Phillies 6th Round pick Brandon Leibrandt has been on a roll recently which has started the round of questions about how good he can be, which ultimately end up on fastball velocity. Velocity is the most tangible and quantifiable aspect of a pitcher’s arsenal. Movement, command, and deception are all in the eye of the beholder and once we start talking secondary pitches the amateur eye is really out of its league. So we debate velocity and whether it is enough for a pitcher to survive in the major leagues (should the prospect in question survive the other levels in between them and their major league aspirations).
Matt Winkelman
VSL Phillies fall to VSL Tigers in VSL Championship
The VSL is only a 5 team league with the top two teams going to the championship. The Phillies took the first game from the Tigers but the Tigers took Game 2. A rain delay yesterday allow the VSL Phillies ace Ranger Suarez to take the hill today. Suarez is a diminutive LHP with a … Read more
Jose Pujols Home Run Compilation
He is only 18 years old, he can get bigger, he is only going to get better.
Post Trade Deadline Mailbag
With the trade deadline passed and the minor league season coming down the home stretch I asked for you to give me some questions to answer. You guys delivered. Scott Bailey: Do you really think that Ruben wasn’t getting value in his attempts to make trades yesterday? I do, with some caveats. Amaro is looking … Read more
Aaron Nola Is Making His AA Debut
As everyone is aware Phillies 2014 1st Round pick Aaron Nola will be making his AA debut in Reading tonight. Nola is the first member of the 2014 draft class to reach AA and is widely assumed to be the first starting pitcher from the draft to make his major league debut. So far outside … Read more
40 Man Roster and Rule 5 Look Ahead
With the trade deadline over and the team struggling it is inevitable we begin to look ahead to the offseason. One of the big events is the Rule 5 draft because the decisions made by the organization reflect their opinions on the players involved. We will go in depth on what cuts make sense to … Read more
Let’s do a Mailbag
We are through the July non-waiver trade deadline, we have a month of minor league season left. There is plenty to ask and talk about, so what better way than taking a lot of questions in and giving some answers. You can submit your questions in a couple of way: In the comments here On … Read more
Being Positive About the Future
Lets be honest, its been a rough month to be a Phillies fan. We built a delusion of getting a big payoff at the deadline in the form of prospects with names we didn’t recognize that we could dream on. Cliff Lee has been a shell of himself with an injured elbow that makes us … Read more
Trade Deadline Recap
Ruben Amaro came into the deadline looking to acquire prospects for A.J. Burnett, Antonio Bastardo, and Marlon Byrd. In the end this year, no one traded prospects for major leaguers. Outside of Addison Russell and Jake Thompson, every named prospect has seen their stock plummet this year. For the Phillies trades for under control talent … Read more
Minor League W-L Records are Irrelevent
There has been much made of the Phillies farm system based on this graph. This graph shows the Phillies as the worst minor league system in baseball based on W-L percentage. It has been used to rank the farm system, bash the front office, and destroy all hope of a better tomorrow. Here are … Read more