Just a quick note to let you know what to expect with the Minor League season ending next week.  As in previous years, I will be going through each player in the organization and reviewing their 2013 season with stats, a grade, comments and a 2014 projection. Also included will be a post season Top 40 ranking where applicable for those within that top 40 group.  We will fully cover the Arizona Fall League and Florida Instructional League as we can gain tidbits of information during the Fall months.

God willing, Matt and Brad will continue with their contributions, as put simply, the site would not function on anywhere close to the level it does day in and day out without their hard work and expertise. I am deeply grateful and appreciative of their efforts.

I am hoping my schedule allows additional time for analysis of prospects and that is something that I havent been able to dedicate myself to as much as I would like, but Matt and Brad have picked up my slack and then some. 

Phuture Phillies continues to be extremely successful thanks to all of you, the loyal readers.  During this baseball season, we have received in excess of 1.6 million page views and hope to continue to grow in the future.

A look back at the time period of August 15-21. Quick thoughts…the lack of production this year by 2012 high draft picks Shane Watson and Mitch Guellar is enough for a raised eyebrow but far too early to give up…Is Harold Martinez coming around, or is his production simply him catching up with High A pitching after 2 full years in CLearwater…Three starts, and all of them very solid for David Buchanan in AAA…Control issues for Kenny Giles this week, hopefully just a mirage.

Note: There will not be a “Hot or Not” published next week. The final edition will cover the last week and a half of the season.

Hot Hitters: Matt Tolbert (.500); Harold Martinez (.476, 7R, 4RBI); Cesar Hernandez (.467, 6R), Tyler Henson (.467); Cameron Rupp (.467); Jiwan James (.421, 5R, 5RBI, 3SB); Brock Stassi (.411, 5R 4RBI); Cameron Perkins (.400); Justin Parr (.375, 5R); Jim Murphy (.370, 2HR 6RBI); Gutavo Martinez (.368);  Honorable mention: Ferdinand, Greene, Moore, Mojica, Altherr, Pierce, Carmona Continue reading Hot or Not →

Lehigh Valley is down to the last 13 games of the season after a 3-1 loss last night and are currently 67-63 and in 4th place of the Northern DIvision of the International League, 4.5 games behind division leading Rochester and 3.5 games behind Pawtucket in the wild card race.. With their loss last night, Lehigh Valley is 7-4 over their last 11 games. After an off day today, the ‘Pigs play Buffalo seven straight games, the first four in Buffalo, followed by three in Lehigh Valley.

News and Notes:Perci Garner won his AAA debut on Monday evening going 5.2innings and giving up 2 runs on 6 hits. He walked 2 and struck out 7 and looked quite impressive, taking a shutout into the 6th inning. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Maikel Franco continues to be the primary story here, with JP Crawford now with enough AB’s to qualify and headed to Lakewood.

Note: Min 130AB’s for hitter; 35IP for pitchers.

AB’s: Maikel Franco(462); Jim Murphy(429); Chris Serritella (422); Albert Cartwright(412); Aaron Altherr(407); Willie Carmona(404); Cody Asche(404); Carlos Alonso(399); Cody Overbeck(396); Zach Collier(391)

R: Maikel Franco(72); Albert Cartwright(71); Carlos ALonso(66); Art Charles(57); Jim Murphy(55); Tyson Gillies(55); Willie Carmona(52); Aaron Altherr(52); Cody Asche(52); Cody Overbeck(51).

Hits: Maikel Franco(147); Willie Carmona(121); Cody Asche(119); Jim Murphy(117); Albert Cartwright(110); Cesar Hernandez(109); Carlos Alonso(109); Aaron Altherr(108); Kelly Dugan(107); Cody Overbeck(105) Continue reading Phillies Minor League Leaders →

A look back at the time period of August 8th thru 14…Random thoughts…Maikel Franco trying to silence the critics suggesting he has slowed down of late…Willie Carmona is perhaps the most “under the radar” player in the Phils system. While he is a bit old for Low A, he has been one of the very few in the organization sitting at .300 most of the year…Tyler Cloyd has shown resiliency through his early season struggles and come on very strong over the last 6 weeks…Mike Nesseth has pitched consistently well for Reading since his call up from Clearwater. Expect him to be a key 7th and 8th inning guy in the Lehigh Valley bullpen next year.

