73 thoughts on “Friday ST discussion

  1. Nice to see he really does have some power, although the kids often seem ahead of the older players early in ST.

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  2. It was pretty awesome–with the wind blowing in, too. He’s so fast that he was halfway to third by the time it cleared the fence. As I typed this, brown just nailed a guy at the plate on a no-bounce rope from right. Sick.

    Matheison was supposed to pitch in the B game, right? Anyone know how we did.

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  3. Gillies home run was into the wind as well, so it wasn’t a cheapy. If he could produce an iso of .150 (i know its early and it was one home run and one double but its fun to get overly excited) with an avg around 300 and obp around 400 that is approaching star level.

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  4. The word on the street was someone in the org just loved Gillies. I forget who it was. I might end up eating my words on preferring Saunders.

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  5. Hey Rodeo. It was Pat Gillick who absolutely raved over him.
    It is good to see that he has some power. He doesn’t have to show a lot of it but the more respect you can get from opposing pitchers the better.

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  6. Aumont and Ramirez have had a slow start haven’t they?? lol Cataldi is gonna have a heart attack.

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  7. Bastardo looked very sharp, but by the time he appeared he was facing the dregs of the bench. Got at least two outs on pitches the scoreboard clocked at 81, presumably his changeup. Fastball (again, FWIW) was showing up in the 92 mph range, or as advertised.

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  8. They shouldn’t even keep box scores the first 5 games or so, while everyone is getting his timing. Fun to see the nice stuff (Gillies HR!!!), but pay little attention to early struggles. To many variables early on.

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  9. If Gillies shows Victorino / Carl Crawford level power he is an all star. Everything else is that good.

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  10. Prospects most intersted in following this year:

    1. Domonic Brown
    2. Tyson Gillies
    3. Sabastian Valle
    4. Jiwan James
    5. Jonathon Villar

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  11. Interesting idea.

    1. Jiwan James
    2. Phillippe Aumont
    3. Tyson Gillies
    4. Anthony Gose
    5. Michael Stutes

    Outside the org.
    1. Michael Taylor
    2. Stephen Strasburg
    3. Sergio Santos
    4. Jason Heyward
    5. Mark Angelo

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  12. Sorry kind of off topic but I was reading a Klaw chat and he actually had something positive to say about a Phils prospect!

    Q: What are your thoughts on Trevor May? Is he a guy you can see jumping into the Top 100 next year?

    A: Yes, definitely a breakout guy.

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  13. Michael Stutes is an interesting name to mention as someone to follow. Usually when he is mentioned, Vance Worley is mentioned along with him. There has not been much talk about Stutes since the last year.
    Does he still have the systems’s best slider, as Baseball America claims?

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  14. There’s a bit of backstory. Stutes I saw start a game when I went to Williamsport in 2008. Later in the season I took the trip to Lakewood, Stutes started that game as well. I go to Reading for the 2009 exhibition charity game, and Stutes is starting for the R-Phils. I’ve already seen him start for three teams, I’d get a kick out of seeing him pitch for the Ironpigs (and hell, with the big club too).

    There’s a special fun with seeing a player rise all the way up the ladder. This year we’ll likely see the first players from the Phillies’ Williamsport teams reach the majors.

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  15. Like everyone else when the Phillies traded Lee, I was devastated. Next, I immediately went to check out the Mariners prospects to see who the guys were coming back. My first reaction was why not Morrow or Saunders or the young shortstop. However, unlike any time in the past 25 years, since Pat Gillick has left his mark on this club, my reaction evolves into, “Someone in the organization must think very highly about these guys and they have earned my trust.” (See Jason Werth, Shane Victorino, J. C. Romero)
    I will continue to watch these guys closely and hope they develop. One thing you can say about Aumont, Gillies and Ramirez is they all have great tools. Now it is up to the staff to develop them.
    I don’t fear that Gillies cannot develop a little pop in his bat. There is no reason to think he could not be a 10-15 home run guy in CBP. More important would be shooting the ball in the gaps and utilizing his best tool, speed.

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  16. Top 5 guys I am interested in this year:
    1. Bastardo
    2. Brown
    3. Gillies
    4. Aumont
    5. May

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  17. You know, I listed my top 5 guys to follow, but then realized we have some pretty good stuff going on down on the farm. I am totally interested in watching Santana, Ramirez, Valle and Gose too. That is 9 pretty good prospects. There are more behind that too.
    The thing I would like to see most of all is a few infield prospects start to develop. Critical year in the infield on the farm. Let’s see Singleton, Galvis, anyone really push into the prospect mode.

