Got a few questions, so here are the answers, as best as I can do..

From Dan

With Adrian Cardenas as our top position prospect at a position where we already have a superstar in Chase Utley, where do you see Cardenas ending up position-wise, if he ever makes it to the big leagues? BaseballAmerica intimated that he could move to Right Field, do you agree?

I think they will keep him at 2B up through AA, at which point they will evaluate what is happening at the big league level. He might not have the arm strength to play 3B or RF, and he won’t have the range for CF, which means LF might be the final stopping point. For now, though, I think he’ll remain at 2B.

From Avery

Do you have any info on crosscutters pitcher drew naylor? Whats his stuff like? What are his pitches? Whats his makeup like? Also, why did he only start 2 of his 12 games last year. Basically what im asking
is: is he a legit prospect for the phils?

and similarly, from tua36564

Just wanted to know your thoughts on Drew Naylor a RHP at Williamsport. Pitched his third game today and has three wins. He also has let up only one ER in 22 innings pitched. He’s averaging almost a strikeout per inning and has walked only three while sporting a 1.14 Ground/Fly ratio. Is he the real deal, or will he come back down to Earth?

Drew Naylor seems to be springing to everyone’s mind with his quick start. Naylor, for those who don’t know, is one of our Australian signings, and made his US debut in 2006. Just turning 21, Naylor has a solid pitcher’s build, at 6’4, 210 lbs, but did not dominate in his first pro action, posting a 4.66 ERA in 36.2 IP, allowing 43 H, 9 BB and only 22 K. Lack of strikeouts is of course a red flag, as is the hittability, though his walk rate was solid. Well, Naylor has gotten off to a much better start this season;

22 IP, 0.41 ERA, 9 H, 3 BB, 21 K

Obviously that’s a huge improvement. The strikeouts are the most encouraging thing, and he’s been much less hittable. Is he a legit prospect? Yeah, because this is only his second season in pro ball, and he moved up a level, he’s not just repeating the GCL. What does he throw? I’ve never seen him pitch in person, and he was not on anyone’s radar, so there isn’t a lot of info there. I think I remember reading somewhere that he throws a typical fastball/changeup/slider combination. From the looks of his numbers, he must have sharpened his secondary pitches, because the strikeouts are way up and the walks are still way down. He’s definitely a guy to keep an eye on, but he needs to keep steadily moving if we’re to consider him a legit prospect.

Something new we’ll try. It may stick, it may not, depending on how active YOU, the readers are. I’ve gotten a few questions in the last few days on my questions/topics page located at the top, and in the last few weeks, I’ve also gotten some emails with questions, so I thought this might be an interesting way to share the info for everyone to read instead of just replying to one person. This will be a fairly informal thing, not a ton of work involved, and I will only do it as I get in questions to actually answer. First round

Rob asks

Are Brad Baisley and Juan Richardson, two former Phillies prospects, still in baseball?

Ahh, Brad Baisley. Baisley, our 2nd round pick in 1998, was a tall (6’9) and lanky RHP the Phillies fell in love with, and well, he never really panned out. He pitched ok until he got past Clearwater, and could never get anything done at the higher levels. After spending 7 seasons in the organization, he was let go after the 2003 season and signed with the Yankees. After a short 13 inning stint he was released, and then picked up by the Dodgers to finish out the 2004 season. His 4.79 ERA in 35 innings to finish 2004 is the last Baisley has pitched in pro ball, that I know of. Juan Richardson, signed as an undrafted FA out of the Dominican Republic in 1998, was released after posting a .725 OPS at Reading in 2005. He signed with St Louis and spent 2006 in the AA Texas League, where he posted a surprising .882 OPS in 444 AB, playing 3B and 1B. I don’t know if the Cardinals plan to sign him to another minor league deal, but they just might. His 2006 looks nice, but he was a 25 year old playing in AA, so you have to take it with a grain of salt. He never really put it together for the Phillies, always hitting for some power but never getting on base to be considered more than a fringe prospect.

The Red Tornado asks

What about a piece on newly acquired 30 year old prospect Greg Jacobs? Could he be the next Coste or just another career minor leaguer? His offensive numbers seem impressive, but he’s old.

The Greg Jacobs mega-signing happened before I got started, and I never got around to writing anything up on him. Jacobs was drafted way back in 1998 by the then Anaheim Angels as a pitcher out of Cal State Fullerton. He put up decent but not great numbers in rookie ball and low A, but hit the wall in 2000 at high A, and got his brains beat in at high A and AA in 2001. He was released after 2001 and played 2002 in the Western League, where he raked to the tune of a 1.088 OPS in 326 AB, but did so at the age of 25. In 2003, he was back in the bigs, this time in the Seattle organization. He put up a 1.009 OPS at high A (age 26), but stumbled to a .740 OPS in the hitter friendly Texas League (AA) upon promotion. 2004 was a big year for him, as he put up an .873 OPS at AA and an even better .911 OPS at AAA, this coming in his age 27 season. His 2005 didn’t go quite as well, as he slumped to a .611 OPS at AAA and again ended up in the Northern League, where he promptly put up a .986 OPS in 256 AB. In 2006, he remained in the Northern League, putting up a 1.015 OPS in 333 AB, his age 29 season. But here’s the problem…..I have no clue what the Northern League is like. For comparison’s sake, Chris Coste put up OPS numbers of .831, .851, .875 and .923 in the Northern League in his four seasons, but they came at ages 23-26. Jacobs has a very impressive minor league line, but he’s never gotten the chance. He’s always been a DH/OF, so he lacks the versatility of Coste. Honestly, I don’t think he’s got much of a chance to make the team, even if he hits .450 in the spring. Maybe the team bought his contract as a favor to Coste, who knows.

There ya have it.