Monthly Archives: June 2011

2011 VSL Phillies June Update (aka Should We Pay Attention to Herlis Rodriguez?)

1. VSL/DSL

The Phillies’ VSL season is now 30 games old, enough to get a feel for who might be a prospect on this rookie level team.  Overall the Phillies are 12-18 and are in 5th place out of 6 teams in the VSL.  While the team’s record is mediocre, there have been some bright spots for prospects particularly on the offensive side.  The team’s offense averages only 18.0 years old in age and is considerably younger than the rest of the league.  More importantly, they are getting significant contributions from several of the younger players.

The team’s pitching is not as good, unfortunately.  The pitching staff is older than the league average (19.3 years) and the best performances are generally coming from the older pitchers age 20 and 21 years old.  These pitchers are not likely to be great prospects, though I would also note that the Phillies have started moving some older foreign prospects directly to Williamsport rather than GCL.  Note opening day starter Leonel Bastides along with Gabirel Arias, Pedro Lora, Hector Neris, and Witer Jimenez.  This is an atypical 5 players that have essentially skipped GCL for the Phillies.  This is most likely an acknowledgement of how crowded the GCL roster can get and a recognition of the ability to get a pitcher regular starts in the VSL or DSL while they learn English and other skills necessary to ease the transition to the United States. Continue reading 2011 VSL Phillies June Update (aka Should We Pay Attention to Herlis Rodriguez?) →

Around the System–OF

Around the System

Lehigh Valley

Rich Thompson, 31, .261/.342/375 in 161 AB’s; 2HR 7 RBI; 21/23 SB; 13% bb rate, 20% k rate, .250 vs. LH, .266 vs. RH, .250 with RISP, .269 since May 1.  48 games in the OF with 1 error (.989). Thompson is still providing good defense, good speed, and a decent bat at the top of the order.

Brandon Moss, 27, .257/.343/.495 in 202 AB’s; 10 HR 40 RBI; 1/3 SB; 11% bb rate, 25% k rate; .231 vs. LH, .267 vs. RH, .328 with RISP, .267 since May 1. 47 games in the OF with 1 error (.987); 7 OF assists.  Has been hitting for good power and a clutch hitter.

Delwyn Young, 28, .236/.280/.384 in 229 AB’s; 7HR and 26 RBI; 6% bb rate, 27% k rate; .232 vs. RH, .238 vs. LH, .183 with RISP, .273 since May 1.  45 games in the OF without an error , 2 OF assists. Not much Young has done has impressed me.  Horrible BB/K rate and horrible with RISP.

John Mayberry, 27, .212/.271/.327 in 52 AB’s since being sent down, 1 HR 6 RBI; 9% bb rate, 19% k rate.  Has had a few key hits but generally has looked lethargic since coming back down.

Scott Podsednik, 35, .255/.286/.404 in 47 AB’s with Lehigh Valley. 0HR 0RBI; 2/2 SB; 29% k rate. Podsednik will miss another three weeks with a foot issue.  He has not shown enough to suggest he is still major league worthy. Continue reading Around the System–OF →

My 2011 Top 30 Prospect List: Mid-season stock update

** My Top 30 Prospects

Busy times here at the site, but now with the draft over and on the back burner until mid August, I thought it would be good to look at my top 30 list and see how my rankings look, and also how my view of players may have been altered since I prepared the rankings in mid-December. This is a quick snapshot, and just my brief thoughts in passing, it is not a re-ranking of my top 30 or anything substantial like that. I’m going to simply categorize all 30 guys as follows:

stock up – the prospect has shown improvements that make me think I will be upgrading his standing after the season
stock down – the inverse of above
no change – nothing to change my opinion of the player

Do not try and infer a new top 10 or top 20 or top 30 from my comments. Again, these are brief snippets and takes on our guys right now. When I put together my top 30 this winter, it will require a lot more in depth review. This is just a quick update.

Quick note: I had started writing this last week, but then waited to publish, and forgot to do it, so some of the stats may be outdated. I’m sorry!

Continue reading My 2011 Top 30 Prospect List: Mid-season stock update →

Box Score Recap, 17 June 2011

Box Score Recap

They have arrived! The FSL all star game is tonight, which should be fun.

LHV
REA
LKW
WPT
VSL
DSL

Ryan Garvey has not signed with the Phillies

2011 Draft

The Phillies have reportedly signed 15th round selection Ryan Garvey to a minor league contract. Ryan had been thought all along as guy who was going to honor his commitment to USC. Shortly after being drafted, his father Steve made comments that dictated that it was certainly a possibility he could sign. A possibility it was.

Update, 19 June 2011 – Garvey hasn’t signed, the article was incorrect – James.

Continue reading Ryan Garvey has not signed with the Phillies →

Williamsport Roster

3. Williamsport

Opening tonight is tonight for the short season Crosscutters, so lets take a look at the roster:

Catchers: Francisco Diaz (21, signed as a free agent in 2006); Robert Stumpo (23, 33rd round pick in 2010 draft)

Infield: Carlos Alonso (23, 32nd round pick in 2010); Cody Asche (20, 4th rd 2011); Taylor Black (22, 16th rd 2011); Maikel Franco (18, Signed as a free agent in 2010); Harold Martinez (21, 2nd rd pick in 2011); Patrick Murray (24, 34th round pick in 2010); Matt Payton (23, 27th rd pick in 2010).  Note: Jake Smith will start the season on the DL Continue reading Williamsport Roster →

Hot or Not 17 June 2011

Hot Or Not

A few talking points this week are the struggles of JC Ramirez, Drew Carpenters’s accension back onto the radar screen as a middle reliever, Freddy Galvis again making the hot list on offense, Cesar Hernandez getting it going, and Jonathan Singleton struggling.

Hot Starting Pitchers: Ervis Manzanillo (5.2IP 4H 0ER 4BB 6K); Ryan Feireabend (W, 7IP 3H 1ER 2BB 5K); Tyler Cloyd (5IP 6H 1ER 0BB 7K) Continue reading Hot or Not 17 June 2011 →

Box Score Recap, 16 June 2011

Box Score Recap

Guess what everyone, the Crosscutters season starts Friday night, and the GCL season starts June 20th. More box scores! For now, Thursday’s action.

Continue reading Box Score Recap, 16 June 2011 →

So I have this other website

Site Info

You know me, I’m not big on spamming here. So I’m only going to mention this once. I’m also going to turn off comments here, because I’m not looking for feedback here, I’m simply spreading the word once, like a small seed in the ground. I’ve been meaning to create a place where I could write about things other than Phillies prospects. And I finally did it. This will include lots of things, including general Phillies/sports thoughts, as well as music, books, movies, and life’s deep questions. If you follow my twitter feed, you already read this stuff. Now I have a chance to write more long form essays. So, if you want to check it out, the link is here. If you don’t, that’s totally understandable. Thank you.