First Andrew Knapp needed Tommy John surgery. Then Roman Quinn ruptured his Achilles. Now, two Phillies pitchers with huge upside need shoulder surgery.
Adam Morgan had shoulder surgery this month, reports Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, and Shane Watson will also have shoulder surgery in January, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.
Morgan, a 23-year-old lefty, has a 3.25 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 56 career minor-league games (55 starts). He experienced shoulder soreness midway through last season and was shut down and prescribed rest. Time off didn't do the trick and he went under the knife this month. He's expected to miss most of 2014, which is a big blow for a deep with such limited starting pitching depth as the Phillies.
Watson, a recent first-round pick, also suffers a setback, though the Phillies expect him to log some innings in 2014.
Well now we know what antiwhite Will looks like: http://youtu.be/ChfAr8DpHQk
Yeah, that was disturbing.
Posted by: Pratt's Spratt | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 08:13 PM
Perhaps they should have gone under the knife last year instead of resting it 6 months...now they miss another full year of development time.
Might as well cross both off the list for now.
Posted by: NEPP | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 08:33 PM
Morgan, the No. 6 prospect in the Phils' system in the most recent MLB.com ranking, suffered shoulder problems early last season, but after an MRI exam, doctors prescribed rest.
"He took off the time we wanted him to and the doctors wanted him to," Looper said."But then he started his throwing program and it still bothered him, so he had it looked at again and the decision was made that it was best to have surgery."
http://atmlb.com/19jjBD7
Posted by: Dickie Thong | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 09:01 PM
Perhaps they should have gone under the knife last year instead of resting it 6 months...now they miss another full year of development time.
Might as well cross both off the list for now.
Posted by: NEPP | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 08:33 PM
This is the first thing I thought of when I read the story. More incompetence from the medical staff- wow, go figure!
Posted by: Pblunts | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 09:25 PM
Your mancrush for me is getting a bit scary, and I'm still confused about how I can be called a racist for criticizing J-Roll and Howard and "Anti-White" for saying that it's wrong to assume that a Latin American ballplayer must be lying about his age (because, ya know, they're all liars, and to say otherwise makes you "anti-white")
Your stupidity isn't even interesting enough to be funny.
Posted by: Will Schweitzer | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 09:29 PM
Time to sign more project sp for depth
Posted by: Cs | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 09:39 PM
Season = Over
Posted by: Scotch Man | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 09:40 PM
Good thing we have Jeff Manship and Sean O'Sullivan ready to go
Posted by: Scotch Man | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 09:43 PM
Any chance there's a clause in the new TV deal whereby Comcast can force the Phillies to fire their entire medical staff? What a bunch of quacks.
Posted by: GTown_Dave | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 09:47 PM
There is certainly a chance that the Phillies did everything right with Morgan based on the information they had at the time - but unfortunately they screw absolutely every single decision up - so it would moronic to give them the benefit of the doubt.
This collection of idiots has now wasted an entire year for one of the better pitching prospects the Phillies have, who is already in his mid 20's. They are relentless in their efforts to misdiagnose/neglect every single possible player injury this team incurs.
They are worse at their jobs than Amaro is at his. Hard to do.
Posted by: LorecorE | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 10:07 PM
What a surprise...the Phillies changed Watson's delivery and forbid him to throw his curveball last year to force him to use other secondary pitches and now he needs shoulder surgery.
Another glowing success by organization.
Posted by: LorecorE | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 10:20 PM
re: announcers
TMac surviving the ax from Comcast is terrible news. I won't defend Wheels or Sarge's accomplishments to stay, but for TMac to somehow grade out as worthy of keeping is awful.
I usually don't bother thinking about it since I just accepted things would never change, but now that we know Comcast stepped in and was ready to makes changes has made the idea of TMac sticking around even more disgusting.
Posted by: LorecorE | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 10:27 PM
Despite what clout thinks, Greg Maddux is definitely worthy of the HoF.
Posted by: LorecorE | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 10:29 PM
re: potential lineups
There are a couple constants that need to be enforced when trying to create the best 2014 lineup possible.
One of them is to ensure that Rollins is not in the top of the order. The argument that Rollins belonged in the top of the lineup for any of his non MVP seasons is a whole other debate - but there shouldn't be any question about 2014.
