Who is Making the Velocity Jump

Yesterday Chris King wrote a piece for Fangraphs detailing the increase in velocity and stuff for Williamsport right hander Franklyn Kilome.  Kilome is obviously the most prominent member of the following group, but he is not the only player to keep an eye on this season.  So I went through our pitch database and found … Read more

Way Too Early Rule 5 Look Ahead

We are still five months out from the Rule 5 draft, but it is never too early to look ahead to see who may need to get pushed and evaluated just a bit more before we get to the fall of this year. First Time Eligible: Jiandido Tromp, Roman Quinn, Hoby Milner, Jesen Dygestile-Therrien, Manaure Martinez, Ranfi Casimiro, Yacksel … Read more

Tommy Joseph moving from Catcher to First Base

Jim Salisbury is reporting that Tommy Joseph will be moving full time to first base after spending his career at catcher.  This May he suffered another concussion, further putting both his long term health and career in question.  The move to first base should keep Joseph healthier, but it also ruins most of his remaining prospect … Read more

Phillies Sign Mark Laird, Joshua Tobias, and Nick Fanti

Yesterday Jim Callis reported that the Phillies had signed LSU junior outfielder Mark Laird for slot money in the 9th round.  In addition to Laird, it appears the Phillies have also signed Florida infielder Joshua Tobias.  No bonus figures are known on Tobias.  Both Laird and Tobias were assigned to short season Williamsport where they will … Read more

Weekend Preview – 6/26/15

Another weekend of action ahead of us with 8 teams going per day.  No matchup really stood out, but I can always highlight days that Franklyn Kilome starts. Lehigh Valley: (vs Louisville) Friday: Chad Billingsley Saturday: Jason Berken Sunday: Severino Gonzalez After Maikel Franco got his promotion the IronPigs were rather bare.  Since then they … Read more

Mailbag 6/26/15 – Your Questions Answered

You guys asked a lot of questions and I answered them and had a ton of fun doing it. Dash Treyhorn: What’s Aaron Altherr‘s ceiling? At one point we regarded players of Altherr’s athleticism as having near infinite upside, but we know better than that.  Aaron Altherr presents a paradox that Eric Longenhagen once laid … Read more

Andrew Knapp Promoted to Reading

The transactions keep flying in.  Andrew Knapp was the Phillies 2nd round pick in the 2013 draft.  He injured his elbow that summer and had to have Tommy John surgery in the offseason.  This caused him to miss the start of 2014 and not catch full time until mid-summer.  This year he is hitting .262/.356/.369 … Read more