So I’ve decided that we’ll start the Reader Top 30 this week. I’ll start #1 today, #2 on Wednesday, and then #3 either on Friday or next Monday, and then we’ll do one a day until we’re done. If you’re new to the site and missed last year’s version, you can go here and see how it works. This year, instead of excluding anyone like I did last year, we’ll just use the MLB rookie requiremets. No more than 130AB or 50 IP. I don’t have all of the service days, so ignore that aspect of it. Basically, anyone with less than 130 AB or 50 IP is eligible. At the end of each voting period, I add up the votes and the player with the most votes gets selected for that day. When we start a new round, every player but the players already voted into the Top 30 are again eligible. We do this until we get to #30. At the end of the process, I’ll solicit people’s personal Top 30 lists and put them into a spreadsheet again just like last year.
Ok, have at it. Please only vote once.
I gotta go with Marson.
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
Tough choice between Donald and Marson, but I think that Marson’s premium position puts him over the topm
My choice: LOU MARSON
LikeLike
marson
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
If you’re going by who would fetch the most in a trade, it is definitely carrasco, but that is not what i think prospects are for. the most valuable of our prospects is jason donald because he could fill so many holes for us. Marson is more of a luxury at this point because our pitching staff was at the top of the league with ruiz.
Donald
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
C.C. thanks to his showing in AAA and again in winter ball is the clear #1.
LikeLike
Marson
LikeLike
Age and position play a premium, and nothing is more premium then pitching.
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
Sweet Lou
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
I’d have to say Donald due to his value in trades
LikeLike
Though I just ain’t that high on the guy, Carrasco is our #1.
LikeLike
Marson
LikeLike
Marson
LikeLike
carrasco
LikeLike
Carrasco by a nose…
LikeLike
Donald
LikeLike
Michael Taylor
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
Marson–a catcher who can hit…we don’t get that in Philly very often.
LikeLike
Lou Marson
LikeLike
I’m going with Carlos Carrasco as well. I like Marson and Donald a lot, and it’s nice that we have three guys in AA and above with legitimate MLB aspirations. I wouldn’t argue with any of those three. But starting pitching is the name of the game. So that tips the balance in favor of Carrasco.
LikeLike
Jason Donald
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
Lou Marson
LikeLike
Lou Marson.
LikeLike
Donald…who is ready!
LikeLike
Lou Marson.
The only real concern with Marson is the low ISO he’s posted so far in his career (just .118). The plate discipline is for real, he’s not a candidate to be moved off catcher because of defensive limitations, and he put up his finest season (.314/.433/.416) in his biggest challenge at Double-A. To me, he projects as a slightly lesser version of the pre-injury Jason Kendall — and that would be a heck of a lot of production from a catcher.
LikeLike
I think the first three guys – Marson, Carrasco, Taylor and maybe even Donald are fairly interchangeable. For the high value position, I think I vote Marson.
LikeLike
Difficult choice among Marson, Carrasco, Donald and even Taylor. However, I’d have to say “The Donald” who has done nothing over the last six months but prove me right in touting his virtues. The dude can just flat out play.
LikeLike
FYI – for those of you getting your lists ready ahead of time Happ has 35.2 ML innings pitched so he is eligible.
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco. His results at his age and level put him at number one for me. I also think the staff at Reading did not help his develop as much and once he got to work with Nichols in LHV he had his best starts of the season.
LikeLike
Marson
And I love Donald.
Do those who spelled “Carrasco” wrong get their votes counted? 🙂
It’s an interesting question raised above as to whether an organization’s best prospect is the player most likely to have the highest valuation by outsiders, the player likely to have the “best” ML career (whatever that is), or the one most likely to help the current big league team by filling the right holes. Marson, however, qualifies across the board. And, Carrasco suffers by being a pitching prospect, and therefore much more susceptible to career threatening injury.
LikeLike
I’ll vote Marson. Premium position, good offense and D, relatively,young for AA, especially for a catcher.
Carrasco, Donald, and Taylor are all in the top 5, with Carrasco in the lead. For me, Carrasco just didn’t do well enough in his Reading repeat to be our #1 prospect. Nice numbers at AAA, but small sample size and it doesn’t completely wash away the Reading numbers for me.
LikeLike
Carrasco.
LikeLike
been a fan of this site for a while, and i figured that now would be a good time for my first post.
