National League 2010 Playoffs: Philadelphia Phillies Young Player Review

by John Sickels on Oct 5, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

Now on to the Philadelphia Phillies, looking at rookies and players 24 or younger.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Antonio Bastardo, LHP: 25 year old rookie, posted 4.34 ERA with 26/9 K/BB in 19 innings in the majors, 19 hits. Love the strikeout rate, and he should be a useful reliever with more experience. Signed out of the Dominican in 2005.

Domonic Brown, OF: 22 most of the season, turned 23 in September. Hit .327/.391/.589 with 20 homers and 17 steals in Double-A/Triple-A, then .210/.257/.355 in 62 major league at-bats. Outstanding tools and continuing to improve his polish and approach to the game, has the ability to be a star. Drafted in the 20^th round in 2006 from high school in Florida.

David Herndon, RHP: 24 year old rookie, 4.30 ERA with 29/17 K/BB in 52 innings, 67 hits, 2.10 GO/AO. Was a Rule 5 pick from the Angels system, made the roster and stuck all season. I think he can hang around for awhile due to his ground ball tendencies and ability to throw a good number of strikes. Drafted in the fifth round in 2006 from Gulf Coast Community College.

Vance Worley, RHP: 22 years old most of the season, posted a 3.36 ERA with a 119/46 K/BB in 158 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, then a 1.38 ERA in 13 major league innings with a 12/4 K/BB and eight hits. Long Beach State product was drafted in the third round in 2008 and made the majors within two years. Stuff is average but he throws strikes and could be a fourth starter for awhile.

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Read More: Domonic Brown (RF - PHI), Antonio Bastardo (P - PHI), David Herndon (P - PHI), Vance Worley (P - PHI), Los Angeles Angels

Comments

Is anyone else worried about 2012 and beyond for Philly?

Their 2012 commitments are pretty substantial:

Howard - $20M - Age 32 season
Halladay - $20M - Age 35 season
Utley - $15.3M - Age 33 season
Hamels - ~$12-13M - Age 28 season
Blanton - $10.5M - Age 31 season
Victorino - $9.5M - Age 31 season
Polanco - $6.2M - Age 36 season
Ruiz - $3.7M - Age 33 season
Oswalt/Lidge buyouts - $3.5M

That’s $100.7M for your 1B, 2B, 3B, CF, C and 3 starting pitchers, and 7 of those 8 guys are 31 or older.

Not saying it’s going to be a disaster, but that’s a pretty high-risk way to go about building a team. Just ask Jim Hendry.

Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.

by Satchel Price on Oct 6, 2025 12:46 PM EDT reply actions

They really need to hit on some of their high upside guys currently in A ball

If not things could get pretty ugly in Philly unless they decide to become the Yankees of the NL. For 100 million that core doesn’t even look that great. Halladay and Utley will still likely be somewhere between great and awesome and Hamels should at least be very good (assuming health), but Howard will likely be very mediocre at 1B by then, Blanton already only looks like a #4 in that ballpark, and the others look to be ~ 3 WAR position players. If they can’t fill in those other spots with at least above average players, they could be in trouble.

by nixa37 on Oct 6, 2025 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions

I think EVERYONE should be worried about 2012 and beyond for Philly.

Disaster. They better win again this year, because when the bill comes due for the way these years have been handled they may tar and feather Ruben Amaro if he doesn’t have at least a couple rings.

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by alskor on Oct 6, 2025 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions

if they make it to 3 strait WS

and possibly win 2, wasn’t it worth it. Plus that’s a lot of post season games, and correct me if I’m wrong I’d assume they made a pretty penny over the last couple of years

"The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers."

by fourfingerwoo on Oct 6, 2025 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

The counter-argument

is that this team was already really good to begin with and Amaro has paid a high price in prospects to shuffle the deck & a high price in contract dollars in mostly lateral moves.

Flags fly forever and all… but I really think there was a way to keep this team competing for championships these three years without so strongly mortgaging the future.

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twitter: @alskor

by alskor on Oct 6, 2025 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

The fact of the matter is that this team could’ve been just as good as it is in 2011 and beyond WITHOUT giving the money to guys like Howard, Blanton, Polanco, Victorino and Ibanez.

Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.

by Satchel Price on Oct 6, 2025 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed, Al

Maybe I’m completely off base, but the Howard signing seems utterly misguided and has no bearing on whether they win now.

by blackoutyears on Oct 6, 2025 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions

That's exactly what was in my mind as I wrote the above.

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twitter: @alskor

by alskor on Oct 6, 2025 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions

The Howard deal is definitely the worst- it's an absolutely horrid deal

They’re paying him $20M in his Age-32 season, and $25M per year for his Age-33, Age-34 and Age-35 seasons, and then there’s a $10M buyout on his Age-36 season.

Howard wasn’t worth close to $20M in 2010, and it’s hard to view him as anything close to a $20M player going forward. It’s just an absolutely brutal mistake on Philly’s part.

Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.

by Satchel Price on Oct 7, 2025 9:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Ugh

Just reading the actual financials hurts.

by blackoutyears on Oct 7, 2025 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

yes, but

You’re usually going to end up overpaying a player, even a productive one, in a long-term deal. Not saying that I liked the Howard deal (I didn’t). But it does mean that they don’t have to worry about him going elsewhere at any point (for better or for worse) and it also means that they know exactly how much Howard will cost them for the future. So really, they’re not gambling that Howard is going to be worth $20 or $25 million . . .they’re gambling that he’s just going to be a solid contributor to a winning team.

