My time is short during the week, but I really had to point out Brody Colvin’s breakout. Back in April I said not to really worry about early struggles. The jump to full season ball for high school pitchers can be tough. Learning to throw every 5 days, dealing with the common arm soreness from a pro routine, bigger crowds and ball parks, tough lineups, its a learning process. Colvin’s splits, by month
April: 15.1 IP – 11.15 ERA – 23 H – 9 BB – 9 K – 0.85 GO/AO
May: 33.2 IP – 3.21 ERA – 28 H – 10 BB – 31 K – 0.94 GO/AO
June: 20.1 IP – 1.77 ERA – 16 H – 5 BB – 21 K – 2.08 GO/AO
Last 10 appearances: 59 IP – 3.05 ERA – 49 H – 19 BB – 55 K – 1.35 GO/AO
And that includes a horrendous 1.2 IP – 5 ER game on May 12th. Since that appearance he has 6 starts
39.1 IP – 1.61 ERA – 28 H – 9 BB – 39 K – 0 HR
And the scouting report matches. His fastball has been 93-94 and he’s hit 96 on occasion with improving command. I think if Jarred Cosart is 1-A in terms of pitching prospects, Colvin is 1-B. It will be interesting to see if Cosart is promoted in the next few weeks. I’d personally like to see both guys stay at Lakewood all season, and then move up the ladder at the same time. I think you’ll see a friendly rivalry develop there, and that could be beneficial for both of them.
Phuture Phillies 
Thanks for pulling the numbers together PP. Agree with your comment about keeping them together. I would love for them to be able to push each other a bit. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cosart stay all year in Lakewood, especially if they win the first half. Wouldn’t mind seeing him in the playoffs as May had that opporrunity last year.
Good luck with the site changes!
I couldn’t agree more about one level at a time. Imagine bringing them both up with May at the same time in 3-4 years. Halladay, Hamels, May, Colvin, Cosart? A guy can dream.
If Cosart is ready, and can handle the innings, I don’t see why it would be beneficial to hold him back. If they want to begin monitoring his innings, then it makes sense, but not to create rivalry with Colvin. If anything, Trevor May needs someone his age to compete with him.
My guess is that Cosart will go to Clearwater when he gets to about 100 innings with the intent to get him 3 starts there before they shut him down. They know what they have with him and want him back healthy and strong for next year. Colvin will probably stay at Lakewood. By the way, Cosart is competing with May more than Colvin right now but Colvin is certainly doing a great job getting himself into the discussion. His improvement during the year has been fantastic.
Colvin’s continued improvement is one of the biggest stories of this minor league season for the Phils. I’m especially encouraged by the improved ground ball rate in recent outings; it indicates that he’s really overpowering hitters.
Also, big thanks for the scouting report update. Really, really encouraging to hear him sitting 93-94, and I’m sure his curve ball has room to improve (which is a good thing).
For those who have seen Colvin, Cosart and May pitch, which of the three have the best secondary offerings?
“By the way, Cosart is competing with May more than Colvin right now”
I don’t understand the logic of this statement– Lakewood and Clearwater are pretty far removed from one another. I doubt these guys keep a leaderboard in thier minds of who the top Phillies pitching prospect would be– I see it as far more likely that two pitchers on the same team or two pitchers on opposing teams could develop a rivalry than two pitchers at different levels in different leagues in the same organization.
I wonder if Colvin will crack the top 100 this year, assuming his success continues. How awesome would it be to have…
Brown- top 10
Cosart- top 25
Singleton- top 50
Colvin- top 100
May- top 100
Our farm would be sick!
Colvin and Singleton step up this year in a big way and our middle of the pack system leaps into the top 10 with 5 possible players ranked in the 100 best. Minor league BB is fun. could U imagine if we traded any of them to bring C Lee back?
I can’t see how Colvin wouldn’t make everyone’s top 100 list. If he keeps pitching well, he’s easily a top 50 prospect. Colvin was very highly regarded out of high school, with a strong LSU commitment and has top of the rotation stuff, to go with decent command and a prototypical frame. If Colvin indicated that he was signable, he could’ve gone in the 1st round last year, and he’s already dominating in his first pro season.
A number of Lakewood players seem ripe for a promotion: Colvin, Cossart, Singleton and Wertz. I’d prefer to keep the group together and promote them all at once, but doing so could require a series of moves to make room in Clearwater. You also risk throwing off the sudden improvement of players like Hewitt, James and Valle. Also, bringing up a group of players could also discourage players who were excluded, despite outstanding seasons. Guys like Way, Hernandez, Diekman, Ellis, Barnes and Villar have shown enough to play in high A ball.
Individual promotions based on organizational depth avoids these potential conflicts. The most successful players from any draft class will end up playing together more often than not. Although the idea of keeping successful groups together appeals to me, I’m not sure how much the players really care. I buy into the notion that success breeds success, but I doubt that winning is so infectous it can be spread to another team.
Anytime a pitcher has a sub 1.2 WHIP in 70 innings or a batter has a .900 OPS in 100 ABs, they deserve a promotion. I think a number of talented Blueclaws would benefit from a challenge, but this has more to do with my philosophical differences with the Phillies front office than any notion about that group staying together. Sustained success should be rewarded with a promotion; the Phillies are too cautious with players who are performing very well.
Lee is going to be a free agent next year. We don’t have to trade to get him. We just have to be able to pay him.
Though I am very pleased with the quick development of Colvin I think it is way too premature to classify all these guys as Top100.
With AA generally considered the main proof a prospect’s value, the entire Lakewood team is about 2 years behind. Much can happen in those 2 years. Trevor May is still a great prospect but he has some significant adjustments to make with his control. If he doesn’t he be just another upside relief pitcher that one day might figure it out. He needed Clearwater to see that.
Same with Aumont. He’s lost now and tumbling down the prospect list. He might turn it around and move quickly when he does.
Clearwater already has a logjam of starters, so it would be hard to move one of these guys up without moving an A+ guy up at the same time. We’ll see how it all plays out.
I agree with PhxPhilly that it would be tough for all those guys to start next year in the top 100. Brown is a given, Cosart is likely barring something unforeseen, but Singleton and Colvin will have to sustain their recent high level of play for the rest of the year. May will likely have to demonstrate improved mechanics and control to make it. But to specifically address what Skunky said – it would be outrageously awesome and is not far-fetched.
I don’t know about that Happ strikes out less than 7 per nine, walks almsot 4, gives up more than one homer, and his BABIP was been below the league average, all while pitching in two hitters’ parks. I can’t argue with his success thus far, but sooner or later, the peripherals have to catch up with him, right? This is a great trade to follow over the next few years could end up being a win on both sides.
What the hell is going on with these weird comments. They have baseball content. But no context. Are they automated?