KG’s NL East notebook

Other Stuff

phuturephillies favorite Kevin Goldstein is doing updates of all the farm systems in baseball, and today is the NL East. He has two nuggets of note

Nailing It On Naylor: Profiled in a recent Ten Pack, Australian righty Drew Naylor has a 2.59 ERA in nine starts for Low-A Lakewood, with even better peripheral numbers, including just 39 hits allowed in 59 innings to go with 65 strikeouts and 15 walks. One scout who recently watched Naylor liked what he saw on a scouting level as well. “He needs to tighten some things up, and there is still some real rawness to his stuff, and his command is average, but he has real strikeout pitchability,” said the scout. “He sat at 91-92 with good movement and has a really good put-away curve with a big bend–-almost a 12-6 bend. I liked the arm quite a bit.”

Good Bat, Questionable Glove: Double-A Reading shortstop Jason Donald has rarely given anyone reason to question his hitting, and this year is no different, as he’s hitting .296/.409/.409 in 31 games for the R-Phils. A scout who recently saw Reading fell in with most who have evaluated Donald–-loving the bat, but wondering where he fits in defensively. “I saw the bat really good; that bat will play and carry him to the big leagues and keep him there a while,” said the scout. But the defense? “He’s such a grinder at shortstop-–he makes the plays, but nothing looks easy for him, and he sits back on too many balls while trying to make up for it with his plus arm. He could play second or third, but you wouldn’t want to over-expose him at shortstop.”

Its great to hear on Naylor, obviously, and you have to like that scouts are starting to get in line on Donald’s bat. Again, finding him a home defensively will be the issue. You know, 3B is right near SS, it might not hurt to try….

11 thoughts on “KG’s NL East notebook”

  1. the comments on donald remind me of the comments people used to say about utley. defense is about practice and working hard. if he has a good work ethic (which it appears that he does), he will improve. i am not saying he will be a gold glover, although there has been a lot of talk recently about utley becoming a gold glover and i think pujols is close to that level too and he was a butcher at 1b when he first came up.

    no love for marson, golson, cardenas or anyone else at reading, clw or lakewood? did he just profile one pitcher and one hitter? is he suggesting these are the two best players, respectively in our system?

    Like

  3. Hearing a scout say that Donald could possibly play third — and that he has a “plus arm” — is really good news in my book. We obviously don’t want to get ahead of ourselves here, but if he continues to hit, he may begin next year in Philly and stay there.

    Like

  6. Naylor had another good pitching line last night. 8 IP, 6H, 2R, 6K, 0BB. He has 71Ks in 67 IP. I also like that his vs lefty and righty splits are about equal. He got blasted in his last outing but came back strong.

    Like

  7. Since we already have an alright SS, I’ll settle for him to play at 3B…(looks around for John in NE).

    Does a “plus” arm means he’s got a strong arm or an accurate arm or both?

    Like

  8. Like to see what Naylor can do at a higher level. Leading the minor leagues in strike outs (72) and is tied for second in innings pitched (67). One of the top WHIP’s 0.90. What more does he need to prove in the Sally after 10 starts? But when Bastardo moved up to AA his strike outs dropped to below 1 per inning (20K/23.2IP). High A and AA combined he has 67 K’s. Happ leads the IL with 66 K’s and Carrasco in 55 innings is tied for the K lead in the EL with 59. He has one fewer start than Naylor. Last year they moved Carrasco up from high A to AA after 12 starts. Wonder if they will do the same with Naylor?

    Like

  10. I see Donald as the replacement for Bruntlett, possibly as soon as next year. I’m not sure his offense is quite good enough for 3B, so keeping him in the middle infield would be good for his development. If he keeps hitting as he is promoted then he would make great trade bait. It is with Cardenas that the club will really have a tough decision to make in a couple of years.

    Like

  11. donald not playing everyday next year is a bad thing…. he needs reps at a position on a daily basis, and his bat still needs to develop…. he isnt nearly done yet and to make him ride the bench and start here and there probably wouldnt help him….. i wouldnt even care if he struggled while playing everyday, he just needs to get his reps and practice, limiting his playing time in the next two years wont do that….

    Like

Comments are closed.