Gotta go with Carlos Carrasco. nothing is more important than pitching.
LikeLike
Jason Donald. His bat is just too good.
LikeLike
Since I dont think Marson is even the best catching prospect we have although he is ready now I cant give him the #1 spot. I will have to give it too Carrasco he hasnt done anything to lose ground as the #1 prospect.
LikeLike
I’m going to rate mine purely on ceiling… so I’m going against the grain and saying Drabek.
Carrasco may be closer, but Kyle is far and away the best pitcher in our system…. and I can’t justifiably vote Carlos #1 if he isn’t even our best pitcher.
LikeLike
I think Marson is the 2nd coming of Jason Varitek, but I’ll go with Carlos Carrasco, who will be in the rotation by the AS break. Pitching trumps position player, even at skill positions.
LikeLike
marson will be ready on april 1
LikeLike
I’m gonna give the #1 to Lou Marson.
LikeLike
I’ll go Marson, and here’s why:
I think it’s reasonable to project him as a .290/.370/.400 player in the bigs. That would put his OPS at .770, which would have been the fifth-highest OPS for a catcher this past season. Further, there were only five with an OPS of more than .730, so even if Marson projects to more like .280/.350/.380, he’s still in the top 5-10 catchers in the majors.
LikeLike
I will go with Carrasco. Still very young for his level
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
has to be carrasco
LikeLike
Swindle by far
LikeLike
Lou Marson
LikeLike
jason donald. i hope carrasco has controled his breaking ball.
LikeLike
Carrasco, as I think that he is the highest-ceiling player who is closest to the majors.
However, I think that Jdon will make the team out of spring training and Marson might also.
But Carrasco is ready to go right now.
LikeLike
Lou Marson. The fact that he plays a tougher position and can still rake gives him the edge over Donald and Taylor.
LikeLike
Carrasco.
LikeLike
Marson
I believe Carrasco can be really good, but he hasn’t truly demonstrated that. I think I’d be more upset if the team traded Marson than if they traded Carrasco.
LikeLike
Carrasco is EASILY our number 1. He has consistently been near the top. He is still very young for his level. He is projected to be a number 2/3 in the majors and might make the team THIS YEAR at 21.
When Marson and Donald continue their dominance for a little longer they might move into that spot. But, for now, Carrasco has shown over and over again throughout his career in the minors that he is an excellent prospect.
LikeLike
carrasco pitching is always at a premium
LikeLike
Marson
LikeLike
Pitching is so odd. I think we can all agree that an ace or a closer is vitally important, particularly if you want to win a championship (hello Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge), but, in terms of winning games in the regular season, position players tend to have much more value (if you don’t believe me, go look at the Win Share totals in Hardball Times – out of the top 30 players, I’m guessing no more than 7 or 8 are pitchers and the top players are NEVER pitchers). Pitchers also suffer from other problems. They tend to be more inconsistent, suffer debilitating injuries more frequently and tend to have shorter careers.
This all by way of saying that, while I like Carlos Carrasco, and hope he can be a great pitcher, but since he has not yet dominated for an extended period of time, I have a hard time placing him ahead of Donald and Marson. Surely, this could all change in a couple of months if Carlos goes out next spring and dominates. But for now, it’s hard for me to put him on top.
LikeLike
Happ then this year ,last year and the year br4
This like asking which of “CHARLIE’S ANGELS”
LikeLike
Remember what happened in Reading stays in Reading
LikeLike
Marson
LikeLike
Joe —
Marson and Carrasco both start play next season at age 22.
LikeLike
I think Donald, Marson and Carrasco are bunched closely together, hence the variety of opinions.
I go with Marson and Allentown’s reasons: premium position, young, etc.
But Donald (my #2) had a remarkable year when you put his Reading, Olympics, and AFL together. Close to 1.000 OPS, 20 HR, .329 BA, .417 OBP, etc, etc.
Carrasco has been inconsistent in high minors. When he dominates consistently for multiple months, he automatically vaults to #1. Until then, #3.
Taylor goes to #2 or #1 if he repeats last year at AA.
LikeLike
Drabek.
Carrasco, Marson, Donald and Taylor all look to be special. But Drabek has a higher ceiling than any of them. It’s not the only way to rate prospects, but that’s how I decided.
