2011 Reader Top 30, #19

2011 Reader Top 30

Jon Pettibone easily took care of the voting for #18, so now we move forward. Before we do, just a note, I’ve now set up the comments of posts to where you can reply to someone’s comment directly. Its limited to 4 levels. It should hopefully make discussing something or a particular comment a bit easier. And now we go forward.

1. Domonic Brown, OF
2. Jon Singleton, OF
3. Jarred Cosart, RHP
4. Brody Colvin, RHP
5. Trevor May, RHP
6. Sebastian Valle, C
7. Vance Worley, RHP
8. Jesse Biddle, LHP
9. Tyson Gillies, OF
10. Justin De Fratus, RHP
11. Jiwan James, OF
12. Julio Rodriguez, RHP
13. Domingo Santana, OF
14. Aaron Altherr, OF
15. Phillippe Aumont, RHP
16. JC Ramirez, RHP
17. Matt Rizzotti, 1B
18. Jon Pettibone, RHP
19.

96 thoughts on “2011 Reader Top 30, #19”

  1. Good to see Galvis on the ballot.

    Galvis is truly awful with a bat in his hands and he isn’t a speed demon, either. Think Greg Golson without the speed and power.

    Monumentally inept.

    Sure, Galvis’ defense is super and he has some time on his side but I believe his ceiling is a defensive specialist, not an heir to the shortstop position of a contending major league club.

    In other words my Grandma hits better than Galvis.

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    1. Galvis could spend all of this year in AA and still be age appropriate for AA all of next year. Let’s see how Cesar Hernandez would do at the plate if he was put in AA this season; they’re practically the same age.

      The point is, Galvis has plenty of time to improve with the bat and he’s facing pitchers who are much more advanced than most players his age would be.

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    2. Adam Everett in his prime was a 2 WAR player despite an OPS of .700 and lower. That’s better than Ryan Howard or Raul Ibanez were last season. It’s only slightly worse than what Jeter did for the Yankees last season. It’s about even with what Marco Scutaro gave the Red Sox last season. It’s better than Elvis Andrus did for a World Series runner-up.

      Being a ++ fielder, especially at SS, is enough to have at very least decent value to a contending team.

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      1. Adam Everett had a .744 OPS in AA. Galvis has a .585 OPS. What makes you assume that Galvis could have a .700 OPS in the Major Leagues?

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  2. hyatt then dugan…sorry to galvis supporters but until he shows some ability to hit…he shouldnt even be considered

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  3. I like Garcia here – mostly because he’s projectable to the bigs right now, albeit as a utility guy, and showed consistency – 37 game hit streaks tend to make me think a guy is more than on a lucky roll or just playing above his league. Hernandez is potentially projectable to the bigs if he doesn’t, say, get eaten alive by A+ pitching in 2012, or something like that. A season from now, if Hernandez hits over .300 at A- and looks good doing it, and Garcia flounders at AA/AAA, I’ll certainly change my tune, but I am, as yet, unconvinced about Hernandez.

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  6. Hyatt…again.
    Agree with Xfactor on Galvis, defensive specialist at best. Pure late inning substitution off the bench to hold a lead not give you one.

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    1. I love that about Galvis though. You need guys like him on your bench. Your bench must consist of a stud glove, a guy who can run, and someone who can hit a sac fly (HR guy, I guess), aside from the two or three guys who can give the starters a day off.

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      1. I agree that Galvis’ ceiling is that of a defensive specialist; and I also agree that, as such, Galvis could fill an important role for the Phillies coming off the bench. Even to fill the role of a stellar, late-inning infield defensive replacement, though, Galvis will have to improve with the bat. Right now, Galvis looks like Izturis at the plate without Izturis’ pop.

        I think Galvis has a decent shot at a bench role on a major league roster. I have no idea where that ranks him on the prospect list.

