As Sunday’s game showed there are a lot of players in camp that make you scratch your head and run for Google. With the Phillies not sending any non-40 man prospects to big league camp, the bulk of players are 40 man roster members or non-roster invite veterans. You may have heard some of these prospect names, but not who they are and what they do, so here is your very quick guide to the 40 man prospects and some non-roster veterans you should know about.
40-Man Roster:
Aaron Altherr
- Lanky outfielder
- Glides in center field with plus speed
- Strong and accurate arm
- Plus raw power, but long and inconsistent swing leaves a lot to be desired with hit tool
Tommy Joseph
- Big arm and big power
- Never has made consistent contact
- Receiving is gradually improving but still rough
- Coming off wrist surgery
- Repeat concussions have put his future in doubt
Kelly Dugan
- Stress reaction in foot will limit game action
- Average tools across the board with the power and arm a bit above
- Good approach at the plate, starting to add opposite field hitting
- Is never healthy
Maikel Franco
- Plus or better arm and soft hands at third
- Poor range at third, slow acceleration
- Very good contact abilities and plus or better power
- Poor approach and long swing lead to poor ground ball contact
Odubel Herrera
- Rule 5 pick
- Second baseman transitioning to the outfield (has played LF/CF)
- Strong hit and contact abilities
- Has not shown power outside of winter ball
Cameron Rupp
- Wide body catcher
- Good receiver with a strong arm
- Above average power with poor contact abilities
- Backup catcher ceiling
Jesse Biddle
- Has terrible injury luck
- Fastball is 89-92 touching 93-94
- Curveball can get long and loopy
- Changeup is a work in progress but will show good potential
- Will lose delivery and cast pitches more than driving them
- Inconsistent control, especially if delivery goes
Adam Morgan
- At his best fastball was 90-93 with good control, he paired it with a plus slider, above average change, and average curve
- Still recovering from shoulder injuries, was 88-90 touching 91 in Arizona Fall League
- Has good feel for mixing pitches and attacking batters
- Looks like Cliff Lee, but is not Cliff Lee
Joely Rodriguez
- Fastball at 90-93 touching 95
- Other pitches are close to average
- Fills the zone, but can nibble late in counts
- Misses less bats than stuff would suggest, but pitch movement generates ground balls
- Saw improvement in AFL when he attacked batters
Hector Neris
- Three pitch reliever
- Fastball is 91-93 touching 94
- Not overpowering
Nefi Ogando
- Big velocity with fastball at 96-98 touching 100
- Slider will flash plus, but can also show very poorly
- Inconsistent control, can lose the zone
Elvis Araujo
- Big lefty who was signed as a minor league free agent
- 2014 was first year as full time reliever
- Fastball is 94-96 touching 97
- Shows a plus slider
- Control still needs work
Luis Garcia
- Big fastball, can get to 98 with regularity
- Improving slider
- More control than command, gets less chases in majors and expands the zone
- Made strides in September return to the majors
Ethan Martin
- Shoulder injury limited him in 2014, and velocity just started to return towards end of year
- At best will be 94-96 with a sharp cutter like slider and plus curve
- Control better in bullpen, can lose delivery over multiple innings
- Being stretched out as a starter in order to rebuild his arm strength and regain feel for pitches
Andy Oliver
- Rule 5 pick and former top prospect
- Mid-90s FB last year out of the bullpen
- Huge control problems
- Was unhittable in AAA against left handed batters
Non-Roster Invites:
Paul Clemens
- Now a full time reliever
- Fastball at 94-96
- Inconsistent curveball
- Does not miss bats at expect rate
- Control problems
Russ Canzler
- Still somehow only 28
- Hit well in AAA
- Sleeper RH 1B option, but still a roster long shot
Jeanmar Gomez
- Long reliever
- Results have been much better than stuff or underlying numbers
Photo by Tom Hagerty