LikeLike
Marson because 1) plays an important defensive position
2) His offensive numbers gets better each year3)Is in a position to succeed because he will back up Ruiz and have the opportunity to gradually take the starting position.
LikeLike
Gotta go with Carrasco. But next year it’ll be Drabek.
LikeLike
Sweet Lou
LikeLike
marson
LikeLike
marson
LikeLike
I’m glad to see it isn’t just clear-cut. Shows we have some cream at the top and three guys that are good enough to be the best.
Also quite glad that I’m not the only person who voted for Drabek. (I already voted, don’t count me twice)
LikeLike
Marson
LikeLike
Pitching wins championships
Carrasco
LikeLike
marson..hands down
LikeLike
I think it has to be Marson. He gets on base and hits line drives, and plays good defense at a premium spot.
Carrasco is a close #2, but you have to take some points off for the inconsistency he showed this year. But it’s close, and he really finished strong.
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
Carrasco, mostly because of the guys who plausibly could be big-league regulars in the next year (him, Lou, JDon), I think he has the highest ceiling. Both the rationale and the evaluation could prove wrong, but there you go.
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
Marson. A home run in the big leagues is a great leading indicator.
LikeLike
Give the nod to Carrasco.
LikeLike
Lou Marson.
Marson’s plate discipline is off the charts and he puts a good swing on the ball once he gets a pitch to his liking. He could become a perennial all star.
LikeLike
Marson, dude’s gonna be an all-star catcher
LikeLike
i love Carrasco and Donald and Taylor. love those guys
but this is a no brainer. marson is our #1 prospect. first, he is at a premium position. second, his numbers for his age and level are tremendous. for his position, he flashes 4 out of 5 tools. third, did i already say he is at a premium position?
CC is very good, but no one is projecting him to be a #1 yet. Taylor needs to do it again, but if he does, look out. Donald is having a great year extended into winter ball. awesome to see. but there are plenty of good prospects out there at pitcher, outfield and infielder respectively. very, very few catching prospects with a chance to be an mlb all star.
LikeLike
HEY! This is Donald! Where’s the love, people?
LikeLike
Marson
LikeLike
gotta go with carrasco. wonder when the last time the same guy has been the #1 prospect for a team for this long
LikeLike
marson
LikeLike
Donald
LikeLike
Marson
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
Lou’s the man. He hit .314 (.433 OBP) in the EL, .308 (.438 OBP) in the Olympics, .500 (.500 OBP) in the NL and .324 (.425 OBP) in the AFL. And caught great bullpens for the winner in the World Series . What else does he have to prove?
LikeLike
I thought this would be an easy decision however several posts caused me to pause particularly the “highest ceiling” angle. In the end, I go with Carrasco as #1. Granted, Drabek may have a higher ceiling than Carrasco but Carrasco, by most accounts, is ready for The Show now. Assuming Carrasco puts up stats with the big club consistent with his projected ability (i.e. #2 starter – 15-17 wins) within the next 2 years, the Phillies would have the best top 3 of any rotation in the NL, all of whom are under the age of 30 (Myers doesn’t turn 30 until Aug. 2010).
LikeLike
The artist formerly known as michael bourn’s points are all invalid.
Lou Marson. he should start at catcher for us next year. trade ruiz
LikeLike
Your point about Marson and Carrasco both being 22 next year is valid. Also, there is a good chance that Marson might be in AAA next year with him.
With all of that being said, I still go with Carrasco. As much as I like Marson(Number 2 or 3) on my top ten list, I want to see one more year out of him with the same performance. Not that it looks like we’ll be having to put them on a prospect list again after this year. Both Carrasco and Marson and Donald will either be traded or on the team in ’10. Interesting to see where the list is going to be after that. Drabek, Taylor, D’arnaud, Berry and Brown?
LikeLike
I wouldn’t start Marson. With Utley out to start and Feliz potentially injured or ineffective, our infield defense takes a hit. Marson needs time to break in, I wouldn’t just give him the keys yet.
I say Coste is our new pinch hitter, Marson is the new coste and Ruiz is starting maybe 60% of the games to start the season, and we go from there.
LikeLike
based on what he showed at AAA at the end of last year, Carrasco regained the top spot in my mind from Marson. Marson has a lot to like in his game, but questionable power and multiple questionable scouting reports on his arm strength leave enough in doubt to put carrasco on top.