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  7. You would think a pitcher that qualified for 2009 NYP Mid Season All Star team, 2010 FSL Mid & Post Season All Star Teams & FSL Most Valuable Pitcher award would be on his organizations “top 20”?? I certainly am not a scout nor an expert when it comes to talent evaluation, but I think I would trust the people voting for the pitcher mentioned above (regardless of his age). That pitcher would be Austin Hyatt… so I’m voting for him until he gets added to this list!
    Thank you for your consideration.

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    1. Managers vote for gold gloves in the majors too. And all advanced metrics indicate they have no idea what they’re voting for.

      The reason Hyatt isn’t considered an excellent prospect is because he has only average velocity (88-91), it doesnt have a ton of movement, and he lacks multiple above average secondary pitches. Its not because people hate him or dont want him to succeed. Right handed pitchers with average velocity, average command, and fringe average secondary pitches are normally middle relievers. Middle relievers don’t have a ton of prospect value.

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      1. I agree with rookie54, and not only for the reasons he stated. I am confused by phuturephillies comments on a couple of levels. First off, it’s very unusual for him to comment within the Reader Top 30. This is the first comment I recall from him within the poll this season. I thought that was intentional so as not to sway the reader vote. Why start now?

        Second of all, 2 of the facts he stated do not match my internet research. I read that his fastball velocity is in the 90s. For example, according to http://www.thegoodphight.com/2009/8/6/980317/austin-hyatt“, Kevin Goldstein in August 7, 2009 wrote in his blog, “The shocker here is that his fastball is suddenly up to 94 and he’s been the New York-Penn League’s most dominating arm, allowing just one run in 31 2/3 innings while compiling a 49/5 K/BB ratio and giving up just 14 hits.” Three MPH on the fastball would be big, but apparently Hyatt is inconsistent with his velocity, so it sounds like 89-94 is more accurate than 89-91. But the potential for 94 is there, particularly if he goes back to relieving.

        More importantly, regarding his “fringe average secondary pitches”, according to http://threshersbaseball.wordpress.com/tag/austin-hyatt/ going into the 2010 season “Baseball America credits Hyatt for having the second-best secondary pitches in the organization with a plus changeup and solid slider.” This offseason, Chuck Lamar was quoted, “He’s got an outstanding changeup and his velocity and command of his fastball are good enough” in http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101128&content_id=16220364&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp. On this very website (https://phuturephillies.com/2010/12/13/baseball-america-top-10/), Puko says: (December 13, 2010 at 12:54 PM) , “It’s interesting that the “Best Tools” sidebar that accompanies the article includes mostly pitchers absent from the Top 10–Aumont (curveball), Zeid (slider), Hyatt (changeup), and DeFratus (control).” The most glowing report of Austin Hyatt was by a rogue blogger who ranked him as the #76 prospect in baseball at the end of this season, http://baseballbloggersalliance.com/2010/09/the-top-100-mlb-prospects-2010-80-71/. You and I may disagree (strongly) with such a high ranking, but I do like his summary, “The move to the rotation has worked wonders for Hyatt’s changeup, which now pairs with his slider to give the righty two whiff-generating offerings. Reports on his velocity vary, as he fluctuates from the upper 80’s to low 90’s. He’ll need to get the velocity up more consistently to reach his ceiling.”

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      2. The FSL didn’t err on rating Hyatt highly. Those awards value performance regardless of prospect status or how success was attained. Of course as such they don’t have much value in rating prospects either.

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      4. I am confused by your comments on a couple of levels. First off, it’s very unusual for you to comment within the Reader Top 30. This is the first comment I recall from you wthin the poll this season. I thought that was intentional so as not to sway the reader vote. Why start now?

        Second of all, 2 of the facts you stated do not match my internet research. I read that his fastball velocity is 89-94. He is not consistent now, but the potential for a consistent 92-94 is there. Regarding his “fringe average secondary pitches” going into the 2010 season Hyatt was credited as having “the second-best secondary pitches in the organization with a plus changeup and solid slider.” This off-season, I read he has the best changeup in the organization and Chuck Lamar was quoted, “He’s got an outstanding changeup and his velocity and command of his fastball are good enough.”

