We kind of touched on what to expect from Jaramillo going forward in the Reader Top 30 threads, where he took the 13th spot. Some felt he didn’t merit a ranking that high, which is understandable considering his less than amazing 2007 numbers. Baseball America’s Team USA breakdown

Bryan Anderson (Cardinals) and Jason Jaramillo (Phillies) split time behind the plate in the Arizona Fall League. Although Anderson is the more promising prospect, there is not much difference between the two in current ability. Anderson, who hit .298/.350/.388 for Double-A Springfield as a 20-year-old, is an offensive-minded catcher with good contact-hitting skills. Jaramillo, 25, hit .271/.350/.361 for Triple-A Ottawa right and shows more patience at the plate than Anderson does right now. Jaramillo also did a bit better than Anderson at throwing out base-stealers in 2007. Having the lefthanded-hitting Anderson and the righthanded-hitting Jaramillo should make for a nice platoon for manager Davey Johnson.

“Anderson is the better hitter of the two, but Jaramillo gives you more consistency behind the plate with above-average arm strength and accuracy with his throws,” a scout from a National League club said. “There isn’t much of a drop-off with either one behind the plate, but Jaramillo is the better defender. Anderson gives you more punch, but it’s not like Jaramillo is a bad hitter. This is a guy who had a really nice year in Triple-A (in 2007).”

Whether he’s just being nice for the sake of it, it’s nice to see something positive here, and it’s again highlighting his performance defensively, which is a plus. Anderson, for what it’s worth, was ranked as the Cardinals’ 6th best prospect entering 2007, and one of the better catching prospects in the minors.

Just saw the list at Baseball America, no real surprises, but felt I’d pass it along. I think they might try and bring back guys like Burnham and Brito, but we’ll see.

Righthanders: Ryan Cameron, Matt Childers, Julio de la Cruz, Landon Jacobsen, Gary Knotts, Tim McClaskey, Bubba Nelson, Chris Rojas, Brian Sanches, Heath Totten, Charles Weatherby, Jason Wylie
Lefthanders: Eude Brito, Allen Davis, Chris Key, Luis Villarreal, Cory Willey
Catchers: Jason Hill, Dusty Wathan
First basemen: Gary Burnham, John Urick
Second basemen: Carlos Leon, Peeter Ramos
Third basemen: Joey Hammond, Brennan King
Shortstops: Gookie Dawkins, Danny Sandoval
Outfielders: Shaun Boyd, Nic Jackson, Greg Jacobs, Matt Padgett, Jim Rushford, Pedro Swann

This is certainly the most in depth piece I’ve ever seen on Outman, and details his unorthodox delivery in college, how he altered it, and the impact it’s had. Very good stuff for a change from the official web site.

Hat tip to frequent reader/commenter dajafi, who posted this over at TGP.

Last week, the Phillies announced that they had hired Chuck LaMar and installed him as the director of pro scouting. My first reaction? WHY???? And that’s partly when I didn’t mention this earlier, because I needed some time to assess the situation, assess LaMar fully, and then try and figure out the ramifications of the entire ordeal. My negative first reaction is based simply on his inability to handle major league talent and make proper moves for his franchise. Then I began to think that maybe his job here would simply allow him to evaluate talent and advise Gillick, and that was the role they had for him. Then I remembered that Gillick is likely going to walk away from the team after 2008. When he does, we’ll need a new GM. Most people who tend to have a pessimistic outlook on the Phillies general decision making process assume (rightly or wrongly) that Ruben Amaro is the man to take over the job. Some people (like myself), hope that they look outside the organization, maybe to a guy who believes in 21st century baseball. But now, Chuck LaMar adds another twist to this impending situation, and with that, we’ll take a look at his ledger.

Continue reading Phillies hire Chuck LaMar →

From Baseball America today

“He’s improved so much,” the scout said. “I know that’s hard to believe given the amount of strikeouts he’s had, but I’m a believer and I know I’m far from the only one.

“I didn’t think he’d ever have the tools to play when I saw him as an amateur–he was just real rough at the plate and I didn’t think he’d have enough instincts, but his tools are very, very good.

“It doesn’t surprise me he led the minors in strikeouts because he’s still a is a top-hand, layout guy that’s knobbed up right away so the low pitch–wherever it is in the zone–is going to kill him.

“But he’s an 80 arm with 80 speed . . . those guys with those kind of tools . . . if he figures it out . . . wow. He could be a late bloomer.

“This is one of those guys that you don’t ever want to give up on despite what the numbers say. You fall in love with him. It’s hard not to. And this is a smart kid who just turned 22. If he leaves his brain in the clubhouse and just goes out there and reacts, he’s one of the best prospects in the game. I know that can be a pretty big if with some guys, but you can’t just throw this guy away.”

Link

Continue reading Scouts say “Don’t give up on Golson” →

Here’s a snippet from a Baseball America AFL report today

Numbers aside, Overholt is a reliever. His stuff tended to flatten out, often after just three innings in Double-A in a starting role. And while his slider is viewed by many in the organization to be the best in the system, it wasn’t impressive Tuesday.

“I didn’t see enough of it today to say it was a good slider,” said one scout from a National League club. “He didn’t throw it enough to really say if it was good or bad, but the ones he did throw were fringy.

“I wound up comparing him to (Nationals closer) Chad Cordero after seeing him today as not being a real velocity guy, but a guy who has a heavy ball with some arm side sink that comes right at you. But I didn’t see a guy who would be a go-to guy coming out of your bullpen. He’s not that kind of a Cordero, but his ball is really heavy. I didn’t see that kind of stuff from him with the breaking ball, but he’s got good sink (with the fastball) at times.”

A 2005 22nd-round pick out of Santa Clara, Overholt had never started in pro ball until this season.

“It seems like he could be good in short spurts with a two-pitch mix,” said another NL scout. “But he shouldn’t mess with more than that.”

I liked Overholt heading into last season as a reliever, the Phillies chose to start him, and it looks like it may have set his ETA back a year. I noted his great groundball tendencies when he was on top of his game, and that is confirmed by the scout who noted the “heavy ball” he throws. Overholt is a possible 6/7th inning guy at this point, but probably not until mid 2008 or later.

Just a little update on our players in the AFL and Hawaiian Winter League

AFL

Greg Golson: 20 AB — .250/.238/.400 — 0 BB — 3 K — 3 XBH
Mike Costanzo: 17 AB — .059/.200/.235 – 3 BB – 10K — 1 XBH (HR)
Tuffy Gosewich: 6 AB — .333/.333/.333

Josh Outman: 2 IP — 2 ER — 2 H — 1 BB — 2 K — 1 HR
Joe Savery: 2 IP — 0 ER — 1 H — 1 BB — 2 K
Joe Bisenius: 4 IP — 0 ER — 1 H — 1 BB — 4 K
Pat Overholt: 2.2 IP — 2 ER — 2 H — 1 BB — 2 K

HWL

Ronald Hill: 9.1 IP — 9 ER —  14 H — 6 BB — 9 K
Andrew Cruse: 11.0 IP — 4 ER — 10 H — 4 BB — 6 K

I’ll try and post updates every few days. The Phillies have Andrew Cruse and Ronald Hill pitching for North Shore Honu.