LikeLike
Marson is my #1.
LikeLike
Carrasco.
LikeLike
Can’t see Carrasco as top prospect. One burst in AAA is too little data to go on. He could be a #2 or a #4/5 starter, who knows? Certainly he shows the pitches to be a #2/3. But he has never done it for a season in high minors. How can you say he is the #1 prospect until he actually demonstrates that consistency? I don’t see it. Marson and Donald have been very good at critical positions for two years running. They have not been on their game one week and struggling the next.
LikeLike
Lou Marson
Note: Though it didn’t influence my vote, The current Phillies mailbag (Ken Mandel) says that other than Marson Phillies prospects are not as highly valued by other teams
(that is the ones they are willing to trade). Something like that.
LikeLike
After reading every single post, here are a few of the random thoughts floating throughout my mind…
People have been putting a large emphasis on position. I think position scarcity deserves to be in the argument, however, I am not sure how C is of more importance than SP. Ask me to choose between two above average players, one a catcher and one a starting pitcher, and I will always choose the starting pitcher. Unfortunately for the Donald supporters, infield comes in a distant third.
Moving on, I feel that Carrasco sort of suffers from the Pujol’s syndrome. And no, I am not suggesting Carrasco will have an equal value to that of Pujols, not even close. What I mean is that Carrasco has been our number one prospect for so long, that a lot of the glimmer and flash has faded away. We have turned our attention to the new toys, being Marson, Donald, and Taylor. So, while I think it is great that we have three new toys to play with instead of just one old one, I think it is important to realize that the “old one” is continuing to develop at a younger age than Marson, Donald, and Taylor. If we take a step back, and objectively look at Carrasco’s numbers at Reading this year, he made nice improvements in a lot of his peripherals. He did pitch better this year, and not just in LHV. I know it may be hard to believe, with the constant harping on the Reading staff (which I think is very silly, but besides the point), but here are his numbers… His era improved from 4.86 to 4.32. Similarly, his whip decreased from 1.58 to 1.34. In ’07, Carrasco recorded .70 SO/IP. While in ’08 he struck out .95 batters per inning. Also, he decreased his walks from .65 BB/IP in ’07 to .39 BB/IP in ’08. Finally, his hr rate also decreased slightly in ’08, although not enough to point to anything of significance, as hr rates have a lot noise in them. But the point is, those are major improvements that were made in a single season! All by a 21 year old who is now in AAA.
My last few thoughts are in regards to Catch 22’s comments. Catch, you use win shares to prove that pitchers are not as valuable as position players. While this may be true, although I tend to disagree, it is hard to defend your argument using a single stat, which as a whole may simply undervalue pitchers. What I am trying to say is it is very difficult to compare pitchers to hitters, mainly because the two do absolutely nothing similar. Because of this, it is just as plausible that win shares simply undervalues pitchers when compared to hitters, as the stat is trying to compare apples to oranges. I like win shares as a stat, but I think it is much more reliable when using it to compare hitters or pitchers separately. Also, Catch 22, I think you bring up an interesting point in terms of pitchers and injuries. It is a very difficult variable to factor in when trying to decide which prospect is more valuable. However, considering that Carrasco has been a picture of health throughout his entire career (I know, he missed one or two games this year), does this mean that Carrasco is even more valuable? It is almost like because injuries debilitate pitchers and decrease their value so often, the ones that are never injured get an extra boost in their value. I am not sure, in fact, I have no idea. Just something interesting to think about.
Anyway, as I am sure you can all tell at this point, I am voting for Carrasco. To possibly pitch in the majors at 22 is pretty rare, and I think he has the talent to do it.
LikeLike
Marson is pretty consistent. Seems like he’ll be an above average player to fringe All-Star.
Donald may serve the most immediate need and be solid doing it. Good bat, fielding?
Carrasco is inconsistent, but to me pitching always gets a premium. Plus, he’s young and still developing. I think he’s off sometimes just because he’s working on different things.
Tough call.
I’ll go with CARRASCO.
LikeLike
My pick is Carrasco.
Marson is going to be traded when D’Arnoud is ready.
Donald is the most ready to play in the majors but has the lowest ceiling of Carrasco, Marson, Donald.
LikeLike
Marfis, be careful what you read on the Phillies mailbag. It’s like the offical state news agency in North Korea.