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    2. His age in the FSL was only 1-year older than league average, and 2 years older than league average prospect. But his professional baseball experience of just a 1/2 a year was certainly way below average.

      Hyatt’s fastball is average velocity, ranging from 89-94, but his secondary stuff is exceptional. Hyatt has the second-best secondary pitches in the organization last off-season according to Baseball America with a plus changeup and solid slider. A year later, that publication said he has the best changeup in the Phils system today.

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      1. If Hyatt actually had a solid slider, and a 94 MPH fastball as a starting pitcher, he would be ranked in the top 10 on this list.

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    3. Sorry for the multiple posts. They weren’t appearing so I kept tinkering and trying again. I never had a problem like this before.

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  8. Garcia over Hernandez here for me in the battle of the 2B. I think both are pretty close (Galvis too), but Garcia has successfully climbed the ladder offensively. Galvis would do well to repeat the level and see if he can raise his offense a bit. Hernandez is 3 levels behind Garcia and while he might have better tools, also has more to prove.

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  10. I like Hernandez, Hyatt, and Garcia in that order. Other: Buchanan, who was very steady for Williamsport last year. I think he will move up quickly.

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  11. Thanks for the explanation PP, but doesn’t success come into play @ some point, with pitchers? I mean we’re not talking top 5, 10 or 15?
    I’m also curious? What’s the general concensus about Eric Pettis? I know he didn’t pitch many innings, but that was because he was overused in college… His numbers are very good, but are his peripherals, fastball spd, secondary pitches, etc. projectable for MLB potential as a lower half (4-5) starter??

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    1. Saw Pettis in person. Fastball sits about 87-88. Tremendous command, but I don’t think he projects as anything special going forward.

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      1. If you’ve seen Pettis, maybe you’ve also seen Mario Hollands. Any opinion on Hollands. He seems like a college pitcher that has some upside if he can learn to maintain his mechanics.

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  13. Cesar Hernandez,
    He looks very smooth and compfortable from both sides of the plate. Made All-NYpenn, playing better than most all of the older college guys he played against in the league.
    Although I don’t know the formula for SONAR, OBP, SB, BB% and K% seem to be weighed heavily. I would think he will have one of the higher SONAR scores this year (behind only Brown, Singleton and Rizzotti).

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  14. Hernandez. The Phillies are protecting him at age 20 out of low A. Somebody who does this for a living thinks other people might want him who do this for a living.

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  15. I’m going with Hernandez again. He seems to be our best IF prospect. Gotta have one IF in the top 20.

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  17. Voting Hernandez yet again. Really didn’t think he’d be here a full ten spots lower than I had him personally ranked.

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  19. not sold on Hernandez yet…he spent what 3 or 4 yrs in VSL. Would like to see full yr at Lakewood. Maybe will jump on bandwagon next yr. Thinking to go w/more established Hyatt and Zeid in next spots.

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    1. Hernandez spent two years in Venezuela. But if that’s our criteria, what about the five years Hyatt spent in the SEC?

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    2. He played pro ball in Venezuela at age 17 and 18, an age when American kids are playing HS ball. He played in the GCL at 19. He dominated in the NYPenn at 20. Where is this age nonsense coming from? He is age appropriate.
      Harold Garcia, who I like, was 21 when he played in NYPenn. He is the one who took 3 years to get to the states.

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      1. I definately have Hernandez above Garcia. I would have Hernandez behind Hyatt and Zeid. I’m hoping Hernandez does well but I want to see it in a more established league and for a full season. I think the most games he played in one year has been 60. Being ranked behind Hyatt, FSL pitcher of the year, and Zeid, AFL all-star, is not bad for Hernandez.

