Anthony Hewitt, 3B, Rookie-level GCL Phillies
Hewitt’s entry into the game was well-publicized; he was the best athlete in this year’s draft, a player that some scouts scored as a perfect 80 on raw power, speed, and arm. The only problem was that nobody really thought he was a very good baseball player yet. Nevertheless, the Phillies love athletes, so they took him with their first-round selection, and so far he’s exceeded expectations. After a two-hit game on Friday, Hewett went 4-for-7 with two doubles and his first professional home run in a Saturday doubleheader, raising his debut-season averages to .333/.385/.583. He also drew his first walk of the year (it took him ten games) and made a couple of errorless starts at third base, a ‘read and react’ position that might work better for him than those requiring game instincts.
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JA Happ removed from his start today
Rumors swirling. Happ was removed in the 3rd inning, and according to 1 report, was being congratulated in the dugout, or at least it didn’t appear he was injured. If he was being recalled by the big league team, it seems odd to remove him mid inning. The more likely scenario is a trade in the works. Stay tuned.
Daily Discussion, 7/25
Happy Friday. Just a few quick notes from me today. First, I wanted to again thank those of you who have been here from the beginning, and those of you who might have just found the site last week during Blanton-Fest. Traffic has really surged over the last 2 months, starting a few weeks before the draft, and the momentum has continued. Seeing new opinions is always something I enjoy, and even with the huge influx of new visitors, everyone has behaved reasonably well. I did want to make a quick point though. The people who volunteer there time here writing reports (we now have a correspondent for every affiliate, which is awesome to me), are just that, volunteers, and I think its disrespectful to these people to get off topic in the comments section of their respective weekly reports. I purged a bunch of comments from the Reading post yesterday for that reason. I’m going to be more attentive in creating a daily discussion thread like this one every day for people to discuss there general thoughts. Around trade deadline time, I don’t mind discussions delving into the big league team, we’re all Phillies fans, but I’m trying to keep this site focused on the minors, since there are tons of sites and blogs devoted to discussing the major league team. We’ve kind of cornered the market here on intelligent (I think) minor league discussion, and I kind of want to keep it that way.
Also a quick update on the Wiki Project. A few of us have been working on adding info to the site, but I’m always looking for more people to help out. I haven’t posted much about the specifics of the Wiki site yet, but my goal is to have all of the information, or at least a good chunk of it, added to the site by October, and then spending the rest of the winter touching it up and making it look nice. When the Wiki site is “ready”, I’m going to be making some changes here, nothing radical, but just touching things up, moving a few things, and generally making it more visually appealing. There will be more on that in the coming days/weeks/months, and again, if you’d like to help out, send an email and I’ll give you the details. And now onto today’s games…
Tuesday tidbits
So, time for me to stop slacking and get in gear. I have some general thoughts. Before I get to that, if you want to make a redundant comment about the Joe Blanton trade, or even a fresh comment with fresh ideas, go to the Joe Blanton post, make it there, and do it before the end of the day, because I’m going to lock the comments on the post and freeze it in the time capsule for all of us to look at later. But I want to move on, and I feel like Blanton-Mania has cast a general malaise over the rest of the site. With that said, lets get to the tidbits.
Top 30 Prospects Updated
With 3 prospects from my Top 30 traded, it was time for an update. The next update will come after the trading deadline, as I suspect more moves are in the works. Again, a quick thanks to everyone who stopped in for the first time, and for those who continue to check in regularly. The Blanton discussion obviously got heated, but I think its important to remember that we’re all Phillies fans at the end of the day, and we’re all rooting for Big Joe to pitch well. Also, best wishes to Adrian, Josh and Matt in Oakland, and we’ll continue to check in on them and see how they are doing as the season progresses. Have a nice weekend.
Phillies acquire Joe Blanton for 3 prospects
Jason Donald on his Olympic selection
Saw this at BA, thought I’d pass it along.
“I was really excited,” Donald said after taking batting practice at the Double-A Eastern League All-Star game. “My mind just started racing just thinking about everything. I don’t think I really heard too much after they told me that I made the club. Now hopefully it starts to sink in a little more. I still have a little bit, a couple more weeks here, l and I’m going to do my best to finish it out with Reading and then go on to Beijing and try to win a gold medal.”
Donald, 23, is batting .301/.381/.493 in 302 at-bats this season for Double-A Reading. One of the better offensive shortstops in the minors, Donald doesn’t have any experience playing in international competitions, but his sound approach at the plate and line-drive stroke should be assets when the Olympics begin next month.