LikeLike
Nedual Cuz – Excellent point on position scarcity. I can’t believe how many people are saying Marson because he plays a primo position. There really is no more primo position than pitcher.
LikeLike
Good post, Neduol Caz. But still can’t agree.
CC’s improvement was in a repeat year, essentially. However, the improvement indicates he will be a good MLB pitcher. How good we don’y know. There are guys anywhere from Hanson to Hamels and Myers in AA who did much better. But a real #1 prospect is not ambiguous. I want to see consistent dominance. So I see Marson and Donald–today, right now–as having a better chance to be above avg MLB players. Marson has a better chance of being a .290 BA, .375 OBP catcher than Carrasco has of being a pitcher with an ERA lower than, say, 4.5. When Carrasco SHOWS more, he will earn that status. Otherwise, it is evaluating on hope, looks, repertoire, early scouting reports, etc. But it is the actual pitching that matters. That is improved but not stellar.
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
My vote for #1 is Drabek.
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
I’ll join the Drabek insurgency with Jim Kaat.
Carrasco’s nice, and Marson has a decent chance at becoming an above average regular, but Drabek is the only player in the system with HOF potential. Eons away from realizing it, but he’s started to perform and could be a fast riser in the system (a la cole). I think there’s a decent chance that, barring further injury, this choice looks like an absolute no brainer for a few years from now.
LikeLike
MARSON
LikeLike
Marson. nuff said.
LikeLike
Neduol Caz – you make good points. I agree that it is difficult to compare hitters and pitchers, that looking a Win Shares alone is not enough and that Carrasco appears to be very healthy and so it’s difficult to count “health issues” against him.
My post could be read as disrespecting the importance of pitching, but, believe me, I understand that pitching is what you need all year, and particularly in the post-season. In fact, to me, if you are looking to win a championship, an in the rotation ace is the single most important player on your team. Hamels proved this and showed why he is utterly indispensible to the Phillies. Without Hamels and Lidge the Phillies are far closer to being an average team than we would all care to admit.
LikeLike
I meant to say an “ace” in the rotation. I’m not a very good typist.
LikeLike
I’ll go with Lou Marson even though he has had zero AAA experience. (He did play one game at the mjor league level and looked good.). His position combined with his hitting over an entire season puts him over the top.
LikeLike
I’m bored to tears in class right now, so I did a quick count of the results thus far. As far as I can tell, here’s what we’ve got…
Carrasco: 47
Marson: 43
Donald: 9
Drabek: 4
Taylor: 1
Happ: 1
LikeLike
anonymous if your projecting carrasco to a 4.5 era hes in bad shape. i saw him pitch a few times last year and he had an outstsnding fastball with control problems on his curve. if he has straightened that out i would like to know,by someone.for carrasco to be what we all want and expect him to be he should be at 3.5 era. in the you heard it hear first category happ will win 12 to 15 games this year.
LikeLike
JFP: I’m projecting based on performance in his two most recent long stretches. 4.86 ERA at Reading in 2007. 4.32 in 2008 at Reading. He only pitched 36 innings at AAA. His performance converts to maybe 5.50 ERA in majors for his first year or two, at least. I assumed he was improving and gave him a run lower. That’s pretty rational. More logical than “I saw him and he has some great pitches.” Batters don’t give up when they see that. They make you throw it over the plate in a great spot–consistently. CC has not proven that consistency yet. If he does that this year, he goes to #1.
LikeLike
In looking at our top 5 prospects I do not see one that you can say might be a HOF. I also am not sure you can say any of those will be frequent All Star Game participants. So my #1 go to a person who has impressed in his few starts at the MLB Level. Happ is my man. I think he showed that he could be a #3 or 4 starter and Carrasco, who has better stuff, is not a definite.
LikeLike
Are we seriously looking through our prospect pool combing for possible HOF’ers? That’s a little excessive.
LikeLike
SC says
I’ll join the Drabek insurgency with Jim Kaat.
