It turns out my 2 part column is turning into a trilogy…
November 22nd marked the start of my off season. During the off season I like to set short term goals for myself because that is the most effective way for me to obtain long term results. I broke down the off season into 4 sections, and had goals to achieve for each section.
Continue reading Catching Up… Part 2 (November 22nd- January 26th)
A few tidbits first reported by Jim Salisbury of Comcast Sportsnet. OF Zach Collier recently had wrist surgery to repair damage to the hamate bone. The surgery will set Collier back a few weeks, however, he should be back at full speed by the end of spring training. Collier was the 34th pick in the 2008 draft.
Additionally, the Phils signed two youngsters out of the DOminican Republic. 17 year old 6’6 pitcher Miguel Nunez received a $220,000 signing bonus, while 3B Maikol Franco (also 17) signed for $100,000. Both should see time with the Rookie League Gulf Coast Phils this Summer.
I’m going to put them into a matrix and upload it to the site over the weekend, so if you want to submit a personal top 30 list, please send it to phuturephillies at gmail dot com and also include the display name you’d like attached to your list. Thanks.
Today Baseball America released their Top 100 list for 2010, and two Phillies made the list
15. Domonic Brown
93. Phillippe Aumont
In the accompanying piece, they incorrectly list the Phillies as having 3 guys on the list, but the above 2 are the only 2 I found. More interestingly, the Phillies were 2nd in the category of “most prospects on list by original organization”, as there were 6, behind only Tampa Bay at 7. The other four were Drabek (25), Taylor (29), Knapp (64), and D’Arnaud (81). All of that said, I’m still glad we’ve made the moves we have. Another pennant, the best pitcher on the planet, and three good prospects is a worthwhile return for the prospects given up.
Welcome to my Top 30 prospects for 2010 extravaganza. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and then you’ll tell me after I’m done that I’m an idiot, and that your favorite prospect is ranked too low, while a guy ranked above him is ranked too high. It should be a good time. Before I get started with this year’s list, I wanted to look back at last year’s list and compare it to the lists put out by Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and Keith Law at ESPN for comparison’s sake, just to see how great/poor my list was. After that, I’ll talk a bit about how I came up with this list, the various challenges, and my expectations for 2010. If you have already purchased the 2010 Phillies Annual, edited by Jason from beerleaguer, then you’ve already had a chance to see my Top 30. I’ll dig in a bit deeper here and cover some things that I wasn’t able to fit into the Annual. So it should be fun. Lets get started.
Friend of phuturephillies Kevin Goldstein recently released his Top 15 Phillies prospects list, and he was kind enough to answer some questions for the site. As always, he provides some excellent insight into his rankings, as well as talking about a few guys who didn’t appear on the list. His answer on Phillippe Aumont gave me a bit more confidence in him, actually. So check below the fold for a Q/A with KG
It has been 163 days since my last entry, but no one is allowed to yell at me for my hiatus because I am writing this on February 19th, 2010, my 24th birthday. The past 163 days have been a complete roller coaster ride for my life and baseball career.
Continue reading Catching Up… part 1 (September 9th-November 25th)
Just a heads up. Kevin Goldstein has agreed to do a little Q/A here to talk Phillies prospects and I’ve sent him a list of questions. Check for his replies sometime next week. Also, the target date for my writeup on the top 30 prospects is Monday. I’m about half way through, it will come complete with stats, graphics, and lots of insightful commentary. So check back Monday for that, and then look forward to the wisdom of KG.
The Reader Top 30 is complete, with Drew Carpenter taking the 30th and final spot on the list, edging out Kyrell Hudson and Kelly Dugan. Participation was excellent this year, especially for the first 15 or so spots, as we regularly cracked the 400 vote mark. Check below the fold for the details of the final list
The next installment of the SONAR series is going to focus on corner outfielders. I’ve decided to group the two positions (LF and RF) together, because its common for prospects in the minors to switch between the outfield spots, and in many cases, you’ll see a player with 70 games in RF and 55 in LF, his team obviously sees him in a corner, and his arm is probably borderline in right field, but they are giving him a chance there. The difference in LF and RF is small, but it is an important difference. Rightfielders are required to make the longest throw, from the right field corner to 3B, while the LF’s longest throw is to home plate. A corner outfielder is less valuable than a CF in terms of defense, and a right fielder is a tick or two more valuable than a leftfielder. Both positions are more valuable defensively than 1B, though the offensive expectation in LF is slightly higher than RF. If you’re new to the concept of SONAR, how it works, what it means, etc etc, then I suggest you read this, then check here for more scores and information. Check below the fold for more
Phuture Phillies 