If you sample 10 people within the sport of baseball, probably 6 of the 10 would tell you that they feel the draft process is one that needs to be fixed, 3 will probably tell you the system is fine, and one will probably tell you he doesn’t care. Maybe those numbers are off. But for me, I think there are a number of areas surrounding the draft that need to be fixed, and based on everything written over the last few years, the draft will be addressed in the next collective bargaining sessions. So, with all of that in mind, I’ve come up with a few ways to fix the draft. I think I wrote something similar to this last year, but I have some new ideas and improvements, so if I did write this last year, ignore that and focus on this. Check below for more. And if any important people find this, and they want to borrow my ideas, that’s fine, you could just toss me a consulting fee for my time!
Category Archives: 03. Draft Central
Rangers sign Jorge Alfaro
This was the young catcher out of Columbia that the Phillies were linked to for the last few months. Apparently the Rangers have signed him for $1.3M. At that price, it makes sense for the Phillies to pass. Just thought we’d put this one to bed, since he was mentioned in passing in a bunch of posts over the last few months.
Phillies sign Miguel Nunez, have “mild interest” in Chia-Jung Lee
Thanks for all those pointing this out in the comments. Paul Hagen from the Philadelphia Daily News has the scoop on the Phillies’ latest international signing: Miguel Nunez, a 6’6″ right-hander from the Dominican Republic, who signed recently for a $220K bonus.
Analysis? Well, that’s a projectable frame. Seriously though, we don’t know much yet, so I’ve sent an email to Ben Badler from Baseball America, who’s their international guy. What we do know is that this follows in the organization’s habit of inking medium-range international signees: both Lino Martinez ($325K) and community #6 prospect Domingo Santana ($300K) were signed via this route in the past year.
Hagen also reports the Phillies’ “mild interest” in Taiwanese outfielder Chia-Jung Lee, a 21-year old from Leader University who would receive in the neighborhood of a $100K bonus.
Rule 5 Wrapup
Sorry I’m a tad late on this.
The Phillies selected David Herndon, a righthanded pitcher from the Angels. Herndon was a 5th round pick in the 2006 draft. He’s a control specialist, as he’s posted a ridiculous 1.40 BB/9 rate in his minor league career. His 5.20 K/9 rate is not so hot, but he couples that with a career 60.4% GB rate. So you can see why the Phillies were interested. He doesn’t walk anyone and rolls up tons of groundballs. He was ranked 28th in the Angels system last year, and as high as 11th in 2007 according to Baseball America.
Update: I found a video clip of him. Click here.
I like the pick. Check below the fold for more
Rule 5 nuggets
BA has an article today on guys to monitor in the Rule 5 draft, and two Phillies show up; Edgar Garcia and Harold Garcia. They note Garcia’s prior successes and his struggles in 2009 partly due to Visa issues. Harold Garcia draws a Chone Figgins comp, which seems like a stretch, but they note his speed as a big asset.
I find it unlikely we’d lose Harold Garcia, though Edgar seems like a possibility for a team willing to stash him at the back of a bullpen for a season. We’ll see.
Looking ahead to the Rule 5 draft
The Rule 5 draft will take place next month at the winter meetings, and its almost that time to look at who needs to be protected, who might be available, and everything else involved. The Phillies, by virtue of another excellent regular season, will be picking at the back end of the first round unless they pull off a trade and move up. Check below the fold for more…
Draft Report Card notes from BA
The full draft report card is subscriber only info, which you can see here if you’re a subscriber. Some of the highlights;
* Hyatt’s slider is excellent and he’ll be on the fast track if he’s kept in the bullpen
* Singleton has great all around offensive profile, Phillies liked him back in 2008 and have followed him for a while
* Altherr has big upside but is really raw and has very little baseball experience
* Dugan has average to plus power from both sides of the plate
There ya go.
2009 Draft Recap
I think at this writing its safe to assume there are no more announcements coming. The Phillies big move of the day was, as previously discussed, signing RHP Brody Colvin, the team’s 7th round pick, and this turned out to be the only move of the day. The Phillies ended up signing 34 of their 49 picks, and based on the calculations I discussed earlier, they spent about $2.745M on their reported bonuses. Colvin’s bonus, $900K, was the largest bonus the team gave out, and was one of the more sizable bonuses given by any team after the 5th round. Check below for more…
Phillies sign 7th round pick Brody Colvin
The Phillies agreed to terms with 7th rounder Brody Colvin, a RHP from St Thomas More HS in Louisiana. As I wrote up during my draft review, Colvin was like a first round pick, and signing him was going to be vital to the overall success of this draft. Well, kudos to the Phillies for getting it done, despite things not looking promising over the last few days. His $900K bonus is the slot recommendation for the 35th overall pick. He’s got a very projectable pitcher’s frame, he already sits in the low 90’s, and he possesses a hammer curveball and an idea of what he’s doing on the mound. The Phillies will no doubt want to clean up his mechanics (as they worked on with Jason Knapp), but there’s nothing in there that really makes you worry, so you are refining an already solid delivery. BA had Colvin ranked #3 in a banner Louisiana draft crop, and #43 in the entire country. #41 (and #2 in LA) ranked Zach Van Rosenberg received a $1.2M bonus from Pittsburgh, so you have to say the Phillies got a minor bargain here. Welcome aboard Brody.
Update –> Apparently its not done yet. But I’m still confident.
Its signing deadline day
For me, Draft Day is the most exciting day of the season with regard to the minors aspect of the Phillies organization, and a close second is deadline day. Teams have until 11:59 tonight to finish signing their draft picks. College seniors with no remaining eligibility do not apply, they have until 1 week prior to the 2010 draft to sign. But the Phillies don’t have anything to worry about on that front. Its going to be a crazy day with all of the signings, especially the high profile Scott Boras clients, but the Phillies have some decisions to make as well. Check below for more..
Phuture Phillies 