A brief update on the Mesa Solar Sox as I recover from last nights debacle at the Bank. Mesa had a win and a loss since the last update, with Quintin Berry leading the offense in the win. Berry was 3-10 in the last 2 games with 3 runs, a double, a homer, 4 RBI’s and his 4th stolen base. He is now hitting at .333. Tuffy Goosewich replaced Lou Marson on the Fall League roster as Marson has been working in the bullpen with the Phillies. Goosewich saw his first action Saturday and went 1-2, with a strikeout. A difficult couple of games for Jeremy Slayden who was 0-9 with 5 strikeouts and an error, as he played left field on Saturday and was the designated hitter on Monday. Jason Donald saw action at second base on Monday, going 1-4 with a run scored.
Pat Overholt had a very rough outing on Monday, struggling with his control going 1.2 innings, giving up 4 runs(2 earned) on 2 hits. He also walked two and threw only 18 of his 39 pitches for strikes. Sergio Escalona had a bit more success, going 2 innings, yielding one run on 2 hits. He walked 1 and struck out 2.
Phuture Phillies 
Certainly appears they are grooming Donald to be a utility player for 2009…
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At the beginning of the season, lots of us had high hopes that Overholt could become a useful major league bullpen guy. It certainly doesn’t look so anymore.
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Donald should play some left field
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“Jason Donald’s just been outstanding,” Wheeler said, and he’s been so good that Wheeler personally hopped out of his chair, marched through the clubhouse and went on an unsuccessful search and rescue mission to wrangle Donald for an interview for this story.
“I’ve played him at second base, played him at third. He’s a solid defensive player. He’s a big leaguer in my eyes,” Wheeler said. “And when you watch him on days he doesn’t play, I love his work ethic. He takes balls at short and second and third. He’s taking advantage of every opportunity.”
Not sure if this was posted, but this is from BA. And Wheeler is his coach for the Solar Sox.
Good stuff, I’ve been high on Donald since watching him during the olympics. He just looks like a pro baseball player.
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Donald in LF? Interesting but I think you’d want a more sure thing there.
This off season is going to be very interesting.
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Somehow I see Donald making the roster next spring…just a gut feeling at this point. Honestly who would you rather have on the Roster?
Donald or Coste? (assuming Marson is there too)
Donald or Taguchi?
Donald or Bruntlett?
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NEPP- That’s easy, Taguchi.
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Taguchi will be gone regardless but the question will be if Donald takes Bruntlett’s spot.
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Donald- Now, maybe if/when Burrell leaves Dobbs is
put in LF to play against RHP’s . Now, they need platoon
there, I believe. I would like somebody who could fill
in other OF spots. Such as Rocco Baldelli at a good
price. Another alternative would be a 3B LF type where
Donald could work in. In that case, I say have a bench of
Marson, Bruntlett , Donald, Jenkins, and Stairs.
Other 3B-LF options, maybe, Fernando Tatis,Casey Blake,
Aaron Boone(?). For LF only altenative, Moises Alou(?).
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The question is why did SO-SO last the year and playoffs
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Donald takes utley place at second, utley to first. howard goes because they won’t pay him ,
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Almost assured Amaro comes in and tries to make his mark
where none is needed. Anything is possible
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Quite a year for young Lou.
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Amaro will trade Hamels and Howard to the Yankees for Hughes, Kennedy, Shelley Duncan, and some mid-range prospects and sell us that he strengthened the club long-term on the field and in the payroll department.
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Wouldnt Howard fit the Yankees too bad
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“Certainly appears they are grooming Donald to be a utility player for 2009…
Let’s hope so. Bruntlett’s HR against Price aside, he doesn’t provide much value offensively, and this team as currently constituted is sorely lacking a dependable RH bat off the bench. Amaro will need to find an outfielder to caddy for Burrell — if he’s re-signed — but other than that, there’s nothing Bruntlett does that Donald couldn’t.
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Philadelphia Phillies Top 20 Prospects for 2009
All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change. Don’t get too worried about exact rankings at this point, especially once you get out of the top 10. Grade C+/C guys are pretty interchangeable depending on what you are looking for.
1) Carlos Carrasco, RHP, Grade B: High ceiling, made progress this year, still erratic. Maybe a B+?
2) Michael Taylor, OF, Grade B: Made huge progress refining his tools. Want to see Double-A numbers.
3) Travis D’Arnaud, C, Grade B: Good defensive catcher with rapidly improving bat.
4) Jason Donald, SS, Grade B-: Still doubt he has the range for shortstop. But I like the bat a lot. Borderline Grade B?
5) J.A. Happ, LHP, Grade B-: Made big progress in second try in Triple-A. Still see him as Mark Redman type.
