The Phillies made their first round of cuts today, as Minor League camp opens and games begin shortly. Included in the cuts: P Phillipe Aumont and P JC Ramirez (both acquired in the CLiff Lee deal), P Jesus Sanchez, P Joe Savery, P Drew Naylor, P Yohan Flande, P Bill White, C Tuffy Gosewisch, C John Suomi, C Kevin Nelson, OF Quintin Berry and OF Tyson Gillies (also acquired in the Lee deal). The one somewhat surprising name to be sent down early was Scott Mathieson who made two appearances giving up a run in two innings of work.  With the question marks surrounding the health of  both Lidge and Romero in the back of the ‘pen to start the year, many expected (myself included) Mathieson to make a legitimate run at an opening day roster spot.  I would expect him to start the season potentially closing in Lehigh Valley.

I arrived at Bright house Field on January 27th at 830am. When I arrived, there were 10-15 players at the complex already working out. The players ranged from the 32 year old, best pitcher in baseball, Roy Hallady, to the 19 year old, highly touted pitching prospect, Jarred Cosart. Mike Zagurski and Scott Mathieson were also there getting in shape to try and make the big league club.

Continue reading Catching Up… Part 3 (January 27th-March 1st) →

Just a quick update. In the next day or two I’m going to put together the spreadsheet with all of the submissions for the Reader Top 30 and then post it. Also, since I’ve completed my own Top 30 list, I’ve had some time to work on other projects here, and one of them has been to make some changes and improvements to the SONAR system. The feedback I’ve gotten (from those who’ve participated in the discussions) was positive, and just like anyone who creates anything, I always want it to improve and become more useful, so I’ve been able to make some changes that I think accomplish just that. I’m hoping to have a writeup on Friday with the changes and new data, so check back for that. Also, as we get closer to spring training games starting, I’ll try and put up a daily thread where you can discuss the prospects’ performance. But for today, I thought we’d just do a fun informal poll/discussion, so check below…

Continue reading Poll of the Day →

A few tidbits first reported by Jim Salisbury of Comcast Sportsnet.  OF Zach Collier recently had wrist surgery to repair damage to the hamate bone.  The surgery will set Collier back a few weeks, however, he should be back at full speed by the end of spring training.  Collier was the 34th pick in the 2008 draft.

Additionally, the Phils signed two youngsters out of the DOminican Republic.  17 year old 6’6 pitcher Miguel Nunez received a $220,000 signing bonus, while 3B Maikol Franco (also 17) signed for $100,000. Both should see time with the Rookie League Gulf Coast Phils this Summer.

It has been 163 days since my last entry, but no one is allowed to yell at me for my hiatus because I am writing this on February 19^th, 2010, my 24^th birthday.  The past 163 days have been a complete roller coaster ride for my life and baseball career.

Continue reading Catching Up… part 1 (September 9th-November 25th) →

Zach Collier cruised through the voting for #25, taking 28% of the vote and edging out Michael Schwimer and a cast of others. We’ll move right along to #26, as we inch closer to finishing up the Top 30 for this season. Check below for the poll

Continue reading Reader Top 30; #26 →

Over at CSN, Jim Salisbury has been going position by position through the Phillies system, talking about the prospects the organization likes at certain positions, etc etc. So far he’s covered catcher, first base, and second base. Check out his writeups and feel free to discuss them in this post, which I can bump up if it falls off the first page. Thanks to reader “David” for pointing out the story to me.

Also, a thank you to Todd, a contributor here who maintains the updated depth charts and 40 man roster entries you can find at the top of the main page. He recently created a spreadsheet in google documents with every player in the organization, prospect and career minor leaguer alike, and how that player was acquired. You can find it on the Rosters Page at the top of the site or by clicking here.

is….Oscar Villareal. The 29 year old right handed reliver is best known for the several years he spent in the Arizona organization, including years of moderate to good production in the mid to late innings for the Diamondbacks.  He is coming off of Tommy John surgery, but is a nice “depth” signing to add into the bullpen mix.  He last pitched in the majors in 2008 for the Astros, going 1-3 with a 5.02 ERA in 35 appearances, and spent last season recovering from his surgery.  Villareal has thrown over 75 innings in relief three separate seasons, with his ERA below 4.25 in each of those years.

With just 16 days until pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, the Phillies continue to fill their holes on the minor league rosters with players who are minor league veterans and most who have had a cup of coffee at the major league level. Lehigh Valley should be welcoming back 33 year old Left handed starter Brian Mazone for his third season in Allentown.  Mazone was probably the IronPigs steadiest starter in 2008, going 9-12 with a 4.10 ERA in his 164.2 IP.  After a brief stint in the Dodgers organization at the beginning of last season he rejoined the IronPigs mid season and was 2-6 with a 3.50 ERA in his 11 starts late in the year.  Mazone brings experience and a consistent left handed arm to join lefty Joe Savery in the Lehigh Valley rotation. Continue reading Signings, Next Round →

The Phils signed 24 year old SS Brian Bocock, out of the Giants organization to a minor league deal today.  Bocock spent last season primarily with Class A Advanced San Jose and hit .241/.303/.339 in 430 AB’s with 3 HR and 48 RBI.   He was originally a 9th round pick of the Giants in the 2006 draft and saw some time in the majors in 2008 with the injury depleted Giants.  He hit .143 in his 77major league at bats.  Bocock provides depth at best for the Phils affiliates as they have lost Miguel Cairo, Jason Donald, JJ Furmaniak and Brad Harmon, among others from the ranks of the middle infield.