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  20. Freddy Galvis. He’s going to play in the majors. He will most likely not be a starter, but then again we are no longer in top prospect range. Cesar Hernandez looks good too both on numbers and from BA’s ranking of him. But he’s in low-A and Freddy is in AA. It is a nice compliment to be protected at Hernandez’s age and level, but it is a better compliment to be in AA at Freddy’s age. Maybe Freddy will never hit; maybe he will. Maybe Cesar Hernandez will find power and become a stud; maybe he will fizzle at Lakewood. Who knows? Some prefer Cesar’s ceiling, I personally prefer Galvis’s higher probability of becoming a major leaguer.

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    1. How does Galvis’ glovework compare with Rollins’? I recall reading that Rollins has a stronger arm. What about range? The consistency on routine plays? The ability to make spectacular plays?

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  21. Voting for Hyatt. I have Hyatt, Zeid and Hernandez lumped in this next group of prospects. It’s time we list Schwimer too.

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  22. I have been pretty good at picking the winner, but it looks like my vote for Hyatt will fail to the Cesar Hernandez voting bloc. He had to win one week!

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  23. I saw Galvis two years ago when he first promoted to Reading. Smooth as silk. He has a strong arm although I’m not sure it’s as good as Rollins. He can pick it and he’s a take charge SS. Everything is his in the infield.

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  24. I voted for Hernandez an INF. But as we all knew this list would be dominated by Pitchers & OFer’s. The question is; with this years draft coming up do the Phils go for the best players in the early rounds or do they go for a 3B or SS?

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    1. Now that I think I figured out how the compensatory draft choices are handed out, it appears the Phillies first pick will be 39th or 40th depending on whether Carl Pavano re-signs with Twins. So, if they are going to stipulate a 3B or SS they may only be picking the 100th best player overall or later according to their rankings even, though it is not an exact science, so they should only go that route if it comes to them naturally.

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      1. They must have a pick around the 100s. Or maybe even the 80s. I’d go for one there, as it is a glaring weakness in what is otherwise a great farm system. Or maybe the Phillies finally trade one of our AA pitching talents for an infielder.

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  25. I gave a write in for Scott Mathieson at this point. Granted, this may be a bit low. But factoring in his age, injury, etc., I put him here. You would think that the Paul Owens Award winner as organization minor-league Pitcher of the Year deserves some mention on this list. He has rookie eligibility, is out of minor-league options (I believe, unless there is another technicality) and will be in the big-leagues this season…either with the Phillies or someone else. Just my two cents.

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    1. Mathieson is not out of options. He has one option left.

      He was optioned only in 2006 and 2010.

      However in order to use that last option, he has to clear “optional waivers” similar to like he did in 2010. “Optional waivers” are required of all players who had been added to the 40-man roster for the first time more than 3 years prior to when the team wants to option them to the minors. Unlike normal waivers, “optional waivers” are recallable if a claim is filed which means that 99.5% of the time the player will clear “optional waivers”.

      Mathieson cleared “optional waivers” twice in 2010. The first time was after spring training and the second time was on June 19, 2010. Unlike in June 2010 when the Phillies had to DFA Mathieson in order to allow sufficient time for the waivers to clear, the Phillies should not have to do it this year to send him to the minors.

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    2. Yeah I’m intrigued by Mathieson. Maybe he is the Heath Bell of the phillies. Didn’t Bell rot in the Mets system for 8 years? I know Mathieson had the injuries to contend with, but he still has a live arm. I am hoping he can have a good spring and maybe land a spot in the bullpen.

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  26. If I’m the Phillies, I have let the Freddy Garcia thing play itself out. Probably the worst thing that will happen is that he will become a truly phenomenal late-inning replacement infielder.