Posted by: LorecorE | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 10:36 PM
I have a bit of perspective since I worked for the Sixers for a while when Comcast owned the team. Now we all realize they don't own the Phillies, but their fingerprints on the team (as we've already seen) will be partially easy to observe while other things won't be as obvious as things move forward. I'm not saying they will get involved in things like the medical staff, but when you have an entity that's making such a huge investment and whose revenues will be tied to how the team does on the field short and long term, you can bet your a** they will have a lot to say.
As I said to one of my former co-workers after Peter Luukko "resigned" from the Flyers, do you think that he just woke up one morning and abruptly decided on a new career path? And Ed Snyder had no idea? Come on.
Posted by: Pblunts | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 10:40 PM
This org put the fun into the word dysfunctional.
Posted by: limoguy | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 12:41 AM
I just inherited the Manship from Bill C. Thank you sir.
Posted by: clout | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 01:52 AM
How many times does "just resting it" actually work as an alternative to surgery? I realize it depends on the severity of the injury, but didn't Morgan's seem fairly bad in the first place?
Posted by: Sil | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 07:58 AM
his further increase the importance of this year’s draft. They are drafting 7th, which has a ripple effect though the subsequent rounds. They need to hit on the first pick and some sleepers in the subsequent rounds. In other words, we need to have a deep, Cardinals- type draft. Last year;s draft was encouraging (Keith Law , who is a noted detractor of the Phillies system, wrote that the Phillies have the best 1st 5 picks of anyone in the NL), but we need 2 more to fully re-stock the shelves
Posted by: Marc H | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:56 AM
The Yankees are apparently considering Michael Young and Mark Reynolds to start at 3B next year:
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/68284/source-young-joins-reynolds-as-3b-option
Why not see what they'd give up for Cody Asche? We actually have a surplus at a position, and the Yankees have multiple OF prospects (Mason Williams, Slade Heathcott, Tyler Austin) and a very good catching prospect in Gary Sanchez. It would also stop the Phils from pushing Maikel Franco to 1B, where his bat won't stand out nearly as much.
Posted by: ColonelTom | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 09:01 AM
RIP Bill Conlin ... what he did with those kids does not erase a career of great sports writing.
Posted by: steve | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 12:06 PM
Saying that Adam Morgan is "one of the better pitching prospects the Phillies have" is not the same as saying he's a great prospect. He isn't.
He was old for Williamsport and Clearwater and age appropriate for Reading in 2012, where he threw 35 OK innings. He wasn't much at LV last year, but that was likely due to the injury. He's likely to miss this season, which means he'll return to Triple A in 2015 at age 25. He'll have to blow people away at that point to prove he's a great prospect.
Posted by: clout | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 12:42 PM
He had the chance to be a solid #5 pitcher...but that's about it. He'll be missed a bit this summer when we're calling up some nobody like Jeff Manship for a spot start but that's it.
*** what he did with those kids does not erase a career of great sports writing.***
Yes, yes it does...just like Sanduskey's past takes away from his efforts a Defensive Coordinator.
Posted by: NEPP | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 01:01 PM
So wrong Steve. He is a disgrace to human kind. Made no attempt to redeem himself. Took advantage of a time limitation. Just slid away like a rat.
Posted by: Regular Guy | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 01:02 PM
I don't even know what the Phils' starter organizational depth chart looks like right and there is a good chance they will have to scramble to find another starter or two at Lehigh/Reading yet before ST starts.
Basically figure that as long as Pettibone doesn't have any reoccurring tendonitis issues the No. 5 starter's job is basically his job to lose at this point. Only other guys in camp you might even get consideration are MAG and Martin. There isn't another guy on the 40-man roster right now that could be seriously considered as a starter going into ST.
Buchanan will be one of the starters at Lehigh. Iron Pigs don't even have another starter currently on the Lehigh roster though.
Good chance Biddle ends up there too to start the season simply because there aren't a ton of starters. Manship probably ends up as another starter there. If they truly get desperate, they can always move a guy like Savery back into the rotation to start the year.
