Ottawa began week nineteen on a two game winning streak, (doesn’t sound like much but it had been awhile since they’d won back to back), and had two remaining games in Buffalo before a brief two game series in Rochester. Game one saw the streak end 10-1 but the game was closer than it looked until the eighth inning when the Bisons scored four times off of Lynx reliever Joe Besinius. Although Lynx starter John Ennis, (4-4), wasn’t lights out, he left the game having allowed five runs, (four earned), with Ottawa trailing 5-1 and not completely out of the game yet. Bisons starter Jeffrey Harris, (6-7), pitched seven innings and allowed only four Ottawa hits and one run and the Buffalo pen held the Lynx scoreless over the final two innings.
So, just to review
* The Phillies signed Julian Sampson to an above slot deal ($390,000)
* The Phillies signed Jiwan James to an above slot deal ($150,000)
* The Phillies signed Jacob Diekman to an above slot deal (unknown)
* The Phillies signed Kyle Slate and Cedric Johnson, two prep prospects. Slate was given an $80,000 dollar bonus, plus $80,000 towards a college education should he later pursue that. For comparison’s sake, Tyler Mach got $95,000 in an under slot deal in the 4th round, while Tyson Brummett got $25,000 as a 7th round pick. No bonus amount has been published that I’ve seen on Johnson.
* The Phillies did not sign Brandon Workman, and will receive a compensation pick between the 3rd and 4th round of next year’s draft.
So, how’d they do? I’m planning a more in depth piece looking at the other NL East teams and how they did in the draft, as well as comparing the Phillies to a few other teams on both ends of the spectrum. But, weigh in, share your thoughts on this draft. Just remember to be civil.
Reading Report
Reading has fallen back below .500 at 60-62, mired in 5th place in the Southern division and is 10.5 games out of first place, with about 3 weeks left in the season. Among league leaders is pitcher Chris Key who has 16 saves and is 7th in the league. Mike Costanzo is leading the league in homers with 23, 3rd in the league in runs (79), 8th in RBI’s (71), and 2nd in the league in strikeouts(140). Although slumping Greg Jacobs remains 9th in hits (121), 6th in doubles (31), 4th in RBI’s (76), and 10th in average (.303). Jason Hill continues a very solid year and is not 3rd in the league in doubles (32), and now 3rd in the league in average (.315).
Andrew Carpenter Closing in on Clearwater Record
Andrew Carpenter kept his solid pitching going for the Threshers on Wednesday night by picking up a complete game win for his 14th victory of the year. The all-time Clearwater record for wins in a season is 15, and with at least three if not four more starts on tap before the season is over Andy has an excellent shot at eclipsing that mark.
Andrew was a member of the Western Division All-Star team, and since the all-star break he owns a record of 7-2 with a 1.95 ERA allowing opponents to hit just .228 against him.
Continue reading Andrew Carpenter Closing in on Clearwater Record
Phillies sign Julian Sampson
I love being wrong about things like this, but the Phillies handed over the money and got the deal done. Per Baseball America
There were two above-slot signings of late-round picks. The Phillies landed Washington high school righthander Julian Sampson (12th round) for $390,000, while the Rangers locked up California prep righty Kyle Ocampo (13th round) for $250,000.
MLB wants picks after the fifth round to receive no more than the last slotted bonus in the fifth round, which was $123,300 this year.
So far, so good. If it was only going to be one of either Sampson or Workman, I wanted Sampson, so this is a good start.
One day to go, will they or won’t they?
UPDATE: There was a question as to compensation for the lost 3rd round pick, and I have confirmed that we’d get a pick in a new compensatory round between the 3rd and 4th round if we didn’t sign Workman, we wouldn’t get the same pick (ie, the 12th) in next year’s draft.
That’s the big question we face, with the signing deadline tomorrow. It’s nothing new at this point, our two best unsigned prospects are Brandon Workman and Julian Sampson, both RHP. Workman is a 3rd round pick, and if he doesn’t sign, the Phillies receive a compensation pick in next year’s draft, which I believe will come between the 3rd and 4th rounds. If Sampson does not sign, the Phillies receive nothing but a thank you note from the Commish. If you’ve been following my blog and my writings, you know where I stand on this. As a front office, you have two decisions; you either play by the unofficial rules, or you do what you want. The Commissioners Office makes recommendations on slot bonuses, but if you follow the proper path, you can sign a player for whatever you want. A lot of teams do not go against the wishes of the Commissioner, but some teams do, and the most notable team of late is the Detroit Tigers.
