Monthly Archives: February 2015

Open Discussion: Week of February 9th

Weekly Discussion

Threw this together real quick when I realized no one else had posted this weekend.

Hamels is still a Phillie.  This is not a bad thing.  While it would be nice to pick up some top prospects, the fact he is still a Phillie means other teams are not offering a fair return.  This is not Amaro’s fault.  It is a case of other GMs trying to make the best deal for their teams.  If we can’t get a “sure thing” prospect in return, there’s no sense settling for a couple of lesser than sure things.  The worse case scenario (other than an injury) is Hamels helps bridge the years until the next playoff team, much the same as 1972 Steve Carlton held the pitching staff together until 1976.   It is not Amaro’s job to provide an ace to a division contender at a bargain price.  The price should hurt a little bit.  He should hold out for the value he thinks he’s worth or keep him.  And we’ll watch teams try to win with Buchholz and Porcello, for example,  as their 1-2.  Haha. Continue reading Open Discussion: Week of February 9th →

PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 (40) Poll for #35

2015 Reader Top 30

Rhys Hoskins takes the 34th prospect slot in our poll.  He received 37 of 165 votes (22%).  Willians Astudillo finished a close second with 23 votes.

The current poll’s selections so far are listed below.  I’ll start the sleeper pick column sometime this the next week. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 (40) Poll for #35 →

Winter Ball Round Up; Feb. 2 – Fini

9. Winter Leagues,

Australian Baseball League – A couple of quick observations.  First, the announcers remarked that the Perth  Heat roster contains 4 members (3 active for the playoffs) of the the first family of baseball in Western Australia, the Kennelly family.  You may remember that Tim Kennelly was in the Phillies system for 8 years (2005-12).  The Phillies tried him at every position but shortstop.  He’s currently playing right field and DH for the Heat.

And second, the venue for the championship series is Adelaide’s Norwood Oval.  It has dirt cutouts like any artificial surface for the mound, catcher’s/batter’s boxes, and the bases.  One of the announcers remarked about the condition of the “grass”.  This piqued my interest and I had to google the Oval.  It is also known as Coopers Stadium (Coopers Brewery sponsership) and is rented to the Norwood Football Club.  It’s primary use is for Australian rules football, but is also use for a variety of other sporting events including soccer, rugby, American football, and baseball.  it has a grass surface.  An interesting twist for infielders – less certain bounces off grass but maybe a little less velocity on some ground balls. Continue reading Winter Ball Round Up; Feb. 2 – Fini →

PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 (40) Poll for #34

2015 Reader Top 30

Joely Rodriguez takes the 33rd prospect slot in our poll.  He received 36 of 162 votes (22%).  Rhys Hoskins finished a close second with 30 votes.

Maikel Franco had started off slowly in the Caribbean Series.  He had 1 hit in 15 at bats and stranded 18 base runners through the first 3 games.  He had struck out 6 times and looked overmatched against a steady diet of curve balls and change ups with the occasional well-placed fastball.  Friday night, he exorcised his demons with a solo home run in his second at bat that broke up a no-no in the 4th inning and gave Dominicana the early lead.  Later he drove in a game-tying run with two out in the ninth inning on a single to left-centerfield.  HIs team lost in the bottom of the inning, but advanced to the semifinals tomorrow.  I watched the game on ESPN Desportes.  The announcers provide the same enthusiasm on a home run as they provide on a goal in futbol.

The current poll’s selections so far are listed below.  I’ll start the sleeper pick column sometime in the next week or so. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 (40) Poll for #34 →

PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #33

2015 Reader Top 30

Jiandido Tromp takes the 32nd prospect slot in our poll.  He received 33 of 169 votes (19%).  Joely Rodriguez finished a close second with 27 votes.

Yesterday, Baseball America posted updated Top 10 lists.  Their original Phillies Top 10 was published on December 15th, and didn’t include recent Phillies’ acquisitions in the Jimmy Rollins and Marlin Byrd trades.  The revised list inserts Zach Eflin, Tom Windle, and Ben Lively consecutively between #3 Maikel Franco and Roman Quinn who slides down to #7 in the BA list.  Jesmuel Valentin, Yoel Mecias, and Franklyn Kilome were then pushed out of the BA top ten.

I updated the Prospect Rankings/Industry Lists to reflect these revisions.

The current poll’s selections so far are listed below.  I’ll start the sleeper pick column sometime in the next week or so. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #33 →

PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #32

2015 Reader Top 30

Nefi Ogando takes the 31st prospect slot in our poll.  He received 38 of 167 votes (23%).  Jiandido Tromp finished second with 24 votes.

The current poll’s selections so far are listed below.  I’ll start the sleeper pick column sometime in the next week or so. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #32 →

Winter Ball Round Up; Jan. 26 – Feb.1

9. Winter Leagues, , , ,

Australian Baseball League – The Perth Heat swept the Sydney Blue Sox in two games to advance to the best-of-three series against the regular season champion Adelaide Bite.  Brian Pointer started in left field both games and went a combined 3 for 7 while getting hits in both games.  He scored a run and drove in one, too.  He walked once and struck out only once.  Brian also recorded an outfield assist when he cut down a runner at second base.

MLB is broadcasting Friday’s game one live at 3:30AM.  So, if your up late Thursday or up early Friday …

Continue reading Winter Ball Round Up; Jan. 26 – Feb.1 →

PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #31

2015 Reader Top 30

Tommy Joseph takes the 30th prospect slot in our poll.  He received 70 of 287 votes (24%).  Nefi Ogando finished second with 33 votes.

I added Matt’s Phillies Minor Thoughts and FanGraphs to Industry Lists under Prospect Ranking.

Sorry for the delay bringing the poll for #31 up but we’ve been moving within Clearwater the past 4 days.  I’m tired, achey, and had to guide the technician on the phone to the proper solution to my internet problem.

The current poll’s selections so far are listed below.  I’ll start the sleeper pick column sometime in the next week. Continue reading PhuturePhillies Reader Top 30 Poll for #31 →

Sunday notes: Moncada, draft, and other stuff

Other Stuff

Since the Reader Top 30 is now wrapping up, I figured I should start to write a bit more. As I mentioned when announcing I was coming back, one thing I’d like to do is write a weekly post, maybe on a Sunday, with various thoughts and notes. This week’s piece will cover Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada, initial comments on the draft, and thoughts on Keith Law’s prospect list.

Continue reading Sunday notes: Moncada, draft, and other stuff →