If Biddle doesn't start the year at Lehigh, there is a good chance that rotation will be pretty weak to start the year with org filler/retreads in all 5 starter spots.
Reading is a bit more set and will have S. Gonzalez, Colvin, Hollands, and Demmins in mix for the rotation early on.
Phils don't have much depth anywhere but if Hamels/Lee misses a significant amount of time this year (say 3-4 months) I think this is a 60-65 win team.
Posted by: MG | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 01:54 PM
I wonder if the Org will waste another year trying to prove that Martin can be a starter or will they smartly let him focus on being a 1 inning guy where he could very well be the next Ryan Madson given his raw stuff.
I'm betting they stretch him out and make him start...because Rube is an idiot.
Posted by: NEPP | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 01:55 PM
If I were running things, I'd probably have Biddle repeat AA at least to start the season. He needs to show he's healthy again and he needs to gain some confidence back after a rough 2013. Promote him in June to AAA if he's back on track.
Posted by: NEPP | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 02:04 PM
For a bunch of keyboard hero's you guys probably have no grasp on medicine or sports medicine.
Posted by: CS | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 02:09 PM
You'd be surprised but yeah, go with your assumptions.
Posted by: NEPP | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 02:18 PM
Don't need to know anything about sports medicine to look at who the Phils have in their organization right now at the starter spot. Just a little checking.
Posted by: MG | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 02:30 PM
CS - I have some small amount of familiarity with medicine and sports medicine. And this medical staff would have to improve at least 50% to be called incompetent.
They have made the wrong call so often, they could very well be the CB Bucknor of medical staffs.
Posted by: aksmith | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 02:33 PM
I invented the double Tommy John surgery popular with Dusty Baker's pitchers.
Posted by: Regular Guy | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 02:38 PM
CS, I wish I knew about this lack of expertise before I let DPat do my hip replacement.
Posted by: Harry Callous | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 02:53 PM
Ready or not we could see Biddle this year. Phils starting pitching depth is almost non existent. They used 10 starters last year, 7 of whom started a minimum of 11 games.
Lee: top 10 pitcher. 139 ERA+, 1.049 WHIP, averaged 222 IP last 3 years
Hamels: top 15-20 pitcher. 124 ERA+, 1.090 WHIP, averaged 217 IP last 3 years.
Kendrick - ERA and WHIP increased each of last two years while ERA+ dropped last two years. ERA+ 96 past 3 years, 81 in 2013.
Gonzalez: no MLB experience. 2 years no competitive pitching.
Hernandez - 75 ERA+, 1.376 WHIP, averaged 118 IP past 3 years. ERA+ of 78 and 1.338 WHIP in 2013 best of last 3 years.
Pettibone - last outing was 7/28 due to inflammation of shoulder. 100 IP in 18 starts. ERA+ of 95 - 3rd best among Phils starters.
Manship - 10 career starts, ERA+ of 58 past 3 years. ERA+ of 68 and 1.598 WHIP best of last 3 years.
Martin - 40 IP, 47K's, ERA+ 63, WHIP 1.700. In 8 starts pitched 33 innings with a 6.54 ERA. In 7 relief appearances pitched 7 innings with a 3.86 ERA.
Not only do Hamels and Lee need to stay healthy, the serious lack of depth means just about everyone has to stay healthy. Injuries in the rotation almost ensure we're going to see pitchers not ready for the major leagues.
Martin was much more effective out of the bullpen where he could just fire away. Second time through a lineup as a starter he got crushed. OPS in 4th inning was .961. OPS in 5th inning was 1.333. If he can stay around the plate he's possibly the closer post Papelbon.
Posted by: Biggs | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 02:59 PM
If they keep Martin stretched out, rather than putting him in the pen, where he belongs, it will be yet one more flub buy this organization. And I fully expect them to do this. Because it's what they do, over and over and over.
If they could somehow refine his secondary stuff, or increase his durability, or teach him a new pitch, he might be okay as a starter. However, they don't do either of these first two things. And only Dubee ever taught anyone a new pitch that because effective, and that was the change up. Apparently, Brian Schneider had some skill teaching the two seam fastball. I wonder where those two are.