This lost on me did I miss something( I expect to see Drabek here before Sept)
PS I met Katt when he was young nice man He look more like a football player He was a “my body is my temple kind of guy)
very impressive.
please explain the reference
LikeLike
Neduol Caz – i don’t really understand your point.
improvement a side, i don’t see how a pitcher who projects as a #2 best case is more valuable than an everyday catcher who is very good defensively, has a walk rate that is off the charts and hits the ball hard.
and not to bash CC, because i love him, but if you want to see what a top pitching prospect does in the minors, compare his stats to cole hamels or clayton kershaw. it is really night and day. a whole different level than CC. heck, compare him to brett myers’ minor league stats. brett was 20 at reading and had better stats. CC really projects as a #3 guy, with upside to become a #2.
i just think that you can find those type of guys. you can’t find productive catchers. those guys rarely hit the market. think about all of the trades that have happened. very few premium catchers have been moved over the past few years.
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco
LikeLike
Looking for HOFers in a prospect pool is a bit much. In the last 20 years, the Phillies had only one prospect who, upon promotion, appeared to have legitmate HOF aspirations and that’s Cole Hamels. When Rollins, Utley, and even Howard were promoted they were not being touted as future HOFers. So, truly, the HOF discussion is insanely premature.
LikeLike
I agree that Drabek’s celing is very high if he stays healthy but he needs to stay healthy for the whole season and then I’ll make him #1 next year (unless Taylor repeats what he did last year – that would be a fun discussion). I agree that Carrasco, Marson, and Donald don’t have HOF ceilings but all three look like very good players and Donald and Marson are real competitors who will totally fit in with this club right away. I would prefer that Carrasco stay at AAA and be successful and earn his promotion rather than be rushed due to injury. Trades are still a real possibility however. After the Phils offer arbitration to Pat, if he decides to leave, the Phils still might trade for a right fielder like Guillen. He’s a jerk but hits right handed and puts up good numbers and has two years left at $12M per which is what the’re offering Pat more or less. What would the Phils offer KC (home of Arbuckle) for him?
LikeLike
Marson, thanks.
LikeLike
Agreed that Carrasco should probably start at AAA and learn to dominate. Moyer is almost certainly going to sign so there’s no rush as, with Moyer, the entire rotation is set and is not too bad: Hamels, Myers, Moyer, Blanton and Happ. I still have not written off Kyle Kendrick, his early promotion stunted his development.
As far as I’m concerned, Donald and Marson are probably ready for the promotion now and the sooner they adjust, the better they’ll be for next year’s stretch run. If the team finds a way to solve the left field problem, they could be better than they were during the regular season last year.
LikeLike
Marson, Catcher of the Future.
Carrasco’s future could be bright but I’d say its less likely
LikeLike
guillan is a lunatic. even scocia couldnt handle him. no way. sign pat.
LikeLike
Carrasco.
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
Marson – Stud Catcher over a #3 SP anyday.
LikeLike
Responding to posts –
nowheels – A previous poster called himself “Jim Kaat” and voted for drabek. Perhaps it was the genuine article though? 🙂
Catch 22 – HOF potential is an illustrative way of describing someone whose ceiling is extremely, extremely high. If his stuff is as good as advertised, and he’s matured the way I’ve seen it reported, and about 20 other things work out for him, it’s entirely plausible. I would also say taht having HOF “stuff”, which he does, is a near-prerequisite for a pitcher to make the HOF. Not all the time, but def. more often than the hitters you point to.
LikeLike
Carlos Carrasco.
Marson is a nice prospect, but he had all of five home runs last season in Reading. I would want to see more power from the starting catcher. I would actually rank D’Arnaud higher, but that’s more of an indication of what I think of D’Arnaud’s ability.
LikeLike
SC – I’ve seen CC pitch several times and I didn’t come away thinking “hall of fame”. He’s probably a #3 or #4 starter (John Maine a fair comparison?). Nothing wrong with that, but let’s not go overboard. Guys who are #1 or #2 starters usually have better K and WHIP numbers in the minors.
LikeLike
Carrasco got rave reviews from the opposition once he got of Reading. The Pawsox guys were “McCarvering” him when he dominated their lineup.
LikeLike
Nepp why cant people understand that Reading was a hell
hole for pitchers and maybe some batters
LikeLike
Gotta go with Carrasco, here but beleive it or not Knapp I would consider for #2.
LikeLike
Why do people think a catcher has to have homerun power. mauer with minnesota isn’t a homerun hitter but a allstar. Why was reading a hell hole ? could someone tell us more on the state of reading.
