Carrasco makes the BA Hotsheet

Ten Pack/Hot Sheet

We now interrupt draft bickering to congratulate C-Squared on his re-appearance on the weekly hot sheet at BA.

Team: Triple-A Lehigh Valley (International)
Age: 21
Why he’s here: 1-1, 0.75, 12 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 18 SO
The Scoop: After a solid Triple-A debut (6 2/3 innings, two runs, four strikeouts, two walks, six hits), Carrasco flat-out dominated both Buffalo and Scranton this week, striking out 10 and then eight batters—though he was undermined last night by a balk and then a wild pitch, costing him a chance for a win. Nevertheless, Carrasco pitched at 93-96 mph for much of the outing and effectively mixed in his curveball.

Michael Taylor also appeared in the honorable mentions section.

72 thoughts on “Carrasco makes the BA Hotsheet”

  1. I was a little unsure of the reasoning for moving Carrasco up but if it was to challenge him and see how he responded I’d say it was an excellent reason.

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  2. How Taylor only made the team picture is a joke. The also calculated is line wrong. They listed it at 615/615/1538 when it should have been 615/1538/2153. If that line doesn’t get you in the top 5 what will? Also where is sturtes?

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  6. If Carrasco was really sitting at 93-96 mph, then that’s a great sign. He was 90-93 during the Futures Game, but obviously that was just coming off an injury. A 22:6 K:BB with a 1.34 WHIP in 18.2 IP is a good early line.

    That being said, I know people are getting excited, but I think Carlos should probably start next year back at Lehigh Valley unless something unforeseen happens. Hamels, Blanton, and Kendrick are locks for the rotation next year; Moyer has said that he’s coming back; Myers is still under contract; and Happ’s development is finished, and he’s well and truly wasting bullets in the minors. Unlike Happ, Carrasco still has room to improve as a pitcher, and it’s better for him to do that in Triple-A, at least in my opinion.

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  7. PhillyFriar, I agree. Carrasco should be held back in LHV as starter number 6 or 7 depending on the departures of Moyer or Myers opening up a spot for Happ. With injuries and such every good team needs 6 or 7 starting pitchers they can count on. I say send Happ first, he is what he is at this point (not that he is anything bad but at 25 he’s probably done all he can in the minors) whereas Carrasco could still improve further as he will only be 22 at the time.

    I don’t want to discuss the ML roster here but I feel it is relevant in the conversation over the use of the our two AAA pitchers.

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  8. Why not go the direction that a lot of teams are doing these days and break him in in the bullpen for a year. I think the phillies can find room for a guy who can hit 96.

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  11. My only worry with breaking him in via the bullpen is that Manuel won’t use him. If he’s a regular 7th inning reliever and can log 80 innings in the pen, that would be good for his development. But if he pitches once a week in mopup games, thats probably not going to help his development. Happ is the type of guy who, at this point, probably is what he is. If you want to use him as a long man from Day 1, ok, but Carrasco isn’t done developing yet. I’m fine with him in the pen as long as he’s being used.

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  14. But it worked so well for the Yankees this season…

    It sucks but it might be smart to have it end up being a choice between Happ or Carrasco instead of both.

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  15. I just saw this on the BA chat. Cool to see them giving some props to Stutes.

    Q: Danny from Philly asks:
    Are kidding me, how is Michael Stutes not on this list?
    A:

    Jim Shonerd: Stutes made the Hot Sheet watch list, but missed the final cut. The pool of pitching candidates was just too crowded this week. Stutes has been downright sick since he got to Lakewood, only allowing eight hits in 26 innings, which is most impressive. You have to give him credit for putting a disappointing season at Oregon State behind him, and we’ll give him recognition if he keeps performing at such a high level.

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  16. From BA’s Prospect Hot Sheet Chat –

    Q: Danny from Philly asks:
    Are kidding me, how is Michael Stutes not on this list?