6) Dominic Brown, OF, Grade B-: Tools guy with developing skills, improved discipline.
7) Zach Collier, OF, Grade B-: Grade is speculative, but I like his ceiling a lot. Will need time.
8) Jason Knapp, RHP, Grade B-: High grade for a rookie ball pitcher, but I like him.
9) Joe Savery, LHP, Grade C+: I held onto him as a Grade B for too long this year, components don’t support it.
10) Lou Marson, C, Grade C+: Good plate discipline and defense, but batting average at Reading could be flukey.
11) Kyle Drabek, RHP, Grade C+: Could rank much higher if command is back after Tommy John. Will know more by mid-season 2009. Performance has not matched hype but still young.
12) Greg Golson, OF, Grade C+: Most people will think this ranking is too low, but I still have serious doubts about his bat. Has made some progress but discipline remains dreadful.
13) Drew Naylor, RHP, Grade C+: Sleeper Australian pitcher should be tracked.
14) Mike Stutes, RHP, Grade C+: Much better as a pro than he was at Oregon State.
15) Vance Worley, RHP, Grade C+: Very impressive pro debut.
16) Antonio Bastardo, LHP, Grade C+: I’ve overrated him in the past, but still see potential here.
17) Anthony Gose, OF, Grade C+: Willing to be a little patient here due to tools, but high risk.
18) Chance Chapman, RHP, Grade C: Old for the level, but good numbers this year and I saw him in college, has a nice slider.
19) Anthony Hewitt, OF, Grade C: Quite frankly, Anthony Hewitt sucks as a baseball player right now. I will cut him some slack due to his tools and youth, but I am very skeptical about his bat.
20) Jeremy Slayden, OF, Grade C: The exact opposite of Hewitt, Slayden has mediocre tools but good baseball skills. Main problem is age-relative-to-league.
Others in the book are Quintin Berry, Andrew Carpenter, Sergio Escalona (an interesting LOOGY type), Freddy Galvis, Edgar Garcia, Harold Garcia, Brad Harman, Jason Jaramillo, Travis Mattair, Trevor May, B.J. Rosenberg, Julian Sampson, Mike Schwimer, Colby Shreve, and Sebastian Valle.
If there is someone else that you really think should be included, make your case. I always miss someone. Space is limited and some of the players above will probably get cut if I have to add someone else.
SYSTEM IN BRIEF:
The Phillies are very tools-oriented when it comes to position players. I can understand it, but sometimes I think it gets excessive. Drafting Collier AND Gose AND Hewitt is putting an awful lot of chips on one class of player. Personally I prefer a broader approach, mixing tools guys with more polished players too. I have a lot of skepticism about Hewitt at this point.
On the other hand, I like the pitching they picked up this year, and they aren’t afraid to take chances on guys like Drabek and Shreve that other teams might shy away from. They’ve shown guts when drafting.
Reports on these players and over 1,000 more can be found in the 2009 Baseball Prospect Book, available for Pre-Order at JohnSickels.net. The book ships January 31st, 2009.
Next up will be the Tampa Bay Rays, followed by the Arizona Diamondback
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Interesting list, John gives them some credit on their drafting, so that got that going for them which is nice, Surprised on Sweet Lou, and how high Big Mike is. Two 08 draftees in the top ten is good news. Shows some consistency on what we say over here, Naylors a sleeper, Esacalone LOOGY, Hewitt sucks, D’Arnaud’s the man etc. Comments?
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Anybody who ranks Chapman as #18 hasn’t done a whole lot of homework.
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I don’t understand how Taylor has “improved discipline” yet Marson might have had a “flukey” year.
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John Sickels is getting worse and worse each year.
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In addition to having the second highest batting average (.314) in the EL, in cameos Marson hit .308 in the Olympics, and .500 in the MLB. Credit to the organization when it has 9 better players than Marson in its minor league system.
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From a relative value standpoint, Marson is the most valuable prospect in the organization.
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Dominic Brown for president. Three very nice innings by
Drabek the fourth may have been pushing it but the manager
pulled him quickly good job
isnt Slayden hard to read???
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Why would you want Donald to sit on your bench and get stale for over half the year? He’ll be a AAA moving all over the infield so if someone gets hurt (including Howard, Utley would go to 1st, Donald to 2nd) he can be called up for any of them.
He goes to the AFL again next year, plays only 3rd, and is given a shot to win the opening day job. It is a waste of a good young player to have him sit on a bench and get stale.