LikeLike
A true #2 starting pitcher is more valuable than a starting catcher even if he’s your cleanup hitter. Too often a guy is called a #2 because he happens to be the 2nd best on the staff, not because he’s ace material. I don’t care much for the Win Shares stats, either. Interesting, but not definitive. It’s all about the starting pitching, IMO, and your top two players should always be your 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.
When I say Marson is our #1 prospect it’s because he’s shown consistency and is more reliable. Carrasco may never be more than a #4 starter due to inconsistency. His short but effective stint at AAA is encouraging but leaves him far from proven. Maybe his ceiling is higher, maybe not. Carlos will have a learning curve and the Phillies would be better off with low expectations in his first two seasons. He seems like the type that could throw a no-hitter but still lose a dozen games until he puts it all together. Marson on the other hand has put his game together already. Sure, he has no AAA experience but the biggest leap is from A to AA and he made it look easy. I believe he’ll be even better once he sees ML pitchers a few times and gets a book on them. It’s tough to pitch to a guy who won’t swing at anything out of the zone. I like Ruiz a lot and he should be the starter coming into the season but Marson should be phased in and prepared to take over in 2010 if all goes well.
LikeLike
Just read on phillies nation the milaukee brewers just made a free agent signing. The brewers sign top free agent Swindle. can you believe it.
LikeLike
Lou Marson over Carrasco with a slim margin for me, I just feel Marson is the surer thing.
LikeLike
metsrule, Reading being a “hell hole” is a highly contested subject. Well, that is not really true. nowheels just says so in every single post he makes, while I occasionally point out obvious counterexamples to which he says nothing. I would be very interested in hearing the other poster’s opinions on this.
LikeLike
Yea, I think Nowheels has some personal vendetta against Reading. Maybe he got mugged there…. it is a crap town. Or maybe he has a personal vendetta because he played for the team like 800 years ago when he was in his hayday and never made it to the big show.
He never backs up his statements, so I guess we’ll never know.
LikeLike
Carrasco
LikeLike
Seems to me that rather than being some nefarious stop in the Phillies system, Just maybe a number of players struggle at Reading because the A – AA jump is the most difficult in baseball.
Not sure why it would be so surprising that a number of a-ball stars don’t pan out when making that jump. Not everyone who hits the system will become a big leaguer and it is often at AA where the culling of the herd happens.
LikeLike
Exactly. Its a lot more logical and constructive than just saying that Reading sucks. Look at the guys who become successful after a repeat year to get used to the new level of competition (ie Carrasco, who most people seem to be voting as our #1 prospect)
LikeLike
Let’s not ruin it. I enjoy my daily reminder that SOMETHING is rotten in READING.
LikeLike
Clearly the career statistics show that Donald is the best prospect.
LikeLike
Not sure where the Reading bashing is coming from…..this is where guys become legitimate prospects or get completely exposed! Seems to me I remember Madson, Myers, Duckworth…even Geary having fine seasons in Reading. As for Carrasco, Ive seen him pitch many times, and only once came away impressed. Kudos to Pat for calling him a #3 or #4 pitcher. Those above named pitchers all had great seasons and had many outings where they looked dominant….not sure that term can be used for CC.
As for Marson and his 5 HRs, he wasnt in Reading for the whole season, only had around 300 ABs, but had an on base percentage in the .420+ range.
Reading cant be that much of a hell hole for pitchers if Adam Eaton threw a no hitter here…albeit not a complete game. Pete Zamora a perfect game as well…
LikeLike
Daveb – Are you a Reading season ticket holder? If so, where do you sit? I’m thinking about getting a plan this year.
LikeLike
No more Swindle jokes, he just signed with the Brewers.
LikeLike
daveb (reading, pa)
There is a reason they fired the Reading manager. Where did they finish? Check the records of pitchers before and after
Reading . This isnt a slight against Reading just Forbes/Filer
and even Phils management(giving Outman’s starts to J.Durbin for example.) Pitching Bastardo with a sore shoulder wasnt real rea smart either.
Dave Huppert should of been your manager he loses very few pitcher and has a winning record Hopefully we will
bring u a winner next year if he gets the assignment
LikeLike
Swindle- yeah, and it was a Major League Contract.
So somebody likes him. Their views are contrary to
that of many of the experts on here.
LikeLike
Yep, kinda like a garage sale. One man’s trash ….
LikeLike