    A: Jim Shonerd: Stutes made the Hot Sheet watch list, but missed the final cut. The pool of pitching candidates was just too crowded this week. Stutes has been downright sick since he got to Lakewood, only allowing eight hits in 26 innings, which is most impressive. You have to give him credit for putting a disappointing season at Oregon State behind him, and we’ll give him recognition if he keeps performing at such a high level.

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  17. Didn’t work out too well for the rockies either.

    I still think Kendrick needs to compete next year for that #5 starting role with Happ and Carrasco. I think Kendrick is more suited for middle relief. The type of reliever who can come in with inherited runners and escape with minimum damage due to his propensity to enduce DPs.

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  18. Why do people continue to think that Kendrick is someting special. He has one pitch and at only 89 – 91 it is extremely hittable if not located EXACTLY ON THE CORNERS. I am sick of holding my breath every time he or Moyer takes the mound. Young players can breathe life into this moribund group of complainers, its time to give them the same opportunity Gillick/ Manuel have given Condrey, Tagouchi and Jenkins. it cant be ANY WORSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  20. Not to discuss a majorleaguer on a prospect board but. He’s 23 and still getting better…give him a shot before you crucify him…his W-L record should give him that much…and Moyer??? Are you serious?

    Carrasco should likely get a shot next season as our run of healthy pitchers has got to come to an end at some point…this things tend to work themselves out.

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  22. NEPP got there before me. Even if he throws 40 MPH meatballs but keeps getting outs and wins, id throw him out there every 5th day.

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  23. I dont think Kendrick is a lock to make the rotation next year either. He has an ERA near 5. The only reason he has 10 wins is due to our offense actually hitting for him.

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  24. The difference between Moyer and Kendrick is command. Moyer’s raw stuff isn’t great, but he can throw the ball wherever he wants it, inside and out, up and down, and he’s a smart, cerebral pitcher. Kendrick is a nice feel good story, and while he doesn’t issue tons of walks, his command, ie, the ability to locate his pitches, is not nearly as good. Will it get better? The biggest weakness he has is the lack of a secondary pitch to attack LHB.

    Its fair to discuss this here, because we’re talking about Carrasco and Happ and where they fit into the rotation. What I don’t want here is people just constantly venting about the big league club in the weekly reports that others take time to volunteer and write.

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  25. sorry for venting..but I would rather have two strong armed kids who have an upside rather than waiting for the inevitable crash and burn from Moyer and Kendrick.

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  26. I wouldn’t mind seeing Manuel use CC for the 2009 Phillies the way that Bowa used Madson for the 2004 Phillies. Of course, I’d want Carrasco back in the rotation, probably as soon as 2010, with the rookie year in relief useful as an arm protection move and to strengthen the big-league ‘pen. The problem is that you know the Phillies would be tempted to move him back in-season if a need arose, which would both weaken the ‘pen and potentially put Carrasco’s arm at risk.

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  27. Does anyone know if the LHV stadium gun is fast? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a report of Carrasco throwing with that kind of velocity.

    Anyway, they’ll probably let him compete for the rotation in ST, have him begin the year in AAA, and call him up if (when) someone gets injured. In 2009 the C-squared era begins!

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  28. moyer has been pretty darn reliable…theres not a whole lot of cause to remove him from the rotation for an unproven 20-something, as much as we love our unproven 20-somethings at this website.

    kendrick is a little more challenging to analyze. im sure joe morgan, john kruk, and steve phillips love him because he played hs football, is intense, has ice water in his veins and lots of intangibles. im sure the boys at FJM would not like him because he doesnt miss a lot of bats, his command isnt exceptional for someone who doesnt get a lot of whiffs, etc. he has one major league pitch at this point, a very nice sinker. he survives very well on it. but to become more than a curiosity, he needs a complimentary off speed something…something like a sharp slider or split. his platoon splits suggest he may ultimately wind up in the pen, but he is still 23 and could have development in him.

