Andrew Pullin takes the 29th prospect slot in our poll. He received 43 of 201 votes (21%). Tommy Joseph finished second with 31 votes.
I updated the Industry Lists under Prospect Rankings for Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, Keith Law, and John Sickels. (Active pages Matt created. Once I figure out how to add a new page, I’ll add Matt’s Minor Thoughts ranking with a link.)
The current poll’s selections so far are listed below. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #30
Earlier this evening, the Phillies came to terms with free agent RHP Chad Billingley. The sides agreed to a 1 year, $1.5M contract with performance bonuses, reported to be around $6.5M (by Jon Heyman)
The 30-year old Billingsley has pitched just 19 innings over the past two seasons (major/minor) because of elbow injuries. He is attempting to comeback from TJ surgery and a repaired torn flexor tendon. He passed his physical and the Phillies hope he an be in Philadelphia by the end of April or early May. (Of note, Wandy Rodriguez recently failed a Phillies’ physical and went on to sign with the Atlanta Braves.) Continue reading Phillies Sign Billingsley to MLB Contract
Jose Pujols takes the 28th prospect slot in our poll by a considerable margin. He received 58 of 205 votes (28%). Andrew Pullin finished second with 30 votes.
The current poll’s selections so far are listed below. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #29
Cameron Perkins Becomes the 27th prospect in our poll. He received 54 of 235 votes (23%). Jose Pujols finished second with 48 votes.
The current poll’s selections so far are listed below. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #28
Luis Encarnacion edges Cameron Perkins and Jose Pujols by one vote to become the #26 prospect. Encarnacion received 25 of 212 votes cast (12%). Perkins and Pujols each received 24 votes, while Nefi Ogando received 23 votes. I had to keep the poll open until midnight to have the tie broken.
The current poll’s selections so far are listed below. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #27
Ricardo Pinto takes the 25th prospect position with less than 20% of the 223 votes cast. He received 38 votes (17%). Luis Encarnacion (23 votes), Cameron Perkins (23 votes), and Nefi Ogando (22 votes) were closely bunched for second place. Pinto’s 38 votes and 17% are the lowest scores to win a ranking so far.
I closed the poll on how to proceed after we complete the Reader Top 30. The results were very close –
So, you’ll pick a pitcher and a position player who you think will make a big move and either play his way to the majors, or make a big jump into legitimate prospect status by the end of the season. I guess the best way to do this is a short article so that everyone can voice their selections in the comments section and everyone can see and comment on each other’s ridiculous expectations. (jk) I’m open to other suggestions to gather and display the sleeper picks.
Since 50% responded with a wish to extend the polling process in some fashion, I think a compromise of a continuance to 40 is reasonable. If a person was willing to go to 50, I assume 40 would have been a second choice.
So, I’ll continue with the polls for an added two weeks. Sometime after #30, I’ll canvass for sleeper picks. During the season, the sleeper discussion will be a recurring subject (as often as relevant) to fan the flames of discussion as we marvel/ridicule each other’s selections. (still jk, I hope)
The current poll’s selections so far are listed below. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #26
Starting Pitcher Edition
I wrote this up early in the week as a lead into this week’s open discussion. Sure enough, another site posted a similar story. Oh well, here’s the list of the starting pitchers in the organization and the highest level attained in the minors during the 2014 season (except for Garcia and Pinto, whose games at Williamsport and Lakewood respectively are too small a sample). There are certainly more pitchers than there are starting spots. But that’s a good thing. They are listed with my best guess for opening day. What’s yours? Have at it. Continue reading Open Discussion: Week of January 26th
The winter leagues are winding down. Fewer players are playing as teams are being eliminated. All players should be home or headed home with the conclusion of the ABL in 2 weeks.
Australian Baseball League – The ABL completed their regular season today. Brian Pointer’s Perth Heat have advanced to the first playoff round. Two wins in next weekend’s 3-game series will send them into the final round.
Brian Pointer went 2 for 14 in 4 games with 2 BB, 4 K, and 1 SB. His Perth Heat finished in second place with a 28-20 record. His final slash through 43 games and 153 AB is .222/.326/.386/.711 with 7 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, and 14 RBI. His K rate is 34.6% and his BB rate is 12.6%. Continue reading Winter Ball Round Up; Jan. 18 – Jan. 25
Jesmuel Valentin takes the 24th prospect position by a considerable margin. He received 91 of 306 votes cast (30%). Ricardo Pinto finished second with 35 votes. Valentin is the first player to receive 30% of the vote since Cozens and Tocci received 30% back-to-back as the 13th and 14th prospects.
The selections so far are listed below. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #25
This has been sitting in my out box for a week or so. Now that the Hall of Fame vote is in our rear view mirror, let me just offer this overview of the Hall and my “over-the-top” solution to the process. I apologize in advance for continuing the discussion on HOF voting, a topic that I tire of each year by mid-December.
A couple weeks ago, 4 players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, and Craig Biggio. During the weeks leading up to and the days after the announcement, baseball writers and reporters from all media outlets voiced their opinions about this year’s vote, the voting procedures, and the voting electorate. All that has calmed down, so that now we’re back to just Bill Kenny occasionally offering his opinion on the HOF worthiness of players based on analytics. Continue reading The BBWAA and the Hall of Fame
