Wow. Just days after reading that Pettibone had hired Scott Boras and things weren’t looking good, the Phillies come to terms with Pettibone, for somewhere in the neighborhood of 500K. And while I’m really happy about that, you’ve also got to love this quote

The Phillies could still lose seventh-rounder Johnny Coy and 12th-rounder James Weber. The team offered Coy, a two-sport standout at Arizona State, the chance to join the organization after the basketball season ends, though he appears to be leaning toward returning to school.

As for Weber, Wolever said, “I wouldn’t rule that one out. There’s definitely a chance. I’m optimistic.”

This draft, without any more signings, is a B+/A- for me. Add in Weber and its the most promising Phillies draft in….well….ever?

And here’s basically where we stand. The following players are unsigned

109. Jonathon Pettibone, RHP (Esperanza HS, CA)
196. Colby Shreve, RHP (CC of Southern Nevada)
226. Johnny Coy, 3B (Benson HS, MO)
376. James Weber, RHP (Central Clearwater Catholic HS, FL)
766. Daniel Edwards, RHP (Kansas State)
886. Keon Broxton, 3B (Lakeland High School, FL)
916. DJ Henderson, SS (Southeastern HS, MI)
976. Sean Ellis, RHP (Polk CC, FL)
1006. James Simpson, 1B (Dowagiac Union HS, MI)
1036. Blaine O’Brien, RHP (Scituate HS, MA)
1126. Matthew Johnson, OF (John W North HS, CA)
1156. Jarred Cosart, RHP (Clear Creek HS, TX)
1186. Joseph Pond, RHP (Judge Memorial Catholic HS, UT)
1216. Daniel Marrs, RHP (James River HS, VA)
1246. Michael Petello, OF (Scottsdale CC, AZ)
1335. Charles Law, RHP (Mainland Regional HS, NJ)
1363. Justin Zumwalde, 1B (Sabino HS, AZ)
1390. Giovany Soto, LHP (Advanced Central College HS)
1444. Mark Ginther, SS (Jenks HS, OK)
1471. Michael Russo, RHP (Hun School, NJ)
1498. Josh Hake, RHP (Park University, AZ)

At this point, I think Shreve is going to get done, and I think we will see Pettibone sign as well. Coy is not going to sign. I think Weber is 50/50, since his Florida commitment is now gone. But it will take above slot to sign him, and because Shreve will cost more than slot, its iffy. Do we have hope for anyone else? Could the Phillies surprise us and sign a guy like Cosart, Marrs, or Broxton? We have one month to wait and see.

KG is reviewing each division’s 2008 draft over at BP, and he did the NL East on Saturday. Here’s what he had to say

Draft Philosophy: Tools, tools, and more tools! Must have more tools! Enough to fill the shed!

First Pick: Anthony Hewitt, SS, Salisbury School (CT) (24th overall>
How High He Could Have Gone: There were some teams considering him towards the middle of the first round, but he was a very polarizing player. Some think he slotted well as a mid-first-round talent, others wouldn’t have touched him until the first 100 picks were already off the board.
Path To The Big Leagues: It won’t be quick. The best athlete in the draft is also one of the furthest away from the majors. He might not even be in Double-A by 2011, so be patient, Phils fans.

Rest of the First Day:
1. Zach Collier, OF, Chino Hills (CA): Expected to go about ten picks earlier; a touch less athletic than Hewitt, but a touch more polished.
2. Anthony Gose, OF, Bellflower HS (CA): A better pitching prospect, but he doesn’t want to pitch. As an outfielder, he’s loaded with tools, especially speed.
2. Jason Knapp, RHP, North Hunterdon HS (NJ): The pitching version of Hewitt. He’s huge and he throws very hard, but that’s about it.
3. Vance Worley, RHP, Long Beach State: A big-bodied pitcher with good velocity, but he has problems with his secondary stuff and control.
4. Trevor May, RHP, Kelso HS (WA): A projectable arm who needs refinement, but the ceiling is there.
5. Jeremy Hamilton, 1B, Wright State: The rare non-toolsy pick for the Phils–-he put up big numbers in college but doesn’t thrill scouts.
6. Colby Shreve, RHP, Southern Nevada CC (NV): Gifted with a plus sinker/slider combination, but he just had a Tommy John surgery.

