Biddle, Franco, Morgan top Baseball Prospectus' Phillies prospects list
Baseball Prospectus has released its overview of the Phillies farm system, and it should come as little surprise that lefty Jesse Biddle heads their ranking of the system's Top 10 prospects. Following Biddle, who is the one unanimous Top 100 prospect in the Phillies' system, are third base prospect Maikel Franco and lefty starter Adam Morgan.
Biddle, Franco, Morgan top Baseball Prospectus' Phillies prospects list
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
By DAVID MURPHY
Baseball Prospectus has released its overview of the Phillies farm system, and it should come as little surprise that lefty Jesse Biddle heads their ranking of the system's Top 10 prospects. Following Biddle, who is the one unanimous Top 100 prospect in the Phillies' system, are third base prospect Maikel Franco and lefty starter Adam Morgan.
Here's the rest of Baseball Prospectus' Top 10, with my own comments.
- LHP Jesse Biddle: The 21-year-old Germantown Friends product has yet to have a hiccup since the Phillies drafted him 27th overall in 2010. Last year he started 26 games and logged 142 2/3 innings for Class A Clearwater, posting an impressive 9.5 K/9 and 0.6 HR/9 rate. His walk rate of 3.4 BB/9 was the lowest of his three seasons in the minors. Biddle's numbers are impressive in those three seasons: 3.21 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 0.5 HR/9, and he seems likely to open up the 2013 season at Double-A Reading.
- 3B Maikel Franco: The 20-year-old right-handed hitter has the kind of upside that creators of lists like this love. Last year he shook off a slow start at low-A Lakewood and ended up hitting 14 home runs with a .280/.336/.439 batting line. He makes contact -- 80 strikeouts in 503 at-bats -- but walked just 38 times in 554 plate appearances. A strong showing at Clearwater this season could really boost his stock.
- LHP Adam Morgan: A third rounder in 2011, the lefty is viewed as having a good chance to become a solid middle to bottom-of-the-rotation starter. He finished 2012 at Double-A Reading, posting a 3.53 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and 0.5 HR/9 in six starts there. He is near the top of the organizational depth chart should the Phillies need help in the rotation this season. Morgan turns 23 on Feb. 27.
- IF Roman Quinn: The Phillies were thrilled to grab Quinnin in the second round of the 2011 draft. Last year at Williamsport he showed why, hitting .281/.370/.778 with 11 triples and 30-of-36 stolen bases. He turns 20 in May.
- C/1B Tommy Joseph: Acquired in the Hunter Pence trade in July, he has power and defensive presence, although catcher is a notoriously tough position to project.
- RHP Ethan Martin: The Phillies did well for themselves to acquire this hard-throwing 24-year-old in the Shane Victorino trade with the Dodgers. He struck out 8.4 batters per nine and allowed just 0.5 home runs per nine while spending all of last season at Double-A, but he has some command issues, particularly with his curveball. The Phillies say they view him as a starter, though some scouts think he will end up in the bullpen.
- 3B Cody Asche: He'll likely get a chance to contribute at third base before Franco, but an appearance in the majors in 2013 is a stretch.
- RHP Jonathan Pettibone: Morgan has more upside, but Pettibone might be the first pitcher to get a look if the Phillies decide to bolster their rotation with a player from the system this season.
- OF Carlos Tocci: He broke into the system as a 16-year-old last season. A right-handed hitting outfielder, he is still pure potential at this point.
- RHP Shane Watson: A supplemental pick last June, the 19-year-old pitched seven innings in the Gulf Coast League, striking out eight and walking one while allowing one earned run.
--DAVID MURPHY
Comments (15)
I think we have a few good pieces there.— Mark1npt- I like Reces pieces more than phils pieces— xrajux
- Phillies making Quinn switch-hit...if he just hits righthanded, his natural, he would be a .300 hitter with a better slash line. But the book says , if right-handed bat, fast and small, make a switch-hitter.— Romus
- It says so much about how Amaro has decimated the Farm System, among many other areas of incompetence, that #9 is a 16 year old based on "pure potential", #10 has pitched 7 professional innings and 2 others were not even Phillies farm products to begin with.