The new pitching coach will need to be much better than advertised to make a difference with this bunch. And the new minor league pitching coordinator will need to be Hercules.
Posted by: aksmith | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 03:17 PM
I hear that.
Posted by: Jerry Sandusky | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 03:24 PM
Regarding Biggs 2:59 post on the serious lack of depth on Phillies pitching going into next season: All too true and just one more reason to open up the new deep pockets and sign Tanaka. At the very least, sign Garza.
Posted by: Dragon | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 03:25 PM
John Wayne Gacy: you gotta admit what he did to those 30 some odd guys shouldn't change how we feel about what he did for professional clowning in Illinois.
Posted by: Harry Callous | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 03:45 PM
"...and "Anti-White" for saying that it's wrong to assume that a Latin American ballplayer must be lying about his age..."
Will, I haven't gotten into this debate and do not intend to, but the above quote is a bit of a misrepresentation of our debate, when you indeed, libeled me as a racist.
My point at the time was not that what you state - that it's proper to "assume that a Latin American ballplayer must be lying about his age...", my point was that it is not reasonable to have some doubt about the veracity of age claims coming, specifically, from Dominican ballplayers, because there was, at the time, a track record of some Dominicans misrepresenting their ages.
The former Fausto Carmona, now known as Roberto Hernandez, is one of the poster boys.
And now, he's on display front and center just for you, courtesy of RAJ signing him earlier this offseason.
Posted by: awh™ | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 03:49 PM
Eddie Savitz: you gotta admit what he did to those young boys shouldn't change how we feel about what he did for the actuary business.
Posted by: Jerry Sandusky | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 03:51 PM
I bet Amaro was one of the GMs who made a 2-year offer to Arroyo last month too after a couple of reports linked the Phils to Arroyo at various points this offseason and Cafardo linked the Phils (and Yanks) again to Arroyo in his Boston Globe column this weekend.
Amaro has always highly valued starting pitching and Amaro himself has mentioned some of their starting pitching questions regarding MAG and Morgan (who is now having surgery).
At the very least, I expect Amaro to bring in another veteran starter on a major league/minor league deal for competition in ST for the 5th spot and sign an established MLB reliever to a 1-yr deal before camps opens.
What is a kind of a mess right now is the bench. Still don't have another OF who can reliably play CF on the MLB roster. Basically it is play Revere everyday and use Mayberry if he needs a day off and Byrd in a pinch.
Posted by: MG | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 04:01 PM
steve, at the same time Bill Conlin was fingering members of the Phillies front office, management and players on the sports pages of the Daily News, he was also fingering little girls under the age of 10.
(I apologize if the above description of what he was accused is too graphic for some, but steve obviously missed it.)
Posted by: awh™ | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 04:03 PM
Gary Heidnik and Nails Dykstra: both excellent bond traders whose achievements should not be marred by their handling of prostitutes.
Posted by: Harrison "Marty" Graham, great artist and diarist | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 04:06 PM
Bill Conlin was a fine baseball writer, an arrogant prick, and apparently one nasty piece of work as a person.
I can still remember his moral outrage at everything Brett Myers. Makes a roundhouse to your wifee's face, albeit a terrible thing, seem almost trivial in comparison. I get a similar feeling about politicians who want to outlaw gay marriage and sex acts, pot, and gambling. A peek in their closets might be both illuminating and disgusting.
Posted by: aksmith | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 04:08 PM
Ooops, above 3:49 post should say "...It's NOT unreasonable..."
Posted by: awh™ | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 04:09 PM
CS: I don't know anything about sports medicine except that the Phillies's medical staff is terrible.
Posted by: LorecorE | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 04:13 PM
Bobby Abreu must be asking too much otherwise he'd be signed. Creaming the ball in the VWL playoffs he is.
Posted by: Meyer | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 04:15 PM
"I get a similar feeling about politicians who want to outlaw gay marriage and sex acts,..."
Smitty, relax. The USSC has already weighed in on that. Those politicians are tilting at windmills, and are best ignored so as not to raise your blood pressure.
Posted by: awh™ | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 04:17 PM
Conlin and Myers
Conlin was right about the Myers' issue though and he wasn't alone in how other Philly reporters felt about Myers as a general scumbag.
