Players:

Ryan Howard -34 – MLB
Darin Ruf – 27 – MLB
Jim Murphy – 28 – AAA
Cody Overbeck – 27 – AAA
Brock Stassi – 24 – AA
Chris Serritella – 24 – A+
Art Charles – 23 – A+
William Carmona – 23 – A+
Wilmer Oberto – 21 – A- Continue reading Positional Preview – First Base →

With the major league club falling apart (almost literally), it turns to the minor league system to provide the optimism in 2014.  The problem is that the farm system is not good right now.  Ranking wise, it has been as high as 14, but for the most part it settles in the 20-25 range.  The good news is that it is trending up and with the right set of circumstances it could come close to the top farm systems in the game.

Lets start by looking at the makeup of the Top 5 farm systems in Baseball America’s Handbook (Top 100 rankings included, these rankings may differ due to the BA ranking process). Continue reading Road to a Top Farm System →

This January, Mike Buttil of Razzball reached out to me about answering some questions for a fantasy baseball preview on the Phillies.  The article is now out and you should go read it here.

I thought I would take this opportunity to dive into the world of fantasy baseball.  I am a huge fan of deep dynasty leagues and I keep most of my writing on that to my personal site.  But for now we are going to take a brief look at the Phillies farm system in terms of short and long term fantasy baseball. Continue reading A Quick Step Into Fantasy (Baseball) →

A busy morning for the Phils who announced several roster moves.  C Lou Marson was released.  P Kenny Giles, P Cesar Jiminez and SS Andres Blanco were re-assigned to minor league camp.  OF Zach Collier, OF Tyson Gillies, P Jeremy Horst and C Tommy Joseph were optioned to minor league camp.  I wouldn’t characterize any of these moves as a surprise absent mild surprise at Marson’s release.  Thinking of that as a positive, maybe the Phils are feeling more comfortable with Tommy Joseph’s health.

Looking at the first three rounds of the major league baseball draft over the past 10 years, it becomes quite clear why the Phils have the lack of depth that they are currently suffering from.  They have had very few high draft picks who have panned out in the manner you would hope and to some extent, expect.  When you look at the teams around the major leagues and review their first three rounds of draft picks over the last 10 years, there are very few teams that have produced less major league talent (regulars) than the Phils.

The benefit that the Phils received from their drafts over the last 10 years is that specific pieces have helped land the likes of Halladay, Oswalt, and Blanton.  Those pieces were critical to the success of the Phils (some more than others) in 2008-2011. It is notable however, that absent Halladay, there is no player that had prolonged success in the Phils organization.  The future holds some degree of hope with the ultimate success of the last 3-4 years still to be determined.

Looking back year by year: 2013: (1) JP Crawford; (2) Andrew Knapp; (3) Cord Sandberg; (3) Jan Hernandez.  It’s too early to pass judgement and the Crawford pick has the potential to erase plenty of bad draft memories.  Knapp has been hampered by Tommy John surgery which he underwent late last year.  Both Sandberg and Hernandez struggled mightily with the bat last year but have the talent to erase their first 100 professional at bats pretty quickly. Continue reading The Phils and the Draft–Few Hits, Plenty of Misses →

The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce has arranged for a terrific opportunity for Phillies fans on Friday March 28th at Citizens Bank Park.  The day will begin at 2pm at which time, you will be allowed entrance into the DIamond Club at the park. Food and Drink will begin at 2:30 pm (included in admission price).  A full hour of questions and answers/autographs will go from 2:45 until 3:45.  At 3:50, you will go on to the field at Citizens Bank Park for an on field presentation (weather permitting), with the pre-game program ending at 4:30.  You will also receive a game ticket for that evenings pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and likely see a few of the top prospects we talk about so often here at Phuture Phillies.

The all inclusive price for this event is $95, however the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce has agreed to provide Phuture Phillies reader with a $5 discount if you use the discount code Phillyblog1 at checkout.   Click here for more  details: http://www.gpcc.com/phillies.

Some surprising news coming out of the Carpenter Complex tonight with Mike Stutes among the first group of cuts by the Phils, as he was optioned to minor league camp.  Stutes, who has battled injuries over the past two seasons struggled mightily in his early Spring Training appearances, giving up 7 earned runs in 3IP.  Also on the list of cuts are RP Luis Garcia, OF Kelly Dugan, OF Aaron Altherr, OF Leandro Castro and C Sebastian Valle.  No major surprises except for how quickly Stutes was sent back to minor league camp.

In other news at the minor league facility today, OF Anthony Hewitt came up lame (hamstring) while running out a grounder and was in a considerable amount of pain leaving the field.

Today Baseball America posted their review of the Phillies International spending during the 2013 calendar year (encompassing both the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 signing periods).  During that time, the Phillies signed 35 players, 4 of them for bonuses greater than $100,000.  The full article is here, but here are some highlights.

In April the Phillies signed 18 year old catcher Jose Gonzalez for $300,000.  Gonzalez had Tommy John surgery shortly after signing and did not play last summer.  The Phillies big signing was Luis Encarnacion for $1,000,000 in August.  Encarnacion was one of the best bats in the J2 crop and was widely expected to cost about $1,300,000 (Encarnacion does share a trainer with Gonzalez).  Encarnacion is in camp and should start in the GCL. Continue reading Baseball America’s 2013 International Review →

Last night Baseball America release their Top 100 prospects in minor league baseball.  The Phillies were represent on that list by Maikel Franco (17), Jesse Biddle (71), and J.P. Crawford (78).  Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez was eligible for the list, but did not make it.

There are many parts of the list I don’t agree with, but that has a lot to do with my personal philosophies on what has value.  The full list can be found here.

Here are the writeups on the Phillies Players: Continue reading Maikel Franco #17, Jesse Biddle #71, and JP Crawford #78 on Baseball America Top 100 →

There has been a lot written into about the downfall of the Phillies and their various strategies to pull themselves out of it.  I think much of the downfall has been placed on the wrong things.  Bloggers often reach for the draft and player development as two easy punching bags.  I think it is a lazy way of being sensational and lacks a understanding of the basics of player development.

What set in motion this examination was a paragraph from a That Ball’s Outta Here editorial on a David Murphy piece: Continue reading Trades, Player Development, and the Value of High Picks →