Daily Archives: May 5, 2014

Around the System–Outfielders

Other Stuff

Our first look at the progression (or lack thereof) of the outfielders around the system.  Next up will be corner infielders, over the weekend.

Lehigh Valley

Clete Thomas, 30, Signed as a free agent in 2014; .262/.389/369 in 103 AB’s; 1HR 10RBI; 8/9 SB; 16%bb/24% k rates; .300 vs. LHP; .247 vs. RHP; .217 with RISP. 29 games in the OF with 3 assists and 3 errors; Thomas has played well, providing much of what was expected when he was signed by the Phils as a 6th or 7th OF.

Leandro Castro, 24, Signed as a free agent in 2006; .188/.287/.275 in 80 AB’s; 1HR 9RBI; 1/3 SB; 11%bb/17%k rates; .074 vs. LHP; .245 vs. RHP; .250 with RISP.  23 games in the OF with 3 assists and 3 errors ; Castro’s low walk rate and high strikeout rate have been his historical problem and that has corrected itself this year, however, he has done little else.

Tyler Henson, 26, Re-signed as free agent in 2014; .299/.349/.494 in 77 AB’s; 2HR 12 RBI; 4/5 SB; 7%bb/30% k rates; .296 vs. LHP; .300 vs. RHP; .292 with RISP.  18 games in the OF without an error; 1 assist; 5 games at 2B without an error; 1 game at 3B without an error; Henson has hit very well, although with a high strikeout rate.  Henson has shown versatility, some power, and some speed and is hitting for average.  Gotta admit, I like him a little bit. 

STeve Susdorf, 28, Phils 19th round pick in 2008 draft; .254/.316/.296 in 71 AB’s; 0HR 4RBI; 2/2 SB; 9%bb/22% k rates.  8 games in the OF without an error; Susdorf has been adequate playing part time thus far.  I expect more from him as the year progresses.

Tyson Gillies, 25, Acquired from Seattle in 2010; .196/.258/.286 in 58 AB’s between Clearwater and Lehigh Valley; 1HR 3RBI; 2/3 SB; 3%bb/29% k rates.  14 games in the OF with 1 error. Just awful on many levels.

Reading

Zach Collier, 23, Phils 1st round pick in 2008; .177/.301/.258 in 61 AB’s; 0HR 2RBI; 2/4 SB; 11%bb/31% k rates. 18 games in the OF with one assist and one error;  Awful and overmatched.

Kelly Dugan, 23, Phils 2nd round pick in 2009; .275/.396/.375 in 40 AB’s; 1HR 5RBI; 1SB; 15%bb/18% k rates.  12 games in the OF with 1 error; Has been unable to stay on the field thus far and hasn’t had enough AB’s to pass judgement. Continue reading Around the System–Outfielders →

General Discussion – Week of 5-5-2014 – Home and Home Edition

Weekly Discussion

The Phils have two tonight at home versus Toronto, then two in Toronto, Wednesday and Thursday. Former Phillies’ LHP J.A. Happ on the hill tonight for Toronto for his first start of the year. After being sent to Houston in the Roy Oswalt deal, Happ wound up in Toronto as part of the Brandon Lyon trade. I guess you call that the Brandon Lyon trade, not the J.A. Happ trade.

It’s been pointed out to me a couple times on Twitter today that Jonathan Villar, who also went to Houston in the Oswalt trade, has five home runs this year for Houston. So that’s fun. Anthony Gose, who was traded with Villar and Happ, then flipped to Toronto for Brett Wallace, is also on Toronto’s big league roster right now, but he’s appeared in only a handful of games all year as he’s split his time between TOR and AAA Buffalo.

Anyway, it’s still not been long enough to evaluate that Oswalt trade properly, but I’d say it was worth it to contend for the WS in 2010, unless Villar keeps up a 30 HR pace in 2014 and plays like an all-star for years to come.

Discuss.

The Case For Taking Nick Gordon

2014 Draft

There has been a lot of noise that the Phillies are in on a HS position player. The two names are a pair of shortstops in Jacob Gatewood and Nick Gordon. Gatewood is the boom bust hitting prospect of the draft, if he hits and plays defense he is Troy Tulowitzki, if not he is a mistake hitting 3B who may never get past AA. More interesting is Nick Gordon (Tom Gordon‘s other son).

Nick Gordon compares favorably to 2013 first round pick J.P. Crawford. Both have their greatest strength as their ability to play shortstop. At the plate Gordon brings plus speed (he is not a burner like Dee), plus hit potential, and fringe average power. Gordon has an edge in arm with Gordon hitting the low-90s as a reliever. Crawford in retrospect was much more polished than we thought and it remains to be seen how Gordon looks in pro-ball.

All of this should add up to the Phillies passing on Gordon due to the presence of Crawford.  But lets just explore a scenario where the Phillies have Nick Gordon as the top player on their board in front of a pitcher. Continue reading The Case For Taking Nick Gordon →