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  18. 1) Gillies
    2) Singleton
    3) Brown
    4) Santana
    5) Aumont

    Singleton/Santana’s potential is so high that I will be paying attention to them more than most.

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  19. I’m really curious about Erik Campbell, the third basemen they signed. It’s pretty rare that a prospect gets it together at his age, but it’s not unheard of i.e. Josh Hamilton. It would be huge if they could develop a quality prospect at third, a position that seems pretty weak throughout the majors right now.

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  20. looks like Dom Brown had a good day yesterday as he had two hits and threw out a guy at home and almost at second. The guys I want to keep an eye on this year:

    1. Dom Brown – will he be our corner OF in 2011 or 2012
    2. Tyson Gillies – can he prove some of the skeptics wrong that his numbers were inflated in a hitter friendly league. I’m excited about him and possibly in the OF in 2012 for the Phils.
    3. Phillipe Aumont – starter or reliever. I would like to see him get 100-120 ip in this year at Reading and take it from there.
    4. Freddy Galvis – we know he can field can he hit. I would like to see how he does in a full year in Reading
    5. Trevor May – is he a future starter for the Phils. Would like to see him pitch close to 120 innings at ClW/Rea. A lot of hype with him.

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  21. 2 of the players on Dphrey’s list I considered for my top 5, Santana and Dugan. I am holding back my enthusiasm on Santana because he is so far away. Interested in seeing what they saw in Dugan to draft him so high. It must be more to him than meets the eye.

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  22. I will likely be making more trips to Reading this year.
    Brown, Gillies, Aumont, Ramirez, Galvis et al should be there at the beginning.
    Fast risers promoted from Clearwater are always something to look forward to as well. Could we see T.May there after A.S. breaks?

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  23. The following sequence just happened in todays game: gillies walks–sorry, dashes to 1b, runner on 3d. sac fly gets runner home from 3d, gillies scampers back. gillies steals second after breaking once the pitch was almost in the catcher’s glove already–not sure if that was an intentional delayed steal or he’s just that fast. inning ends on weak popup. Gillies was almost to home from second by the time the ball hit the center fielder’s glove. I love this guy.

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  24. As reported Gillies with a SB. I think (or is it hope) this guy is going to be special. Dom Brown with another hit. Rosenberg pitches 2 innings with 2K’s no runs 2 hits and no runs allowed

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  25. Gillies just made sliding catch to end the 8th, popped up, ran into dugout so fast he beat half the infield. Ok–who’s going to start the Tyson Gillies facts page?

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  26. My top 5 guys to watch will be the guys I literally get to watch — in person, either at Reading or Allentown:
    1.Gillies
    2.Aumont
    3.Ramierez
    4. Brown
    5. Galvis

    Of the guys that I can only read about:
    1. Valle
    2. Santana
    3. Cosart
    4. May
    5. Colvin

    Of the ones that got away, Taylor will always be #1 for me. He was a pleasure to watch last season.

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  27. Not sure if the ST game is over. They are tied 3-3 in the 10th. Sanchez who struck out the side against FSU struck out 2 in a perfect 10th.

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  28. I was gonna mention Sanchez who has performed pretty well to this point. Havn’t seen any of those games though. Outside of Ramirez and Aumont every pitcher has looked pretty good. Even Savery. I know it was a college game but it was still a good outing for him.

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  29. The top guys I am not that interested in. The players I most anticipate following:
    1.May
    2.Way
    3.Hyatt
    4.Colvin
    5.Cosart
    6.Sanchez
    7.Pettibone
    8. De Fratus

    Other then May if a couple of these guys have break out years our system will be back to where it was before we traded for that lefty from Cleveland

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  30. Does this mean they are looking at Sanchez as a closer down
    the road or are the lidgeing their bets.

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  31. Gillies could/should replace Victorino who can be used to obtain that/those 3rd baseman and catcher that are AWOL from the pharm system. THAT thought is based on the expectation that The Gil will continue to sparkle at AA and AAA, perhaps in 2010.

    His promise is to head up the lineup improving on a .320 OBA for our recent leadoff guys (See J-Roll). Gillies just might reach a .370 level that alows for bases filled for succeeding hitters plus many stolen bases that turn singles into doubles.

    Vic continues to play a super center field and ciontributes a OBA of near .350 (?) and plenty of stolen bases and throwing people out on the bases or inhibiting their progress to the next base. A valuable trading piece for obtaining 2 fillings for our lineup.

    Go Gil!

