BA has a new article up today (subscription content) listing the #11 prospect for every NL team. They list Roman Quinn as #11 and point to the things we’ve already heard before: he has blazing speed (comparing him to Michael Bourn) and note his surprising power for someone his size. That’s about it. Nothing new, but I thought him being ranked #11 was notable. Feel free to discuss.
General Discussion: Week of 12 December 2011
The Rule 5 draft has passed. The long cold winter has begun. Things will be slow here over the next few weeks unless something major happens. I have some ideas for things I want to write about, but finding the time of late to sit down and do a thorough job has been tough. So maybe you’ll see a few shorter pieces that should spur on discussion, including a few “what to expect in 2012” editions. My plan is to start the Reader Top 30 at the beginning of January, which I believe is what we did last year. So, you can start thinking about your top 30 lists. As always, feel free to discuss whatever is on your mind here, and try to keep it somewhat prospect related if you can.
The Rule 5 draft is today, and the Phillies select…..
You know they will take someone. I’m not sure I’ll have time to do a detailed writeup today as the events unfold, but I will definitely update this space to reflect the player(s) we take and those we lose. So, check back later and use this spot to discuss the Rule 5 draft.
Update –> The Phillies did not make a selection in the major league phase, and Jiwan James was not selected. Both items are a surprise.
Glad Jiwan is sticking around, and hopefully his bat takes a big step forward in 2012.
The Cubs selected RHP Lendy Castillo, who it feels has been in the Phillies org forever. He’s never really been on the radar in terms of guys who could make an impact, and the Cubs will likely try to stash him as the long man in their pen.
Update 2 –> The Phillies didn’t make a selection in the minor league phase, but did lose Travis Mattair, Andy Loomis, and Francisco Diaz. Best of luck to them in their new orgs.
Ryne Sandberg wins Baseball America’s MOY award
Here’s the link. He says all the right things, and really he’s assembling an impressive CV as he looks to move up to the next level. He’ll get the call sometime soon, hopefully he’s able to work up the ladder to the top spot in the Phillies org. Congrats to him on the accomplishment.
General Discussion, week of 5 December 2011
I know how tough it is to try contain your excitement over every bogus trade rumor/free agency signing, so try and keep it all in this post and out of the other specific topic posts. Thanks.
Previewing the upcoming Rule 5 draft
We’ve already been over who the Phillies have protected and left unprotected here. Jiwan James is the big name the Phillies are hoping to sneak through. The Phillies have been very active in recent years, always selecting at least one guy, and in the last two seasons, they’ve kept their guy (Mini Mart, Herndon) the full season and retained them moving forward, so you can assume they will take someone again this year. If they do, here are my suggestions for guys they should look at.
Bryce Stowell, RHP (CLE) – Stowell has a big arm, as he used to consistently sit in the high 90s, but has had some injury trouble recently and is now down in the 92-95 range consistently. Still, if he’s past his injury issues, he has a special arm and could fit in well in the middle of the bullpen. Like we saw with Herndon, stashing a reliever as your 25 man is pretty easy. The Phillies will have competition in the bullpen, and Stowell could fit in there. Over the last 2 seasons between A+/AA/AAA he’s put up this line: 106 IP – 63 H – 57 BB – 159 K. Still a little raw, but plenty of upside. Video here
Ryan Flaherty, INF (CHC) – Flaherty is the victim of a numbers game, as the Cubs have a bunch of high ceiling/bonus baby infielders they need to protect and he doesn’t really have a set position. In 2011 he played 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, RF and LF. That’s versatility. He hit .305/.384/.523 at AA before struggling a bit in AAA. He has lefthanded power and can play all over the field, so if the Phillies were looking for another bench bat, he’d be a good guy to look at. I suspect that he’ll get taken before the Phillies pick. Grainy video here.
Nick Barnese, RHP (TAM) – Barnese was a high ranked prospect as recently as 2 years ago, but like most Rays pitchers, he’s moved very slowly through the system and now must be protected. He doesn’t turn 23 until January, and has moved one level at a time since being drafted. He spent 2011 in AA and saw his walk rate jump a bit while his K rate dipped slightly. His groundball rate has dropped each year since turning pro, but was still a respectable 47% in 2011. He may have just gotten a bit stale in Tampa, or his stuff might have dropped overall. There’s only one way to find out…
Philippe Valiquette, LHP (CIN) – He can’t seem to stay healthy, but when he’s on the mound he throws 97-99 from the left side. Sometimes he knows where its going, other times he doesn’t. But that kind of arm strength is worth a $50,000 flier, and if he’s injured/sucks, you get half of that back when you offer him back to Cincinnati. If he can stay healthy and harness his stuff, he has impact reliever possibility…kind of like Antonio Bastardo at this time last year. Plus, collecting guys named Philippe (and all their alternate spellings) should be an organizational priority.
Pat Venditte, P (NYY) – He’s a switch pitcher. Enough said. Video.