Best Second-Day Selections:
7. Johnny Coy, 3B, Benton HS (MO): He May be more raw than Hewitt, but he’s 6’7″ and athletic, so there’s plenty to dream on.
8. Julio Rodriguez, RHP, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy (PR): Tall, projectable arm fits in well with team’s philosophy.
10. Jean Carlos Rodriguez, C, Washington HS (NY): Like most Philly picks, he’s raw, but he’s got a good arm and a ton of strength.

Here ya go

The expected exodus of USC baseball players to the pros officially began this year with Phil Disher, and continued with Mike Cisco.

Cisco, a junior pitcher, has signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, the club’s minor league office confirmed on Monday. Cisco was picked in the 36th round in last week’s Major League Baseball first-year player draft.

Link.

Cisco’s numbers the last 2 years

2008: 16 G (11 GS) – 71.0 IP – 4.82 ERA – 93 H – 14 BB – 40 K – 7 HR – .314 OPP AVG
2007: 16 G (14 GS) – 86.2 IP – 3.84 ERA – 88 H – 18 BB – 74 K – 7 HR – .261 OPP AVG

As you can see, he definitely had a better sophomore year, so hopefully the raw ability is there and he can become a middle reliever in the bigs, even though the odds are against him.

If you look at the top of the site, you’ll see a link called “2008 Draft Picks” where I’ve listed every pick the Phillies make. As guys sign, I will bold their name so we can track who has and who hasn’t signed by the August 15th deadline. If you come across an article talking about a player signing, please post it on that page so I can make the necessary updates. Thanks.

As promised, I wanted to digest the draft and then give some detailed observations and thoughts, and then solicit the opinions of everyone here, and we can try to form some sort of opinion of the draft. Of course, the overall worth of this draft will be determined in 4-5 years, and even then the picture might still be cloudy. But it never hurts to go on record with some initial thoughts, and its always fun to re-visit those thoughts down the road and see where I missed in a big way, and where I might have been right. I’m going to stop short of going off on long rants, I already covered Day 1 in somewhat lengthy detail, so this is more a look at Day 2, and then trying to figure out how to grade the draft. So, here we go…

Continue reading My analysis of the draft →

The Phillies picked their max number of players. Lots of guys in the 2nd day that aren’t signable, maybe they’ll take a run at a few guys. We also added a number of interesting guys, guys who could fit in as role players or relievers. I’ll try and post some thoughts later, or at some point this weekend. I have a lot of work to do on the site here, but I want to thank everyone for continuing to come back. We had over 25,000 hits in the last 2 days, and if you’ve just stumbled onto the site, I hope you continue to come back. Thanks again for all of the comments/feedback and discussion. The draft is one of the best times of the year. Now its time to sign these guys and add some new blood to the system.

I’ll use this thread to post brief bios and info on our next wave of picks.

226. Johnny Coy, 3B (Benson HS, MO)

Two of Missouri’s more interesting high school prospects have made bigger names in other sports. Outfielder Johnny Coy is an Arizona State basketball recruit. He’s athletic and has a lot of projectable power in his 6-foot-7, 190-pound frame, but he’s raw in all facets of the game. Coy is considered more signable than Kansas State football recruit Joe Kassanavoid, who may be done with baseball. Kassanvoid is a 6-foot-6, 210-pound righthander who can throw 90 mph with little effort.

256. Julio Rodriguez, RHP (Puerto Rico BB Academy HS)

Righthander Julio Rodriguez sat at 83-86 mph earlier in the year, but touched 90 in May and reportedly has been as high as 92, which has caught the attention of scouts. Throwing from an over-the-top arm slot, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Rodriguez projects to have a plus fastball. Reports on the quality of his curveball are mixed. His changeup is a fringe-average pitch. Where Rodriguez goes in the draft depends on how many looks a team got on him and when those looks came.

Continue reading Phillies day 2 selections →

Lots of picks today, lots of guys who will never make it past AA, and maybe a few potential stars. I’ll do my best to keep this updated today, but I’m already swamped at work with a deadline today, so no promises.

