In what has become one of my favorite yearly traditions, Kevin Goldstein was kind enough to donate some of his time to answer questions about Phillies prospects and his newly released Top 11 (well, really, top 21) prospects list, which you can view here at Baseball Prospectus. Kevin’s coverage of the minors is second to none, and his accessibility and willingness to interact, especially via twitter, makes him a real asset to the prospecting community. You can follow him here. Thanks again to Kevin for taking the time. Check below the fold for the full Q/A
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Michael Schwimer plugs this site, cements his legendary prospect status
Not that he had to, but I’m really glad he did. Class act.
Open Discussion Post – 25 February 2011
The Phillies played a game yesterday. The long winter is finally subsiding. And we have things to talk about. I’ll open the floor for discussion. And I’ll post the prospect highlights from the 8-0 win over Florida State to get everyone started.
Naylor: 2 IP – 1 H – 2 K
Stutes: 1 IP – 1 H – 3 K
Schwimer: 1 IP – 1 BB
De Fratus: 1 IP -2 K
Mathieson: 1 IP – 1 BB – 2 K
Michael Martinez: 0/2, RBI
Rivero: 0/1
Larish: 0/1
J-Berry: 1/1, R
Brown: 1/3, R
Galvis: 1/2, RBI
Barfield: 1/2
Annnnnnd. Go!
A quick word on the comments section here.
I’m going to write one very brief post on this. The comments on this post will be turned off. My hope is that this clears up any gray areas or uncertainties. I’m going to use bullet points here so it is really easy to follow.
* This is my website. I started this website. A few very generous people have volunteered hours of their time to provide content and make this site better.
* Because this is my website, I get to make the rules. No one is forcing you to read this website. You can choose, under your own free will, to either read or not read the site.
* By choosing to read the site, you understand that I make the rules, and I enforce the rules as I see fit.
* In the last week, I’ve had to remove more comments than I had to remove in the 4+ years the site has been operational prior to the last week.
* I have a very busy life. I do not have time to sit here for hours a day and weed through/edit/delete comments because people are being abusive and nasty. Compared to most outlets of the internet, the discourse here is very friendly. Which is a testament to 99% of the people who regularly contribute.
* Going forward, if you see someone causing trouble, just ignore them. By responding, you only give them fuel.
* Any comments that break the rules, ie, personal attacks, foul language, or anything else unsightly will be removed. Consider this your first and only warning. If you don’t like this policy, I don’t know what to tell you. I’m not one for censorship, but I’m also not one for people taking a dump on my lawn, and this website is my lawn. Or something.
* In short, please grow up and be respectful of the site and each other. If you can’t make your point without being insulting, derogatory or overtly nasty, then your point probably isn’t worth making.
More profiles added
Just a heads up, profiles for Aaron Altherr, Cameron Rupp, Harold Garcia, Jiwan James, Tyson Gillies and Kelly Dugan. Thanks to Dave and Ryan for helping with these, as always.
Top 30 mailbag
I went through my Top 30 in great detail, now I’ll answer your questions about my list. Lets start off with 3 questions from Derek:
Do you have any ‘deep sleepers’ for this upcoming year? Guys that aren’t top 30 or even top 40 who you think have a chance of being top 15 next year?
How about the next M. Taylor or J. Singleton, guys that are on the radar, but have huge seasons that move them to the top of the list?
How would you rank Biddle, Cosart, May, and Colvin based on pure stuff?
Jumping from way off the list into the Top 15 could be tough, but the guy I could see making the biggest jump is Brian Pointer. I really like his swing, he has a good blend of power and speed, and he could make a big impact if all goes well. A number of the international signings from the last year, Anderson Gonzalez (SS), Francisco Silva (SS), Franklyn Zavala (LHP), and Miguel Nunez (RHP) could also emerge.
In terms of the “next Michael Taylor” type, I think Gauntlett Eldemire or Cameron Rupp are good candidates to fit this mold. Both are college guys with big tools, and both had disappointing debuts.
In terms of raw stuff, I think you’d have to rank them Cosart > Colvin > Biddle > May.
My Top 30 Prospects for 2011: Part 10
And then we reached the end of the line. Today is the final installment of my Top 30 prospects for 2011. I hope you enjoyed the new format, breaking things up into 2 weeks worth of discussion. I know that I had a lot more fun writing it this way, as I was able to devote a significant chunk of words and thoughts to each batch of prospects, instead of spending the bulk of my time on the top 10 guys, and then just giving brief overviews of the next 20 guys. Today I’ll cover my last 2 prospects, as well as some thoughts on guys who didn’t make the list. As always, my goal is to outline why I chose the player and then let you decide if you agree or not. So, without further delay, lets finish this.
My Top 30 Prospects for 2011: Part 9
5 more prospects to go in my 2011 Top 30. Today I’ll hit on numbers 26-28. For Friday I’ll get to #29 and 30 as well as my guys who just missed the list. Then I’ll open the floor for questions in an old fashioned mailbag on Monday. Then the focus shifts to spring training. Check below the fold for more.
My Top 30 Prospects for 2011: Part 8
My Top 30 Prospects for 2011: Part 7
Thanks for checking back. The list has generated lots of discussion so far, and I hope it continues going forward. When it was suggested to break up the list in this fashion, I wasn’t sure how it would work, but I found that I’ve spent more time working on the writeups, and in turn, I hope its been better to read more detail and thought on each prospect, especially as we get outside of the top 10 and work further down the list. Lets crank out 20-22 now. Check below
Phuture Phillies 