Category Archives: 1. VSL/DSL

2012 VSL Phillies – Week One Update

1. VSL/DSL

The 2012 Venezuelan Summer League Phillies season started last week.  This post will provide a quick summary of the new names on the roster as well some insights on the first week of play.  It can also serve as a discussion area for Venezuelan prospects.  The Dominican Summer League should start next week as well and will be covered in a separate post.

The VSL has shrunk this season from 6 to 4 teams as the Pirates and Reds both pulled out of the league.  Four teams remain: the Phillies, Rays, Tigers, and Mariners.  The other teams are now sending their Venezuelan prospects to the DSL where the competition is better and the politics are a little more stable.  It is an open question as to whether the VSL can continue as a viable entity, though the Phillies seem to be staying to take advantage of the money they have invested in their baseball complex.  In addition, there may be additional advantages in attracting Venezuelan prospects who can play on a team in their country for the first year or two.  The Phillies do continue to invest in top Venezuelan prospects with their largest investment to date last year in signing OF Carlos Tocci.  Tocci will most likely make his debut later this year in the GCL.

Continue reading 2012 VSL Phillies – Week One Update →

2012 – New International Players In Spring Training

1. VSL/DSL, 2. GCL, International Signings

This post will provide a brief summary about the new names seen on the minor league work groups this spring.  There are more than 20 players on the minor league spring training rosters that are new signings or who played last year in one of the two Latin American complex leagues (the DSL and VSL).

The big news internationally for the Phillies this past year was the signing of OF Carlos Tocci for a reported bonus of $759,000.  This bonus is one of the largest ever given by the Phillies to an International player, though the team’s largest bonuses in the past have a mixed record of success.  The highest bonuses have generally been spent on players that did not work out (Seung Lee, Il Kim, Carlos Rodriguez), though the team has had some success with mid-level bonuses to players like Carlos Carrasco and new 2B Freddy Galvis.  By all accounts Tocci is a highly skilled CF with plus tools but with major questions about how much power he might eventually add.  Tocci is the big name in spring training, however, and it will be interesting to see where the team places him.  Galvis was in a similar situation and he was given an aggressive placement in the NY-Penn league when he was 17.  Tocci will not even turn 17 till later in the Summer, however, so a GCL destination is the most likely. Continue reading 2012 – New International Players In Spring Training →

2011 DSL Midseason Update

1. VSL/DSL

The Phillies DSL team is a work in progress after last year’s team had a number of players promoted to GCL or Williamsport this past winter.  2010 DSL graduates included Witer Jimenez, Carlos Valenzuela (playing surpisingly well), Jorge Castillo, Gabriel Arias, Hector Neris, Luis Gonzalez, Carlos Best, and Ramon Oviedo.  That is 8 promotions from the DSL team alone and prompted some criticism about the Phillies having an older DSL squad without a huge number of prospects last year. Continue reading 2011 DSL Midseason Update →

2011 VSL Phillies June Update (aka Should We Pay Attention to Herlis Rodriguez?)

1. VSL/DSL

The Phillies’ VSL season is now 30 games old, enough to get a feel for who might be a prospect on this rookie level team.  Overall the Phillies are 12-18 and are in 5th place out of 6 teams in the VSL.  While the team’s record is mediocre, there have been some bright spots for prospects particularly on the offensive side.  The team’s offense averages only 18.0 years old in age and is considerably younger than the rest of the league.  More importantly, they are getting significant contributions from several of the younger players.