226. Johnny Coy, 3B (Benson HS, MO)
256. Julio Rodriguez, RHP (Puerto Rico BB Academy HS)
286. Casey Overbeck, 3B (Mississippi)
316. Jean Rodriguez, C (George Washington HS, NY)
346. Michael Stutes, RHP (Oregon State)
376. James Weber, RHP (Central Clearwater Catholic HS, FL) [I think his name is Ryan, thats how BA lists him, if its the same guy)
406. Brian Rosenberg, RHP (Louisville)
436. Michael Schwimer, RHP (UVA)
466. Damarii Saunderson, OF (Northville HS, MI)
496. Troy Hanzawa, SS (San Diego State)
526. James Murphy, 1B (Washington State)
556. Tyler Cloyd, RHP (No School)
586. Stephen Susdorf, OF (Fresno State)
616. Eryk McConnell, RHP (NC State)
646. Sean Grieve, LHP (William and Mary)
676. Daniel Hargrave, 2B (UNC Wilmington)
706. Brandon Haislet, OF (Hawaii)
736. David Noles, LHP (Columbus State)
766. Daniel Edwards, RHP (Kansas State)
796. Ryan Bergh, RHP (Old Dominion)
826. Chad Poe, RHP (Bossier Parish CC)
856. Jordan Ellis, RHP (Villanova)
886. Keon Broxton, 3B (Lakeland High School, FL)
916. DJ Henderson, SS (Southeastern HS, MI)
946. Spencer Arroyo, LHP (Modesto JuCo, CA)
976. Sean Ellis, RHP (Polk CC, FL)
1006. James Simpson, 1B (Dowagiac Union HS, MI)
1036. Blaine O’Brien, RHP (Scituate HS, MA)
1066. Ruddy Rio-Nunez, OF (Edouard Montpetit HS)
1096. Michael Cisco, RHP (South Carolina)
1126. Matthew Johnson, OF (John W North HS, CA)

Ok. So I debated just waiting to give my thoughts on today’s picks until the draft was finished, but then I wouldn’t get anything up on the site till next week, and I didn’t want to do that, so I figured I’d give my initial thoughts now, then I’ll do a bit more next week and touch on the second day of the draft and my overall impressions. First, I want to thank everyone for visiting (over and over again, I’m sure) as we set a new record for single day hits, well over 13,000, far doubling the previous high, which was a year ago on draft day. Second, I appreciate all of the comments and feedback, it was a blast to follow the draft here and get everyone’s thoughts as it happened, and there was certainly a wide array of opinions. I feel like I just need to continue to state it, just so I’m clear. I’m not here to be a cog in the Phillies PR machine. I’m not affiliated with the Phillies, and I’m not affiliated with any other site, despite efforts by other sites to incorporate me into their setup. My opinion is my own, its based on the things I see and read, and its just that, my opinion. I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree with me, and I’m open to every opinion possible, as long as that opinion is backed up with something of substance. The reality of right now is, we won’t really know what these players will provide for 1-5 years, we’re just guessing and going with our initial gut reaction. But all of that said, its still fun. So, lets get to it.

Continue reading Day 1 thoughts/review →

We’ll keep the regular discussion in the long draft post, but I’ll update this one as well with our selections, along with scouting reports where applicable.

24. Anthony Hewitt, SS (Salisbury School, CT)

Hewitt is the epitome of high-risk, high-reward. The risk starts with his signability: Any team that drafts Hewitt must be prepared to open its wallet and buy the academic-minded Brooklyn native-turned-Connecticut boarding school star out of a commitment to Vanderbilt. There’s also a huge risk that he simply won’t hit in professional ball: his raw bat was overmatched against quality pitching on the showcase circuit last summer, and though he dominated vastly inferior prep competition this spring, he still struggles to recognize breaking balls and can get locked up at times by ordinary fastballs. But then he’ll crush a ball 450 feet and give scouts a glimpse of his prodigious upside. Several scouts said he was second to Tim Beckham as the best athlete at the East Coast showcase last summer, and he has three legitimate above-average tools in his raw power, speed and arm strength. His muscular 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame evokes Ron Gant, and his work ethic and charisma stand out. Hewitt plays shortstop for Salisbury, but his poor footwork, stiff actions and lack of instincts will dictate a shift to third base or more likely the outfield, where he has enough speed and arm strength for center or right. Hewitt has generated mountains of buzz in the Northeast and could sneak into the supplemental round or even the back of the first round if a club falls in love with his potential enough to overlook his crudeness.

Check below for the rest of the picks…

Continue reading And the Phillies take…. →