Posted by: MG | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 04:19 PM
Biggs, in your 2:59 post, to be accurate for comparison purposes you needed to include the IP that Pettibone and Martin logged in the minors.
Posted by: awh™ | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 04:30 PM
Well comrades, sex and money and their abnormal misuse are pretty much the cause of societal ills. Thankfully bread and circuses should calm the masses.
Posted by: Meyer | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 05:21 PM
Clout literally saved all my underware- in right field.
Posted by: Uncle Eddy | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 05:22 PM
It seemed that nobody liked Myers except his teammates. And I didn't like him either. What I felt at the time was that if he was liked by his teammates and he was undergoing counseling and laying off the hooch, which he now appears to have done successfully, the guy didn't deserve to be sent out of town if he was performing.
As for him as a person, he certainly would not be my drinking buddy. But I've met a lot of athletes over the years, and well more than half of them weren't especially likeable. That always made the really nice ones stand out.
Posted by: aksmith | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 05:39 PM
Myers?
Since leaving the Phillies, Myers has as a starter and reliever been paid $30MM, pitched to a 3.90 ERA for 526 IP (132/season), and had and ERA+ of exactly 100.
Worth it, everything else aside?
Posted by: Captain Foresight | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 05:53 PM
Thread coming about the Phils shopping Rollins...
Posted by: Captain Foresight | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 05:56 PM
So say the Phillies sign Arroyo or Garza the starting five becomes?
Lee
Hammels
Garza/Arroyo
Kendrick
Hernandez
6-MAG
7-Pettibone
I fully support like it was said bringing 1-2 more project MiLB invites to camp that WILL accept AAA roles and provide coverage.
Posted by: CS | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 06:17 PM
I'm checking out Mark Prior throw this week. Can somebody say WFC?
Posted by: Ruben Amaro Jr | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 06:30 PM
Fair enough, awh. Perhaps throwing around the word "racist" was inappropriate, but questioning Contreras' age based on his nationality is at very least racial profiling.
At any rate, this was a hatchet that I've considered buried for nearly three years now. I'm not quite sure why Pratt's Spratt (or whatever username he's using this week) seems to make it his primary contribution to the discussion on the 2014 season. I suppose that, to some of our less creative posters, our three year old debate/argument/whatever is equivalent to my joining the militant wing of the Blank Panthers (a place where a man of Hawaiian/Chinese/German/Italian ancestry named "Schweitzer" would surely fit right in).
Posted by: Will Schweitzer | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 06:40 PM
Saw the report on MLB yesterday about the Phils shopping Rollins. Even those dopes were wondering why it's even a story. Someone suggested Boston as a landing spot, but that' seems pretty unlikely. Can't think of a single other team that would trade anything for Rollins, or even take on his salary for free. Every team either has a shortstop they're happy with, or they're not contending so they wouldn't want to take on an older player at that salary.
Complete non-story. There are legitimately two non-arbitration players on the Phillies who would would bring back anything worthwhile in return, and they would not bring back much because of their contracts. That's Hamels and Lee. Utley might, but he'd have to remain healthy. So, include him and that's three players and none of them actually has any excess value. That is how poorly Rube has done his job.
Posted by: aksmith | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 06:53 PM
It's pitiful. They'll need a salary dump if they trade Rollins to a team of his liking. Probably a homey team, especially now that his pal D-train signed a minor league deal with Giants. Oakland would need to give up a SS, gratefully accept some cash and then when they nab Tanaka, Jimmy can make another prediction and have a chance to back it up again.
Posted by: Meyer | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 07:29 PM
Rollins isn't going anywhere.
Posted by: NEPP | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 07:36 PM
Then the Phillies should trade Paps to the Yankees with a cash dump and then nab Tanaka. Rollins can then make a prediction that the Phillies are the team to beat for the 2nd WC.
Posted by: Meyer | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 07:48 PM
Pretty sure some national prospect writers had more upside with Morgan than a # 5 pitcher. Not that he is/was a stud, but it's a bigger blow than we it is getting credit for.
Posted by: Bedrosian's Beard | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 07:58 PM
I think his upside was #4...I go with the more likely outcome of a #5 is all.
