Monthly Archives: March 2010

Two quick hits

Spring Training 2010

These come courtesy of Frankie Piliere, the resident scout for AOL Fanhouse, who was at Phillies camp yesterday.

• One thing minor-league spring training gives us is a look at raw, talented young pitchers. Right-handed hurler Juan Sosa stood out among the Phillies’ low-level squads on Monday. The 20-year-old out of the Dominican Republic looked unpolished but showed enough raw stuff to be a commodity worth following closely. Sosa worked at 90-91 mph with his fastball, reaching 92 a handful of times. He also mixed in the makings of a solid-average breaking ball at 75-77 mph, with which he seemed able to throw strikes. His delivery is inconsistent, and he has some problems working from the stretch. This isn’t a guy that will make an immediate impact, but with his live arm and solid breaking ball he is player worth monitoring.

• Yohan Flande, a participant in the 2009 Futures Game, looks like he a way to go in terms of building up his arm strength. Flande sat around 84-87 mph with his fastball on Monday, well below his usual 91-92. The 24-year-old southpaw’s command was also somewhat inconsistent. It’s not much of a concern, but he’s certainly not near full strength yet.

Tuck it away for a later date.

Also, Jim Salisbury has an excellent little article on Jarred Cosart here.

Zagurski Optioned

Other Stuff

Left Handed Relief Pitcher Mike Zagurski was optioned to Minor League camp today, leaving Antonio Bastardo as the last man standing in the competition for the LOOGY poisition in the Phils bullpen.  Zagurski came on strong at the end of last season pitching in Reading after missing a good deal of time recovering from surgery.  Bastardo, 24, pitched very well in the Minors last year before coming up and making several spot starts for the Phils before being shut down with shoulder problems.  Bastardo seems to have recovered from his shoulder issues and spent the Winter pitching in the DOminican League.

Breakout candidates for 2010

Other Stuff

I figured a post like this (and one looking at guys I’m worried about) would be a good topic as the season gets close. I’m not really sure if “breakout” is the word I’m looking for, but basically I’m putting together a list of 6 players (3 position players, 3 pitchers) who I feel will take steps forward in 2010. Either this means they are rebounding from a poor season, or they are going to surpass expectations this season. I won’t include guys on my Top 30 list, since I obviously feel highly about those guys anyway and I’ve discussed many of them at great length. I’m going to use this piece as a way to talk about a few guys that I maybe haven’t given as much time to. So check below and we’ll get started.

Continue reading Breakout candidates for 2010 →

New message board in the works

New Site Features

I wasn’t happy with the board I created last year, but I found a new free site, the setup is much better (I think) and hopefully it will prove much more useful during the season. This board, unlike the last one, is much more customizable, as it utilizes the phpbb software. I am, however, unskilled when it comes to updating/editing the appearance of the board. So, if you have experience working with phpbb and know how to alter the code to change the colors/board header and you’d like to help, please send an e-mail to phuturephillies at gmail dot com. I’m also looking for someone to offer their services to design a banner/header image for the site, so if you have those graphics related skills, also do send me an email, Id greatly appreciate it.

For now, you can check out the board here and sign up. Its just a skeleton setup with basic rules, but you’re free to join, play around and discuss. As I figure out the ins and outs and hopefully work with someone I can improve the aesthetics and features of the place. My hope is that it provides useful during the season and gives another outlet for the good discussions that generally spill across multiple articles here. I know its common sense (and I noted it in the rules there), but please only sign up with your name from here, it will create far less confusion and its just common sense. Thanks.

Thoughts on David Herndon

Spring Training 2010

Had my first good look at his in today’s game against Detroit. Though his minor league peripherals weren’t amazing last year, he generates a good amount of groundballs, and seeing his sinker today, its not tough to figure out how he does it. He also snapped off two nice sliders on the outer half to RHB, and then threw a softer slurvy type breaker on the inside corner which just missed. Without radar gun readings on the tv screen, it looked like he was able to add/subtract a bit on his sinker. The Phillies have to decide what to do in the bullpen, and it could be really tough to keep him. With the two injured pitchers out, the locks are

Madson, Baez, Contreras, Durbin

Bastardo is a near lock as the only healthy lefty.