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  29. I don’t favor the reliever role for Carrasco…if he’s on the MLB team he should be used as a starter…I don’t like messing with young players like that.

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  32. Their is no inevitable crash and burn for moyer, he’s been doing it for too many years. people have such a bias for the radar gun… do you realize jamie moyers era is 19th in the nl? Better then Aaron Cook, Ricky Nolasco, and Kyle Lohse. And even more look at his h/r splits! his road era is 3.05 and hes given up 20 less hits. Kendrick and Moyer are not even close. Kendrick doesn’t have the k/rate whip or secondary pitches to sustain his success. Wins are an entirely irrelevant stat. If Kendrick can develop a change up that falls away from lefties, and refine his slider, he may have something going. Moyer has a plus changeup, probably one of the 10-15 best changeups in baseball. Carrasco should start the year in the rotation next year if he can win the job in spring training. Myers should be shipped to… Cleveland? Tampa? LAA? Texas? any team, preferably AL, that wants to contend next year and needs a closer on a short contract.

    Hamels
    Blanton
    Moyer
    Carrasco
    5th via trade or fa

    Kendrick/Happ first up. Assuming Kendricks stats continue to normalize and he warrants losing his spot.

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  33. as a coda to this discussion…brett myers’ pre-demotion/post-demotion splits are absurd. honestly, who thought he would be so effective again so quickly. if he continues to pitch this way through the end of the season, a playoff rotation of hamels/myers/blanton/moyer looks juicy to me

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  34. i think some pitchers mental makeup makes it OK to be a reliever then starter and some don’t. also the number and quality of pitches makes some one or another. To that extent i believe that Kendrick’s eventual position would be as a middle reliever and maybe top out as an 8th inning guy ala Chad Durbin this year.

    congrats to D’arnaud. Wonder if he does well does a start in Clearwater sound too pushy?

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  36. I know this is a Carrasco thread, but I have to throw my two cents in on d’Arnaud too. As RodeoJones said: a big congrats to Travis, and though it’s a late jump, his numbers from the NYPL show that he’s earned it on merit. It can’t hurt to get him some experience in a pennant race either (which I’m sure is part of the motivation of calling him up).

    As for starting him in Clearwater… I think it might be a little too pushy. If he were a 1B or OF, it’d be a different story, but I think the Phils will probably want to bring him along a bit more slowly so he can hone his game calling and receiving skills.

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  37. Tough break for my man Joel Naughton who broke his big toe in catching drills before last night’s game in Lakewood and is gone for the season. Naughton made the SAL All Star game and was hitting .375 over his last 10 games. he is an excellent defensive catcher with a good arm.

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  38. Sorry for high jacking this Carrasco talk with the D’Arnaud news.

    Didn’t know where else to put this and figured it’d be the fastest way to inform the masses.

    It’s funny that D’Arnaud’s bat was considered his “weakness”. He’s putting the skeptics to bed thus far. Pretty clear he received very good coaching while in extended ST this year.

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  39. Congratulations to Carrasco. Tremendous to see success at this level. He’s getting closer. Happ is still ahead of him and may yet play a role this season. I’d be surprised if Carrasco also gets a call this season but if he keeps dominating it will happen.

    Naughton had a great season. Definitely deserves to be among the many catchers we regularly talk about: Ruiz, Coste, Marson, Jaramillo, d’Arnaud, Valle, Kennelly…

    In case d’Arnaud doesn’t get his own thread for the promotion, I’ll say congratulations to him here. The best part about d’Arnaud is I expected we’d be talking about his defense, not his bat. He can flat out rake. What a bonus for a “defensive” catcher.

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  40. I think arguably the best thing to happen on the farm this year has been the PATIENCE shown with Carlos Carrasco. I think most of us here believed that he needed another full year in the minors in AA and some time in AAA.

    A lot teams in such dire need of pitching would’ve gone to him right away. Credit both the Phillies and JA Happ for getting healthy and returning to his old ways. But what will make Carrasco a great pitcher, right now IMO, is patience and tempored expectations.

