David Buchanan

September Callups and the 40 Man Roster

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It is now August 28 the Phillies bullpen ailing more than ever under the strain of a rotation of bright eyed rookies and corpses, and September 1 can’t come soon enough.  We already know based on hints that the September call ups are going to be underwhelming, but take some solace that Jerad Eickhoff, Aaron Altherr, … Read more

Phillies Make Surprising but Possibly Brilliant Roster Moves

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It was announced on Saturday that the Phillies were demoting David Buchanan to AAA and calling up LHP Elvis Araujo.  My initial reaction was of outrage that Severino Gonzalez would remain up on the major league roster despite showing in his last start that he was not major league ready.  However, the Phillies might actually … Read more

Phillies Scouting Staff Graduates 13 Players to Majors in 2014

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Over the years the Phillies amatuer talent acquisition staff has gotten a lot of crap from fans.  I personally think a lot of it is unfounded and comes from a set of unreasonable expectations for the developmental process.  The scouting staff has no control over the developmental process, especially after a player is traded to another organization.  The staff deserves huge amounts of credit for finding the player in the first place, and with a huge 2014 it is only fair to give them their due.

This is not an indictment of trades that have been made, merely the originally signed players

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The Hunt for the Paul Owens Award (Pitcher)

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Every year the Paul Owens Award goes to the top hitter and pitcher in the Phillies organization.  The award does not go to the best prospect in the organization, but rather to the one that has performed the best during the past season.  The hitting award should easily go to Phillies top prospect J.P. Crawford who is not only putting up a great stat line (.286/.376/.401), but he has done it across two levels as a 19-year-old playing good defense at a premium position.  On the pitching side the Phillies top prospects have been hindered by being hurt, ineffective, both hurt and ineffective, or having just been drafted this past June.  This leads to a very wide open race for the Paul Owens for pitching.

The Paul Owens Award for pitching has not been the site of illustrious and major league successful names, but it does have its share of top prospects.  The last 10 pitchers in reverse order to win it are Severino Gonzalez, Tyler Cloyd, Trevor May, Scott Mathieson, Kyle Drabek, J.A. Happ, Mike Zagurski, Carlos Carrasco, Robinson Tejeda, and Scott Mitchinson.

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Jesse Biddle’s Season In Question

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Ruben Amaro Jr. recently met with CSN reporter Jim Salisbury for a one on one interview in which the status of  Jesse Biddle was discussed.  Biddle, 22, had been recently placed on the temporarily inactive list to clear his head of some growing frustrations.  Having grown up in Philadelphia, the young pitcher was placing a … Read more