Note: Minimum 12AB’s and Min 5IP to be a “hot pitcher”.

Hot Hitters: Willie Carmona (.438); Tyson Gillies (.438, 6R 2SB); Derrick Mitchell (.429); Deivi Gruillon (.429); Maikel Franco (.417, 7RBI); Herlis Rodriguez(.417); Wilmer Oberto (.417); Jair Morelos (.400); Pete Orr (.385); Venn Biter (.357); Trey Williams (.357). Honorable Mention: Sandberg, Susdorf, Moore, Hanzawa, Collier Continue reading Hot or Not →

Lehigh Valley ended their season long ten game road trip with a 5-4 loss to Gwinnett on Monday, but all in all had a successful trip ending up 6-4.  After an off day on Tuesday, the ‘Pigs open a short three game homestand against Syracuse on Wednesday, before heading up the Northeast Extension for two against Scranton over the weekend.  On the year, Lehigh Valley is 63-61 and in 4th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 4 games behind division leading Rochester, and just 1.5 games behind Buffalo in the wild card race.

‘Pigs Prospects:Adam Morgan is 1-1 with a 1.33 ERA in his 5 starts since coming off the DL which is quite impressive except for considering the fact that he has thrown just 20.1innings in those 5 starts(4IP per start).  Morgan has been on a 75-85 pitch count since his return and while he has shown effectiveness at times, has run his pitch count up pretty quickly in each of his starts. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

A look at the bullpen in the upper reaches of the organization. Stats are through Thursday August 8th and a warning before you read: This is not pretty, especially in Lehigh Valley and Reading.

Lehigh Valley

Phillipe Aumont, 24, Acquired from Seattle in 2009; 24 games; 0-1 with a 5.18ERA; 2 saves; 24.1IP 21H 27BB 31K; 0.86GO/AO; .233 opp. avg; 10.0BB/11.5K per nine; 1.97WHIP; .273 vs. LH, .196 vs. RH, .220 with RISP; 0-1 with a 3.97ERA in his last 10 outings (9BB in 11.1IP). Simply look at the names in the Philadelphia bullpen and you will see how far Aumont’s stock has dropped in the organizations eyes.  He simply can’t throw strikes consistently and some attitude issues have cropped up. Continue reading Around the System–Relievers, Top Half →

NYPhilsManiac reporting on quite the barn burner here:

Williamsport @ Tri-City 8/7 Game Report

A look at the time period of August 1 thru August 7. Quick thoughts…Its time to move JP Crawford up. There is nothing to suggest he couldnt handle to NYPL and he is likely to be in Lakewood anyway next year, so why not challenge him? Cody Overbeck is putting up a very quiet 2o plus HR season…Mitch Walding has been one of the larger disappointments over the last two years. I havent lost hope, but he just cant put it together for a prolonged period…Cameron Perkins is pretty clearly still bothered by his wrist injury, as he has landed consistently on the Not Hot list since his return from the DL…Adam Morgan has been effective but has thrown alot of pitches in each of his starts, leading to a 5 inning max since his return from the DL.

Hot Hitters: JP Crawford (.524, 4R, 1HR 9RBI, SB); Jair Morelos (.500); Cody Overbeck (.407, 3HR); Pete Orr (.414); Zach Collier (.379); Troy Hanzawa (.357); Delvi Gruillon (.357); Harold Martinez (.353); Herlis Rodriguez (.348); Zach Green (.333, 5R 3HR 6RBI); Honorable Mention: Knapp, Oberto, Susdorf, Rupp, Continue reading Hot or Not →