Its definitely a loss regardless given this team's utter lack of any SP depth.
Posted by: NEPP | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:02 PM
I am taking all of this into consideration. All cogent arguments.
This is what it is looking like to us.
Hamels
Lee
KK
Fausto
Paul Byrd (in the works)
Millwood (talking to his wife)
BP Todd Jones, Roy O, Norm Charlton, Toby Borland and Paps.
MAG fell down some stairs this afternoon and he fractured all of his bones in his upper body and tore both of his arms out of their sockets. Our medical
staff thinks he will good to report to Spring Training.
We are going to have a special ceremony to induct Bill Conlin into our wall of fame, probably bring in some of his nieces and nephews to salute him. And because our polling says so, we are going to rename the press box in his honor.
Posted by: Ruben Amaro Jr | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:04 PM
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/article_db4f71b3-cd36-5c0d-9f7c-d45fb23016e9.html#.UtLpaMXESBA.twitter
He's a homer but the crazy thing is that it indeed quite possible the Cards win more than 97 games next year too.
Lost Beltran (gained a compensation pick) but got Peralta to address their biggest weakness at SS, have only one projected regular who is in his mid-30s (Holliday), and have 2-3 highly-rated guys who are slated to step in and help them in '14 including Taveras.
Only way they don't is if some of their historical clutch hitting returns to more statistical number levels since they don't have above average power/speed and the no-namers in the bullpen aren't quite as good.
Posted by: MG | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:12 PM
We have some young thrilling prospects too who will help us out like Asche and some of the younger bullpen arms who I think are poised to break through this season under the tutelage of veterans like Adams and Papelbon.
Posted by: Ruben Amaro Jr | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:19 PM
Great-granddaddy, Granddaddy, Daddy and my Honey all told me never to worry about our team. I have faith they'll win again and again and again. Go Cards.
Posted by: Celestial Red Bird | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:24 PM
We are strongly considering bringing back Brett Myers and Billy Wagner to work with our young guys.
Posted by: Ruben Amaro Jr | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:25 PM
Among the various list, Quinn was a Top 10 prospect, Morgan and Watson were considered Top 15 prospects, and Knapp was on a couple of Top 20.
This was from Baseball America in early Nov.
"The farm system can’t be counted on to provide immediate help for 2014, particularly on the mound, where the system’s futility cost pitching coordinator Gorman Heimueller his job. Phillies full-season pitchers walked 9.8 percent of batters faced and posted a composite 1.90 K-BB ratio, ranking 29th out of 30 organizations. Their 1.48 WHIP was the worst in the minors."
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2014-philadelphia-phillies-top-10-prospects/
Amaro needs to sign another MLB starter to fill out the back of the rotation if the Phils want to increase their chances of at least putting a competitive team (.500 team) out there this season.
Posted by: MG | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:28 PM
1st round picks the last decade:
2004 Greg Golson, of (2) Braves
2005 Mike Costanzo, 3b (2) Reds
2006 Kyle Drabek, rhp Blue Jays
2007 Joe Savery, lhp Phillies
2008 Anthony Hewitt, 3b/of Phillies
2009 Kelly Dugan, of (2) Phillies
2010 Jesse Biddle, lhp Phillies
2011 Larry Greene, of (1s) Phillies
2012 Shane Watson, lhp (1s) Phillies
2013 J.P. Crawford, ss Phillies
That is looking an awful lot
1982 J. Russell, c
1983 R. Jordan, 1b
1984 Pete Smith, rhp
1985 McCall, c
1986 Brink, rhp
1987 No pick
1988 Combs, rhp
1989 J. Jackson, of
1990 Lieberthal, c
1991 T. Green, rhp
1992 McConnell, of
1993 Gomes, rhp
1994 Loewer, rhp
1995 Taylor, of
1995 Coggin, rhp
Only difference occurred when the Phils started drafting the best available players and paying out larger bonuses instead of guys who would be signed for the slotted value.
1996 Eaton, rhp
1997 Drew, of
1998 Burrell, 3b
1998 Valent, of
1999 Myers, rhp
2000 Utley, 2b
2001 Floyd, rhp
2002 Hamels, lhp
Posted by: MG | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:36 PM
Leave Bill Conlin alone. Just look the other way. It's easy to do.
