General Phillies Discussion – Week of 11 July 2011

Phillies Chatter

Lets try something new. To preface this, my intention from the beginning was for this site to be a site just for Phillies prospects. Some people think that is dumb or pointless, and that since we’re all Phillies fans, anything should go. That’s one person’s opinion, but its not one I share. There are tons and tons of awesome Phillies sites out there that focus on the big league club and everything that has to do with the organization. This isn’t one of them. My goal when starting this site was for it to be an information site, more closely resembling a “website” and not a message board or traditional blog. I still have those same aspirations. The discussions here are important, but they are important on the prospect side of things. I’ve always stated that if its something directly related to a prospect, then its fine to discuss. But the discussions tend to meander. The reason I want to keep things focused is for preservation. When someone finds my site because a player is traded or something like that, and they aren’t Phillies fans, I want them to be able to read things that have been written and learn something about the player/process. If they have to weed through 30 comments about Ryan Madson, it doesn’t serve my original goal for this site. And since this is still my site, I’m exercising content control.

With that longwinded rant out of the way, I will create a new post each week for you to talk about the things that you apparently can’t talk about at other Phillies websites. I ask that you keep all of your chatter in this one post. The people who contribute their time here to write up player/org reports deserve the respect of you not “pooping” on their work by taking the posts off topic. So keep it here. Fair enough?

First Person Scouting Report: Reading 11 July 2011

Scouting Reports

Reader “NYPHILSMANIAC” was kind enough to send me a detailed writeup, which I will post here. Thanks again!

I attended yesterday’s matinee at Reading and saw a barnburner in some serious heat (thought I was in Clearwater). As you already know, Rizz ended it with a bomb off Pat Venditte (the Switch-Pitcher) from Trenton. Anyway, here are my individual reports:

ROSENBERG: It was a strange outing to say the least. This is going to seem like a contradiction but he had trouble putting guys away even though he struck out the side in the first inning (sandwiched around 2 HR’s). The first batter of the game (Kruml) had a 1-2 count and fouled off 4-5 pitched before homering. The second batter had two strikes and fouled off some before K’ing, third batter had 2 strikes and then homered. The 4th batter struck out on a high fastball and 5th batter on a curveball. He could not put away the better hitters because he didn’t seem to have an out pitch yet somehow he fanned 7 in the game. He topped out at 93 and most fastballs were in the low 90’s. BJ settled down in the 2nd and got them 1-2-3. In the 3rd inning, he K’d the #9 hitter but then Kruml got a lucky hit that looped over Rivero at 3B- he jumped and it nicked off his glove. After striking out the next guy on a nice 76 mph change, he gave up a rip off the CF fence that plated the run. The 4th inning started with a HBP on the first pitch was probably intentional- Spidale was hit his first two times up and had rammed the catcher hard in the 1st inning so it may have been a retaliation from Parent. The ump warned both teams but nothing developed from there. The rest of the 4th went smoothly- Pop up, Tuffy CS, Fly Out. In the 5th, he gave up two baserunners but got out of it with a DP. He did leave with the lead but did not get a win.

Continue reading First Person Scouting Report: Reading 11 July 2011 →

2011 DSL Midseason Update

1. VSL/DSL

The Phillies DSL team is a work in progress after last year’s team had a number of players promoted to GCL or Williamsport this past winter.  2010 DSL graduates included Witer Jimenez, Carlos Valenzuela (playing surpisingly well), Jorge Castillo, Gabriel Arias, Hector Neris, Luis Gonzalez, Carlos Best, and Ramon Oviedo.  That is 8 promotions from the DSL team alone and prompted some criticism about the Phillies having an older DSL squad without a huge number of prospects last year. Continue reading 2011 DSL Midseason Update →

Phuture Phillies/Express Times On Line Chat

Scheduling

Mike Lore, the IronPigs beat writer of the Express Times has invited me to be a “featured guest” on an on line chat this Tuesday discussing the IronPigs first half, what to expect in the second half, and any other questions you may have about Phillies prospects.  Drop on by at 7:00 on Tuesday night at http://bit.ly/pD8tij.

Futures Game Wrap: Thoughts on Cosart/Valle

Futures Game, Valle, Sebastian

The Futures Game is a lot of fun. You’re seeing 50 prospects, and though not all of them are future all stars, most of them will make it to the majors. This game isn’t the best data point to try and evaluate someone’s future career, but its fun nonetheless. Some quick thoughts.

Sebastian Valle: Came in to pinch hit and had himself a heck of an AB, laying off a tough 1-2 pitch before lining a double down the left field line and taking 3rd on the wild overthrow from Bryce Harper. In his 2nd AB he faced Jacob Turner, one of the best RHP in the minors. He showed a quick bat, roping a hard fastball just foul and working a deep count before flying out to right centerfield. Defensively, Valle looked just fine, presenting a quiet target, framing high velocity fastballs perfectly, and blocking everything in the dirt. 3 years ago, we were wondering if Valle would have the capability to stick behind the plate defensively, and now his defense appears to be almost completely caught up to his offensive potential. Very positive developments.

Jarred Cosart: Cosart started the 8th inning and blitzed the three hitters he faced. As I noted in the liveblog, the TV gun was 2mph fast, so his 99s were 97s, but that will certainly play. He flashed a big hammer curveball to record a strikeout, and then finished off the last hitter he faced with an 83 mph changeup with solid late fade. He still has a somewhat complex delivery with moving parts, but it did not appear to hamper his command at all. With the USA holding on, Cosart is the winning pitcher.

Pretty solid night for the Phillies farm system.

Around the System–Corner Infield

Around the System

Another month in the books since we looked at the corners….

Lehigh Valley

Jeff Larish, 28, .239/.330/.450 in 251 AB’s; 13 HR and 37 RBI; 12% bb rate, 30% K rate, .221 vs. LH, .246 vs. RH, .221 with RISP, .078 in July. 51 games at 1B with 2 errors (.996); 9.18 R/F; 18 games at 3B with 4 errors (.925); 2.72 R/F. Its turned into a disappointing season for Larish who is striking out a ton.  Continue reading Around the System–Corner Infield →