That leaves Herndon and Mike Zagurski, the latter hasn’t thrown much at all. Zagurski has one option left, I believe, so he could be sent to the minors without losing him to waivers, while Herndon has to stay on the 25 man roster. Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer are battling for the 5th spot. Kendrick has options left, Moyer obviously doesn’t. When Lidge and Romero come back, it could set off a chain reaction which will ultimately lead to Herndon getting squeezed out. If the Phillies like him enough to think he could help later in the year, they’d have to work out a trade for his rights with Anaheim.

Thinning Ranks

Other Stuff

Three more Phils were sent from Major League Spring Training to the Minors late yesterday.  SS Brian Bocock, 1B Andy Tracy and Relief Pitcher Ehren Wasserman all were re-assigned to Minor League camp, leaving the Phils with 35 on their roster.  Both Wasserman and Tracy are expected to be on the Lehigh Valley opening day roster with Bocock’s assignment a bit more of a question mark depending on the Phils needs throughout the system.

Escalona Optioned

Other Stuff

Left Handed Reliever Sergio Escalona was optioned to the minors today after struggling this Spring.  With JC Romero almost a certainty to begin the season on the DL, the remaining competition for his roster spot as a late inning lefty out of the ‘pen is between Antonio Bastardo and Mike Zagurski.  Although Bastardo has more “upside” then Zagurski, Zagurski has been far more effective thus far in Spring Training. Last years minor leaguers remaining in Major League camp include: Pitchers: Kendrick, Herndon(Rule 5), Bastardo, Zagurski, and Wasserman. 

Infielders: Bocock, Chavez, Ransom, Valdez, Tracy.  Catcher: Sardinha  Outfield:  Mayberry and Wise.

Phillippe Aumont article

Aumont, Phillippe

Check it out here in the Toronto Sun. Basically, its been a best case scenario since Aumont got to spring training. In my Top 30 writeup and everything I wrote after the Halladay/Lee deals, I indicated that I’d love to see Aumont moved back to the rotation, and that his mechanics/arm action be cleaned up. So far, the changes appear to be taking, and Aumont seems to have a great attitude toward everything. This is obviously extremely promising, and had I known the Phillies were going to follow this plan, I’d have probably ranked Aumont a few spots higher in my Top 30. Good stuff.

Also, keep an eye on the Reading Phillies website. They’ve been posting recaps of the minor league games being played between the Phillies and other AA affiliates. In the 8-1 win yesterday there were solid performances from Tyson Gillies and Michael Schwimer, among others.

Update –> Thanks for the mention in comments, the Blue Claws Blog has updates from all the games. Check it out here.

Friday Poll Question/Scheduling update

Other Stuff

Tentatively I’m hoping to have my list of breakout guys for 2010 published on Monday, I’ll have my potential busts for 2010 for Tuesday, and then the SONAR stuff for pitchers on Wednesday or Thursday. This is subject to change of course based on the amount of time I have over the next few days, but its my hope.

Today’s poll question;

Which Phillies centerfield prospect do you expect to have the better 2010, Anthony Gose or Tyson Gillies? Both guys have gotten lots of positive press, they’ll start 1 level apart and both should log 550+ PA’s. Both have intriguing skill sets, and there is a debate to be had over how they should rank on the Phillies Top 30. I ranked Gillies higher, but I can see the arguments for Gose. So, make your pick and take your stand.

SONAR scores by position

SONAR Scores

I hope all of you have read my revised and updated piece on the SONAR score published a few days, but if you haven’t, check it out before proceeding here. After my initial release, I went through each position and did an examination of the top 20 at each position. I’m not going to do the same in depth analysis here, I’m just going to give you the Top 25 at each position, and then brief general thoughts underneath each chart. I’ve chosen here to also break down the OF spots into the more traditional LF, CF, and RF. As always, SONAR is an attempt to look at a player’s secondary skills (plate discipline, raw power, speed) and ignore the more superficial stats like batting average, which are more luck influenced. SONAR represents a data point, a means for further exploration, its not a replacement for scouting reports or other statistics. So check below and we’ll get started.

Continue reading SONAR scores by position →