Hey, it’s Joe again. Sorry for the hiatus between articles, as I’ve been pretty busy.

             By now, I’m assuming all followers of the Phillies’ farm system have noticed Jim Murphy’s exceptional start: 75 AB .360 AVG .400 OBP .587 SLUG 3 HR and 1 SB for good measure. Obviously, his good start could be a fluke, but what if there’s a chance of him having a Darin Ruf-type season?

             If you look at it, the similarities are eerie. Both had raked in Clearwater before they came to Reading, even having the same number of homers for Clearwater (17). Their batting averages and on-base percentages were somewhat similar too, with Ruf (.308/.388) and Murphy (.274/.355) getting on base at a good rate. Continue reading Jim Murphy: The Next Darin Ruf? →

We have about a month of games on the system plus spring training so it is time to take a quick look at the system and some starts to the season.  I am going to start with the cold starters and on Wednesday look at some guys doing what we thought they should do and on Friday look at the guys getting off to great starts.

Slow starts don’t necessarily derail a year or even mean much.  However, there is information to be had especially when looking at what has changed or not changed about a prospect coming into the year.

Don’t Panic:

Tommy Joseph – It hasn’t look great for Joseph to this point, at the plate he is batting .204/.259/.389.  In a small sample size the strikeout rate is a little up and the walk rate is down, the BABIP is also only .211 but he is hitting for power closer to his year in the Cal League.  The receiving is a problem and always will be, but it should improve over time and the passed balls have dropped considerably since the first week.  He may not be ready as quickly as some people may like but it is just a slow start for the 21 year old in AAA. Continue reading Taking Stock A Month In – Slow Starts →

Most of the Phillies’ April was a Waste Land, don’t you agree? Hopefully summer will surprise us. With wins.