Today we resume our look at the Phillies affiliates with a stop in Clearwater. As with before, I’ll hit on the key position players and pitchers at the level, both good and bad, to try and get a handle on the best and most disappointing performances. If you’re just tuning in, here’s the progress we’ve made thus far;
GCL Phillies
Williamsport
Lakewood
So, here we go
The Mesa Solar Sox are now 4-5 and in their second full week of play. Looking at Phillies prospects over the past few days since we last spoke, Quintin Berry played CF on Wednesday and went 0-4 with two strikeouts, leaving his average at .125. Tyson Brummett got lit up on Wednesday lasting only 0.2 innings and giving up 4 runs on 5 hits. He walked one and took the loss. His ERA stands at 15.00. Sergio Escalona relieved Brummett Wednesday and went an inning without yielding a run. He allowed one hit and struck out two. His ERA is at 2.70.
Pat Overholt pitched both Tuesday and Thursday, an inning each day. He pitched a scoreless inning on Tuesday and gave up a run on Thursday, allowing 2 hits, walking one and striking out one in his 2 innings of work. His ERA stands at 1.80. Jeremy Slayden played Tuesday, Wednesday and THursday, going a combined 4-11, with 2 runs, a double, a homer and 5 RBI’s. He struck out 4 times and his average is now at .304. Jason Donald played 3B both Tuesday and THursday, committing his first error of the fall on Thursday on an errant throw. His hitting continued scorching hot, going 5-8, with 3 runs,2 doubles and a stolen base in those two games. His average is at .455 in the Fall league thus far.
Look for the next update on Tuesday.
At this point, you know the drill, so lets not waste any time.
Michael Taylor, OF: .361/.441/.554
Taylor’s exploits have been well covered this season, and for good reason. Taylor couples a good walk rate (10.8%) with a fairly low K rate (14.9%) for a slugger, and then you add in the .193 ISO and the .345 SecA and you have the best prospect at Lakewood, and one of the better statistical seasons in the SAL. The big caveat for Taylor was his age, but he took some of that sting out by continuing to rake at Clearwater, where he was closer to age appropriate.
Today we’ll continue the review of the Phillies affiliates in 2008 with a stop in Williamsport. As with the GCL review, I want to hit on 5 key performances both on the offensive side and the pitching side and then maybe a few quick hits. Someone had mentioned in the GCL review a question about DICE and what it was. To get the full info, just read this. Its not accurate to assume that you can compare all ERA’s on one team and say that they are adjusted for defense because all the pitchers played in front of the same defense. DICE just eliminates this blip because its defense-independent. It makes it easier to compare players on different teams as well, which is really one of the biggest benefits of prospect evaluation and using a system like I’ve developed. So anyway, onto the review.
Phillie prospects continue in the Arizona Fall League with Mesa, the Phillies affiliate at 3-3 after the first week. Looking at how Phillies prospects performed, OF Quintin Berry received his first at bats on Saturday and went 1-4 with a double, rbi and stolen base. Jeremy Slayden played in games both Friday (0-4, K), and Saturday (1-3,r,hr,3rbi) and his average stands at .273 after Week One. Jason Donald played SS both Friday (2-3,2r,13b,1rbi,cs) and Monday (2-4,rs,rbi,3b,2K) and is hitting a lofty .357 without an error thus far.
ANdrew Carpenter started the game Saturday and went 2 innings giving up a run on 2 hits, walking one. 24 of his 37 pitches were thrown for strikes. Also pitching Saturday were Tyson Brummett, who went a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out 2, and Sergio Escalona, who also pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one. Pat Overholt made his second scoreless appearance on Friday, going 2 innings without giving up a ruin or a hit. He walked one and struck out two.
Today I’m going to start my reviews of the 6 Phillies minor league affiliates. I was originally planning to do something more in depth, but I haven’t quite finished my new system yet. Its to the point where I can use it to discuss the players in fairly good detail, but I still have more work to do before I churn out Top 30’s and get into the final analysis of our prospects heading into 2009. So what I’m going to do is talk about the 5 best performances for hitters and the 5 best performances for pitchers at the level, and then cover any high profile players who didn’t fall in that range. It should be easy to follow, so lets get started.
While I am not going to get into the won-loss record of the Mesa Solar Sox, lets take a look at the performance of the Phillies prospects who are playing in the AFL, a league that clearly has good talent and competition. Mesa has now played three games and Jason Donald has appeared in all three with a start at SS and a start at 3B. Thus far he is hitting .143(1-7), with 2 strikeouts in his 7 at-bats. He has also been caught stealing once. So far, so good in the field, with limited chances thus far. Outfielder Jeremy Slayden has received one start, going 2-4, with a double and an RBI.
Three pitching prospects has thrown thus far. Tyson Brummett worked in relief, a role he is not used to and went 1.1 innings giving up a run on 2 hits, while striking out one, taking the loss in yesterdays’ game. Sergio Escalona also threw 1.1 innings in relief giving up a run on one hit and struck out 2. Pat Overholt, likely to be in Lehigh Valley next year, threw a shutout inning, allowing one hit and a walk in the game yesterday.
Look for another update Monday or Tuesday.
The Arizona Fall League gets under way tomorrow with the Phillies affiliate the Mesa Solar Sox, taking on Pheonix. The Solar Sox have eight Phils prospects on their roster, a roster which they share with the Braves, Cubs, Marlins, and Tigers. Phils pitching prospects with the Solar Sox will be Tyson Brummett, Andrew Carpenter, Sergio Escalona, and Pat Overholt. Lou Marson will see time behind the plate, and look for Jason Donald to see some time at 2B, SS, and 3B. Both Jeremy Slayden and Quintin Berry have been asked to particpate and will see time in the Outfield. Look for updates at least once a week, and hopefully more during the AFL season.
The 2008 Phillies Dominican Summer League team failed to repeat the division winning year of its 2007 predecessor, but still had a successful season. The team finished at 35-30, 2nd place in the Santo Domingo North division, 6.5 games behind the division winning Mariners. It was a tale of two seasons for the Phillies. After a quick 6-3 start, the team stumbled through the rest of the first half going 6-20 in their next 26 games. This all turned around in the second half as the team won a scorching 23 of their final 30 games.
Unlike the 2007 team, which graduated an impressive 9 players to the Phillies 2008 GCL championship team, this year’s DSL squad was not as laden with prospects. The team age was roughly league average with an age of 18.3 on offense (compared to 18.5 league average) and an age of 18.9 on the pitching staff (exactly the 18.9 league average). The team did not provide much offense, hitting only .239 with a combined 12 HR and a team .644 OPS. The pitching staff, on the other hand, was stellar with a team 3.16 ERA and a .632 OPS against.
Carlos Carrasco, still only 21, was quite impressive in his 6 starts with Lehigh Valley, going 2-2 with a 1.72 ERA in 36.2 IP. He walked 13 and struck out 46, for a WHIP of 1.36. Opponents hit .250 against him. On the year between Reading and Lehigh Valley, he threw 151 innings and struck out 155 with a combined ERA of 3.69. Projection: I believe he will start the year in Lehigh Valley and depending upon his performance, could be looking at the #3 starter job in Philly by mid year, depending upon trades, injuries, and the always apparant “Eaton factor”. (That being those pitchers who are horrendous who the Phillies have paid millions of dollars, thus creating a rotation obligation) Continue reading Lehigh Valley Pitcher Review
Phuture Phillies 