Dae-Eun Rhee, RHP (CHC) – Had Tommy John Surgery, but bounced back nicely in 2011 and posted this line in A+: 127.2 IP (career high) – 131 H – 43 BB – 117 K. Both his BB and K rates were improved from 2010 when he was recovering from surgery and he allowed only 10 HR last year with a 49% groundball rate. Would certainly be an interesting guy to look at as a reliever, though he’s been a career starter. He has four pitches, and his fastball sits in the 91-94 range as a starter, which could tick up in relief, and his change and curve are both solid average pitches.
Of course the Phillies don’t ask me for advice, and at this time last year I wasn’t writing up a piece on how they should take Micahel Martinez. So, we’ll see what happens.
Phils sign Brian Sanches, Scott Elarton
The Phillies announced yesterday that they signed RP Brian Sanches, along with SP Scott Elarton. Sanches, 33, was part of the Phillies organization from 2004-2007, progressing from AA to the majors, seeing some time for the Phils. Originally a 2nd round draft choice by the Royals in the 1999 draft, Sanches went on to throw for the Nationals and Marlins having a good modicum of major league success in FLorida over the passed three years. In 2011, Sanches was 4-1 with a 3.94 ERA in 39 games, throwing 61.2 innings for the Marlins.
The reclamation project of the 2012 Spring Training will be Scott Elarton, 35, who last pitched in the White Sox organization in 2010. Elarton, a 1st round pick by the Astros in the 1995 draft was both highly touted and successful in his early career winning 17 games for the Astros in 2007, Elarton, a 6’7 RHP, last threw in the majors for the Indians in 2008.
The Phils also announced that they have invited 8 players on minor league deals to Major League Spring Training. Thse names include Kevin Frandsen, Pete Orr, Tuffy Gosewisch, Raul Valdes, Brian Sanches, Scott Elarton, Scott Podsenik and Pat Misch.
Mathieson Out, Misch In
The Lehigh Valley roster has begun the process of taking shape with two transactions of consequence today. First, the Phillies have released Pitcher Scott Mathieson and it is expected that Mathieson will be playing in Asia next year, earning in the neighborhood of $2 million. Mathieson, the Phils 17th round pick in the 2002 draft was out of options after bouncing back and forth between the Phils and Lehigh Valley last year, struggling in his time with the big club. For Lehigh Valley, Mathieson, still just 27, went 2-2 with a 3.28 ERA in 30 games, including 12 starts. Mathieson, as he has in the past struck out many batters but ran deep counts and walked hitters at a very high rate resulting in a 1.47 WHIP.
The Phils have signed 30 year old LHP Pat Misch, who played in the Mets organization last season, going 8-9 with a 4.00 ERA in 22 starts for AAA Buffalo. Misch pitches to contact striking out less than 100 in over 140 innings, having has good control with a WHIP that stood under 1.30. Misch also pitched in 10 games for the Mets and was hit very hard at the major league level. Misch was originally a 7th round selection of San Francisco in the 2003 major league draft out of Western Michigan University. In 2010, Misch was an IL All Star and won the Most Valuable Pitcher Award for Buffalo.
Late Note: The Phils have re-signed OF Scott Podsednik, who missed most of last season with a variety of foot injuries and have invited him to Spring Training.
The Phillies are interested in re-acquiring Travis D’Arnaud
I thought this was an interesting little nugget included in Bob Elliot’s (Toronto Sun) column.
The Phillies have discussed possible ways on how to re-acquire catcher Travis D’Araund from the Jays. Good luck.
D’Arnaud is arguably the best prospect we’ve traded in the last 3 seasons. He appears to have star potential behind the plate if he can remain healthy. He was excellent in AA and is close to big league ready. The Jays have another good young catcher already in the majors in JP Arencibia, so they would be dealing from a position of strength, and they’d obviously ask for a ton in return. I’m sure nothing would happen on this, but its fun to ponder during the long cold winter.
What to expect in 2012, Sebastian Valle
I was thinking about the next player to write up, and Valle seemed like a great case. Always young for each league he’s played in, Valle had his best season in 2011 and performed very well in the pitcher friendly Florida State League, posting a line of .284/.312/.394, and that line may have been higher if he hadn’t worn down a bit in the hot summer sun over the last 6 weeks or so. Early in his career, Valle was considered an offensive first prospect whose future behind the dish was a bit uncertain. Over the last 2 seasons however, his athleticism and instincts have helped him improve tremendously defensively, and he now looks like no worse than an average defensive catcher with significant upside. He has a strong arm, and though he is still adding polish to his defensive game, all the tools are there. The question now is what is his offensive upside? Here is his career ledger
(click here to open in new tab)
32-33% caught stealing is solid enough, he cut down on his errors significantly, and the last piece is refining his ability to block pitches in the dirt. Offensively, his walk rate tanked and his K rate went up a tad, which means part of his batting average was definitely BABIP induced luck. Its important to remember the threshold for catchers in baseball. The average three slash line for all major league catchers in 2011 in the major leagues was .245/.313/.389. That’s putrid, obviously, and you only have to scan major league rosters to find guys who, if they played another position, would have been out of baseball years ago because they can’t hit their way out of a wet paper bag. Valle could struggle in AA, especially against quality offspeed stuff. The Phillies are probably anticipating this, and are fine with this, as long as he plays solid defense, which is going to be a requirement for him making it to the big leagues and contributing.
So, what do you expect from Valle in 2012 at Reading?