That being said, that’s about the nicest thing I can possibly say about that albatross of a contract. If they continue to win, nobody will complain too much and it’ll be a good move. If they don’t (for reasons that may or may not be related to Howard) . . .well, I need not go any further.

by mrkupe on Oct 8, 2025 9:26 PM EDT up reply actions

haha nope. I love it.

But seriously, I would be very concerned if you are a Philly fan. If they don’t win this year or next year, then I think things will go down hill very fast in 2012 with those contracts and aging players.

by Braves24 on Oct 7, 2025 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Or maybe they are just going to start spending like the Yankees and BoSox

Given their status in the NLEast and the loyalty of their fan base, they may just choose to pay the money and start paying for their mistakes in dollars rather than losses at the end of these deals. They sell out that park every night. They can own that city if they get another championship. How does the TV money compare for Philly to some of the other big and medium market teams?

Is it possible that the Phillies, lords of Philly, will have better revenue streams than the Mets, the second banana in NYC?

The wait for 10/7 begins. This man is focused. Are you?

by souldrummer on Oct 7, 2025 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions

They spend significantly more than the Mets and have more money committed going forward

They need better revenue streams than the Mets going forward or they’re going to start running into trouble financially. The only team with salary commitments comparable to the Phillies going forward is the Yankees.

by nixa37 on Oct 7, 2025 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Significantly more? LOL no not at all. More money committed going forward? Yes

by packimop on Oct 8, 2025 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions

So ~12 million more isn't significant?

Quoting you…“LOL”

by nixa37 on Oct 8, 2025 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions

They've pretty much left themselves no choice.

They’re going to have to spend in that neighborhood just to field a team at this rate.

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twitter: @alskor

by alskor on Oct 7, 2025 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Seems like a lot of wishful thinking

From fans of teams the Phillies have been beating up on. There is no reason to expect the Phillies payroll to go under 150 million any time soon. They can extend Rollins and Madson and keep Oswalt around for his option year. They will have Dom Brown, Worley, Bastardo, Herndon, Mathieson, etc. to fill out the roster making peanuts. And everyone is so sure Howard will be garbage when he is 32. How was Willie McCovey in his age 32 year? Or even David Ortiz?

by Jonesman on Oct 9, 2025 9:41 AM EDT reply actions

Who said he'd be garbage at 32?

You realize he’ll be 32 when the extension kicks in right? He’s going to be 36 when he finishes the guaranteed portion and still earning 25 million a year. He’s maybe been worth that much one season in his career and was a 2-3 WAR player this year, worth 8-12 million. You can’t feel too great about paying him like a top 5 player in baseball the next 6 years when he wasn’t a top 50 player this year, can you?

by nixa37 on Oct 9, 2025 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Yup

and the opportunity cost in the future when they can’t lock up a young guy or extend another player because they’re overpaying Howard by $15mm.

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by alskor on Oct 9, 2025 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Dom Brown, Worley, Bastardo, Herndon, Mathieson

Outside of Brown, that’s not exactly striking fear into my heart, Jonesman. lol

by blackoutyears on Oct 12, 2025 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions

They don't need to strike fear

They just need to be decent and cheap.

by Jonesman on Oct 16, 2025 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, the original comment said they would be in trouble in 2012

And then several (I shouldn’t have said everyone) of the comments were talking as if its a foregone conclusion that he won’t earn his money any year of his remaining career. On the whole the contract was an overpay (especially the 25M years), but probably not a crippling overpay. By the time it kicks in the salary structure of baseball may have changed in a way that makes it so he is not top 5 or even top 10 in baseball. And even if you think they will be overpaying Howard, as long as he is a good productive player they still have the ability to keep their excellent core together which they will be augmenting with the midseason #1 prospect in all of baseball. And they have 3 top of the rotation type starting pitching prospects who should be in AA by the end of next year (Cosart, Colvin, and May). Halladay is a bargain, Hamels will still be underpaid, Utley is underpaid, Ruiz is one of the biggest bargains in the league, etc. The Phillies are a well run team and with their new financial standing they will be strong for a good long while. I think when we get to 2012 people will find that rumors of their impending demise were greatly exaggerated.

by Jonesman on Oct 9, 2025 4:50 PM EDT reply actions

And they have 3 top of the rotation type starting pitching prospects who should be in AA by the end of next year (Cosart, Colvin, and May)

??? There’s no guarantee that any of those three will be in Double-A by the end of next year. I’m a May fan but he has a long way to go in terms of mechanics and command, Cosart has to stay healthy, and Colvin has his own injury history and was good, not dominant, at Lakewood this year. Why would PHI feel any need to get these guys to Double-A in 2011?

by blackoutyears on Oct 12, 2025 4:52 PM EDT reply actions

I should have said 'could' finish the year in AA

Your points are well taken, especially the one about the Phils not needing to rush them. The main point is that scouts love these guys, and if one or two of them pan out that goes a long way towards keeping the Phils competitive from 2013 and beyond. I think everyone agrees that they will all be starting the year at least in high-A.

by Jonesman on Oct 16, 2025 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions