Since the Reader Top 30 is now wrapping up, I figured I should start to write a bit more. As I mentioned when announcing I was coming back, one thing I’d like to do is write a weekly post, maybe on a Sunday, with various thoughts and notes. This week’s piece will cover Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada, initial comments on the draft, and thoughts on Keith Law’s prospect list.
Continue reading Sunday notes: Moncada, draft, and other stuff
This has been sitting in my out box for a week or so. Now that the Hall of Fame vote is in our rear view mirror, let me just offer this overview of the Hall and my “over-the-top” solution to the process. I apologize in advance for continuing the discussion on HOF voting, a topic that I tire of each year by mid-December.
A couple weeks ago, 4 players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, and Craig Biggio. During the weeks leading up to and the days after the announcement, baseball writers and reporters from all media outlets voiced their opinions about this year’s vote, the voting procedures, and the voting electorate. All that has calmed down, so that now we’re back to just Bill Kenny occasionally offering his opinion on the HOF worthiness of players based on analytics. Continue reading The BBWAA and the Hall of Fame
Disclaimer: I wrote about 3,000 words, hit the wrong key stroke, and apparently autosave didn’t work, so it was all erased. I am going to try and type it again, but I can promise you it won’t be as detailed as what I’d written before.
Okay, so Jim Salisbury identified 4 teams that were in the running for Cole Hamels: The Padres, Red Sox, Rangers and Cardinals. I wanted to take a look at each of the 4 to see what the Phillies could expect to receive in return. I also wanted to make a few comments on the actual concept of trading Cole Hamels. I’ll do all of that below the fold.
Thanks to Jim for putting up the post when the deal went down. Here is some more analysis and info on Lively.
MLB.com has already moved Lively to the Phillies section of their coverage and ranked him #8 overall. Heres what they have to say on his stuff:
None of Lively’s pitches jump off the page, but he does have four of them that he can throw for strikes. His fastball can touch 93-94 mph, and his slider shows signs of being a potential above-average pitch, as well. Lively mixes in his curve and changeup well to keep hitters guessing. All of his stuff plays up because of his unusual delivery in which his arm stays hidden, making it tough for hitters to pick up the ball.
In their league top 20s this year, Lively was ranked 16th in the Cal League and then 20th in the Southern League. Given that there are 10 teams in the CAL and 10 teams in the SOU, it means it is moderately difficult to make the list, and that he made both is promising. Here are some highlights from those BA writeups
CAL: Lively’s delivery features deception—his arm angle drops slightly and he throws across his body—helping his fastball get inon hitters. He’ll pound all quadrants of the strike zone with command of a 91-92 mph fastball that bumps 94.
SOU: Lively ranges from 88-92 mph and sits at about 90, often working up and over the plate, but batters struggle to square him up because they don’t see the ball until the last instant. He throws what one manager deemed an “invisible” fastball. Lively’s low-80s curveball can be an out pitch for him, for he executed it with more depth in 2014, and his slider and changeup grade as major league average. When scouts factor in plus control, they come away convinced Lively can be at least a durable No. 4 starter.
Here are video clips: one, two, and three.
BP ranked him #7 in the Reds system, giving him a future #3 SP profile. They also had him 88-92, with a plus slider and average change and curve. They note the biggest question mark is about his delivery and mechanics, and whether he will be able to repeat them well enough to be a consistent starting pitcher.
Nevertheless, to receive a potential MLB starter who will be worth a win or two a year at worst, for a guy who was not in the long term plans, its a nice get by the Phillies.
So, which piece is next to go?
The headline is a tad rhetorical, because I’m going to share my opinion on how it should be done. I’ve spent a lot of time pondering the topic, so I figured this would be a good way to get myself back into writing. Thoughts are below the fold
Its finally official now. The Phillies send Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers and get back RHP Zach Eflin and LHP Tom Windle.
Here is video of Eflin.
Here is video of Windle.
My analysis: Eflin looks like a #4 starter in the majors. He is durable, none of his pitches are truly plus or better, but his overall package is solid. He looks like he’ll pitch at 90-93, so his command will need to be sharp, but he has done well since turning pro and he looks pretty durable. Windle looks like a reliever to me, but I’d give him every chance possible to stick as a starter. He has good raw stuff, but hes not a finished product and has a bit more to do. Given the Phillies struggles with player development, I’m at the point where I will take the low end of the probability scale on most guys, but Eflin at least seems pretty low risk.
Rollins had 1 year left on his deal, and I’m sure he’s happy he gets another shot at a ring, which he wasn’t going to get here.
Thanks for all of the memories, Young James.
hello, its me. i wanted to quickly say a few words about what i plan to do moving forward and what has happened since i left. a few weeks ago, i wrote a quick post saying that the site would not die, and that i was debating making a return. so, now that ive had some time to think about things, i wanted to update you. as some of you know, brevity was never my specialty, so the rest of this entry is below the fold
I wanted to make a quick post here, just so everyone is clear. Gregg reached out to me a few days ago and mentioned he may be ready to move on. When I started this site more than 7 years ago, I never intended to move on to anything else. 2 years ago, I had lost the desire to write on a regular basis, at least with regard to minor league prospects. I’m still not sure that I’m cut out to do it anymore, but the site won’t go away and the site won’t die. I’ll continue to renew the domain name and will keep everything here as an archive, at the very least.
I have a very demanding job and that limits my ability to write. I don’t know if my next post will be tomorrow, next week, or next month. I’ve had the urge to write on occasion the last few years, but I never acted on it. Now that the site is in flux, I may get that urge again. For now, I hope that everyone who comes to and uses the site decides to stick around. I can’t promise the level of content here over the next few weeks/months/years, but all of the hard work that went into the site for the last 7+ years won’t be discarded or deleted.
Until the next one…
Comes from some other beginning’s end”. SemiSonic. So, in 2007, James gave me an opportunity to write for Phuture Phillies during a difficult personal time period and with that opportunity came over seven years of feeling “like a kid in a candy store”. I had the opportunity to write about a passion and be in an environment (at the ballpark)that is one of my personal nirvana’s. I met great people, learned a ton about the industry (media, baseball and management), and perhaps most importantly made lifelong friends. To James, my heartfelt thanks. When James left the site over two years ago, I did my best to keep up the site and did so with the goal of keeping the site aligned with James vision. The day to day work in keeping up a site like this with a very demanding “real life” career is simply overwhelming. So, with that said, I will be moving over to what I consider to be the best baseball resource in the Delaware Valley at Philly Baseball Insider (http://www.phillybaseballblog.com). I expect to contribute there fairly regularly and appreciate the opportunity to continue my passion working for (with) a friend who is a regular writer for local newspapers and a huge baseball enthusiast. I expect my participation to be limited until Spring Training, but expect to hit the ground running with pitchers and catchers….
Thanks to all those who have contributed to Phuture Phillies over the years.
Until next time…
If you haven’t seen this yet, you should check out the Baseball Reference page for RAJ.
Apparently, somebody at Beerleaguer sponsored his page and the following ad appears in a yellow panel across the screen.
“RAJ’s friends at Beerleaguer sponsor(s) this page.
BRef wanted $15 to sponsor this page, but in Ruben’s honor I ponied up $75 on a three year deal with a vesting option. 2015 can’t come soon enough!”
If you use an ad blocker, disable it before going to the page. Here’s the link.
Phuture Phillies 