A Critical Look at the Phillies Organization and Minor League Baseball
It feels fated that the two pitching prospects in the organization headed most in the opposite directions would have major news on the same day, no matter if the two moves are completely unconnected. Dealing with the bad first, Rob Thomson said RHP Moises Chace will be heading for Tommy John surgery. Chace came into … Read more
This Week’s Schedule Hitter Spotlight OF Avery Owusu-Asiedu 7-17 1 2B 1 HR 6 BB 2 K 4 SB .412/.583/.647 The Phillies selected Owusu-Asiedu in the 9th round of the 2023 draft as a junior in college, but he still is only 22. Last year he posted a 36.1% strikeout rate thanks to very low … Read more
Stock Changes *Rankings are from preseason list / Statcast stats from Robert Orr’s website or Baseball Savant Stock Up 2B Aroon Escobar (#11) – Escobar entered the year as a popular sleeper because his underlying numbers were very good, and he just had not stayed healthy or consistent. In April, Escobar hit .360/.461/.627 in 19 … Read more
This Week’s Schedule Hitter Spotlight 2B Aroon Escobar 11-23 2 2B 2 HR 4 RBI 1 BB 5 K .478/.500/.826 What Aroon Escobar has done so far this year isn’t completely shocking. He was very very good in a small sample size last year and he has long had the physical tools to be a … Read more
This Week’s Schedule Hitter Spotlight C Eduardo Tait 5 G 23 PA 4 H 1 2B 3 HR 3 BB 6 K 2 HBP .222/.391/.778 It wasn’t quite the dramatic week that Escobar had, but it was a good week for the big catcher, who also got to catch Andrew Painter on Friday night. He … Read more
Top Prospects SS Aidan Miller – Miller nearly immediately became the Phillies best hitting prospect as he took on his first full season of pro ball. Once thought to be a third baseman, he is now a shortstop who might have to switch position due to team need and not skills. At the plate he … Read more
Gameday / Statcast Spring Breakout Notes Pitcher Velocity Exit Velocity Other Notes Videos
The different tiers of prospects unsurprisingly look like a pyramid, with a large number of interesting players in the organization narrowing to a very few elite prospects at the top. Even here in this group of five there are three distinct tiers. At the top, Painter is an elite prospect, talent wise one of the … Read more
Teams in competition windows are usually in the business of reducing their amount of minor league talent. It is the cost of obtaining players from other teams, and with team record and spending tied to how teams acquire amateur talent the pipeline is squeezed as well. The really obvious answer to this problem has always … Read more
The Rule 5 draft is the highlight (or really in reality, last) thing of the Winter Meetings, occurring on Wednesday, December 11. Teams must set their 40 man and AAA protection rosters by 6pm EDT on Tuesday, November 19. This makes it a movement day for 40 man rosters across the sport, so it will … Read more