Posted by: Joe Paterno | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:43 PM
Next time they hit on 6/7 will be 2035. The Mega Cosmos Series championship should be the result in 2041. Perfect timing to re-up the cerebra-vision contract.
Posted by: Celestial Red Bird | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 08:56 PM
4 of the 5 biggest draft signing bonuses they paid are Floyd (1st), Burrell (2nd), Myers (4th), and Hamels (5th).
Only one who is in the Top 5 was Crawford last year (2013) and was slotted. Phils went a long time without investing high dollar amounts to top draft picks and overseas and in part it is really start to cost them on the field the last few years.
Posted by: MG | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 09:01 PM
Clout and I had this discussion before, and disagreed, but Morgan and Biddle were very similar prospects. Morgan was a bit older, but their upsides were about equivalent. Maybe 3s if everything breaks right for Biddle now. Morgan would have been the same before his injury, but he'll be lucky to get to the majors in any capacity now. Very sad.
I would grant that Morgan might have been a hair below Biddle on the prospect list pre-injury. But the truth is, they were pretty much interchangeable at that point. Morgan was slightly more polished, and Biddle had the better put away pitch. I don't see Biddle reaching his potential however. He is following pretty closely the Phillies history of pitcher development. With a few rare exceptions, they don't.
Posted by: aksmith | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 09:21 PM
Anyone hear about Biddle's bout with whooping cough in '13? And the possibility he's now 100% - and inoculated? Maybe a 5th-starter's spot is what's indicated for the former Germantown Friends standout.
With all the billion's in waiting, surely this wretched ballclub can't be "watching the clock" with regards to arb-time with this guy. Until the very, very limited partnership sells, not much to like here.
Posted by: cut_fastball | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 10:20 PM
"Only way they don't is if some of their historical clutch hitting returns to more statistical number levels"
MG, I'll wager you anything you like that the Cardinals don't hit anywhere close to what they hit in 2013 with RISP.
They won't be close.
Posted by: awh™ | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 11:30 PM
Interesting that Kevin Cooney (on with Ricky Ricardo) thinks the only possible move that the Phils make of any note before ST is moving Papelbon and it has been largely due to personality issues and Papelbon's public comments about the clubhouse.
Posted by: MG | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 11:31 PM
Backup CF:
I totally forgot that the Phils have signed both Dave Sappelt (RH) and Tony Gwynn Jr (LH) who both can play CF and were signed on minor league deals in the past month.
Was either one even posted on here?
Guess both of those guys will get a serious look but that would mean Mayberry/Ruf would have to be the odd man if one of those guys grabs a roster spot on Opening Day.
Posted by: MG | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 11:40 PM
"Was either one even posted on here?"
No, MG, because we now have a crack staff of young, hungry guys at Komkast that run the blog.
Posted by: awh™ | Sunday, January 12, 2014 at 11:46 PM
I remember something about Gywnn Jr, but that could've been from the comments. I don't even know who Sappelt is, which is either my shortcoming or, more likely, a statement about this offseason.
Posted by: Sil | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 01:54 AM
The Phillies could still be the sleeper team in the Tanaka signing. If Charlie did somehow penetrate the Japanese sports world in disguise and gather enough intelligence to persuade Masahiro that Philadelphia is the place to be, then it will soon be officially announced that Charlie is back with the organization working for his new boss Ed Wade.
Posted by: Celestial Red Bird | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 06:38 AM
after the tony bosch interview on "60 minutes" the yankees can really get serious about finding a 3rd baseman. i agree with the poster that said rube should dangle cody asche in front of them. and get a good prospect in return. i'm ready to watch maikel franco. the whole idea that you don't want to start his clock is ridiculous. if he is a bust who cares when he becomes arb eligible? if he's the next mike schmidt, pay the man.
Posted by: bullit | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 07:28 AM
this is a good article on the bosch interview:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1920859-takeaways-from-anthony-boschs-60-minutes-interview-discussing-alex-rodriguez
if he's to be believed they nearly all juice. i say bring it inside and regulate it. give them their gummies and greenies and night cream. and get over this puritanism. these are grown men.
