Reader Top 30 #6 – Roman Quinn

2014 Reader Top 30

Carlos Tocci took the #5 spot before the weekend.  With injury news Adam Morgan drops off the poll for now, joining in his place are Cord Sandberg and Deivi Grullon.

  1. Maikel Franco
  2. Jesse Biddle
  3. J.P. Crawford
  4. Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez
  5. Carlos Tocci
Unknown's avatar

About Matt Winkelman

Matt is originally from Mt. Holly, NJ, but after a 4 year side track to Cleveland for college he now resides in Madison, WI. His work has previously appeared on Phuture Phillies and The Good Phight. You can read his work at Phillies Minor Thoughts

34 thoughts on “Reader Top 30 #6 – Roman Quinn”

  1. Martin. He’s likley in line to be a big leaguer this year whenever the club needs a starter, and though at this point that seems like it won’t work out, there’s a non-zero chance that he sticks and becomes a valuable young rotation arm. And if he doesn’t, he’s getting plenty of high-level experience for an ultimate trip to the pen, where we saw his stuff play up last year. I don’t mean to be too rah-rah about him. I just think the proximity and results in the pen are positive signs against total flameout, which at this point, is about all you can hope for in this system.

    I had Cesar Hernandez next when I drew up the initial list, but I am wavering towards Aaron Altherr. If I’m giving Hernandez bonus points for proximity and the potential ability to play CF, Altherr’s almost as close and can already play CF. What Hernandez seems to have over Altherr is an established floor. Altherr could K his way into a 4A career – we have essentially no idea how he’ll handle AA pitching and beyond, aside from encouraging scouting about his swing, etc., like what we saw recently from Bernie Pleiskoff (sp?). Hernandez seems likely to be at least a big league bench guy, and he really could be a starting 2B elsewhere in the league almost immediatley, I think, or in Philly as a still-just-26-year-old in 2016 if Utley calls it a career after 2015. Tough call between those two guys, for me. I don’t have anyone else seriously in the mix there.

    Like

  3. Tommy Joseph…on the assumption that he can remain behind the plate and isn’t limited due to the concussions.

    Like

    1. Yeah but he didn’t exactly rake last year in AAA before the concussion. And the number of passed balls was….troubling. Don’t get me wrong, I like Tommy and I’m cheering for him. I’m just not ready to vote for him yet.

      Like

      1. Fair enough…I’m willing to write off last year as a lost year and hope he can be the guy that was a highly touted prospect. Given the other names on the list, I dont see any of them as better at this point given their various issues.

        Like

  4. Martin Again. He has a big league arm. We don’t have too many of those in this system especially with the bad news on Watson and Morgan.

    Like

  5. Went Gonzalez on the hope of a higher ceiling. Again, I would have Quinn and Knapp ahead but for injuries. And, I just can’t put Cesar that high because I still see him as a bench player. Martin seems like a Bullpen arm. If Joseph can’t catch, he doesn’t make top 30, so Severino by default.

    Like

  7. Martin here. Still has a chance to be a starter (though pretty unlikely at this point), and looks like he will at least be a pretty productive reliever.

    Originally had Quinn here (actually #5), but with the achilles just not sure I can put him above Martin.

    The next dozen picks are a real mess, trying to compare lots of apples to oranges (proximity vs ceiling vs health). Really not sure what order everyone goes in, or if it really matters.

    Like

  8. Also, I vote in favor of displaying the vote totals when a poll closes. I want to know who the runners up were.

    Like

  9. I think the Seve Gonzalez love this high it interesting. I don’t see it yet. He had an amazing year, no doubt, and I have him just outside my top ten, but he’s about a mile and a half from a sure thing as a starter. We don’t even know if his body will hold up to a full-season schedule. He only pitched just over 100 innings last year, and I’m not sure I trust a slight guy like him to handle a full year in a rotation. that I have him at 11-13 range says a lot about starting options in our system.

    Like

    1. I find it interesting as well, I am holding off a bit on writing about him, but I have him outside my Top 20, and even if I look at his upside I really don’t see anything better than a #4 starter, and that is asking for a lot

      Like

      1. It’s J-Rod part II. Until he proves that he can throw his fastball consistently in the 90s, I don’t see much of a future regardless of the gaudy numbers. Except in very rare cases, a passble fastball is a necessary first condition for any prospect pitcher making the majors. With that in mind, I voted for Martin, who at least has that asset.

