Looking at the first three rounds of the major league baseball draft over the past 10 years, it becomes quite clear why the Phils have the lack of depth that they are currently suffering from.  They have had very few high draft picks who have panned out in the manner you would hope and to some extent, expect.  When you look at the teams around the major leagues and review their first three rounds of draft picks over the last 10 years, there are very few teams that have produced less major league talent (regulars) than the Phils.

The benefit that the Phils received from their drafts over the last 10 years is that specific pieces have helped land the likes of Halladay, Oswalt, and Blanton.  Those pieces were critical to the success of the Phils (some more than others) in 2008-2011. It is notable however, that absent Halladay, there is no player that had prolonged success in the Phils organization.  The future holds some degree of hope with the ultimate success of the last 3-4 years still to be determined.

Looking back year by year: 2013: (1) JP Crawford; (2) Andrew Knapp; (3) Cord Sandberg; (3) Jan Hernandez.  It’s too early to pass judgement and the Crawford pick has the potential to erase plenty of bad draft memories.  Knapp has been hampered by Tommy John surgery which he underwent late last year.  Both Sandberg and Hernandez struggled mightily with the bat last year but have the talent to erase their first 100 professional at bats pretty quickly. Continue reading The Phils and the Draft–Few Hits, Plenty of Misses →

The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce has arranged for a terrific opportunity for Phillies fans on Friday March 28th at Citizens Bank Park.  The day will begin at 2pm at which time, you will be allowed entrance into the DIamond Club at the park. Food and Drink will begin at 2:30 pm (included in admission price).  A full hour of questions and answers/autographs will go from 2:45 until 3:45.  At 3:50, you will go on to the field at Citizens Bank Park for an on field presentation (weather permitting), with the pre-game program ending at 4:30.  You will also receive a game ticket for that evenings pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and likely see a few of the top prospects we talk about so often here at Phuture Phillies.

The all inclusive price for this event is $95, however the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce has agreed to provide Phuture Phillies reader with a $5 discount if you use the discount code Phillyblog1 at checkout.   Click here for more  details: http://www.gpcc.com/phillies.

Some surprising news coming out of the Carpenter Complex tonight with Mike Stutes among the first group of cuts by the Phils, as he was optioned to minor league camp.  Stutes, who has battled injuries over the past two seasons struggled mightily in his early Spring Training appearances, giving up 7 earned runs in 3IP.  Also on the list of cuts are RP Luis Garcia, OF Kelly Dugan, OF Aaron Altherr, OF Leandro Castro and C Sebastian Valle.  No major surprises except for how quickly Stutes was sent back to minor league camp.

In other news at the minor league facility today, OF Anthony Hewitt came up lame (hamstring) while running out a grounder and was in a considerable amount of pain leaving the field.

Today Baseball America posted their review of the Phillies International spending during the 2013 calendar year (encompassing both the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 signing periods).  During that time, the Phillies signed 35 players, 4 of them for bonuses greater than $100,000.  The full article is here, but here are some highlights.

In April the Phillies signed 18 year old catcher Jose Gonzalez for $300,000.  Gonzalez had Tommy John surgery shortly after signing and did not play last summer.  The Phillies big signing was Luis Encarnacion for $1,000,000 in August.  Encarnacion was one of the best bats in the J2 crop and was widely expected to cost about $1,300,000 (Encarnacion does share a trainer with Gonzalez).  Encarnacion is in camp and should start in the GCL. Continue reading Baseball America’s 2013 International Review →