As we all know, the winter meetings are in full force, and everyone is talking trade. Today I pose an open-ended question. Based on the lack of strength of our top 4-5 prospects in comparison with other teams, do we have any “untouchable” prospects? Would you be pissed if Carrasco and Cardenas were traded as part of a package for Erik Bedard or Dan Haren? Is the composition of the major league team, in a zone where they are likely going to contend for the next 3-4 years, dictating that we trade prospects now to add that final piece and push us over the top? I have my opinions on this, but I want to see what the general view is.

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The last stop, and really, this one is impossible to predict now, as most of the team will be made up of players taken in the June draft, plus a few guys coming back from injury. The one guy I feel confident about predicting is Jiwan James, who really struggled in his short stint last season. I suppose we could also see a few guys from the DSL and VSL teams here. Anyone have any other candidates?

Getting even tougher now…

Correa
Matos
Sampson
De Fratus
(2008 draftee?)

I suppose Diekman could end up here, but since he was a JuCo guy, they should give him a shot at Lakewood. Jiwan James was pretty awful in his debut, I imagine he’ll remain in extended and then go back to the GCL. Matos could start at Lakewood in the bullpen, I suppose they could even get real aggressive with Sampson and skip him to Lakewood too. I think a few guys from the June draft will end up in the rotation. Correa should be close to a lock here, I don’t see them skipping him straight to A ball.

This one will be tougher, as it isn’t quite clear who will jump from rookie ball to Lakewood.

Darren Byrd
Jarrod Freeman
Kyle Drabek
Drew Naylor
Jacob Diekman

Of course we know Savery could start here, based on what the folks at BA think, and Drabek probably won’t be ready to pitch until May or June, and I assume he’s going to start back here. I think Byrd will repeat Lakewood, and Freeman given another shot to start here. Others to consider to fill Drabek’s spot for a while; Miguel Matos, Tyson Brummett (if he doesn’t start at Clearwater), Scott Mitchinson (Clearwater seems more likely. Did I miss anyone obvious?

Let me see if I can contain my excitement. Youman isn’t really a prospect anymore, he’ll be 28 this year, and he’s not particularly good, but I’m assuming they’ll try and pass him through waivers in the spring and try to sneak him onto the Allentown roster. His numbers are not very promising, though he was a decent prospect until he hit 3A in 2006.

This one could be a bit tricky…

Edgar Garcia
Joe Savery*
Antonio Bastardo
Carlos Monasterios
Chance Chapman

* I hope he starts here, but I have a feeling it will be Lakewood. If that’s the case, I suppose Dan Brauer is a candidate to start back here, if he’s healthy. I’m assuming Chapman will be a candidate, seeing as he’s already 23 and will be old for his level wherever he starts out. Tyson Brummett is also a possibility I’d think. Garcia seems like a logical choice, having spent 2007 in Low A, same with Bastardo and Monasterios.

Let’s give Reading a go

Carlos Carrasco
Josh Outman
Drew Carpenter
Alex Concepcion
(?)

The first three are pretty much locks, I think Concepcion has a decent shot to start there, but he could be back at Clearwater, which would leave two open spots. Fabio Castro, if he remains a starter, he could be an option here I think.

It’s always fun to kind of speculate on potential lineups and rotations, so I figured we’d start in Allentown. Things could change of course, whether it be because of a trade or an injury, but this is my guess;

Kyle Kendrick
JA Happ
Scott Mathieson
(filler)
(filler)

I don’t think the Phillies are 100% sold on Kyle Kendrick, and probably feel that he could use another half year or year in the minors to refine his stuff. I say this because they are aggressively pursuring (or apparently pursueing) a number of free agents, and they already have 4 starters on the roster in Hamels, Myers, Moyer and Eaton. Kendrick is likely to be the first callup when the need arises, and it will most certainly arise. Happ seems like the easy choice in the 2 slot, and my guess is that Mathieson will start, if anything just to get innings before competing for a bullpen slot. The last two spots will probably be minor league vets. There is really NO reason to rush Carrasco or Outman to 3A, as both struggled at Reading.

Thoughts? Did I miss someone obvious?

Don’t have time for an entry today, but Ed Wade must be smiling today, as another fruit of his labor claimed some heavy duty hardware, winning the NL MVP yesterday. Wade, for as much as we panned him as a GM, never traded away Ryan Howard, Chase Utley or Rollins, the three guys who are now the core of the team. Utley would have to be the odds on favorite to win the 2008 MVP, if you can even project things like that, as he’d have probably won in 2007 if not for the injury. Even if Wade did try and trade Howard for Ted Lilly or Zack Duke, at the end of the day he didn’t, and because of it, the Phillies are much better off. Lots of people really despise Eddie, but I find myself disliking him less and less, and at the end of the day, he does deserve a lot of credit for the current core of this team.

After the holiday here, we’ll start looking at projected rotations and lineups for the minor league affiliates, starting with Allentown.