Daily Archives: March 3, 2014

General Discussion – Week of 3-3-2014 – First Cut Edition

Weekly Discussion

Last year we had a nice little discussion about who would be the first person let go from camp. Let’s do that again – FYI, I discount Joe Savery as he was technically gone prior to camp opening. He might have been my guess if he was still around, and he was clearly Amaro’s pick. 

You can pick guys sent back to minor league camp,  or guys who you think will be DFAed/Released/whatever method you’d like to use. I personally think the first guy back to MiLB camp will be Zach Collier and the first DFA/cut will be Jeremy Horst. Collier needs the reps he’ll get in MiLB camp and he is not making the big club ahead of guys like Gwynn and Thomas. Horst is the least useful pitcher on the 40-man and easiest to see sneaking through waivers, IMO.

Discuss.

Phillies 2014 Top 30 Prospects

** My Top 30 Prospects

Sitting down to write the Phillies Top 30 Prospect list is one of the most interesting parts of the offseason.  The ranking process poses questions about how we evaluate different profiles and try to replicate the kind of characteristics that major league clubs value.  That being said, I find the final order to be the least important part of the process.  I find the write-ups and other details to be the much more informative.  I felt much more comfortable approaching the list this year, and I feel that I have learned a lot from talking to people and examining what I value.

My Ranking Philosophy:

Overall this ranking is the order that I would value these players if I were running the Phillies.  This evaluation is what I think their major league profile projects to be, coupled with their risk of obtaining that.  In general I lean towards high impact talent, because the impact of a single all-star is more valuable than a collection of lower impact talent.  You can’t go pure ceiling though.  I tried to balance the player’s upside with their floor, as well as how their profile fits into a major league role.  With current budgets and the influx of money, roster spots are becoming the limited commodity and players that fit well onto rosters have more value than limited use players. Continue reading Phillies 2014 Top 30 Prospects →