Over at CSN, Jim Salisbury has been going position by position through the Phillies system, talking about the prospects the organization likes at certain positions, etc etc. So far he’s covered catcher, first base, and second base. Check out his writeups and feel free to discuss them in this post, which I can bump up if it falls off the first page. Thanks to reader “David” for pointing out the story to me.
Also, a thank you to Todd, a contributor here who maintains the updated depth charts and 40 man roster entries you can find at the top of the main page. He recently created a spreadsheet in google documents with every player in the organization, prospect and career minor leaguer alike, and how that player was acquired. You can find it on the Rosters Page at the top of the site or by clicking here.
Phuture Phillies 
Thanks David, this will be a great aid for my annual spring training trip.
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That’s good stuff. I don’t tend to worry about first base since it has the been chance of being filled by a good bat currently at another position.
It’s amazing to review how many catchers the Phillies have traded in the last calender year, 4 who will probably all get at least a sniff of the Bigs. That’s incredible.
There’s more hope at second then I would have thought. If one of those guys can develop over the next 2 years that really makes moving Utley to first appealing.
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Thanks Todd. I really enjoy guessing on the strategy of managing the 40-man roster. And the list of all “Phillies” is quite impressive.
40-man looks pretty good. Only Bocock seems like a complete waste. Naylor and Zagurski need to show something this season to remain with the organization.
But I am pleased that Carpenter, Kendrick, and even Happ have options remaining. A controlled starting pitcher is a valuable commodity. Escalona, Bastardo, and Mayberry all can be shuttled up to fill temporary needs for the next two years.
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Well, he mentioned Jesus Sanchez for our bullpen, but not Schwimmer. Is Schwim that far off the radar of these guys?
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I was never impressed with Salisbury, but at least he s trying to be comprehensive here and educating the general public on our system and depth.
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He probably mentioned Sanchez because hes on the 40 man roster, Schwimer isn’t, and that will be a consideration.
Salisbury did a Q/A for this site a few years ago leading up to the draft, and he’s always been good on draft coverage/prospects. I kind of wish more of the beat writers would get involved in the minors aspect, moreso than just name dropping guys they hear other people mention. I’d be more than happy to help them.
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Salisbury is one of the better writers. He’s certainly a step up from Bill Conlin and his ilk.
Since PhxPhilly mentioned Zagurski, I think he’s a real sleeper this season. This is a guy who came off TJ surgery and posted a 10.3 K/9 ratio his first season back. I think he’s above Escalona in terms of ability.
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Not much in that rehash. He must of written on the train to Paoli.
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Salisbury is one of the very few writers who would mention Dewan’s fielding metrics at all. Nice to see someone use advanced stats in the mainstream media.
Hope he got a raise to move to Comcast.
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Will concede that Salisbury addresses topics I and others finds value in. But my personal view is that he can be pretty lifeless as a writer. I have always liked Conlin and other writers who bring inspired and energetic writing to the sports scene. Salisbury brings some knowledge and relevance but not a lot of writing talent. I know others will disagree (have heard the arguments) and I know Conlin really sucks at times on issues many of us find important, me included, but he and a few others led the way in challenging the crappy management of Phils over many years. And he was a good writer for long time and can still bring it to the plate with some sauce at times.
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I think Salisbury is a step down from Bill Conlin. Bill’s forgot more about baseball than Salisbury knows.
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Does anyone really believe in these defensive metrics? I saw one or two that had Jimmy Rollins rated the 8th best shortstop in the NL. I moved on right there.
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Most fielding metrics are based on range and Jimmy Rollins’ range is not great. He has sure hands and has the most accurate arm in baseball. The plays he gets to, he makes. He does not get to as many as the other shortstops though.
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Offensive metrics have Rollins rated pretty badly as well. Do we stop believing in them? Defensive metrics are fine as long as you recognize their limitations.
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A man’s got to know his limitations.
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Jimmy rollins doesnt have range?? That is not true at all.Did you watch him play,my god he is making plays others shortshops only dream of, the double play to clinch two years ago,over the second base bag he went on a righthanded hitter. what rollins are you watching.
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Negative metrics never apply to your favorite players…
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someone mentioned Bastardo as a “temporary” need. Based on the quotes from Amaro, he will get every opportunity to stick in the bullpen with the Big Club.
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mikemike, yes I have watched Jimmy Rollins. I have watched every Phillies shortstop since Larry Bowa. I see the plays that Rollins makes and he is great. That has nothing to do with how he grades out statistically.
If you do not understand defensive metrics, why comment. Learn what they mean first, then argue the merits or the factors that influence the numbers.
An easy number for you to start with is Range Factor. Check Rollins’ RF and you will see that he makes fewer plays per game than a lot of the top Shortstops.
I could argue against Range Factor, because many things influence it, but I wont make your argument for you.
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I think there is still a rather good chance that Mike Zagurski becomes a major league player. The hope, I suspect, is that he becomes another Scott Eyre, which isn’t such a bad thing.
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mike77
Far be it for me to get into stat disagreements but if the RF
is low for Rollins, a serious factor is that until Halladay the Phils have had no ground ball starters. While that may help the Rollins debate, it begs a stranger question. Since the nonGB
starter have been successful will a GB pitcher work here.
I suspect a great pitcher is just that no matter what stuff he throws but …….
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I personally don’t believe Mike Zagurski is a major league pitcher. Bastardo very much is, with Escalona a bit behind him. Zagurski trails them both by a wide margin. But if Zagurski saved his DL money, he’s well of for life.
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Agreed that Bastardo is a major league pitcher – he’ll log a lot of innings this year in middle relief. He throws pretty hard and his FB is hard to pick-up. If he stays healthy and develops command of a good off-speed pitch, his career could really take off. It will be fun to watch.
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Minor leaguers sign split contracts. Chances are, he did not make any significant money during the past 2 seasons.
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I think it would depend on whether he was placed on the DL while on the 25 man roster or not.
Just a guess.
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Does anyone know when the minor league rosters will be announced? Thanks.
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The minor league rosters won’t be announced until the end of spring training. They start by issuing the spring training groups at the beginning of ST. However, its just a general indication because lots of guys will get cut and lots of AAA guys start with the big club before they’re assigned down.
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The Reading Phillies website has had recaps of minor league Spring Training games the last few years. Many players will play at all different levels during the Spring. As above they do start in workout groups, then there is a game playing portion , and rosters are decided right before the minor league seasons begin (full season), and then some will stay in Extended Spring Training.
Speaking of Salisbury, he has some interesting notes on CSN currently. Among them:
Ruben Amaro Sr. can not work for Phillies due to organizational nepotism rule. So he went to Astros.
Anthony Gose has worked with Maury Wills in offseason.
Scott Mathieson’s father was Tyson Gillies’ youth baseball coach.
When the Phillies scouted Michael Taylor at his Orlando High School , they wanted to draft his teammate a SS they wanted to convert to3B…Zach Greinke. So who says they weren’t looking to develop a prospect at 3B?
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So Amaro Sr. goes to work for Eddie Wade, eh. Eddie would make a fabulous politician with all the back-door deals and money exchanging hands these days. He’d be perfect, but he’d probably have to take a 66% pay cut
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