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Personally I’m not a big believer in the stay at AAA and play rather than sit in the big leagues. A great deal of learning takes place when the young kids are up the big leagues and I think the better organizations ease young players in for a year before giving them a job the following year. I think Donald is ready and the team can save money with keeping him over Bruntlett next year whose outfield value will be meaningless next year. Here’s a very big question for Amarro: Is D ‘Arnaud so good that they can afford to trade Lou (a personal favorite of mine) if the right deal comes along and keep Ruiz an extra year or two until D’Arnaud is ready. Ruiz has obviously been terrific in the postseason and will probably hit better next year so that part’s easy. However, Marson looks terrific to me and is alost ready and D’Arnaud is farther away. Sickels isn’t the only one who loves D’Arnaud and choosing the right guy at the right time is what separates the GMs. For example, the Braves had two great catchers in their minors. They now have a terrific catcher and they traded major prospect Saltimachhio(sp?) to Texas and he still hasn’t cracked their lineup.
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This whole replace Bruntlett thing, no need for it,
don’t need it. Player who can give good defense
at 7 positions, run some, hit some, no need to
replace because some dig up some statistical
anomalies. Donald should not be sitting on bench
for a season, either. That’s how I see it.
I say it should be as above, platoon with Dobbs in left
and when Dobbs is playing and Feliz is lagging a bit
offensively, work Donald in at 3rd. Not sitting
like what Bruntlett has mostly done this season.
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bruntlett is HORENDOUS in the outfield, i have not seen him make a single good play all year. He never goes straight to the ball because he can’t judge fly balls. He hesitates big time. As a utility infielder, he is awesome but an overall utility guy he is bad. I would have donald play some left in the AFL so that he can caddy for burrell next year if it is needed.
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So he was impressed with Michael Taylor’s high average in Single A, but Marson’s high average in AA was a fluke?
Also, how can Drabek “not live up to the hype” if he missed 1 1/2 years with a Tommy John surgery?
Drew Naylor #13? Did he pay attention to the last 4 months of the season?
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once again you cant learn to hit major league pitching in the minors. Donald only get stale if the manager doesnt use him
And please never say the word Taguchi after the parade
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AFL Update wise– to digress into the Hawaii League.
I don’t know if this was on here before, but came
across article on Kyle Drabek, who was assigned to
Hawaii Winter League recently. It’s on Baseball
America HWL update. Said something like, he did
5 innings in 2 recent releif appearances, not far apart
and did well. Said consistently 93-95, better command,
working on change-up, straightening out mechanics,
something like that. Don’t know how to put link on
here, so.
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Drabek must have better stuff in the HWL than he had in the NY-Penn. In 20.1 innings in the NY-Penn he struck out 10. After two outings and 5 innings in Hawaii he has fanned 6.
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Donald won’t get a lot more experience in AAA. If he starts the year in Philly he will get progressively better as we go through the year and should be able to contribute mightly as the season closes. To me, it’s a no brainer, Donald and Marson should start the year with the team. I love Chris Coste, but he’s not the future. Heck, he’s not even the present.
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Well Drabek is coming off of TJ surgery so his arm strength is probably still coming back. It makes sense that he’d be better in the Hawiian League than he was this summer.
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Good to see today in the AFL our Carp out duel over 5 innings, 1-0, a future Cy Young candidate if you follow the Boston media.
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There were some rumors that Drabek wasn’t throwing his curveball in the Williamsport, that he was basically only throwing fastballs since he’s working his way back.
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Gotta like what Q. Berry is doing in the desert. Two more hits, a stolen base and he threw out a runner out at second today. He is 5 for 5 in steals so far.
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nice nice outing by Carpenter Isnt it nice not to be with PJ Forbes Hopefully we can talk about Berry and Carpenter in the spring as well as the others. Please no stupid trades
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Marfis Says:
October 29, 2008 at 2:08 pm
This whole replace Bruntlett thing, no need for it,
don’t need
Post-All Star .186 .260 .257 .517
please raise the bar
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WE WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!
Now back to prospects, why replace Bruntlett? He scored the winning run in the World Series for godsake. Seriously though, I see Donald on the roster next year. He’s learned what he needs to learn in the minors. He’ll be better off getting a start a week at the MLB level and plently of pinch hits as the season goes on. He continues to play well he’ll turn into a platoon guy with Feliz. The time to bring him up is now. He’s earned it.
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Yeah, so what if we won the World Series, we had to give up Adrian Cardenas, Michael Bourn and Brian Schlitter to do it.
8^)
It’s going to be a beautiful winter. I’ve got this big goofy grin on my face that won’t be going away any time soon. And homegrown players have a lot to do with this Championship – both as contributors and as players that were used as trade chips.
– Jeff
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I’m sorry if, today, my focus is not exactly on the who is in the farm system. I can think about that next week.