“You hear things, obviously with Cuba just because of our history with them, and I know just how good of a baseball country they are, but you know I really don’t know too much,” Donald said. “I know they’re going to bring their best, as are all the teams, so I’m just looking forward to the opportunity.”
Goldstein on Galvis and Sampson
In his latest NL East Notebook, he hits on two of our better prospects at Lakewood;
Two players currently at the Phillies’ Low-A affiliate at Lakewood don’t have very good numbers, but that doesn’t mean the scouts aren’t impressed with them nevertheless. Freddy Galvis, an 18-year-old Venezuelan shortstop, is batting just .225/.289/.257, but one scout who recent saw him couldn’t help but be impressed. “Defensively, he’s what I call an extreme defender—he’s just a magician out there,” said the scout. “Every day you see him, he’ll make at least one play that a lot of big-league shortstops wouldn’t have a chance at. And he’s not just flash, all the routine plays are made as well.” As for his non-existent offense, the scout did see enough room for improvement to tag him as an everyday player. “Look, he’s definitely a bottom of the lineup guy, but he slaps the ball around and keeps his hands inside well. I think that small-ball situational hitting will be there for him in the end, as there are some offensive instincts there.”
Another player not exactly lighting up the stat sheet for the Blue Claws is 19-year-old right-hander Julian Sampson. A 12th-round pick last year who got third-round money, Sampson has a 4.98 ERA in 16 starts with just 41 strikeouts in 81 1/3 innings, but a scout who saw him found him the most memorable arm on the staff. “There’s just a lot to like there—he’s athletic, powerful, and has really nice arm action,” recalled the scout. “I saw effortless 91-93 mph velocity that touched 95, an above-average breaking ball, and an interesting kind of palmball as a change.” So why the poor numbers with that kind of stuff? The scout offered a couple of theories. “His command is below average, so he’s currently centering the ball, and there’s no deception in his delivery, so batters get a good long look at it.
Marson and Donald make US Olympic Team
It was rumored before, its official now.
Pitching Staff
Brett Anderson (A’s), Geno Espineli (Giants), Clayton Richard (White Sox), Jake Arrieta (Orioles), Trevor Cahill (A’s), Kevin Jepsen (Angels), Brandon Knight (Mets), Mike Koplove (Dodgers), Blaine Neal (Tigers), Jeff Stevens (Indians), Casey Weathers (Rockies), Stephen Strasburg (San Diego State).
Catchers
Lou Marson (Phillies), Taylor Teagarden (Rangers)
Infielders
Brian Barden (Cardinals), Matt Brown (Angels), Jason Donald (Phillies), Mike Hessman (Tigers), Terry Tiffee (Dodgers)
Outfielders
Dexter Fowler (Rockies), John Gall (Marlins), Matt LaPorta (Indians), Colby Rasmus (Cardinals)
The signing deadline is one month from today
And here’s basically where we stand. The following players are unsigned
109. Jonathon Pettibone, RHP (Esperanza HS, CA)
196. Colby Shreve, RHP (CC of Southern Nevada)
226. Johnny Coy, 3B (Benson HS, MO)
376. James Weber, RHP (Central Clearwater Catholic HS, FL)
766. Daniel Edwards, RHP (Kansas State)
886. Keon Broxton, 3B (Lakeland High School, FL)
916. DJ Henderson, SS (Southeastern HS, MI)
976. Sean Ellis, RHP (Polk CC, FL)
1006. James Simpson, 1B (Dowagiac Union HS, MI)
1036. Blaine O’Brien, RHP (Scituate HS, MA)
1126. Matthew Johnson, OF (John W North HS, CA)
1156. Jarred Cosart, RHP (Clear Creek HS, TX)
1186. Joseph Pond, RHP (Judge Memorial Catholic HS, UT)
1216. Daniel Marrs, RHP (James River HS, VA)
1246. Michael Petello, OF (Scottsdale CC, AZ)
1335. Charles Law, RHP (Mainland Regional HS, NJ)
1363. Justin Zumwalde, 1B (Sabino HS, AZ)
1390. Giovany Soto, LHP (Advanced Central College HS)
1444. Mark Ginther, SS (Jenks HS, OK)
1471. Michael Russo, RHP (Hun School, NJ)
1498. Josh Hake, RHP (Park University, AZ)
At this point, I think Shreve is going to get done, and I think we will see Pettibone sign as well. Coy is not going to sign. I think Weber is 50/50, since his Florida commitment is now gone. But it will take above slot to sign him, and because Shreve will cost more than slot, its iffy. Do we have hope for anyone else? Could the Phillies surprise us and sign a guy like Cosart, Marrs, or Broxton? We have one month to wait and see.
Phuture Phillies 