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  32. art d, dont say that too loud. Apparently, it has been established that having talented Center Fielders at every level of the minors is a problem.

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  33. I’m interested in seeing the big club making changes at the following positions in 2011 and 2012, and, so, I will be watching closely these prospects:
    LF (2011) – Brown
    CF (2012) – Gillies and Gose, maybe James
    Closer (2012) – Aumont
    No. 3 Starter (2012) – May and Ramirez

    Cosart, Colvin, Santana and Valle are four others whose progress I will follow.

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  34. Looking at everyone’s list I wish I had added Singleton, May, Colvin, Ramirez, Gose, Dugan and Jiwan James among others. Then I look at my list and i really am interested most in brown aumont gillies santana and cosart. What I am trying to get at is that if nothing else this is going to be an extremely interesting season for the Phillies Pharm system. In a normal year i might be excited to follow three or four guys, this year the list is at ten to fifteen. Should be a fun year everyone!!

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  35. Brown will get lots of press and will be easy to follow.

    The guys I’m most interested in seeing perform this year:
    Singleton
    Santana
    Cosart
    Colvin
    Valle

    And then, after that, some of the other guys who will get press, like Gose and Gillies. Valle actually only makes the list as the last guy left who can catch and hit.

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  36. If we have Gillies and Brown, does that mean Werth has no chance of being with the team next year? And is it true that Gillies has more upside than the departed Taylor?

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  37. By the way:

    Did anybody notice that they had Brown play in LEFT FIELD part-time in a game or two of ST.

    I take note; looking at the near future, wouldn’t it be just ducky to have Brown play LF after Ibanez leaves, and Werth remain (re-signed) in right field. Does this–with only a little stretch–indicate the Phils’ plans to re-sign Werth?!

    Makes sense…it could be a hint of things to come.

    If so, I whole-hearted agree, and would be thrilled if that came to pass!

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  38. I would have to say I am most interested to see Singleton because I believe he can be the next phenom. Also if he has a great 2010 it can really change the outlay of the franchise with Howards contract up in 2011.

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  39. I doubt a good 2010 season by Singleton in NYpenn or Lakewood will impact Ryan Howard’s standing on the team. Singleton will be heading to Clearwater or Reading at best, when it is time to decide whether to re-sign Howard. Singleton will not be ready until 2015.

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  40. Dr. Steve —
    I certainly hope it doesn’t mean that. An OF of Brown/Gillies/Werth works perfectly well for 2012, which is when Gillies will be ready. Whether we keep Werth has everything to do with $ and nothing to do with Brown and Gillies. Of the three, Werth is the only legit big power hitter. He’s also RH and Brown is not. Brown may well develop significant powere, but Gillies is highly unlikely to. Gillies is tied to Victorino.
    I wouldn’t say Gillies is a better prospect or higher ceiling than Taylor. They are on different axes. Gillies can play great CF and steal a ton of bases, something Taylor will never do. But Taylor can be the masher that Gillies will never be. At their full development, one would hope Gillies is the prototypical leadoff hitter and Taylor the prototypical 3- or 4- hole hitter. Taylor is certainly closer to that potential than Gillies is. I’d say their potentials are roughly equivalent in overall quality, but with very different components.

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  41. I like what I’ve seen from Gillies so far– but speed is easier to come by than power. All things considered, I’d still trade him for Taylor back in a second.

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  42. If singleton has a really good year either this year or next at such a young age I could see it affecting the Phillies contract situation with Howard. I say this because I see Howard wanting a 5 year deal and the Phillies will be reluctant to do that especially if they see something in Singleton by 2011. At that point Singleton will probably have a season at Cleareater and it isn’t crazy for management to include him in their future plans. If they can get Howard on a 3 year deal then you are right as it becomes completely irrelevant.

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  43. “… speed is easier to come by than power. All things considered, I’d still trade him for Taylor back in a second.”

    I would also trade Gillies for Taylor right now. My decision would not be based on power though. It would be based on the fact that Michael Taylor is closer to the majors and more of a sure thing at this point. Not so sure speed is easier to come by than power. There are a lot of speed guys, but there are not that many speed guys that are good hitters.
    Taylor was great and he was my favorite prospect the last 2 years, but his numbers compare to Marlon Byrd. Taylor is not a sure fire HOF. He looks like he will be a very good player. But If Gillies produces a .300/.380/.415 line in Reading this year, he will compare to Jacoby Ellsbury.

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  44. I think anyone in their right mind would trade Gillies for Taylor if they could. Nobody on the other end of that trade would ever make it though.

