Given the amount of time and effort that goes into covering the season while it occurs, we want to give it equal attention after it is all over. This year we will be featuring wrap-ups such as this one, done by the writers here at Phillies Minor Thoughts, and then an interview with someone has gotten to see the team a lot in person. We are very excited to start rolling these out, especially for the insights by those we talked to.
Team: GCL Phillies
Record: 36-23
Standing: Missed Playoffs, Second Place in Northwest Division
Top Hitter Stat Lines:
Tim Zier – 41 G – 142 AB – .324/.415/.408
William Cuicas – 42 G – 116 AB – .310/.433/.431
Carlos Duran – 35 G – 107 AB – .299/.390/.393
Top Pitcher Stat Lines:
Elniery Garcia – 26.0 IP – 2.08 ERA – 4 BB – 23 K
Denton Keys – 49.0 IP – 2.20 ERA – 12 BB – 35 K
Austin Davis – 31.1 IP – 2.59 ERA – 7 BB – 27 K
Top Hitting Prospect: – Jose Pujols
Coming into the year the most well known hitting prospect on the GCL Phillies was 16 year old Luis Encarnacion, but the continued growth of Jose Pujols as pushed Encarnacion to the side for now. Pujols has incredible bat speed and power (5 HRs this year), but is still in the early stages of getting comfortable with pitch recognition and approach. The most interesting part of Pujols’ year in the GCL was his home road splits, at home he hit .275/.346/.435 with only 17 strikeouts in 76 PAs, but on the road he hit .195/.241/.390 with 37 strikeouts in 87 PAs. There is a ton of risk in this profile overall, but there is also a ton of upside here too. Next Two: Jesus Posso, Luis Encarnacion
Top Pitching Prospect – Franklyn Kilome
I have been a big fan of Kilome’s upside since I first heard about him, and for me he barely edges out a group of similarly projectable young arms. His fastball is average to slightly above, but he controls it well for a pitcher of his size and age. He adds to the fastball a good sinker and the ability to stay over both pitches and locate them down in the zone. He lacks the full arsenal of some of the other pitchers on the staff, but he has the physical projection that you dream of, and the Phillies think he could add at least a grade of velocity to the fastball as he fills out. He will still need to get a useable breaking ball and changeup, but there is a chance for him to shoot up prospect list soon. Next Two: Elniery Garcia, Denton Keys
The biggest influence of the 2014 draft on the GCL Phillies was on the offensive side of the ball where Tim Zier (21st Round) and Damek Tomscha (17th Round) paced the team all year. Both were college seniors and might not be long for the org, but they provided stability in a very young lineup. On the pitching side, Austin Davis (12th Round) but up strong statistics working mostly in a long relief role for the team, he has the arsenal to start, but he is behind some other member of the current rotation. The highest round pick to stick with the team long term was Sam McWilliams (8th Round), McWilliams showed some of the same frustrating inconsistency he did as an amatuer as his fastball was mostly in the hi-80s, however at 6’7″ 190lbs it is the future projection you are betting on with the RHP.
Unheard of Surprises:
I have talked a lot about here and on twitter, about NDFAs Jason Zgardowski (RHP) and Josh Taylor (LHP), so all I will add is that both have upside of single digit round picks in the draft and may be better than many would expect for where the Phillies acquired them. On the hitting side, Latin infielders Williams Cuicas (19) and Grenny Cumana (18) started off strong (although Cumana faded a bit after an injury) and showed bats and gloves capable of stick in middle infield. At this point Cuicas is more polished, but his lack of power and impact with the bat is concerning, and Cumana is the better prospect long term and his growth could be very interesting as he should get a healthy year in Williamsport next year.