I was going to consolidate all of Eric Longenhagen’s scouting reports that have appeared on Crashburn Alley, but Bill Baer has already done it, so go read them. Now.
Monthly Archives: December 2013
General Discussion – Week of 12-30-2013
What will 2014 hold for The Phillies? We’re about to find out. *Gets in time machine. Types “2 Days Into The Future” into interface. Gets transported to a distopian future, the date: January 1, 2014. Opens door and reports*
There’s some sort of bizarre parade of folks strutting down Broad Street. I’m really not sure how else to describe it. Wait, I’m getting a closer look now – It’s the 2014 Phillies. And that’s not a strut…IT’S A LIMP!
Because they’re all pretty old and likely to be injured. Get it? And I said they were “strutting” because that’s all I remember of that one time I watched The Mummers Parade on TV when I was like eight years old. Ok, bye.
Well that bit ended abruptly. Anyway, Happy New Year to you all!
Discuss.
General Discussion – Week of 12-23-2013
All Right You Prospects
Ready To Sing Your Song?
Christmas, Christmas Time Is Near,
Time For Giles, And Zach Collier.
Maik’s Been Good, But Can It Last?
Hurry Roman, Get Back Fast.
Want A Bat That Hits The Bomb?
Here Comes En-car-na-ci-on! (close enough)
We Can Hardly Stand The Wait!
Spring Training, Don’t Be Late!
(‘Stache Is Very Good, Kyle Simon)
(Naturally)
Perci Christmas And A Knappy new Year!
Discuss.
Behind the Scenes of the Top 30
Soon after the new year we will be starting the Reader Top 30. So to get the discussion started here is a quick look behind the scenes at a Twitter conversation between Brad and I about the ranking process and how difficult it is to rank this farm system. We agree on some players and are way different on others (and no we did not debate Cameron Rupp who Brad has #1 and I didn’t rank).
We both reserve the right to radically change our rankings from now until we release them in 2 months.
Have a Happy and Safe Holidays Everyone
It might be the time to work on various rankings
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@Matt_Winkelman I started Phillies prospects 1-75 today. It’s really messy from like 6-15 and again between 16-25. Big groups. Continue reading Behind the Scenes of the Top 30
Brad in DC @bxe1234Phillies Designate Sebastian Valle for Assignment and Clears Waivers (Updated)
To make room on the 40 man roster for Roberto Hernandez the Phillies have designated Sebastian Valle for assignment. Valle was once a top prospect in the Phillies system and was ranked #3 on a very weak Top 30 after the 2011 season.
Valle is a good defender but he hasn’t had a walk rate above 5.6% and strikeout rate below 20.8% over the past 4 seasons. Valle is still young at age 23, but he has been passed on the depth chart by Rupp and Joseph. Valle has one minor league option remaining so another team may take a flyer on him to see if they can find value. For the Phillies he has little value or playing time and they likely tried trading him before this move.
Update (12/20):
The Phillies have announced that Sebastian Valle has cleared waivers and outrighted to AAA (this in no way reflects his final placement because of weird roster stuff). Valle will remain in the organization for 2014 and will be a minor league free agent due to service time. Valle will likely go to AA with Tommy Joseph in 2014, and given his good stats in the Mexican Winter League, he may still be a backup yet.
Shane Watson to have Shoulder Surgery
As many of you know Shane Watson has been battling shoulder soreness all year. PhoulBallz Jay Floyd is now reporting that Watson’s latest setback and lack of progress will force him to have shoulder surgery (http://www.phoulballz.com/2013/12/watson-to-undergo-shoulder-surgery.html). Watson recently had a set back, he had previously pitched in the Fall Instructional Leagues.
The surgery will be performed in January to correct inflammation in an enlarged capsule. The recovery time expects to be about 3 months. This means that he will get a late start to spring training, and it should set back his debut, but this should not set his season back too much. This is not good news, but at very least it is not a torn capsule, a procedure which has a tendency to immediately end careers.
General Discussion – Week of 12-16-2013
Here’s a fresh general discussion sheet for you. Sorry for the delay this week. As a thanks for waiting, here’s a gift:
Those aren’t my hands.
Discuss.
December Q&A Session
I don’t have time to write up a full mailbag so I thought I would do something in between, opening it up for people to ask questions and get some answers or insight.
Quick Guidelines:
- For each new Question start your own comment tree, do not reply to another question
- Feel free to chip in on other questions, be respectful to the person asking the question
- When replying make sure to reply to that comment and not start a new one
- Keep on topic to question or comment posed
I will be moderating this thread heavily to keep it clean and easy to follow, so anything off topic should go in the General Discussion thread or another appropriate thread.
Draft Revisited: 2008
After a break, here is the 2008 draft class. There have been a huge number of players from this class to make the major leagues, despite the first two names on the list being considered to be huge busts. More of the class has been used in most major trades that the Phillies were involved in during their NL East dominating years. Many of the names involved will be very familiar to both casual and hard core fans.
Round 1 Pick 24 – Anthony Hewitt
Going into the draft Hewitt was viewed as having boom-bust potential. Hewitt’s HS competition was poor and so is approach was incredibly raw, additionally is poor defense was going to force him off SS into the OF. From his first season to now it has been a long journey for Hewitt. He displays huge raw power, plus speed, and plus arm strength, however he has been unable to develop an approach. In 2013 Hewitt set a career high in walk rate but he still struggles against same handed pitching and breaking balls. 2014 Outlook: Lehigh Valley Continue reading Draft Revisited: 2008
Phillies Select Kevin Munson in the Rule 5 draft, Lose Seth Rosin to the Mets
The Phillies selected Kevin Munson out of the Diamondbacks system in the Rule 5 draft. Munson has been a reliever since he was drafted in 2010, he shows a fastball in the low 90’s that can touch higher, and he pairs that with a hard slider. He has had some control problems over his career with a 4.26 BB/9 in AA this year, but he finished the year with a 2.74 BB/9 in AAA. Across the two levels Munson struck out 10.9/9. He has good ground ball tendencies as well and has a good chance to stick in the Phillies bullpen all year.
The Mets selected AA RHP Seth Rosin from the Phillies. Rosin is a big strong pitcher with a 3 pitch mix that is more average than overpowering. However, he has a good feel in the zone and generates a ton of ground balls. The Mets will likely switch Rosin back to the bullpen where the fastball could play more plus and the pitch mix will allow him to keep hitters off balance. He profiles more as a middle reliever but it could play up a lot more. The groundball tendencies and big frame are reminiscent of former Phillies Rule 5 pick David Herndon. There is a good chance Rosin sticks all year with the Mets.
The Red Sox selected Jonathan Roof in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. Roof is now permanent property of Red Sox (for the cost of $12,500). Roof played across two levels for the Phillies in 2013 and is more an org filler at this point in his career.
Phuture Phillies 