YOU KNOW WHAT? WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Q is under rated. he will be a legit MLB player. not a star, but he will stick around for a long time. he is a plus defender and a plus base stealer. he will slap his way to a high enough ba and his walks will keep him in the line up. i think that he is one of those guys that at the end of his career you say “wow, i didn’t know he was that productive.” he would need to be on a good team, he can’t be the centerpiece. but in the right situation, he can really add a lot of value.
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I don’t know PP Fan, Quentin Berry reminds me of another Michael Bourn but maybe with a little less speed. He’s smells like a 5th OF at best.
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NEPP – “a little less speed” than Michael Bourn is still pretty darned fast. Bourn might be the fastest runner I’ve ever seen (in baseball).
I think that Q would be a decent fourth outfielder. His plate discipline will help enhance his speed. Does anyone have a scouting report as to what kind of glove he has?
– Jeff
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I sure hope with the wave of extra cash generated by the playoffs we see continued investment in the club and farm system- and not some disappointing excuse that the extra funds available are going to fund existing player raises (which might be a reality- but if they lose burrell I sure as heck don’t want to hear the replacement is going to come from Dobbs and spare parts- I want a legitimate right handed hitter!). throwing some cash out there for that japanese kid who opted out of the draft and is about to hit the market might be fun too
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I had read, in reference to the Angels, that if they were to get to the world series they expected an extra 18-20 million in revenue. I can’t imagine why it would be any different for the phils.
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Buster Olney last night on ESPN said that the Phils will be competitive next year but based on his talks with other GMs they do not have the depth in the minor league system to be a dynasty. Well right now they have the leading hitter in the HWL Dominic Brown at .405; the third leading hitter in the AFL Jason Donald at .429. Andrew Carpenter just outpitched Clay Buchholz in an AFL game this week and Carrasco and Monasterios had quality starts this week in the VWL. They may not be the best minor league system but it does have prospects who are stacking up well against the creme de la creme of the other 29 minor league systems
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I hate the idea of Dynasty. Its overkill. We had a special yr that’s all right now. Let’s not put ourselves in a position where we turn something magical into something horrible.
Although I will say what farm did the Yankees really have?
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****NEPP – “a little less speed” than Michael Bourn is still pretty darned fast. Bourn might be the fastest runner I’ve ever seen (in baseball). ****
I didn’t mean it as a bad bad thing. The issue is that Bourn is a 4/5 OF on a good day and he showed that when he got to go out everyday in Houson. His numbers were abysmal there. Berry is a nice bench piece in my opinion is all. Hopefully he becomes something more though.
WE WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!
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It’s tough to be a dynasty since the NLDS is the ultimate equalizer.
But, the Phillies seem to be a September team; and teams that get hot in September seems to do the best in October.
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as far as the east i cant see the Mets getting smarter quick
and the Marlins are still focused on political problems. So next year the Phils would have to selfdestruct(read Amaro)
Two years from now the Marlin with Stanton(11hr in august)
and Morrison etc seem like they might battle.
any way a good time was had by all except the press who wanted to hang the city and people
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players who will not be back. taguchi, bruntlett, burrell, eaton, coste, kendrick sent to minors, jenkins, condrey, stairs and the rh reliever who was not the playoff roster. players who will replace them. golson, donald, happ carrasco marson. the question is who will play lf. rocco baldelli, for 1 year until brown or taylor are ready, and who will start carrasco, happ, or moyer.payroll lost 17 million. payroll gained howard 3, lf ? victorino 5 hamels 8 madson 3 werth 2 ruiz 2 romero 1 eyre 1 durban 1 . buying out half of jenkins, and eaton 6 total difference payroll goes up 10 to 15 million.
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John from Philly- Ummmmmmm……no.
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John from philly Payroll lost burrell 14 million, Gordon 5 and taguchi 1 plus 3 million less for Tome that is 23 million. if they give raise of 5 million more to howard and Hamels gets 5 million, werth victorino and madson go up another ten between them they still will be under three million from last year with them having to sign a left fielder. Also brunlett eaton jenkins will be back.
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Rockey did you have to say
“Also brunlett eaton jenkins will be back.”lol
I wonder what Eyre would settle for his contract this year
was way too big??
The first one or two moves by Amaro will tell a tale. I hope they wait until spring to do anything drastic. The trouble is they always think of something stupid in the winter meeting instead of keeping an open mind (read Jenkins here etc.)
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maybe brunlett but i dont want donald blocked, i think the the phils will buy out jenlins and eaton.
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I agree with John…They’ll likely buy out Eaton but not Jenkins. They’re gonna hope that Jenkins bounces back and has at least a little bit left in the tank for 09. Eaton, OTOH, has been basically kept out of all of the WS celebrations/postseason. He is almost certainly gone.
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Three hit between Donald and Marson today but three walks
makes better than ok Another good night by MT will bring a smile. Slayden will be fun to track in the spring too
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