Phillies Nation

Jesse Biddle was ranked as the Phillies' number 1 prospect by Baseball America

On Monday, Baseball America released its annual list of top 10 prospects in the Phillies organization. The rankings feature some plenty of names that are deserving of considerable regard, but also includes some debatable placement.

Generally, I feel that prospect rankings issued by national writers or their publications are a somewhat questionable, as such members of the media do not get to see many of the same players on a regular basis and, as such, must rely on other people’s accumulated scouting reports and other material to publish full reviews.  Limitations of how frequently a player is viewed over a season can prevent an analyst from witnessing development or getting to see the type of work individuals put in outside the lines.  A player’s progress is key in reviewing his potential and in ranking him among other prospects, as are his age, his proximity to helping the big league team and other factors as well.

What’s wrong with the list-

Failure to include third baseman Cody Asche in the top five is quite an oversight.  The University of Nebraska product ranks 7th on the list and proved to be one of the Phils’ best young talents in 2012 when he posted a combined .324 average with 12 home runs and 72 RBI at Class A Advanced and Double-A during his first full pro season.

Shortstop Roman Quinn holding down the number two spot is not on point.  With other players more deserving, the 19-year-old Quinn having not yet shown the sort of efforts that could solidify such a ranking should be considered for the list, but should not be at the top of it.  Quinn, the Phillies’ 2nd round draft choice last year, batted .281 with a homer, 23 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 66 pro games with short-season Class A Williamsport after debuting as a pro in 2012. Continue reading BA’s Prospect Rankings Up for Debate

It’s another edition of the (usually) weekly off-season league rundown.  Check it out, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action.

Dominican League-

Antonio Bastardo (pictured, right) made his DR League season debut on Saturday, throwing a scoreless frame and allowing no baserunners for Cibao.  Bastardo tossed a 1-2-3 inning against Este, closing it out by getting Phils catcher Steven Lerud to fly out.  The 27-year-old lefty was 2-5 with a 4.33 ERA and a save in 65 games for the Phillies in 2012.

Lerud sports a .200 batting average with a double, a home run and four RBI in 19 games.  The 28-year-old made his big league debut with the Phils during the 2012 regular season.

Veteran lefty Raul Valdes has tallied a 1-2 record with a 3.81 ERA in seven starts for Este.  The 35-year-old had a 2.90 ERA and held opponents to a .168 batting average against in 27 games with the Phillies this year.

Outfielder Leandro Castro has a .275 batting average, no extra base hits, three RBI and four steals in 28 games for Oriente.  The 23-year-old Castro batted .287 with 10 homers and 71 RBI in 133 games while becoming an All-Star for Double-A Reading this year.

Utility man Michael Martinez has a .192 batting average with eight RBI in 21 games for Oriente.  The 30-year-old appeared in 45 games while batting .171 with the Phillies in 2012. Continue reading Weekly Off-season League Updates: 12/16/12

It’s another edition of our weekly off-season league updates.  Check it out, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action. Stats are current through games on Saturday.

Mexican League-

Catcher Sebastian Valle (pictured, left) is batting .214 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI in 17 games with Los Mochis.  The righty hitting Valle, 22, was an All-Star in the Double-A Eastern League in 2012 prior to earning a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Venezuelan League-

Darin Ruf wrapped up his time with the La Guaira last week. The 26-year-old Creighton product posted a .258 batting average with 10 HR and 27 RBI in 32 games for the Tiburones. Ruf, a 20th round draft choice from 2009, made his big league debut with the Phillies in September and batted .333 with two doubles, a triple and three home runs in 12 games. Continue reading Weekly Off-season League Updates, 11/25/12

Just one of the Phillies’ four full season minor league affiliates are headed to the postseason. Taking all 142 games of their schedule to do so, the Double-A Reading Phils clinched their Wild Card berth with a 7-3 win over Portland on Monday, on the final day of the Eastern League’s regular season.

In the Eastern division standings, the R-Phils beat out New Britain by just one game for the right to take on division champ Trenton (Yankees affiliate) this week with a chance to play in the EL championship series on the line.

To open the playoffs, Reading will host the Thunder for games 1 and 2, at Reading’s First Energy Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday. Games 3, 4 and 5 will be played at Trenton’s Waterfront Park on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, if necessary. Reading finished three games behind Trenton in the season standings, but the R-Phils downed the division champs in seven of 13 contests during the regular season.

Reading’s top offensive performer this season was the EL Most Valuable Player Darin Ruf (pictured), who finished second in the league in batting average with a .317 mark while leading the league in home runs with 38 and RBI with 104.

Ruf had a torrid month of August, batting .371 with 20 HR and 36 RBI in 31 games.  The Phillies’ 20th round draft choice from 2009, cited the meaningful games down the stretch, while his team strived to reach the postseason, as having played a factor in helping him pick up his production.

“The longer we stayed in it, the more meaningful the games were and that way you can’t give up on a game or give up on an at bat. The more meaningful it is, the more you’ll get out of each situation and the better you’ll be, ultimately, for a playoff run,” Ruf stated. Continue reading Developmental End of Season Wrap Up

We’re back with another semi-weekly minor league review, where we take a look at the various developmental levels of the Phillies’ organization and some noteworthy players from each club. This time, it’s a glance at some top performers of late, as well as those that aren’t doing so well.

Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs…

Who’s hot:

RHP Jonathan Pettibone (pictured, right) has posted a 3-0 record with a 1.80 ERA in three starts this month for the IronPigs. Overall, combined with his time at Double-A Reading this season, Pettibone has tallied a 12-7 record with a 3.10 ERA and 100 strike outs in 142 1/3 innings. The 22-year-old was the Phillies’ 3rd round draft selection in 2008.