Please fire this overmatched idiot.— Temprock - BTW, before ya'll start burrying RAJ, this is NOT the full list. Its just "a" list. Remember, when Vance Worley was called up to pitch, he was barely on the team's radar. Darin Ruf is NOT on this list, yet played in just 12 games at the big league level. Ceasar Hernandez, who hit .300 last year is NOT on this list. Sebastial Valle, Rupp, two obviously very good prospect catchers are not on this list, nor is Larry Greene. Give me a break about the pharm being desimated. And oh, btw, where are ALL those "can't miss prospects" that RAJ traded away? Any of them all stars yet? Any of them starting at the MLB level yet? (echo.....echo.....echo....)— drhoffman
- A foolish comment, as the wave WILL be coming...Gose and Darnaud will be in the show this season, Santana(20),Villar(21) and Singleton(21) will be sipping post game spirits for the first time..Cosart's very close as well. Assets are assets. — bearsfriend
- You know who the prospects are when you see them. Just a few other prospects I saw in 2012 not on this list but who would be on my list if I had one are Dylan Cozens who caught my attention when he hit a 450-500 ft. home run in an Instructs game. Ditto for Kenny Giles when he threw 100 mph fastballs out of the pen in a save opportunity in a Florida State League game.— Dull
- Doc amaro, I mean Hoffman. Let's try this then: your boy Rube inherited a WS champion to (mis)manage. Next season: lose in WS.Next: lose in NLCS. Next: lose in NLDS (are you still with me).Next: don't make playoffs.
You see a trend here? You see someone in whose hands this team has been who I feel like blaming? He has mismanaged every aspect from "pharm" system, to major league roster, to absurd contracts, to a budget now more strapped than it has been in years.
And when they finish 4th in the NL East this season even apologists like Doc Hoffman will finally get it.— Temprock - temprock, how many World Series have the Yankees won since beating the Phils? How many have the Red Sox won lately? What, teams are supposed to win it every year?— mike l
- The Phils farm system is ranked 26th out of 30 by Baseball America, I believe I read on phuturephillies.com so no one should be carried away by the bigger picture that this listing is part of. Critics, on the other hand, can't point to guys the Phils have let go recently in trades who are dominating at the big league level. You have to go back to Gio Gonzalez to the White Sox and Michael Bourn to the Astros. Gonzalez was on Gillick's watch and I don't think anyone begrudges Bourn since it led to Lidge and a championship.
But if having to choose between a top ranked farm system and one that produced a quality starting position player each year plus one quality starting pitcher every other year and one quality reliever each year, I would choose the latter. That kind of player development coupled with the budget to go after free agents as a big market team is enough for the Phils to succeed.— Claudio Vernight - Acquiring Revere and NOT trading a bunch of pieces away for, say, Alphonso Soriano indicate to me that Amaro is serious about getting young. Yes, I know we lost Worley and May for Revere. But we needed a center fielder and instead of signing an aging free agent -- say, Victorino -- we found a 24-year-old who will be under club control through 2017.
The next question is: Will warbiscuit and other constant critics have the patience to see what 'younger' actually looks like? There will be mistakes, cold stretches and the roster juggling will stretch Manuel's limited in-game skills to the brink. But we DO need to get younger and that's where Amaro seems to be taking us.
— eman - Should Ruben call up Arizona and offer Biddle plus a few more guys on this list for Upton?— Stephen45
- bearsfriend...Don't count your chickens before they hatch. To add to your list of prospects shipped out, Marsen, Donald, Drybek, Happ. All were considered very good prospects but so far not much from anyone. It's a huge jump from minor league to major league baseball, some can adjust and some can't.— unclejed
- Trade 'em all!— CoettaGarner25
- Drabek..the "can't miss kid"...missed after he got traded to Toronto. Michael Taylor, another "can't miss kid", also missed. Both of those pieces got them Halladay. I suppose all the bashers would rather have those 2, plus D'Arnaud, back instead of Doc?
The system ain't the best, but it ain't the worst. There are pieces there that look good, even if the farm system as a whole doesn't.— Dave14
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