Major and Minor League Rosters

Today is roster day, this thread will have all the rosters as they are released.  There will be full writeups and previews for all minor league teams this week. *Player is on DL Philadelphia Phillies: Starting Pitchers: Chad Billingsley*, David Buchanan, Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang, Jonathan Pettibone*, Jerome Williams, Cliff Lee* Relief Pitchers: Justin De Fratus, Jake … Read more

Quick Winter League Update

While we wait for the Jimmy Rollins trade to happen, there are still Phillies prospects playing around the world.  Here is a quick look at the best and most interesting lines going on in winter ball. Odubel Herrera – 2B/OF – VWL G AB HR SB BB K AVG OBP SLG 48 185 5 7 … Read more

Phillies Announce 2015 Minor League Coaching Staff

The Phillies have announced the 2015 coach staff for their minor league affiliates. Lehigh Valley Ironpigs Dave Brundage (Manager) Sal Rende (Coach) Mickey Morandini (Coach) Ray Burris (Pitching Coach) Reading Fightin Phils Dusty Wathan (Manager) Frank Cacciatore (Coach) Dave Lundquist (Pitching Coach) Clearwater Threshers  Greg Legg (Manager) Rob Ducey (Coach) Steve Schrenk (Pitching Coach) Lakewood … Read more

Arizona Fall League Recap – Pitchers

I already touched on the two hitters that the Phillies sent to the Arizona Fall League.  The Phillies sent 5 pitchers to the AFL, and while they lack the potential impact of Roman Quinn, they are very interesting group to think about.  They included 3 AA relievers in Nefi Ogando, Colton Murray, and Ryan O’Sullivan, as well as Hi-A left handed starting pitcher, turned reliever, Ethan Stewart, and then former top prospect and shoulder surgery victim Adam Morgan.

Adam Morgan:

6 G 16.1 IP 6.61 ERA 26 H 17 R 12 ER 3 BB 11 K

I ranked Morgan as the #2 prospect in the Phillies system after the 2012 season.  At the time Morgan sported a 90-92 mph fastball that he could run up to 94, pairing that with a plus slider, a changeup with plus potential, and an average curveball.  However after two years of shoulder injuries and surgery, Morgan returned to the mound in the AFL with only 2 starts in instructs under his belt.  Morgan was very hittable in the AFL, the fastball was normally 86-88 touching 89 and in one start he was 87-89 and reportedly getting as high as 92.  He was almost exclusively fastball-changeup with limited sliders.  It was good to see Morgan on a mound again, but we will have to see what the stuff looks like in the spring before knowing what he will be going forward.

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Arizona Fall League Recap – Hitters

This year the Phillies only sent two hitters the Arizona Fall League.  The first was former second round pick in the 2011 draft, Clearwater CF, Roman Quinn and the other was AA catcher Logan Moore.  Quinn came with much bigger expectations and played in 24 of Scottsdale’s 32 games (including missing time due to an injury scare), Moore was more roster filler and a back up, getting into only 12 games.

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Dylan Cozens and the Deception of MiLB Splits

As minor league fans we grasp for hope and improvement in minor league players, and we often grasp on to little pieces of information in an effort to make sense of the chaos.  This ranges from singular scouting reports from a singular person on a singular day or series* to a set of splits on a stats page.  We are just looking for narrative and meaning.  The player that has risen to the top of the narrative pile is Phillies Low-A right fielder Dylan Cozens.

*This is the nature of scouting and why multiple looks and context are important parts of the entire evaluation process.

The narrative coming out of the season was that Cozens built on first half successes into an outstanding second half, and from the surface if we take the triple slash line that looks fairly accurate.

BA OBP SLG
1st Half 0.229 0.282 0.403
2nd Half 0.267 0.324 0.426

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Maikel Franco named #4 Prospect in the International League

Today Baseball America named Maikel Franco the #4 prospect in the International League.  He comes in behind Gregory Polanco, Mookie Betts, and Francisco Lindor.  For those that thought Franco would build on a breakout 2013 and rocket to the majors 2014 will be viewed as a disappointment.  Instead AAA proved to be a steep learning … Read more