    Also, like catchers, slick-fielding shortstops often develop their hitting skills rather late. If you look back at Ozzie Smith’s WAR statistics, what is amazing is that, as much as he struggled as a hitter when he was with the Padres, by the middle of his career with the Cardinals, he actually became a very good offensive player. The same is true of Omar Vizquel and Larry Bowa. In fact, ironically, Bowa, Vizquel, and Smith all had their finest offensive WAR statistical years when they were 32 and, similarly, last year, we saw Wilson Valdez take a recognizable step forward on the offensive side at the same age. This is a very long way of saying that the “Freddy Garcia Project” on the offensive side could take a very long time and if we see him struggling at the plate at age 22 or 23, no less 21, it really may not mean much. And it bodes well for Freddy that he is flashing a little power now. Not a lot, but just enough so that you could see him developing into a more complete offensive player. If he can learn to take a walk, that changes the equation even more in his favor.

    In fact, I am so convinced by my own argument that, next time around, I just might vote for Galvis.

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    1. You mean, of course, Freddy “Galvis” (not Garcia, neither Harold nor Edgar.) I agree with you and have Galvis just after Hyatt, #13 and #14 on my personal list. We all need to be patient. If a baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint, then player development is the decathlon of marathons.

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  27. I hope Freddy knows that if he can produce a .650-.700 OPS, he is gold in majors. That means muscling up and taking walks to get the SLG and OBP each up 10-20 points a year for a few years. Those are both under his control. Hope he has good coaching and personal advisors.

    Catch is right about Bowa and Ozzie. They came on late. Bowa went on a big lifting program and began to drive the ball into the gaps and hit line drives over the IF, instead of GBs at them. Listening, Freddy?

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    1. Different eras. I won’t rehash the debate of whether Bowa could play in today’s game, but take this into consideration: Thomas Perez had a higher. OPS+ than Larry Bowa. Thomas Perez was a better hitter than Bowa, and he couldn’t keep a job in the late 90’s, let alone today. Comparing Galvis to players from the 70’s does not help his case.

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    2. Biggest issue with the comparison is that Smith and Visquel (Bowa was never a good hitter even in his “best” seasons) were guys who took walks and got on base. Galvis doesn’t need to become a power hitter to be a regular SS in the majors but he does need to be able to get on base. Also guys like Smith, Visquel, Bowa were guys could run and steal bases, Galvis hasn’t show that he has that type of speed or ability.

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  28. There’s a difference between a player truly improving and a player just having a fluke season. Bowa the season after 1978 slugged .314. Did he forget what he learned? Vizquel the year following lost almost 50 points off his batting average.

    Its an unconvincing argument for me anyway. Most weak hitting shortstops do not blossom into acceptable hitters. They remain weak hitters. Let me provide a custom table from Baseball-Reference.com.

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=88Krf

    These are shortstops since 1970 and what they contributed up to the age of 26. Note Ozzie, Bowa and Vizquel in the bottom 25 of OPS+. That’s well that they blossomed, but then you have more of the Neifi Perez’s and Deivi Cruz’s of the world, who didn’t become good hitters. Who is to say which one Galvis turns into? Just eyeballing the list, it seems a player’s chances are a LOT better if they can draw a walk.

    (There’s a selection bias at work. I used a 400 game minimum, so any weak hitter playing that much is almost certainly an excellent fielder.)

    BTW, if you scroll down the list check out Dickie Thon. His early years are in line with a pack of HOF caliber players. Pity he got beaned, he might’ve been great.

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      1. That is the problem with comparing Major Leaguer’s stats to Minor Leaguer’s stats. Flawed comparisons are made. Freddie Galvis shouldn’t be compared to Jack Wilson, because Jack Wilson hit AA. Jack Wilson had a .786 OPS in AA at age 22. With what Galvis has shown so far, I doubt he has the ability to get to .786 in the next. 2 seasons. That would also mean that Galvis spent 3.5 years in AA.
        Galvis’ sub 600 OPS shouldn’t be compared to Major Leaguers with .600 OPS. Most of them had higher OPS in the minors or they wouldn’t have reached the major leagues as a regular.

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        1. Don’t disagree with you about the comparison but I’m not comparing Galvis’s minor league numbers to Wilson.

