Philadelphia Phillies Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

by John Sickels on Sep 8, 2009 9:00 AM EDT

This list was originally published October 28, 2008. This is a review of the PRE-SEASON list for 2009, not a revision of that list. This is a REVIEW of the old list. I'm not doing new grades or lists until I start working on the 2010 book.

1) Carlos Carrasco, RHP, Grade B: Traded to Cleveland. 11-10, 4.64 with a 148/45 K/BB in 157 innings between Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Triple-A Columbus.

2) Michael Taylor, OF, Grade B: Hitting .320/.395/.549 with 21 steals in 26 attempts, between Double-A Reading and Lehigh Valley. Tools have blossomed into skills.

3) Travis D'Arnaud, C, Grade B: Hitting .247/.312/.413 at Class A Lakewood. Not exactly thriving with the stick but young.

4) Jason Donald, SS, Grade B-: Traded to Cleveland. Hitting .238/.303/.342 between GCL Phillies, Lehigh Valley, and Columbus. Hampered by injuries this year.

5) J.A. Happ, LHP, Grade B-: 2.77 ERA with 104/52 K/BB in 150 innings for the Phillies, 125 hits. Hard to find fault with his numbers, doing very well indeed.

6) Domonic Brown, OF, Grade B-: Hitting .305/.380/.516 with 22 steals in 31 attempts between GCL Phillies, Class A Clearwater, and Reading. Like Taylor, Brown has developed the skills to go with his tools and is now an elite prospect.

7) Zach Collier, OF, Grade B-: Hit poorly for Class A Lakewood, .218/.275/.319 in 82 games. Sent down to the New York-Penn League and not much better for Williamsport, .236/.277/.346. Can he follow the Taylor/Brown development path?

8) Jason Knapp, RHP, Grade B-: Traded to Cleveland. 4.18 ERA with 123/47 K/BB in 97 innings between Lakewood and Class A Lake County. Excellent ceiling.

9) Joe Savery, LHP, Grade C+: 15-8, 4.61 with 94/74 K/BB in 144 innings between Reading and Lehigh Valley, 148 hits. Ratios have slipped since promotion to Triple-A.

10) Lou Marson, C, Grade C+: Traded to Cleveland. Hitting .279/.359/.352 between Lehigh Valley and Columbus. Good glove, but I doubt he'll hit enough to be a starter.

11) Kyle Drabek, RHP, Grade C+: Recovery from injury has gone very well, 12-3, 3.19, 150/50 K/BB in 158 innings combined between Class A Clearwater and Double-A Reading. Elite prospect again.

12) Greg Golson, OF, Grade C+: Traded to Texas. Hitting .261/.303/.344 with 19 steals in 23 attempts for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Great tools, speed and glove, can't hit.

13) Drew Naylor, RHP, Grade C+: 4.22 ERA with 115/37 K/BB in 158 innings for Clearwater, 162 hits. Stuff may be short for higher levels, but he throws strikes.

14) Mike Stutes, RHP, Grade C+: 4.26 ERA, 109/58 K/BB in 146 innings, 147 hits for Reading. Not overly impressive.

15) Vance Worley, RHP, Grade C+: 5.22 ERA with 98/49 K/BB in 148 innings for Reading, 152 hits. Ech.

16) Antonio Bastardo, LHP, Grade C+: 53 innings combined between GCL, Clearwater, Reading, Lehigh Valley results in 2.21 ERA, 54/12 K/BB in 53 innings. 6.75 ERA with 19/8 K/BB in 23 major league innings, 26 hits. Needs some stability next year.

17) Anthony Gose, OF, Grade C+: Hitting .266/.303/.363, 75 steals in 95 attempts for Lakewood. Lack of power a concern, needs better plate discipline, but excellent speed.

18) Chance Chapman, RHP, Grade C: 1.93 ERA with 62/25 K/BB in 70 innings, 52 hits combined between Clearwater and Reading. Could be relief option for '10.

19) Anthony Hewitt, 3B, Grade C: Hitting .221/.254/.387 for Williamsport. Ultimate great tools/no skills player.

20) Jeremy Slayden, OF, Grade C: Voluntarily retired after hitting .281/.372/.525 at Reading but just .229/.295/.398 at Lehigh Valley.

The Phillies avoided giving up Brown, Taylor, or Drabek in the Cleveland trade, but they still gave up three of their pre-season top ten in a system that wasn't especially deep to begin with. Tools guys Collier and Hewitt don't look too good right now, but they are young, and the examples of Brown and Taylor show what can happen under the right circumstances. Drabek looks excellent of course. Happ has been very strong this year, and while I think we'll see some regression in 2010, I think he can be a solid three/four guy for a long time.

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Comments

Where would you rank Trevor May right now? Too many walks (43) but a ton of strikeouts (95) in 77.1 IP, only 58 hits in Low-A as a 19-year old. He’s all projectability at this point, but good early results.

by PhillyFriar on Sep 8, 2009 10:03 AM EDT reply actions

happ is kind of a fluke to me

they really gutted their farm system for 2 pitchers: lee/blanton

carrasco
donald
marson
knapp
outman
spencer
cardenas

I should also add IMO the sum of their parts has really exceeded their individual talent for help on the mlb team…i dont think anyone expected guys like victorino and werth to end up as good as they have played the last couple yrs…either good scouting or just finally giving players and extended shot.

Also does anyone think the phillies consider trading Jroll this offseason?

by Asfan4ever723 on Sep 8, 2009 3:00 PM EDT reply actions

...to the a's?

…please?

"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball

by flipgatey3 on Sep 8, 2009 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions

A's fan here and i don't want JRoll

HELMET: Sandurz, what's going on?
SANDURZ: It's Mega Maid. She's gone from suck to
blow!

by SoCalA'sFan on Sep 8, 2009 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Blanton was a pretty significant puzzle peice to a WS Ring. If Lee helps make another run, and hope beyond hope, another ring, then feel free to gut away, as far as I’m concerned.

by Cormican on Sep 9, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions