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?)
Phuture Phillies 