I’m not going to bother with a depth chart for Lakewood, because after we started doing these I realized that everything is still very much in the air, and there isn’t even a whole lot of value in that. But I did see this in today’s scouting notebook by Kevin Goldstein at BP;

Carlos Carrasco, RHP, Phillies: “He has a chance to be special with that changeup.”

Jason Donald, MI, Phillies: “He gets a lot of hype, but I’m just not on that. He’s a bench player at best.”

Remember, this isn’t Goldstein’s opinion, just what scouts have told him.

Infielder Jason Donald along with pitchers Jake Woods and Dave Borkowski were all optioned to minor league camp this evening,  Donald had a strong Spring, seeing time at both SS and 3B, hitting .293 in 58 at bats.  He had a homer, 4 RBI’s and 3 stolen bases.  Borkowski was effective this spring, throwing 5.1 innings with a 1.69 ERA.  He walked two and struck out three.  Woods, who had some major league experience had an outside shot at sticking as a lefty out of the pen.  That shot was quickly dimished with a 7.94 ERA in his 5.2 innings this Spring.  Expect all three to have an impact with the IronPigs this year.

These cuts leave Mike Koplove and Gary Majewski fighting for the last spot in the Phillies bullpen if the Phils go North with 12 pitchers.

Minor League rosters continue being filled out with pitcher Kyle Kendrick, catcher Lou Marson and infielder Brad Harmon all being optioned to minor league camp.  Kendrick  was extremely disappointing, unable to bring himself out of his late season funk, which is now leaning more towards our reality.  He was 1-3 with an ERA over 9 in his 4 starts this spring.  His WHIP has hovered right around 2.  Expect to see him as a member of the ‘Pigs rotation in Lehigh Valley.

Harmon spent the majority of the Spring with the Australian team that participated in the World Baseball Classic and played well, before going 0-7 in his Spring Training at-bats with the Phils.  Lou Marson will join the ‘Pigs as well as their everyday catcher after a Spring which saw him struggle from the plate, hitting .125 in 24 Spring at bats (including exhibitions).

By popular demand.

Link.

Fortunately for the Phillies, area scout Chip Lawrence stayed on the case. And when Brown was still available late, they decided to take a shot. He eventually signed for about $200,000, extremely high for where he was taken, but not for the second- or third-round pick that he probably would have been if the football option hadn’t clouded the picture.

“I’m going to be honest with you. Baseball is my first love. I told all the scouts that,” he said recently at the Carpenter Complex. “But I guess I was so highly ranked in football that they just wouldn’t believe that a guy with my caliber of skills on the field would choose the baseball route.

Area scouts are the lifeblood of the org.

Everyone knows the deal. Coming into spring training, Donald was going to see time at 2B and 3B in the event that Chase Utley or Pedro Feliz wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day. It appears both guys have a shot to be in the opening day lineup, Utley seems a better bet than Feliz. That raises the question, what happens with Donald? He’s hitting .379 this spring, much of it coming after a slow start where he appeared to be pressing a bit. He’s also drawn 6 walks. But if he isn’t looking at full time at bats, what is going to happen to him? I personally think he’s going to be one of the last cuts from the squad and sent to AAA where he’ll play both 2B and 3B, mostly 3B. But have your say here

I feel like I made a post similar to this one a year ago, but maybe not. Anyway, Tom Verducci, who writes for Sports Illustrated, did a study and found that pitchers under the age of 25 who throw 30 more innings than they did the previous season break down at a fairly high rate. You can read his article here in which he outlines the basic premise. More below the fold…

Continue reading Phillies pitching prospects and the “Rule of 30” →

Dan, who joined us for the first part of 2009 as the Lakewood correspondent is back this season to cover Lakewood. Jeff is also rejoining us for Threshers coverage, while Zac and Gregg will take care of Reading and Lehigh Valley. Thanks to those of you who expressed interest.

After a very effective outing yesterday by Chan Ho Park (4 IP, 1 ER), JA Happ followed that up today with 3 shutout innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 7.  Kendrick and Carrasco are going to have some catching up to do, although I believe absent a phenominal spring by Carrasco, the Phils have always intended him to start this season in AAA.

John Mayberry, Jr. hit another homer today, bouncing back well from a game yesterday where he left 4 men on base.

     Spring training is well underway, and I was wondering if any minor leaguers appear destined to make the jump to the majors.  Those with an outside shot at the beginning of ST were Happ, Carrasco, Mayberry, Marson, and Donald.

Continue reading Who is Making the Jump? →