Posted by: bullit | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 07:39 AM
***i agree with the poster that said rube should dangle cody asche in front of them. and get a good prospect in return. ***
Or we could just keep Asche and realize that he's an okay prospect all by himself. He's not blocking Franco right now and there's a good chance there will be an opening across the diamond for Franco anyway if our $25 million 1B can't return to form in the next year or so.
Posted by: NEPP | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 09:24 AM
good points, NEPP. i like cody. but ruf is an above average 1B, isn't he? he has the scoop catch down pat. and his throws to 2nd are hard and accurate.
Posted by: bullit | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 09:33 AM
That's a good point too.
I have no issue with trading Asche...as long as they get something good in return. I just dont trust Rube not to simply give a guy away for peanuts.
Posted by: NEPP | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 09:41 AM
bullit, what I don't get is the Chipper Jones reaction based on the tweet that article quoted. WTF? Why would that bother him and upset him like that? Does he have something to hide?
Did Chipper ever speak out against PEDs the way that Frank Thomas did?
I know he said a few years ago that he didn't like the fact that all players during the steroid era were suspects, but IIRC he never said anything or spoke out against them, and he HAD to know that other guys were doing it. Had to.
So, he was either a user (there's no evidence and this is not an accusation) or he knew and was complicit (this is not only highly likely but almost certainly true).
Posted by: awh™ | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 09:48 AM
NEPP, Asche to the Yankees for Nova, and let them spend ARoid's money on Tanaka. :)
Posted by: awh™ | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 09:49 AM
On Chipper: The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Posted by: NEPP | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 09:51 AM
bullit, the other takeaway from the Bosch interview is that if these guys were doping in the fashion Bosch describes, MLB and other organizations are going to change their testing protocols.
Instead of Olympic athletes being tested after races (as I believe they now are) will they be subject to random testing and before-race testing?
Will MLB testers show up in locker rooms and start testing guys throughout the day before games?
Is that what upset Chipper about Bosch's comments, that Bosch let the cat out of the bag, and Chipper's buddies who still play are going to be subjected to new testing protocols because of his comments?
Oh... the mind does speculate...
Posted by: awh™ | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 09:53 AM
awh: that struck me too. i thought, why would a star like chipper even leap into this mess? there is a sense of protesting too much.
Posted by: bullit | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 09:54 AM
They need to go to the baseline testing that pro cycling uses now...every player gets a biological passport that all tests are compared against. Its done a ton to cleanup that sport and it shows dramatically in the race times now compared to 10 years ago or even 5 years ago. Guys no longer pull the Lance Armstrong domination of every stage in a row and the climb times are way, way down from where they were during his heyday.
Its not perfect and guys still juice in cycling but its clearly had a major effect that shows in the results.
Posted by: NEPP | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 09:57 AM
haha. you beat me to it, NEEP.
Posted by: bullit | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 09:57 AM
***climb times are way, way down ***
That is to say, that the times are way higher than they were on similar mountain stages 10 years ago...ie, its taking them far longer since they're not massively hopped up on EPO and other blood doping.
Posted by: NEPP | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 10:04 AM
I agree, NEPP. establish a baseline. but don't go this no tolerance bulls**t route. just prevent the mega dosing. and ofc forbid hgh, steroids, etc. get off the high horse about amphetimines and mild testosterone supps like the gummies and night cream.
Posted by: bullit | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 10:06 AM
ofc i was refering to MLB, not you. ;)
Posted by: bullit | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 10:10 AM
>> If Charlie did somehow penetrate the Japanese sports world in disguise
>> and gather enough intelligence to persuade Masahiro that Philadelphia
>> is the place to be...
I just got a mental image of Charlie disguised as a Japanese man like Sean Connery did in You Only Live Twice.
Posted by: Dickie Thong | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 10:21 AM
chollie would look like walter connolly as the chinese "uncle" in "the good earth" 1937.
Posted by: bullit | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 10:32 AM
Meanwhile, Bobby Cox dressed in Kabuki garb stalks Charlie from a block or two away gathering evidence that this FA tampering is going on.
Posted by: Harry Callous | Monday, January 13, 2014 at 10:35 AM