    He’s got all the stuff in the world to be a #2 pitcher. Just needs some time for his head to catch-up with that arm. Marson said it best during an interview with CSN. When Carrasco REALIZES the skills/talent that he has, the sky is the limit. When he realizes how good he is, it will all fall into place. And I firmly believe this.

    Marson also said that a “promotion” which I think he was referring to one to the Phillies, not AAA, would motivate Carrasco and get his “head” back in neutral. I think he was implying that Carrasco can get complacent at times or stray a bit mentally. But that can be expected from a player his age.

    But take the trades away and some of the great returns from this draft and the arrival of Taylor and I think the patience shown with Carrasco (a.k.a. not rushing him) is one of the better, if not the best thing to come from the minors this year.

    If he finishes the season like this, he’ll be a top-25-35 prospect in all baseball. Phillies will be WELL represented in the Top-100 next year. And perhaps have multiple players in the Top-50. And if things continue as they’re currently going, we’ll be well represented for many years. The talent in A-ball and below is quite staggering, IMO.

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  44. I misread it when I said ‘big jump’…Lakewood makes sense, albeit maybe late in the year to do so but hey, they’re the professionals (so I’ve heard). I’m dying to see how the catcher position is handled throughout the org this offseason, at least at the AA, AAA and ML level.

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  46. The legend of “Big Mike” grows. If Taylor had enough at bats to qualify he would still be leading the SAL with a .361 batting average and would be second in the FSL at .332.

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  47. Well said, Andrew. Patience with CC is a must – hence why I believe Phils would be best served starting him at AAA next season.

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  48. When I saw Carrasco during his second start, he was 90-93 with the fastball according to the scoreboard. I don’t know where the 93-96 is coming from.

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  51. Below is the description of Carrasco’s first pitch in AAA from the Morning Call:

    “That first pitch, a ball to Jason Pridie, was clocked at 94 mph by the Coca-Cola Park radar gun, and he later hit 96 mph. In all, Carrasco threw 102 pitches, 67 for strikes, while striking out four.”

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  55. Just a comment on the overall state of the system. The in-season rising evaluations of our talent, both on this forum and fron outsiders, are encouraging. I think it is coming from the development of guys like Golson, Carrasco and Happ at the top, the continued great hitting of Donald, the major raise in performance from Marson, same with Taylor, and the solid and execptional performances of our first and second year players. If we still had Cardenas and Outman, I think we would be forced to upograde the consensus poor to mediocre rankings common in the first haldf of the season. Even with them gone, we may have to upgrade our talent position a notch or two, if you include the promise of this year’s draft signings.

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  56. *The Reading Eagle story is saying that Golson can be the next Mike Cameron.*

    That’s Reading Phillies writer Mike Drago. I thought they put him out to pasture years ago. He reminds me of Dave Spadaro.

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  57. I was thinking of Tony Zonca. He’s the one the Reading Eagle put out to pasture. He now writes for the Reading Phillies and is like Spadaro. Matter of fact, they both do. I’ve read those two guys for decades. Thee’s another young guy ther that’s good though. Stewart something, I think his name is.

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  58. I’m trying not to get too hyped about Taylor, but I just looked at his last 10 games and he’s hitting .590 with 23 hits, 11 doubles, 3 HRs, but only 9 runs and 9 RBI because the rest of the team isn’t hitting. I would love to see them move him up ASAP to Reading and see how he does there. If he thrives there, perhaps he can help the big club in September. Goodness knows they need somebody to hit.

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  59. Golson went 4-5 with 2 HR’s and 5 RBI’s. If Golson and Taylor both develop well, this is going to be a VERY dangerous outfield both speed wise and power wise in a few years.

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  60. Taylor has 15 XBH in 16 games in August

    And a 1.255 OPS

    Guy is crushing the ball.

