In yesterday’s first prospect grade, was everyone able to see the “card” for Fidel Hernandez? If yes, then my method will work going forward. If not, I’ll have to make a change.

Welcome to the first edition of the midseason prospect grades. I outlined a few days ago the system I have developed to try and evaluate our prospects, so we should have a pretty good idea of how to read and interpret the data. I’ll only do 1 grade today and give more detailed explanations of how to read and interpret, and then after today, I’ll try and do 5-6 grades per day. I’m starting at the bottom of the list in terms of where prospects ranked in my end of 2006 list, found here. I’ll also omit guys who have not made their 2007 debut, for obvious reasons. At the end of the grades section, I’ll post their 2006 scores, but since you won’t have anything to compare it to in 2007, it won’t be that much of a help. Ok, enough blathering, on with the grades. Continue reading Mid-season prospect grades, Part 1 →

I haven’t had time to put the finishing touches on the prospect grades system because of my move, and I’m still without internet and tv at home, so the grades will have to wait a few more days, but I hope to be able to get enough done over the weekend so we can start in next week.

So, with my continued lapse of new info here, I thought I’d throw out a topic of discussion and get YOUR opinion. If you had to decide right now, who would your Top 10 prospects for the Phillies be? Use whatever criteria you’d like. Just post them below in the comments and if you’d like, give your reasoning.

As everyone probably know, it is the management of the parent club who decide on which players will make it to the big leagues, which will not, and if their stay will be short termed or long, or indeed if a particular player will go down a level or two, or simply be released. All minor league affiliates are there to feed the big league club and keep the team competitive for the future or to replace injured players until they return. Nothing new there but it might be worth reminding ourselves of that fact when we look at the standings. Naturally all fans want their favourite team to have a successful season and there is value to any player playing in a winning environment. How to win is a necessary skill for any player to be successful and it is a skill that most must learn. Winning is difficult-losing is easy.

Continue reading Triple A-Last Stop Before The Show? (Part One) →

If Kendrick was looking to make a good impression and get himself another start, I think he accomplished that goal today. Here’s the final line

6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

And the rest

11:3 GB:FB, 92 pitches (55 strikes, 37 balls)

Continue reading Kyle Kendrick, a solid first impression →

Showing any doubters why he deserved his selection to the Florida State League All-Star team Carlos Carrasco came out on Wednesday night and threw the first nine inning complete game for the Threshers this year. Carrasco was about as good as a pitcher could be, giving up just three hits in the game, walking none, and striking out seven in the effort.

The Threshers won the game 6-0 and moved back into second place in their division. However the playoff format in the F.S.L. pits the winner of the first half of the season against the winner of the second half, and the first-half race in coming to a close. The team remains three games behind the Sarasota Reds with just seven games left in the first half of the year. The final three games will be against those Reds, so if the team can pick up one game on the Reds in the next three games and go into that final series of the half less than three games out they’ve got a terrific shot at making the playoffs in the first-half of the year.

In other Threshers news Jason Donald has been solid in his seven games since joining the Threshers from Lakewood. He is hitting .269 with a HR, 2 triples, and a double among his hits.

It’s getting to be that time, time to take a look at how our prospects are doing this year, who’s stock is up, who’s stock is down, and who has fallen off the prospect map. I still haven’t decided how I want to start, but I may just go in reverse order of grades, so the players with the lowest grades will come first. I’ve spent the last 4 or 5 months tinkering with and developing a better evaluation system to assign a value or number to a prospect’s performance. As I’ve detailed in the past, not all .300 averages are the same, and 20 home runs isn’t just 20 home runs, that the context is important. When I roll out the grades, each player will have the following information given

Continue reading Mid-season prospect grades…a preview →

With the recent injury to Freddy Garcia, the Phillies are going to need to make a roster move when his spot comes up in the rotation. With the signing of Jose Mesa (vomit), they will go with an extra reliever until that point. Zagurski has options, so he could be sent down, but he’s thrown the ball well, I don’t know why they’d go that route. Clay Condrey fits the bill of fungible veteran who probably will clear waivers, so he’s my choice to get the tap. But that brings us to who should get a shot to start.

Continue reading Give Kyle Kendrick a chance →

The DSL season started last Saturday, though the web site has been slow with updates.  The roster for the team was finally posted today.

DSL Roster

Lots of new players on the roster this year.  Notable holdovers include pitchers Yohan Flande (age 21), Daury Luna (age 21), and OF Vladimir De Los Santos (age 20).  These guys are probably not prospects any more and should dominate the league.  It will be interesting to see which new players get lots of playing time.  The younger players that get regular playing time are most likely the prospects to watch, regardless of how well they play this year.

Continue reading Dominican Summer League Roster →

* In his second start at Clearwater, Jason Donald ripped a triple and a home run in Clearwater’s 8-0 victory over Palm Beach. Greg Golson also hit his 5th of the year in support of Josh Outman, who went 7.2 IP, allowing 0 ER, giving up 6 hits and 2 walks to go with 5 strikeouts. Outman’s ERA now sits at 2.94 after 65 IP. He is still walking way too many hitters, but the strikeouts are up, he’s keeping the ball on the ground, and he’s not allowing as many runs as he did in April….all positive signs.

* E-mailer Ken also pointed out this from Phillies.com

Kyle Drabek, 2006. The son of Major Leaguer Doug
Drabek, Kyle has shown the inconsistency expected from
someone a year removed from high school. He’s shown
his electric fastball, curveball, slider arsenal in
some dominant outings, and gotten beaten up in others.
Still, he’s compiled a 5-1 record and a 4.17 ERA
before being placed on the disabled list with right
elbow inflammation, but the Phillies don’t believe the
injury is serious.

Doesn’t sound serious, that’s a good sign.