A Critical Look at the Phillies Organization and Minor League Baseball
Last year I held off until August 1 to a midseason ranking, with the Phillies big trade chips it made sense to wait to integrate them. This year I am going to hold off until August 1 for a different reason, I want time. Right now the Phillies have not signed all of their draft … Read more
Minor League rosters came out this weekend and there will be plenty of movement and time to talk about who is where and why it matters as we get into the season. For now here is where my preseason Top 50 prospects were assigned, both as the actual list and then by affiliate. J.P. Crawford – … Read more
Ranking season is still going on, and today Baseball Prospectus rolled out their organization rankings. The Phillies ranked #4, their highest ranking yet (BA #8, MLB #7, ESPN #6). Here is what they had to say about the Phillies’ system: These are four very strong systems that just don’t quite have the depth of the … Read more
Just when you thought ranking season might be over another list comes along. This is the first list from 2080 Baseball, a new venture founded by former head of Baseball Prospectus. Their minor league team includes a lot of familiar names from previous scouting teams at places like Baseball Prospectus and Fangraphs. The list this … Read more
The definition of a reliever has changed rapidly recently. Starting pitchers are throwing less, while pitchers overall get more dominant. There has been a velocity spike across all of baseball, throwing in the mid 90s does not make you a major league prospect anymore. To make a major league bullpen, a pitcher has to show … Read more
Starting pitchers are many things in the minor leagues. They can be legitimate starting pitching prospects. They can be future relievers who are still working on getting everything to work before their flaws force them to the bullpen. They can be pitchers with fringe stuff hoping to be at the right place, at the right … Read more
Lumping players together as outfielders loses some of the nuance of what makes up a diverse group of players. In the outfield there is room for elite defenders, slow mashers, no power speedsters, and guys who just hit. If you can do multiple things well, you can make yourself into a decent prospect. If you … Read more
Not all minor leaguers are what we commonly call prospects, not all major leaguers were considered prospects, there are plenty of players on the fringes who make a major league debut without ever appearing on a prospect list. There are other prospects that are so far away or risky that ranking them on a prospect … Read more
Ranking season is almost over, with only a few more lists to go. Today we got our strangest list so far from ESPN’s Keith Law. First the ranking and then a lot of thoughts about it. You can find the full piece here. J.P. Crawford Jake Thompson Mark Appel Nick Williams Jorge Alfaro Scott Kingery … Read more
Last week I talked about what was written in the 2016 Baseball America Prospect Handbook. At the end of the week, BA put out their revised organizational rankings as well as their Top 100 prospects. The org rankings did not change much with the Phillies staying constant at #8, but the Top 100 offered plenty … Read more