    Perhaps even more significant news, D’Arnaud is raking in Lakewood. It’s only be 3 games, but he was really the only consistent player at-the-plate this weekend for Lakewood, who really disappointed in a big home series. 3 hits today to cap it off. Talk about promising. If he can finish strong, he may make a case to start in Clearwater. To go from Extended ST to Clearwater after a .675 OPS in GCL last year is downright astonishing for a guy that most thought wouldn’t translate as a hitter. His rise may rival Taylor’s.

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  61. I have noticed Dar’NO’s continuing his hotstreak. I was upset to see Stutes give up a few runs. Still managed 8 SO’s.

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  62. I pose this question seriously:

    If Taylor finishes the season at this current pace, is he the franchise’s top prospect, given the lack of athetlic, power-hitting prospect in all of baseball?

    It’s kinda crazy to think the depth in this organization given all the prospects traded over the last year. Bourn, Costanzo, Schitter, Cardenas, Outman.

    Lots of talent there. Guys formally considered “Top-10” prospects in our system. Funny how only 1 of those guys would make the Top-10 right now today. Crazy to think that losing Outman/Cardenas isn’t going to kill the system or set this franchise back.

    Last year’s draft looked bad at the time (Mach..eggg). But it’s now looking like it may be one of the better ones we’ve had in quite some time. Combine that with this year’s draft and the development from guys in the preivious drafts and things are looking very, very, very good.

    Needless to say, I’m quite excited.

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  63. I think Taylor has to be in the conversation for top prospect, but I think it has to go to either Marson or Carrasco based on the relative difficulty in finding guys at their positions. I would go Marson, Carrasco, Donald, Taylor. The only reason Donald is ahead of Taylor is because level-wise he is more proven. A+ to AA is the last big jump for Taylor, if he conquers reading next year I wouldnt be surprised to see him in phils pinstripes at some point in 09.

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  64. That’s a mighty big jump to AA though. I wouldn’t be stunned if Taylor makes it though considering how well he’s progressed this year.

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  65. Nice thing about Stutes performance yesterday was that he gave up 3 hits/ 3 runs(2 Er) in the first. And help the opponent to 1 hit the next 5 innings and struck out 8.

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  66. I don’t deny that Taylor seems to have a lot of talent and definitely has been delivering in a big way this year, but beware of the small sample-size here. Only 200 ABs at Clearwater so far, and his walk rate isn’t very good. He needs to continue to dominate the rest of this season in A+ then hopefully work on seeing breaking balls in the AFL so he can come into AA ready to go. He does not approach Donald or Marson in terms of prospect status at this point due to their performance at a higher level and their more rare defensive positions.

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  67. I agree with BostonPhan’s tempered enthusiasm. I will say that his walk rate is still decent but not impressive anymore.

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  68. It is kind of funny what scouts were saying before they were drafted.Donalds bat and D’Arnaud bat were suspect, And all they have done is hit. I am of the opion that a lot of these services don’t get to see a lot of these kids. And tend to go by maybe one or two showing Maybe the kids at that time are in a slump. Donald started the olympics 0-14 does that mean he can’t hit. Just a though

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  69. You guys are worried about Taylor’s walk rate? He has an OPS of 1.275 in the month of August.

    I’d be hacking away as well. It must look like a beach ball to him right now.

    Question is, does Taylor crack BAs top 50.

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  70. i don’t know how you guys can complain about his walk right. everything he hits is falling in. i’d be swinging at everything, too.

    whats the points of taking the walk if your slugging is absolutely through the roof.

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  71. i agree with those that say don’t worry about the walk rate while he’s hitting well. Pitchers saw his plate discipline and tried to “bite at the corners” and he’s making them pay. THey’re adjusting and he’s adjusting right along with them. That’s the sign of a good focused hitter.

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  72. Also, since his rough start in June Taylors BB/K hasn’t been horrendous as some would have you think. I also don’t see how you can’t be excited about a guy hitting with huge average for well above average power.

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