Category Archives: 1. VSL/DSL

DSL Season Starts Today – New Roster Posted

1. VSL/DSL, Other Stuff

May 29th is the beginning of the 2010 DSL season for the Phillies.  Last year the Phillies featured a relatively young team that struggled to a 31-39 record. With a number of players such as ace pitchers Lisalverto Bonilla and Felix Cespedes having graduated to the U.S., another young team is likely this season.

For the past several seasons the Phillies have played in the 5-team Santo Domingo North division which posed 2 disadvantages of having an odd number of teams in the division for scheduling and always playing the same opposition teams.  This year the Phillies have moved to the 8-team Boca Chica South division and should see a greater variety of opponents.

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2010 VSL Phillies Debut Today

1. VSL/DSL, Other Stuff

The season opener for the VSL Phillies is today.  The league started yesterday but with 7 teams in the league it was the Phillies that got the bye on day one.  Last year the team was a disappointing 27-42, though it should be noted that 8 players from that team plus newly signed Venezuelan LHP Lino Martinez were present in minor league spring training and in line to make their GCL debuts this summer.

A roster has been posted on the minor league site here: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=661

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2009 DSL Recap – Top Prospect List

02. Org Reports, 1. VSL/DSL

This post will recap the 2009 Phillies DSL season and provide an initial top prospect list.  The same caveats apply as with the VSL list.  This report is based on statistics and not on scouting reports primarily.  In addition we can infer some things from a player’s age and whether or not they get playing time.  But it is not the same thing as seeing them play and the competition they play against may not be consistently good.

The Phillies are part of a 4-team Santo Domingo North division.  In 2009 they finished 3rd, 14.5 games behind the division-leading Mariners.  They did not play any games outside of the division, so their record may not fully reflect how good the team is.  It is also worth noting that the two teams finishing ahead of them (the Mariners and the Cardinals) were both among the older teams in the league.  The Phillies were slightly younger than the average team in the league on the other hand.  This means that their disappointing record is not necessarily a bad thing, as older teams in the lower minors generally win more.

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2009 Instructional League Roster and Schedule

1. VSL/DSL, 2. GCL, 3. Williamsport

Instructional league starts today (9/21).  Preliminary roster and schedule after the jump.  New names from the Latin American leagues include Lino Martinez and Lisalberto Bonilla as well as the first extended look at recent signees such as Brody Colvin and Colin Kleven. Continue reading 2009 Instructional League Roster and Schedule →

2009 VSL Season Recap – Top Prospects

1. VSL/DSL, Other Stuff

The VSL season ended a couple of weeks ago.  This post will serve as a quick summary of the season and a top 10 prospect lists for players on the team this year.  As always, we want to reiterate that this prospect list is not based on scouting reports.  It is mainly based on statistics from this past season, statements seen in the press, and playing patterns from the Phillies.  Rule number one in the minor leagues is to develop prospects.  The goal is usually not to win games, though winning is not necessarily a bad thing.  The top prospects must play, however.  If the Phillies still win while playing their better, younger prospects – then that is a good thing.

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DSL Update – July

1. VSL/DSL

The big news out of the DSL team this month came yesterday when 18-year-old starter Felix Cespedes pitched a perfect game, sort of.  Cespedes pitched 9 innings and got 27 consecutive outs, striking out 14.  Unfortunately his team failed to score any runs.  The game ended as a 12-inning 1-0 loss with the Phils outhitting their opponents 10-2.  The good news is that the opponents were the first place Mariners, so Cespedes dominated a decent team.  Cespedes is the youngest pitcher on the squad having just turned 18 at the end of April.  He is one of several pitchers that should be considered prospects, though the perfect game has followed some uneven performances.  For the year he is 0-4 with a 3.38 ERA.  His peripherals, especially after the perfect game are strong: 58.2 IP, 48 H, 14 BB, 73 K. Continue reading DSL Update – July →

VSL Update – July

1. VSL/DSL

This post will serve as a quick mid-season update for the VSL team.  We will follow up at the end of the season with a more complete prospect list and review.

The VSL Phillies are currently in 6th place out of 7 teams in the VSL with a 21-33 record.  The team is a relatively young team offensively, and has consequently had some trouble scoring runs.  The offense was helped immensely by the mid-season addition of 2 more experienced players (Luis Martinez – sent down from GCL, and Rudney Balentien – previously in the DSL).  The pitching staff, on the other hand, was a little older and contains fewer prospects.  Its best pitcher (Ely Izturriaga) was also promoted to GCL. Continue reading VSL Update – July →

June DSL Update – Who To Watch

1. VSL/DSL

The Phillies DSL affiliate is off to a relatively slow start at 6-10, 6 games behind the division-leading Mariners.  As with the VSL club, we will use this post to highlight some of the players worth watching closely this season.  The DSL team looks to have a few more prospects than the VSL squad, especially on the pitching staff.

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VSL June Update – Who To Watch

1. VSL/DSL

Several readers had commented that it would be a useful exercise to highlight who to watch in the complex leagues this season.  The VSL started a few weeks ago, so now we have some idea of who is playing well and, frankly, who is playing.  These leagues are developmental leagues, so the better prospects generally play the most, and play at the most demanding defensive positions (SS/CF/C).  Without detailed scouting reports and eyewitness accounts of these players, we are really relying on their statistics and the Phillies judgement over who to play to form opionions on the players.

This article will deal with the VSL with a follow-up on the DSL next week.  One note on the DSL – A number of people have noticed the production of new 18-year-old signee Nevri Jimenez who started the year 17-30 with power (7 extra base hits) and speed (4 SB).  The only thing he has not done is draw walks, though it is hard to complain about that when you are 17-30.  While he is a little old to be considered a top prospect, the fact that he is a new signee batting in a prominent lineup position (leadoff) and playing prominent defensive positions (SS/CF) is a good sign.  He is clearly one to watch this season at DSL.

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2009 DSL Season Starts Today – Early Roster Posted

1. VSL/DSL

Today is the first day of the 2009 DSL season.  The Phillies play in the Santo Domingo North division.  Last year they finished 6.5 games behind the Mariners in second place with a 35-30 record.  It is a strange 5-team division with 2 affiliates from the A’s.  This leads to lots of off days and also uncertain competition.  The second A’s team is usually mediocre, so the quality of competition varies considerably and can be hard to judge.

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