        Like

      2. I advocated for him in the last round, but the difference between his bb numbers out of the bullpen and in the rotation tempered my enthusiasm. That said, his performance was still impressive and outside the top 20 seems low. I’m interested to read what you eventually write on him.

        Like

  10. Thanks for all the effort… esp. on an MT stomach.  Is it possible to see, let’s say, the top three vote getters in each poll as opposed to just the winner?  That might be interesting.                

    Like

  12. After some deliberation I went with Altherr. Also considered Green, Dugan, Martin and Quinn. Being able to play CF is a big bump in his stock, and he seems to make improvements year after year as he moves up the ladder.

    Like

  13. Cozens again for me, the player with the highest realistic upside. He’s a guy that is a good year away from jumping up national lists. Unfortunately, he’s a bad season away from dropping down this list too so his next season will be key. As I’ve said before, the Lakewood team will be a good one to watch.

    Like

  15. I went with Quinn here. He did hurt his achilles but maybe that will finally make the phillies switch him back to center. His speed going from an 80 to 75 is not going to make a huge difference. He is still a plus defender with plus arm and plus plus speed. Put him at the top of the lineup and see the man produce. Now I know he is far away but I still think his upside his in the top tier of this org.

    Like

    2. If he were a really good hitter or a really good defender, then that drop in speed would hardly matter. Unfortunately, speed is what he’s got up to now. The lost time really hurts for a guy with so much yet to learn. Maybe he will take naturally to CF, but he needs a ton of work at SS. As a CF, the bat is questionable. The move up from WIlliamsport to Lakewood is one of the smaller jumps moving through the minors and Quinn lost over a 100 OPS points, without a long season as an explanation. If he returns to health, without much lost speed, he still has a chance, but he’s not an elite prospect as of today.

      Like

  19. I’m going with Dugan based in his improved play and HR power over the past couple seasons. I think he he is solid defensively in right field and he is a sold hitter. I worry about his durability but that is improving and if he continues to develop his power and plate discipline, he can be a regular big league right fielder for a contender. He surpassed Cozens and Altherr on my list because he’s shown more as a hitter and has made it to AA in an age appropriate fashion.

    I considered practically everybody on the ballot for this spot plus Hoby Milner and Cameron Rupp..I like Martin’s proximity and arm, but his career 5+BB/9 shows no signs of improving. As a reliever I like Giles more, and I rank them both out of the top 10 and a little behind Hoby Milner, because Milner has a better chance or remaining a starter.

    Rupp and Hernandez fill out my top ten in a cluster with Dugan, Cozens, and Altherr because they are both major league ready replacement players, but are behind Dugan in my eyes because neither seems to have a lot of upside. Yes, Hernandez can play in the majors but only at slightly over replacement level. He doesn’t give a team much value as an average fielding second baseman with no power. He can get on base and he can run, but If Utley were to go down, I’d prefer Galvis and maybe even Frandsen. Hernandez needs to improve his power or his defensive versatility. I hope the Phillies get a the 4th option year on him approved so he gets a chance to do so in Lehigh Valley this season. Otherwise, I see him bouncing around on the waiver wire as teams try to send him to the minors and other teams claim him. I think Hernandez is more valuable as a minor league prospect than as a major league starter or bench player right now. Rupp can also benefit from another year of AAA defensively (game calling) and offensively. Both Rupp and Hernandez might better their prospect status given another season in the minors.

    Like

    1. I was under the impression that the Hernandez 4th option was a done deal. Someone please correct me if wrong.

      I went Martin. I’m leaning Altherr next, followed by Hernandez, Cozens, Rupp, Dugan in some order. Quinn worries me greatly. Love the talent and he seems like a good kid, but I’d like to see him settle into a position and get it done.

      Like

      1. Thanks. That is good news about Hernandez. Recently I read that the Phillies would not learn definitively whether Major League Baseball grants a fourth option on Hernandez until the middle of Spring Training. But perhaps that is just a formality with a 99% chance of happening, or the words of a writer who did not know the rules. I looked back and found a piece here by BradinDC and it looks like the latter. I can stop worrying. Hernandez can be optioned to the minors one more time, either this season or next.

        Cesar Hernandez and The Mythical Fourth Option

        Like

        1. Jim Salisbury told me directly the other day that the Phils have been given the fourth option. I trust that.

          Like

Comments are closed.