I thought this would be an interesting comparison. Happ and Outman are arguably the Phillies two best LHP prospects, assuming that Antonio Bastardo still has a ways to go. Outside of the hand they throw with, the two pitchers are very different. Happ is 4 inches taller than Outman (6’5 to 6’1), and if you believe the media guides, has 25 pounds on him. Despite the height difference, Outman actually throws harder than Happ, with a 91-93 fastball, compared to Happ’s 89-92.  Happ’s second best offering is his changeup, while Outman’s is a slider, and Happ’s breaking ball is more of an over the top 12-6, as opposed to Outman’s sharp slider.  Happ is a year older than Outman, and has also pitched at higher levels to date. Here are their numbers at the respective levels.

Continue reading JA Happ or Josh Outman? →

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while now, you surely remember my reaction to the Phillies taking Tyler Mach in the 4th round back in June. You remember my dismay, that the team would take a low ceiling, four year senior in the 4th round when much better talent was still available. After the draft when Mach signed, he flew out of the gates, hitting over .400 in his first handful of games. My detractors were lining up to tell me how wrong I was, and saying that Mach should already be promoted to a full season league. Let’s revisit that post, first with my summary, and then with some of your thoughts.

Continue reading Some thoughts on Tyler Mach →

After coming from behind to win the Western Division Championship and getting momentum on their side, it seemed not a matter of “if” the Cleawater Threshers would win the Florida State League Championship, but “when” would they win the championship.  The team won the first two games of the finals series at Brevard County, then came home to Clearwater on Monday for the third game.  Though the team dropped the game on Monday at home they stormed back on Tuesday night and wrapped things up.

Continue reading Clearwater Threshers Win 2007 FSL Championship →

A while ago we debated who took the biggest step forward and who took the biggest step back this season. Now that the year is complete, we have a bigger sample to look at, and we can re-visit this question. Don’t necessarily just pick the guy with the best/worst statistics, consider what was expected of that player before the season. For example, it’s tough to call Welinson Baez a step back this year, when most people assumed that he was bordering on non-prospect status entering this season anyway. So, consider expectation and performance, and then list your biggest step forward and biggest step back.

Pat Overholt started last season as a reliever, and pitched decently well, piling up the strikeouts at Lakewood and Clearwater. This season he was converted into a starter, eventually making it to Reading. His numbers

2006, A- : 45.2 IP,  37 H, 26 BB, 52 K
2006, A+ : 26.1 IP, 20 H, 10 BB, 41 K

Then as a starter

2007, A+ : 73.0 IP, 67 H, 30 BB, 56 K
2007, 2A: 77.1 IP, 85 H, 38 BB, 50 K

So, what role do you see Overholt taking in 2008, will he start back in AA? Have your say below.

Donald had a breakout season this year, mashing at both Low A and High A after being thought of mainly as a utility infielder in the future. The question for today is, where do you see Jason Donald in 2 or 3 seasons? Is he playing shortstop in AAA? Has he moved to 2B or 3B? Has he been traded because the Phillies don’t see a spot for him? Also, what type of major league player do you expect him to be? An average shortstop offensively? Above average? A spare part infielder?

Have your say in the comments.

After taking game one from the Mantees at their own home park, the Threshers looked to take another win on Sunday night and return to Clearwater on Monday needing just one more win for the FSL Championship. The Manatees on the other hand looked to stay alive in their final home game of the year. Continue reading Threshers One Win Away from FSL Crown →

I am sick as a dog and should have been home in bed tonight, but I managed to drag myself down to Sarasota for the game to see the Threshers win the FSL Western Division crown and move on to the FSL Championship Round.

Sorry for the short write-up, but I really need to get some sleep and try to recover in time to make the three hour trek to the east coast Saturday night.

Click here for the boxscore and write up from the WD Championship Game

The Threshers crushed the Brevard County Manatees (Brewers) 8-1 in game one of the FSL Championship series.
Click here for the boxscore and write up from the FSL Championship Game#1

The Threshers rallied for an 11th inning come-from-behind win on Sunday and now need just one more win for an FSL Championship.
Click here for the boxscore and write up from the FSL Championship Game#2

So says Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus..

Philadelphia Phillies

A third-round pick last June, infielder Jason Donald surprised even those within the organization with his line-drive bat, gap power, and keen batting eye; hitting .304/.395/.473 between Low-A Lakewood and High-A Clearwater.

Honorable Mention: Right-hander Drew Carpenter mixes three average pitches, throws strikes, and keeps hitters on their toes by changing speeds–all of which helped him put up a 3.20 ERA at Clearwater while winning 17 games. Defensive-minded catcher Lou Marson made big improvements with the bat, hitting .288/.373/.407 in the Florida State League.

There ya have it. Link

If you were compiling a list of Phillies prospects, in what order would you place these three players;

Josh Outman, Drew Carpenter, Adrian Cardenas

Give your reasons (if you’d like) in the comments below.