2014 GCL Phillies Recap

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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

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The Past Week (9-15-2014)

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Since it gets kind of quiet here this winter, I am going to be putting up a weekly recap of articles from here and around the internet, as well as the bigger picture long term projects going on behind the scenes.

The Past Week:

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The Future in the Outfield

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Originally this spot was going to be filled by a mailbag, but the overall lack of questions coupled with one intriguing question has taken this in a different direction.  Here is the question:

In itself it is a very simple question that I can give an answer that will likely prove to be false anyway.  What makes this question intriguing is that I have started the very early stages of the offseason ranking project.  Right now penciled into the Top 20 prospects are 10 outfield prospects, which was very surprising at first, but once you go over the names it makes a good amount of sense of why they are all there.  So with that, lets expand the question to what does the projected outfield look like going forward.  Since we don’t quite know what free agents will be available, I will touch on the top names that we know of, but I won’t pencil them into the projections, rather I assume you, the reader, will take weaknesses in this projection and dream whatever big name out there you like, that could fill that spot.

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Rebuilding and Competing Not Mutually Exclusive

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Ever since Roy Halladay‘s injury in 2012 the Phillies have been in a downward spiral of competitiveness.  That summer they traded Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence to bolster a very poor farm system.  The Phillies finished that year with the 15th worst record in baseball and followed that up with a 7th worst record in baseball the following year.  This year they are 67-77 and Ruben Amaro is once again talking about being competitive in 2015, much like he did a year ago.  This has caused some outrage among fans who believe everything that Amaro says to be a show of his incompetence.  But are the Phillies really harming their potential future by not bottoming out?

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Phillies All-Org Team

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We will be spending all offseason talking about prospects, so this is the moment to honor those that put up the best statistical years for the organization.  This list was put together with input from the staff here.

Catcher:
Andrew Knapp (.290/.354/.438 5 HR LKW)

It was a rough start for Knapp in his comeback from Tommy John surgery, but the former second round pick bounced back with a very good season in the South Atlantic League.

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Phillies Scouting Staff Graduates 13 Players to Majors in 2014

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Over the years the Phillies amatuer talent acquisition staff has gotten a lot of crap from fans.  I personally think a lot of it is unfounded and comes from a set of unreasonable expectations for the developmental process.  The scouting staff has no control over the developmental process, especially after a player is traded to another organization.  The staff deserves huge amounts of credit for finding the player in the first place, and with a huge 2014 it is only fair to give them their due.

This is not an indictment of trades that have been made, merely the originally signed players

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What to Expect From Maikel Franco

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Maikel Franco has been on Phillies fans radar’s for almost 2 years now, ever since he mashed pitching in the Florida State League.  There was some clamoring for him to win the third base job out of spring training in 2014, but the Phillies sent him to Lehigh Valley for the season.  But now it appears they will be calling up the right-handed third baseman, so who is Maikel Franco, and what should Phillies fans expect from Franco going forward.

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Low Minors Starting Rotation Crunch

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The Phillies entered the season with one of the thinnest systems in terms of starting pitching in major leagues.  Through the draft, international development, and trades the Phillies have turned this weakness into a strength.  The result has been starting rotations in the low minors that ended the year in 6 and 7 man rotations … Read more