The signing deadline is 2 days away
The August 15th deadline is just 2 days away, and the Phillies two best unsigned prospects remain Brandon Workman and Julian Sampson. An article in the CourierPostOnline this morning said this
Phils work to sign players: In terms of the big picture, the Phillies have been very successful signing their top 30 draft picks in each of the last two seasons. This year, with the August 15 deadline looming, they are six short of a perfect 30-for-30 with a pair of big prizes still on the board.
The Philies No. 3 pick Brandon Workman – a 6-foot-4 right hander – and No. 12 pick Julian Sampson – a 6-foot-5 right hander – remain unsigned with college commitments in their back pockets. The two high school pitchers could push this draft over the top but that remains to be seen as the deadline will strike at 11:59 est.
“I think the best way to put this is we’re working on multiples,” assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said. “In the end, it comes down to who is willing to sign.
“(Scouting director Marti Wolever and his staff) are prepared to work right up to that final minute. You’d like to sign every draft choice but, for example, a third-round talent has to be willing to be paid third-round dollars. We have to decide to direct dollars to get the most done.”
Workman is set to attend the University of Texas and seemed to be picked higher than most teams would have been willing to go. Sampson meanwhile according to one scouting report has “a good arm, good mechanics and the kind of projection scouts look for in high school pitchers.”
The Phillies have labored in the lower end of farm systems and have attempted to replenish a very thin system over the past two seasons. To that end, they drafted 31 pitchers in their 52 selections.
It looks like we’ll just have to see how much resolve Workman and Sampson have. 3rd round money is in the $500k range, and my gut tells me that Sampson wants more like $750k. The Phillies would be best served to take the money for Workman, plus a few dollars, and give it to Sampson. If they do this and don’t sign Workman, they get another 3rd rounder next season as compensation. We’ll see what happens, stay tuned.
Three Crosscutters make NYPL all star roster
Congrats are in order for Tyler Mach, Chance Chapman and Drew Naylor. See the full rosters here.
Jason Donald ranked#8 SS prospect in the minors
Kevin Goldstein gave props to Jason Donald today in his ranking of shortstop prospects in the minors, ranking Donald 8th. The list
1. Reid Brignac (TBD)
2. Chin-lung Hu (LAD)
3. Carlos Triunfel (SEA)
4. Brent Lillibridge (ATL)
5. Jed Lowrie (BOS)
6. Hector Gomez (COL)
7. Chris Nelson (COL)
8. Jason Donald
A third-round pick last year, Donald never lived up to expectations in college, but he’s been the most pleasant surprise in the Phillies organization this year. Donald is one of those players who is more valuable than the sum of his parts. The are no real weaknesses in his offensive game, as he hits for average with gap power and draws his share of walks. Defensively, it’s much of the same, as he rarely makes the spectacular play, but he’s fundamentally sound and consistently converts every ball he gets to into an out. He’s a solid but unspectacular talent with no real career path within the organization due to the presence of both Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley
9. Elvis Andrus (TEX)
10. Brian Bixler (PIT)
Ottawa Lynx Week Eighteen
The Lynx opened week eighteen with a four game series against the Syracuse Chiefs at home in Ottawa. Ottawa managed a split in the series and almost came away with victories in three of four, losing the final game in thirteen innings, a game they could have won in nine and a game started by a rehabing A. J. Burnett for Syracuse. The Chiefs came into town 9.5 games in front of Ottawa in fifth place and left town in the same position. All in all, while the hitting continued to be a sore spot, the starting pitching continued to get better and the bullpen were generally effective. Newly acquired infielder Gookie Dawkins, (acquired from the Seattle Mariners), played second, third and short in the series and, although not known for his hitting, even managed to get a couple of those as well as showing off his well known fielding skills.
