Wanted to headline this one for all of you so no one misses it – 2013 5th Round Pick, LHP Ben Wetzler, is starting for Oregon State tonight in their deciding super regional game. The game is set for 10pm EST. Wetzler was good last Sunday, allowing 1 run, 4H, 4BB and striking out 10 in a 9-inning complete game victory over Texas A&M.

Now, Mike Stutes said this afternoon on Twitter that the contest will be televised on ESPNU, though my local listings don’t have it. I think it may turn out to be on ESPN2, superceding SportsCenter that’s still listed at that time, and if not, it may be online at ESPN3/WatchESPN if your cable company works with that service. If anyone finds a definitive answer on that, or sees it on their TV when it begins, please be kind enough to mention it in the comments.

18th round pick, RHP Dan Child is also on that squad, though I don’t see where he’s pitched at all in the super regionals. BA has nothing about an injury in their draft scouting report, so I’m not sure what’s up with him.

I am going to start by saying I really like what the Phillies did in the draft and they actually seem to be alternating pitching and hitting heavy drafts.

JP Crawford – Not much more to say here, best player available, and at a position of both need and overall scarcity.  Crawford may need some time but he comes in as an easy Top 5 prospect in the Phillies system.

Signing Probability (Slot – $2,299,300) – 100%, it might take the whole slot but this is the Phillies guy Continue reading Top 10 Round Recap →

30 picks today, Williamsport and GCL teams to fill and some HS players who might not sign

Below is an organizational review of leaders in several categories.  I am debating making this a monthly feature…Let me know your thoughts.

Hits: Maikel Franco (67), Cameron Perkins (67), Aaron Altherr (64), Cody Asche (62), James Murphy (60), Cesar Hernandez (57), Chris Serritella (55), Leandro Castro (53), Albert Cartwright (53), Roman Quinn (53)

Runs: Carlos ALonso (40), Aaron Altherr (34), Maikel Franco (33), Albert Cartwright (32), Art Charles (31), Roman Quin (31), James Murphy (30), Jermaine Mitchell (30);Cameron Perkins (30),  Brian Pointer (30)  Continue reading Minor League Leaders →

Cody Asche had a nice day over 2 short games. Ethan Martin had a pretty bad day on the hill. John Lannan threw for CLR – Nothing to write home about, but he’s on the way back.

Just noticed the DSL was no-hit. Brutal.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 6/7/2013 →

Short and sweet…Cord Sandberg, the Phils 3rd round pick has told his hometown newspaper that he has agreed to terms with the Phillies for $775K, about 160K over slot.

Lotsa rain and a dead laptop while I am
on the road. But there was a draft, so that’s cool.

Almost no way I’ll be able to get you the graphic on Friday, so here’s the link at least.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 6/6/2013 →

Knapp is an incredibly unsexy, 2nd round pick.  He is a college catcher with kind of all around tools.  The defense could use some work as he has not been playing the position long, but the tools are there to be an above average defender down the road.  The bat could be average for both power and hitting.  There is really nothing special about the profile other than he is a catcher.

That being said, it looks like a bit on an overdraft but if the Phillies save some money they can grab slightly better players with their two third round picks.  The other thing is that Knapp will stay up the middle which means there is at least a decent chance he can at least get to the majors as a back up.  The Phillies have had success developing college players recently and Knapp might have more projection than Cameron Rupp did 3 years ago. Continue reading Phillies Select Andrew Knapp in the 2nd Round and thoughts on JP Crawford →

The 2013 MLB draft is under way.

1st Round – JP Crawford – SS – Lakewood, CA

2nd Round – Andrew Knapp – C

3rd Round – Cord Sandburg – OF – Manatee, FL

3rd Round – Jan Hernandez – SS/3B – Puerto Rico

4th Round – Jake Sweaney – C – California

5th Round – Ben Holmes – LHP – Oregon St.

6th Round – Jason Monda – OF – Washington St.

7th Round – Trey Williams – 3B – College of the Canyons

8th Round – Justin Parr – OF – University of Illinois

9th Round – Shane Martin – RHP – Southwestern Oklahome St University

10th Round – Jon Prosinski – RHP – Seton Hall University Continue reading Phillies 2013 MLB Draft →

The Phillies selected Lakewood High School, CA SS JP Crawford as their first round pick in the 2013 draft.  Crawford is a tall left handed hitting shortstop that is expected to remain at SS throughout his career. Crawford is committed to USC and it is expected that the Phils will need to commit very close to the $2.2M max to sign him.  From all reports, Crawford is already ahead of the curve defensively.  Thin and wiry, it may take his body some time to catch up offensively, but he has good speed, very good baseball instincts, a good eye at the plate and has hit for average.  Crawford started as a freshman at SS in high school and has a very good pedigree as his sister plays College softball for Cal State Fullerton and his cousin is Carl Crawford.

Crawford’s scouting grades, per MLB.com are: Hit 3/5; Power 3/5; Run 5/5; Arm 6/6; Field 5/5; Overall 3/5.    Note: First number = current/second number = projection