          Comparison is that Wilson is a no-hit SS who also didn’t walk or steal bases and is not a starter on a playoff team.

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  29. In the vote, I continue with Freddy Galvis here, despite consideration given to switching to the 2 more veteran pitches on the list. I do so despite all the ” Freddy can’t hit, and Freddy can’t walk, Freddy can’t run, and Freddy can’t talk” litany. Seems that comparisons to real players of the past , present , and future presents a more favorable view than some idealized , Fan-Graphs based prospect super-man for comparisons rather than what real players do and have done. Overall, .240 for a 20 year old in AA is not that bad and should improve with more playing time , which Galvis has received in much higher measure than others ahead on the list , and this round’s projected winner, Cesar Hernandez. I would have put Cesar in before this , but some iffy picks were stuck on the list before. I followed Cesar Hernandez since he started in Venezuela at 16 and thought he would do as well as so far, so invented Cesar Hernandez.

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  30. Look, I’m not saying that Freddy Galvis (sorry about the “Garcia” slip – he left a permanent and indelible impression on my psyche) is going to a very good offensive player or that he will even hit enough to justify a spot on the big league roster. We are, after all, talking about a guy who is in the middle to lower portion of a group of 30 prospects – this is not a list of potential superstars at this point.

    However, my point is that there is certainly an historical precedent for shortstops developing quite late as offensive players and, therefore, given his great fielding prowess, the initial hints of power he showed last year, and the fact that he is only going into his age 21 year, we need to watch him carefully and give him significantly more time to develop than we would give, say, a slow, power hitting outfielder or first base prospect. As for those players I noted having peak years at age 32 and then, perhaps, dropping lower after that, to me, that is besides the point. Unless you are a great HOF hitter, most players are going to have a year or two when they spike in terms of value. However, usually, for a typical hitter, that is going to happen somewhere in the player’s mid to late 20s, not at age 32. And, just as important, the graph of performance peaks between years 26 and 29 or so – the players I mentioned surged later.

    But, sure, Freddy Galvis is more likely to be a marginal player than another Vizquel or Smith, but certain players of his type do turn out to be late bloomers in terms of run production. Consequently, his development time horizon may not be as short as some other players.

    You know . . . just saying.

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  31. As to the board changes , I would state that I am philosophically opposed to chopping out the comments of another for individualized comments thereon, as this tends to lead to flame wars. As is the practice here, that may simply mean someone will have to go back and delete the whole lot, but hey.
    All that aside , this board does not do it in the way of most message boards (usually a good thing) in which the commented upon posters post is placed above the commenters post and commenters post below at the bottom of all comments. In this practice the commenters post is inserted below the commented upon posters back up the scroll where it was originally posted. The way I read this is to go to the last comment I have seen and read from there. In order to see all the comments, one would have to go back to the beginning and look for comments to previously posted remarks and I don’t believe most will do this. It is then possible, by normal reading practices that many gems and pearls of wisdom will be missed by most . If a genius speaks in the forest and nobody hears it, are they really a genius at all?

    As long as this is a comment on board functions , just might point out that when I originally go to this site , from other sites it comes in right away no problem (to site home page) , however if then I go from site home page to, say, the Transactions page there is a noticeable delay, and below it says : waiting for picture (or something) and there are no pictures on that page,or anything that is not on the site homepage. Maybe with the changes made somebody slipped in some funny stuff into the punch bowl.

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    1. I suspect you may be in the minority with regard to the comment structure. When replying back to people, I think its tough to keep track of what comment you’re replying to. I understand what you’re saying with regard to finding the last comment you read and going from there, but I don’t think its all that tough to start at the top of the post and scroll down. Its not like there are tons of new posts here every day and you can’t keep up. Then again, as is always the case, if enough people complain/are opposed to the format, I’ll change it. I thought the majority would be in favor of being able to directly reply to someone in the comments.

      Also, the speed with which the page loads is nothing I can control. The site is hosted by wordpress, not my own personal internet connection. If its loading slowly, its either a wordpress issue or related to your internet connection.

