Is this a good investment?
Philadelphia Phillies Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review
1) Gavin Floyd, RHP
One of the biggest prospects busts of 2005. Posted 6.16 ERA in Triple-A, and was even worse in the majors. His component ratios have never quite matched his reputation, but a collapse of this magnitude was unexpected even by Floyd skeptics, of which there were not very many. He might mount a Roy Halladay-style comeback, but he might also fall apart totally.
2) Ryan Howard, 1B
Hit .288/.356/.567 with 22 homers in 88 games for the Phillies. He will always strike out and his batting average may drop, but I don't think his production overall was flukey. And now he has a place to play with Thome gone.
3) Cole Hamels, LHP
The injury bug bites again, this time a back stress fracture. Poll question about Hamels in comments thread.
4) Michael Bourn, OF
Hit .268/.348/.364 with 38 steals and 63 walks for Double-A Reading. Very fast obviously, will take a walk, but lack of power is a hindrance, and overall production dropped almost 100 OPS points compared to 2004.
5) Greg Golson, OF
Hit .263/.322/.389 with 25 steals for Class A Lakewood, 106 strikeouts in 89 games. Excellent tools, but skills are still mediocre. Classic raw tools player.
6) Jake Blalock, OF
Hit .279/.359/.388 with 11 homers, 10 steals, 60 walks for Class A Clearwater. Disappointing power production, seems to have leveled out as a player. Not protected under Rule 5.
7) Scott Mitchinson, RHP
Went 5-6, 5.35 in 13 starts for Class A Batavia, 57/16 K/BB in 71 innings, 88 hits allowed. Throws strikes, but too hittable at this point. Just 20 years old and has time to get better.
8) J.A. Happ, LHP
4-4, 2.36 in 72 innings for Lakewood, 70/26 K/BB. Solid ratios, generally pitched well. Sleeper finesse lefty prospect.
9) Nate Cabrera, RHP
Injured.
10) Scott Mathieson, RHP
3-8, 4.14 in 23 starts for Clearwater, 118/34 K/BB in 122 innings. Throws strikes, but hasn't put everything together yet. He did reduce his walk rate and improve his strikeout rate compared to 2004.
11) Carlos Carrasco, RHP
7.04 ERA in 13 starts for Lakewood. Demoted to Batavia, allowed 29 hits in 15 innings with a 13.50 ERA. BZZT, that answer is incorrect.
12) Jason Jaramillo, C
Hit .304/.368/.438 in 119 games for Lakewood. Good year. Still some question about his bat at higher levels.
13) Eude Brito, LHP
4.85 ERA in 98 Triple-A innings, with mediocre components. Actually pitched better in the majors, 3.68 ERA in 22 innings, 15/11 K/BB with 20 hits allowed. Don't get too excited by the small sample size however.
14) Francisco Butto, RHP
3.65 ERA in 36 games for Reading, 55/21 K/BB in 57 innings. A fairly decent middle relief prospect.
15) Pedro Liriano, RHP
3.90 ERA in 22 games, 17 starts for Triple-A Scranton, 79/48 K/BB in 99 innings. Hit hard in 8 innings for the Phillies, giving up 11 runs. A Quadruple-A pitcher perhaps?
16) Carlos Ruiz, C
Second straight good year with the bat, hitting .300/.354/.458 in 100 games for Scranton. Power is limited, but his defense is good enough for him to play.
17) Zach Segovia, RHP
Tommy John rehab guy. Went 4-14, 5.54 in 145 innings for Clearwater. Stuff not back to previous standards.
18) Robinson Tejeda, RHP
3.57 ERA in 86 innings for the Phillies, had an effective year as a swingman. His control still needs work, walked 51 guys. But it was a better year than anyone expected.
19) Sean Gamble, OF
Hit .251/.316/.330 in 117 games for Lakewood. Has some tools, but tries too hard to imitate his father and hit for power. Prospect status fading quickly.
20) Chris Roberson, OF
Here is a tools guy making progress, hit .311/.365/.465 with 15 homers, 34 steals for Reading. Will need a good dose of Triple-A due to mediocre plate discipline, but he's improved greatly.
Not a strong farm system at all.
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