Adam Morgan made his AAA debut this evening at Coca Cola Park in Allentown and I came away again impressed.  After seeing Morgan twice last season in Reading, I was looking forward to see how he put it together against a Chiefs lineup that had put up 22 runs in their first 2 games against Lehigh Valley this series.

Morgan was the Phillies 3rd round draft pick out of the University of Alabama in 2011 and quickly rose through the organization after throwing almost 160 innings between Clearwater and Reading last season, consistently looking very good. 

Morgan went 6 innings, and gave up 2 runs on 6 hits.  He walked one and struck out five. He threw 85 pitches, 60 for strikes showing very good command. His lone mistake was on a 2-2 fastball to Jeff Kubernius who put it into the left field bullpen.  Morgan consistently was pitching ahead of hitters throwing his fastball generally between 89-93, but hitting 96 and 97 on one occasion each.  I was impressed with Morgan’s confidence in his off speed pitches, consistently using them behind in the count effectively.  Morgan also showed athleticism, making two nice plays coming off the mound. Morgan’s poise was also notable, as he appeared unphased by the gopher ball by Kubernius and pitched well with runners on base.

For the record, Depth Chart Brainstorm is a fine name for an Emo or Math Rock band.  Anyway, I’m thinking about throwing a couple of these out there during the course of the year, just to give us all a chance to discuss contingency plans for the big club. Some no brainers, and a couple that will likely be fluid as the year and certain prospects progress. But for now, if someone went down with an injury tomorrow, who’d be the man getting the call? Continue reading Depth Chart Brainstorm →

I was going to avoid writing a prediction piece on the minor league season but the major league season has gotten off to a depressing enough start that I started writing some predictions for the minor league season.  I will limit these to positive predictions as it is the time of year for optimism.

1.  As the big league club struggles and prospects get more attention, Reading, Lehigh Valley, and Lakewood all continue to see attendance boosts and coverage by mainstream media as casual fans learn more about the farm system.

2.  Shane Watson dominates Lo-A hitters with his curveball but the Phillies leave him in Lakewood all year to work on fastball command and building arm strength. Continue reading 2013 Minor League Predictions →

So in honor of the first minor league game of the year (even if it was an exhibition) all of the AA and AAA prospects are in the spotlight.

How we got here:

You will have to read Brad’s game recap to find out.

What happened:

All velocities quoted are off of TV which is off of the LHV gun, which according to Eric Logenhagen of Crashburn Alley was slow compared to the gun Jesse Biddle had for the guys tracking pitches.

Brody Colvin:  Looked good, snapped off some good looking curveballs.  The fastest fastball I saw was 92 but he was throwing harder as the innings progressed.  He had a good changeup that was kind of straight but looked good out of the hand.  More importantly he looked in shape and the delivery looked good. Continue reading Prospect Profile: Reading and Lehigh Valley →

News was very slow trickling out of Clearwater regarding the Threshers roster, but is has arrived.  Here it goes:
Catchers: Ludy, Moore, Stumpo

Infield: Serritella, Alonso, Franco, Martinez, Roof, Stassi, Mojica

Outfield: Altherr, Hudson, Perkins

Pitchers: Arias, Erbe, Garner, Nick Hernandez, Klevan, Milner, Murray, Nesseth, O’Sullivan, Paulino, Shreve, Stewart.

DL: Kenny Giles

Hey, there’s baseball today. Feel free to discuss it at length.

My Christmas/New Years/Birthday/Cinco De Mayo/Hanukah/Kwanza  all wrapped up in one is this Thursday as the Minor League baseball season begins, and just a few housekeeping notes as we enter our 6th full season here at Phuture Phillies. Over 10,000,000 page views later, this site has grown to certainly one of, if not the primary source for Phillies minor league information.  James grew this site with his credibility of verifying information and well thought out analysis.  I hope we continue the tradition he built for years to come.

The huge contributions of Matt and Brad will continue through the 2013 season as they each basically have carte blanche to contribute as they see fit. Brad will be doing the daily box score updates and a feature or two if he can fit it into his schedule.  Matt will continue with player profiles and features and will focus on the upcoming draft as we head into June.  Like I have in years past, I will focus on Lehigh Valley, but with renewed vigor this year as for the first time in the five years I have been covering the ‘Pigs, they have a dozen players that have legitimate shots at appearing on major league rosters if not this year, then next. As much as my schedule permits, I will continue the “Hot or Not” and “Around the System” series that people seem to like,  which gives a good overview of what is happening from top to bottom in the minor leagues.  I am also hoping to get out to several Reading games this year for “in person” analysis of the prospects in Baseball Town.  Continue reading Opening Day Housekeeping →

Catchers: Carman, Numata

Infield: Carmona, Quinn, Charles, Tyler Greene, Walding, Mora

Outfield: Tocci, Pointer, Olmo, Taylor

Pitchers:  Brady, Cooper, Santos, Aizenstadt, Francisco, Guth, Hanson, Inch, Mecias, Nunez, Stefan, Watson, Warner

I have been trying to put together what appears to be the beginnings of the roster for each team through a variety of sources and this is what I think we currently have.  None of this is confirmed, and all is subject to change:

Update: 700 pm–Both rosters are confirmed

Lehigh Valley

Catchers: Joseph and Lerud

Infield: Overbeck, Hernandez, Martinez, Asche, Fields, Orr

Outfield: Ruf, Gillies, Castro, J. Mitchell, Susdorf

SP: Pettibone, Morgan, Martin, Cloyd, Rosenberg

RP: Stutes, DeFratus, Diekman, Savery, Jiminez, Miner, Friend

Reading:

Catchers: Valle, Rupp, and Suomi

Infield: Murphy, Henson, Cartwright, Hanzawa, Duran, Abreu

Outfield: D. Mitchell, Hewitt, Collier, Welty

Starters: Biddle, Colvin, Buchanan, Wright

Relievers: Knigge, J. Johnson, Simon, JC Ramirez, Neris, Sosa, Robles