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  33. I don’t understand all the fuse about Galvis being able to be a late inning defensive replacement. How many teams have a shortstop who comes in for defensive purposes late in a game? Most teams make sure there starting ss can play defense and hit a little as well. The only defensive replacements I see happening regularly are in the outfield and occassionally at 3rd.

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    1. Galvis reminds me a lot of Anderson Machado, his predecessor as the minor league Phillies great field/can’t hit shortstop. When Machado was at Reading, he too was winning accolades that his glove was good enough to play in the bigs. He also could run well. His minor league high water mark was a .750 OPS season at Reading at age 21. He repeated Reading the next year, but didn’t hit as well. He played parts of two seasons in majors, getting 81 plate appearances. He was still in AA baseball last season.

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  34. With Cesar Hernandez being placed on the 40 man roster so early, doesn’t that force them to move him quickly through the system? Doesn’t he start burning up option years? I’m probably misinterpreting the option year rules.

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    1. Yes, he will burn his 3 options in 2011, 2012, and 2013. He will have to be permanently on the 25-man roster by spring 2014 or he will have to clear waivers. So if he is a prospect and takes longer to develop he could be claimed by any team beginning in the spring of 2014.

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      1. Thanks for the information. If that is the case, I can’t understand why the Phillies protected him so early. Nobody would take him in the Major league portion of the rule 5.
        Last year, they didn’t protect Harold Garcia after a great year at Lakewood, and no team took him in either the major league or minor league portions of the draft.
        It would seem that they would have plans to ‘double jump’ Cesar Hernandez soon. That is bad news for, Barnes and Shoenberger.

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        1. There’s a good chance Hernandez could’ve been claimed. Some team could’ve easily hidden him as a pinch runner for a year due to his speed.

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  37. With Pettibone finally in at #18, I get to cast a different vote. I have Garcia just ahead of Hernandez on my list. I know lots of folks like Hernandez, and he looks like he’ll be the winner here, but I’m not sure why. To me, the two look very similar. Hernandez is obviously younger but Garcia is in AA already and if he continues to hit, he’ll look like a starting 2B for some team. I have Hernendez next so its not that big a deal to me but they look like carbon copies to me. One thing on Galvis, he really should have been in C Water last year so let’s see how he hits at Reading this year before we bail on him.

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  38. Kevin Goldstein on Hyatt in 2009:

    ‘A 15th-round pick in June out of Alabama, Hyatt was one of those cheap senior signs who throws strikes, has a good changeup, and is a solid organization arm. The shocker here is that his fastball is suddenly up to 94 and he’s been the New York-Penn League’s most dominating arm, allowing just one run in 31 2/3 innings while compiling a 49/5 K/BB ratio and giving up just 14 hits. At 23, he needs to move quickly and is probably no more than a reliever in the end, but he’s certainly more than just a solid organizational arm.”

    (Note: The above was just after he was drafted in the 15th round and has just dominated since, including 25Ks in 22 AA innings.)

    BA ranked Hyatt’s Changeup as best in our System (Clearly he has secondary pitches to go with his 94Mph Fastball.)

    I did not vote for him this round, but I think I will vote for him next.
    He pitched NYP the year he was drafted and did amazing.
    The next year he skipped past LWD and dominated w/o skipping a beat and earned a late promotion to AA where hitters still had issues making contact.

    While some of the scouting reports out of college may have been iffy and he slid to the 15th round, clearly the Phils have helped him discover both velocity and improved secondary pitches. I would not be even be surprised if he was a late inning call-up for a spot start late in the season if there are injuries on a double-header squeezed in w/o a any off-days around which could force the Phil’s into needing an extra arm.

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    1. I have voted for him the last couple rounds myself. It is curious that he has thrived despite what has been called a mediocre fastball, poor secondary pitches and little command. I guess the opponents just strike out so much because he looks older than them. 🙂

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        1. This Summary by BA was written AFTER he was converted to a starter, so I doubt he was referencing relief only numbers but in the role at the time of the writing.