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  45. It seems to me the answer to the question of Taylor vs. Gillies depends on whether or not the Phils re-sign Werth. If the Phils re-sign Werth, their greatest outfield need is a future CF, which may be Gillies. If the Phils don’t re-sign Werth, their greatest outfield need is a corner outfielder (and bats right), which would be Taylor. Since the Phils had to trade either Brown or Taylor in the Halladay deal and since they kept Brown, a left-handed bat, this suggests that the Phils will try to re-sign Werth, their only right-handed power bat. That, in turn, suggests Gillies is more important right now to the Phils than Taylor, even though Taylor could end up having the better career.

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  46. “Since the Phils had to trade either Brown or Taylor in the Halladay deal’
    Certainly the Phil knew Gillies for coming and knew the Jays were not really interested in Taylor since they traded him for a lesser player.
    Then Ruben wanted Taylor out period. Why??? The whole thing is stupid. Gillies looks great so far ,so what. Anyone believe they will trade Vic this year(if ever).
    Looked like Aumont was coming apart again. then came
    Pat the bat with a helpful DP. nice!

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  47. MLB Network has the ST game at 1pm Monday. According to the Yankees’ press notes, it’s Javier Vazquez against Kyle Kendrick.

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  48. Feeling bad for Aumont right now. Perception is this kid was on no one’s radar screen before he gets dealt for Cliff Lee and now he is struggling with the notoriety….Gillies on the other hand seems to be seizing his opportunity.

    His best case scenario will be that Hamels bounces back and either Blanton or Kendrick really steps up to solidify our starting staff. If any of those guys really struggles then the attention will keep falling back to the trade.

    None the less its going to be interesting.

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  49. I don’t think it’s accurate to say Aumont was on no one’s radar. He was a first round pick and had a high profile outing at the World Baseball Classic.

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  50. I don’t think its inaccurate at all to say he was not Seattles Top Tier Pitching prospect. I don’t think its inaccurate to say in every farm system there is usually 1-3 “Chosen Ones” so to speak and everyone else usually gets to fly under the radar.

    My point is the masses will talk about a guy like Heyward, Storen, Smoak, Drabek etc…I could find any old articles where people were talking about Aumont is all I’m saying.

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  51. I just got back from a wekend at ST. Lots of interesting things to throw out here: Collier said he’ll be out 4-6 more weeks. He really seems to have his head on straight and seems like a great kid and definitely added some muscle from last year. Gilles = WOW! He will be a major fan favorite. He runs everywhere and just seems to love to play with an infectious personality. Jiwan James is very Hollywood in a nice way and reminds me of J Roll in personality. Brian Gump hopes to start at Clearwater. Kennelly is a full time catcher. Jesus Sanchez threw sinking heat on Saturday and looked great, Naylor looked much better than I remembered and Savery unfortunately looked exactly the same. I keep seeing comments on Valle that he’s 6’1″ so I thought he must have grown since last ST. Well he hasn’t and he’s still about 5’11’. DeFratus is very broad shouldered while Cisco is tiny. The position players are supposed to be on the field today after getting their physicals yesterday. The pitchers and catchers (120 of them) had their physicals on Saturday and were on the field yesterday.

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  52. Thanks Murray. I was supposed to be down there with you but my wife has been a little under the weather. FL might have made her feel better but she’s more of a White Sox fan and was only going to appease me. Maybe next year.

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  53. Bastardo is aboutthe same height as Cisco but he’s a little thicker. Cisco looks the same size as my average sized 17 yr old son (he is not blessed with Domingo Santana’s 17 yr old size). The knock against Cisco all along was that he wasn’t big enough or strong enough to be a starter and I see where they’re coming from on the physical appearance aspect. With his pinpoint control though, I can see him as a “condrey” (a cheap but very effective reliever for 2 innings, as defined last week). By the way, the weather yesterday was nice but Saturday was still a bit breezy and chilly. With us previously defining 7 possible starters at Reading, it will be interesting to see if the team considers pushing Aumont or Ramirez down. I don’t think they will because there’s a full rotation there too and no player wants to go backward but its possible.

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  54. My Top 5 players i’ll be watching:
    1. Domonic Brown
    2. Tyson Gilles
    3. Jared Cosart
    4. Domingo Santana
    5. Anthony Gose

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  55. Hags, nice top 5 to watch. I might have to sneak May, Colvin, and Shreve on that list somewhere too but then its starting to look like a top 10 list….

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  56. Does anyone know anything about Shreve. Is he ready to pitch now? And where will he start? I assume Williamsport.

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