A Critical Look at the Phillies Organization and Minor League Baseball
It was asked in the comment section on the previous article if I could give updates from the minor league side on who is improving, and just overall rumors and news. So far it has been a fairly quiet spring from the minor league side, but there has been some things worth noting. So here … 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
Bunts are bad. They hurt your pitchers, they destroy your offense, and they drive your fanbase insane when Ryne Sandberg calls for them every time a man gets on base. But what if bunts are good? The Phillies certainly think so, at least in a different way this spring, as they work on the squeeze … Read more
Time to overanalyze another list of minor league players, it is time for work groups again. This updated list comes from Baseball Betsy (visit her site, watch her videos, thank her for doing all of this). We are still far from the final rosters but with the 5 groups we can start to see some … Read more
The Phillies made the first of their cuts from the #5 starter competition this weekend. They sent soft tossing lefty, Brett Oberholtzer to the bullpen. Oberholtzer is out of minor league options, so the Phillies needed to keep him in the majors to keep him in the org, and he has pitched well to earn … Read more
Both the Ruben Amaro and Matt Klentak lead front offices acquired a lot of pitching in the past few seasons through trades, signings, drafting, and waiver claims. Much of that pitching was in the high minors at the time of acquisition, and was poised to be part of the wave of players that the organization … 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