Who’s not:

IF Cesar Hernandez is 5-for-31 (.161 avg) in his past eight games. In 16 games since his promotion to Lehigh Valley, the 22-year-old Hernandez has posted a .231 batting average.

Right-handed starting pitcher Scott Elarton has gone 0-3 with a 6.98 ERA in four starts this month. The 36-year-old veteran has not recorded a win since May. Continue reading Weekly Minor League Review, 8/19/12

It’s another sometimes-weekly minor league review, where we take a look at the various developmental levels of the Phillies’ organization and some noteworthy players from each club.

Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs…

Who’s hot-

Tyler Cloyd (pictured, right) continued his dominance of the year 2012 in his latest start. The 25-year-old righty notched the win against Pawtucket on Thursday, allowing just one earned run in seven innings of work. The victory took Cloyd’s record to 14-1 and his ERA in 1.91 in 22 combined starts at Double-A and Triple-A this season. The Phillies’ 18th round draft pick in 2008 has been making it extremely difficult for the Phillies to not promote him to the big league roster.

Recently promoted second baseman Cesar Hernandez headed into action on Saturday posting the following numbers over the previous week- .476 batting average, three doubles, one triple and the RBI. Additionally, Hernandez hit safely in seven consecutive games beginning last Friday. The 22-year-old was among Reading’s Eastern League All-Star representative’s this season.

Who’s not-

J.C. Ramirez has had a rough time lately for the IronPigs. In the right-hander’s last nine relief outings, he has sported a 1-1 record with a 9.88 ERA. Overall this season, the Nicaragua native has tallied a 2-3 record with four saves, a 4.94 ERA and a .250 batting average against over 34 combined outings with Double-A Reading and Lehigh Valley. Ramirez will turn 24-years-old on August 16th. Continue reading Weekly Minor League Wrap Up, 8/5/12

It’s time for another edition of our semi-weekly minor league round up, where we take a look at some top performers from each team.

Venezuelan Summer League Phillies-

Shortstop Deiber Olivera has been on fire for the VSL club. Through 42 games this season, the 5-foot-11-inch 155-pounder has posted a .400 batting average (2nd in the league) with 15 doubles, 2 triples and 26 RBI. The 19-year-old righty hitter was signed by the Phillies in May 2011.

Left-handed hurler Douglas Parada, who threw a 9-inning no-hitter on Saturday, has a 7-0 record with a 0.69 ERA through 11 starts with the VSL Phils. The 19-year-old has struck out 63 and walked just 7 in 65 2/3 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .158 batting average against. Last year in the same league, Parada posted a 5.40 ERA with 4 strike outs and 4 walks in 5 relief outings.
Continue reading Weekly Minor League Wrap Up, 7/16/12

Mickey Morandini is a former Phillies All-Star that currently guides the Phils’ stars of the future. Recently, the manager of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws took some time to chat about his team as well as a few other Phillies prospects. Subjects include the rotation of shortstops in Lakewood this year, BlueClaws’ lefty starter Ethan Stewart, Williamsport’s Roman Quinn, Reading’s Cody Asche and plenty more.

Check out the media player below to hear that full interview with Mickey.

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Jay Floyd is PhilliesNation’s minor league insider.  You can check out more from Jay by visiting his site, PhoulBallz.com.

It’s time, once again, for the (sometimes) weekly minor league wrap up. Read ahead for a rundown of some of the Phillies’ most noteworthy minor leaguers of late.

GCL Phillies…2-8 record, 6th place, 8 GB of 1st place in the GCL North division-

Catcher Willians Astudillo has looked great for the GCL club, posting a .423 batting average with 3 doubles and 3 RBI in 7 games played. The Venezuela native was signed by the Phillies in 2008 at the age of 17.

Outfielder Dylan Cozens has posted a .286 average with 1 HR, 7 RBI and 2 SB in 8 games since making his pro debut. Cozens was drafted 77th overall by the Phillies this year.

Williamsport Crosscutters…7-7 record, 2 GB in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League’s Pinckney division-

Christopher Serritella, the Phillies’ 4th round draft pick this year, has been contributing quite well with the bat. The lefty hitting first baseman/designated hitter tallied a .280 average with 6 doubles, a homer and 9 RBI through the first 13 games of his pro career. Serritella is a 22-year-old lefty hitting Southern Illinois University product. Continue reading Weekly Minor League Wrap Up, 7/2/12

It’s time, once again, for the (usually) weekly Phillies minor league review. In this edition, we’ll take a look at some hot performers, some less-than-hot performers and a college draftee headed to the College World Series.

Lakewood BlueClaws, Class A South Atlantic League. 21-41 record, 6th place out of 7 (19 1/2 GB) in Northern division.

Right-handed starter Colin Kleven (pictured, left) was named Lakewood’s lone representative in the SAL All-Star Game this past week. The 21-year-old native of British Columbia has posted a 3-5 record with a 3.90 ERA in 11 starts this season.  Kleven was a 33rd round draft choice in 2009.

Lefty starting pitcher Ethan Stewart has been on a roll this month, posting wins and an ERA of 3.00 in back to back starts. The New Mexico Junior College product was a 47th round draft choice by the Phillies in 2010.

Infielder Stephen Malcolm has had a considerably slow start with Lakewood since joining the team out of extended spring training in May. In 23 games, the 22-year-old, who was drafted in the 8th round of the 2010 draft, has tallied a .159/.270/.222 line in 23 games. Malcolm replaced shortstop Tyler Greene, who posted a .147/.270/.267 line in 23 games. Greene was sent to extended spring training and is expected to play with the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters, who begin their season on Monday, June 18th.

Clearwater Threshers, Class A Advanced Florida State League. 31-28 record, 2nd place (9 GB) in Northern division. Continue reading Weekly Minor League Review, 6/11/12