The team’s pitching is not as good, unfortunately.  The pitching staff is older than the league average (19.3 years) and the best performances are generally coming from the older pitchers age 20 and 21 years old.  These pitchers are not likely to be great prospects, though I would also note that the Phillies have started moving some older foreign prospects directly to Williamsport rather than GCL.  Note opening day starter Leonel Bastides along with Gabirel Arias, Pedro Lora, Hector Neris, and Witer Jimenez.  This is an atypical 5 players that have essentially skipped GCL for the Phillies.  This is most likely an acknowledgement of how crowded the GCL roster can get and a recognition of the ability to get a pitcher regular starts in the VSL or DSL while they learn English and other skills necessary to ease the transition to the United States. Continue reading 2011 VSL Phillies June Update (aka Should We Pay Attention to Herlis Rodriguez?) →

2011 Phillies DSL Season Starts Today

1. VSL/DSL

May 28th is the beginning of the new Dominican Summer League season, bringing to six the number of Phillies minor league affiliates currently playing.  The Phillies play in the Boca Chica South division.  In 2010 the Phillies finished in 3rd place with a 43-29 record.  The team was a little older than the league average so it is hard to tell how many prospects will emerge from that squad.  One note – a couple of players from that team (pitchers Marcos Coca and Daniel De La Cruz) did test positive for banned stimulants and will sit out 50 games this season, the lion’s part of the 72-game Dominican schedule. Continue reading 2011 Phillies DSL Season Starts Today →

2011 VSL Phillies Season Starts Monday

1. VSL/DSL

Monday is the start of the 2011 Venezuelan Summer League season.  The Phillies play a 72-game schedule through early August with games usually played in the morning Monday through Saturday each week with Sunday being an off day.  Last year the Phillies finished in 5th place with a 32-36 record.

It looks like the VSL is down to six teams in 2011 as the Cardinals are no longer listed with a team.  More major league clubs are going to multiple Dominican Summer League squads as political and social unrest in Venezuela presents challenges.  The Phillies have invested in a state-of-the-art complex in the country, however, and appear willing to keep their team as long as they can.

Continue reading 2011 VSL Phillies Season Starts Monday →

2011 New International Players in Spring Training

1. VSL/DSL, International Signings

With the posting of the minor league workout groups I wanted to throw up another post with brief info on some of the new faces in camp that have not previously played at GCL or in another stateside league.  There are at my count 20 new players listed on the minor league workout groups that did not play in the U.S.  This is a huge number, though I imagine the Phillies will pare down that number a little by releasing a handful of the older players and demoting a few to the DSL or VSL leagues to get playing time. Continue reading 2011 New International Players in Spring Training →

2010 VSL/DSL Prospect Summary

1. VSL/DSL

This post is a much-delayed recap of the top prospects who played in the Latin American complex leagues in 2010.  I apologize for the delay as I got too wrapped up in work at the end of last year to put together a summary.  As minor league spring training starts this week and we start to see some of these faces for the first time, this post can serve as a place to discuss the Latin American prospects, both in the complex leagues and the stateside leagues.

Continue reading 2010 VSL/DSL Prospect Summary →

July DSL Update

1. VSL/DSL

The DSL Phillies have now completed a little more than half of their season and stand at 21-19 after 40 games, in 5th place, 3.5 games behind the Yankees and the Giants.  The Phillies are in a new division this year which appears to be more difficult, with big spending teams such as the Yankees, Mets, and Marlins among their competition.

The 2010 Phillies are not the youngest squad in the league, but they have seen some positive performances from younger players.  The better prospects in the Latin American complex leagues tend to be the younger players age 17-19 that are holding their own performance-wise.  The Phillies hitters average 18.9 years old, slightly older than the league average of 18.2.  The pitchers average 19.2 years old, again slightly older than the league average of 18.8. Continue reading July DSL Update →

VSL Early Season Update

1. VSL/DSL

We are now about one third done with the 2010 Phillies VSL season and we are starting to get a picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the squad.  The Phillies stand at 12-12 so far, tied for 3rd place in the 7 team league.  They trail the league leading Mariners by 2.5 games.  The Phillies have a relatively young offensive squad and a veteran pitching staff.  The young hitters, led by IF/C Willans Astudillo are holding their own, putting up a team OPS of .684.  The pitching staff is even better, though they are led by several older pitchers. Continue reading VSL Early Season Update →