kennelly still have a future? What position is he being groomed for, catcher or 3B?

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  14. as i said before double a is considered the high minors and if you think reading is weak your wrong. re: bastardo and his hot start he was 9 and 0 with a so ratio of 4 to 1 last year for those of you interested check the revenues , money made, of each team last year according to forbes. the phillies spend 13th in salary and we live in the 4th or 5th largest market.

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  15. What’s his take on JA Happ and if he is going to see/be effective on a big league mound this year?

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