          I read a post game summary from last year that stated he was hitting 93 in that particular game. So, yes he is still hitting those numbers.

          Again, this is only 2-3 MPH more than his Draft report numbers. I can easily see a tweak to his delivery adding the small difference.

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  39. Question about Dugan…he has gotten a lot of votes for a guy who might not be in the top 3 for the Lakewood outfield. Besides the two weeks where he was on rehab for GCL what has he done? I will give some credit to Cesar Hernandez but Dugan I have behind Hyatt, Zeid, Hernandez, Garcia, Castro, Galvis, and maybe even Schwimer (no particular order)

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  40. I have Dugan down at #25 myself. I think he’ll only start the season at Lakewood if he moves to 3B, or possibly 1B. There are just too many outfielders ahead of him there. You have Altherr, Eldemire, Alvarez, Hewitt, Santana, and Collier all ahead of him although Santana and Collier may be kept in Florida to start the year. Lakewood jobs will definitely be won and lost in ST.

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  41. I like both Hernandez and Hyatt here.
    I think Hyatt could be on the Vance Worley track (I think Worley is ranked too high based on a couple good major league showings but at least he has them). Hyatt has only been a pro for a 18 months so maybe there is something he learned from pro coaching that can elevate his status. The results at Reading this season will obviously be key to he prospect stock. But I am encouraged by his strikeout numbers and 3 acceptable pitches.
    Hernandez’s speed and power are my concerns. Since he may have elite speed (average 1 steal every 2 games is pretty awesome) even with no power; I can rank him ahead of Garcia (who may have average speed and power for a 2B). I am concerned that his walk rate will drop once pitchers learn he has no power and walking him could turn into a double.

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  43. I’m one of Austin Hyatt’s biggest boosters, but there’s no way he belongs above Cesar Hernandez, who will make some top-10 lists.

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  45. This department of little appreciation of a guy’s work as reflected in his numbers could be greatly surprised if/when Hyatt continues to do well at Reading and Lehigh Valley and, as some dared to predict, becomes the first prospect starting pitcher to come up to the Phils before any other starter prospect.

    I, too, believe he is not given enough plaudits for his 1 1/2 season in pro ball. That he was drafted when he was 22(?) is certainly not his fault. He HAS made the most of his opportunity through his short time in pro ball; in fact, who could have asked more of him?

    Though I voted Hernandez here, I previously had suggested Hyatt around the 14th or 15th choice. IMO, Hyatt, of all our prospects listed here, has the best chance to zip up the list and close in on the first 5-6. So…he should be a guy to closely watch AFTER the first month of the season, when he should be in gear.

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  47. After Henandez (my #14) gets picked which will be either this one or the next one, I will be voting for Dugan (my #17) , Galvis ( my #19) , and then Alvarez (my #21). After that, I still have Collier(#22), Hyatt(#23), Garcia(#25), Shreve(#26), Stutes(#27), Schwimer(#28), Cisco(#29), and Zeid(#30) all in my top 30. I also feel that Matt Way, D’Arby Myers, Anthony Hewitt, Joe Savery, Drew Naylor, and Cameron Rupp should be getting some consideration for the next few votes.

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    1. Collier in the top 30? Come on. That makes less sense than Hewitt. Travis Mattair must have been 31.

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    1. Keystone, I haven’t heard anyone praise Cartwright as more than a possible 25th man on a roster. Why consider him?

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      1. .294/.355/.472 is a pretty good line with 31 stolen bases in ’10.

        10 HR’s and 30 doubles suggests some power and 14 triples adds to how much speed he has.
        And 23 is a good age at AA where he is already listed on Reading’s ’11 roster. If he does well this year it’s not out of reach to think he may get a taste of AAA.

        Athletic second basemen are a good commodity.
        He turned 94 double plays last year in 116 games, not too bad.

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