Phils prospects in Arizona
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Phils prospects in Arizona
Daily News staff
Figured it might be worth a quick update on the progess of the Phillies players in the Arizona Fall League, with the league title game now completed.
The Mesa Solar Sox, with nine Phillies players on the roster, lost to the Phoenix Desert Dogs, 10-4, on Saturday, giving Phoenix its fifth consecutive AFL title.
Jason Donald went 2-for-5 in a losing cause to complete a remarkable fall. As has been written about in the last few days in the aftermath of the Chase Utley injury news, Donald hit .407 with five home runs and 17 RBI in 25 games.
Here are the stats for other Phillies prospects in the AFL:
C Lou Marson: .324, with no home runs, 10 RBI in 11 games (Spent the 2008 season with Reading (.314, five homers, 46 RBI), went to the Olympics and finished by spending time with the Phillies, including traveling during the postseason).
OF Quintin Berry: .311, with one home run, 9 RBI, 5 SB in 22 games (Spent the season in Class A Lakewood and hit .272, including 51 steals, most by any player in the Phillies system).
C Tuffy Gosewisch: .280 with 4 RBI in seven games for Mesa. (Spent the 2008 season in Clearwater, hitting .218).
OF Jeremy Slayden: .286, with three home runs, 27 RBI in 26 games (Spent the 2008 season at Double A Reading, hitting .298 with 17 homers and 82 RBI, third-most in the Phillies system).
RHP Andrew Carpenter: 1-2, 5.88 ERA in 26 innings, with 9 walks and 21 strikeouts (Spent the season with Reading and then back to Clearwater; also made his big-league debut throwing one inning).
LHP Sergio Escalona: 1-0, 6.14 ERA in 12 relief appearances -- 4 walks, 15 strikeouts in 14.2 innings (Spent the season with Lakewood and Reading, with a combined 3.00 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 69 innings).
RHP Tyson Brummett: 0-2, 6.23 ERA in 12 appearances, all but one in relief -- 3 walks, 13 strikeouts in 13 innings (Spent the season as a starter at Lakewood, Clearwater and then Reading. His 122 strikeouts combined were the third-most in the Phillies system).
RHP Patrick Overholt: 0-0, 6.06 ERA in 12 relief appearances -- 10 walks, 10 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings (Spent the season at Reading, going 3-8 with 10 saves and a 5.86 ERA.
The 09 Spring training should be more interesting than last season when no rookies made the opening day roster. Seems to me if nothing else changes that cases can be made that rookies Marson, Donald, Mayberry, Happ and Carrasco have opportunities to make the opening day 25 man roster if they put up strong Grapefruit league numbers. Marson's rapid developement, the Utley surgery, Burrell's free agent departure, the need for a 5th and maybe a 4th starter all could make March in Clearwater interesting for a change.— Dull- The only rookies to make the team will be: Happ as SP, Marson as reserve Catcher and Donald as fill in for Utley before going back down (unless he turns into Ryan Howard and proves that we can't send him back and then we have a problem of where to play him) All else, not a chance in hel*— jeff gross
- It'd be nice if our sports desk could start including actually useful stats like OPB Slugging OPS WHIP and so on instead of the 1940's era info posted above that tells me absolutely nothing about these players' actual ability.— Laz
- Looks like you left off the "y" at the end of your username, Laz...all of those stats are easily identifiable online. Perhaps you could've used the 3 minutes it took to write your post to visit some sites like milb.com, where you'd be able to find ALL of those stats. Meantime, I'm sure Donald's line of .407 with five home runs and 17 RBI in 25 games told you "absolutely nothing" about his "actual ability" - jeez, don't be such a whiner. How many columnists even bother to write about Phillies minor leaguers at all, let alone AFL results? Kudos Murph, good post - don't let the whiners get you down. I really appreciate how you use this blog for original discussion.— tjc
- Tuffy Gosewisch. Now there's a name you can cheer for.— Muck the Fets
- Where's the VORP?— Muck the Fets
- In addition to the outfield problem, I think the Phils catching situation is a bit of a delema. Marson is definately ready to come up and they know Ruiz can handle the job behind the plate so what do you do with Coste? Do you package him with another player to get a right handed outfielder? Or, just trade him for minor league players. Then you haave the Kendrick, Carpenter,— Wally 24
- Sorry computer must have gremlins. To continue. If Moyer doesn't sign then I see Happ as part of the starting 5. If Kendrick shows signs of caving I see Carassco in his place possibly by June. Then there is the Carpenter/Kendrick look-a-like problem which they are going to have to make a decision on like Kendrick. If Utley is still out or limited I think you'll see Donald platooned with Bruntlett at second while the season is young. It will give Charlie a chance to evaluate him at the plate which is Charlie's forte. I think Mayberry will be given every opportunity to find a home in the outfield. If he can hold his own in the field and bat around .270 he's probably good to go.— Wally 24
- If Utley is delayed, Donald will definitely platoon with Bruntlett to start it out. It may be a little overwhelming for Donald to get thrown into starting at 2nd, with Utley gone and coming off of a World Series Championship. I do feel that he will be better than what scouts and baseball people are saying about him (project him as the extra infielder, .270 13-15 HR hitter, 15 SB's)— gulls3012
- Kendrick will need to make big changes this offseason if he thinks he'll have a spot in this starting rotation. We're looking at Hamels-Myers-Moyer-Blanton-Happ.— tjc
- Nice post, Murph. I always look forward to see how the kids are doing in the minors. Looking at the stats, the pitchers struggled big time. Any stats coming soon about Phillies players playing Winter ball?— EL Zorro
- I am with you gulls3012. Donald keeps putting good numbers everywhere he goes, including in spring training with the Phils. Some people had similar reservations about a HOF second baseman named Sandberg and some also doubted Dustin Pedroia, who just won the AL MVP, after winning Rookie of the Year in 2007.— EL Zorro
- Winter ball stats: Carlos Carrasco is 1-0 with 2.57 ERA in 7 starts in the Venezuelan winter league. He's pitched 28 innings, struck out 24 and walked 7. Batters are hitting .262 against him. According to the folks at Phuture Phillies, he has the third best WHIP among starters (exceeded only by two AAA veterans).— tjc
- Just to comment on a few of the most recently discussed topics. I think Marson should definitely be the backup catcher in 2009. I like Coste and he was a nice story, but it may be time to let him go. I can't see a team offering much, if anything, for him, but I'm sure he would catch on with somebody given the chance. Also, I like Jamie and he's a great influnce for this team, but it wouldn't be the worst thing to have J.A. Happ in the rotation instead of Moyer. Of course, I won't be mad if the Phils bring him back and he's in the rotation, I'm just saying that it is asking a lot for Jamie to be anywhere near as productive as he was in 2008 and we shouldn't count on him winning 16 games in 2009. Also, while Eric Bruntlett did some nice things in 2008, I think the Phils could stand to have a more productive utilty man. Maybe Jason Donald could be that guy for a season or two, or I've read a few things about Nick Punto, who would definitely be an upgrade as well. As for LF, I'm somewhat torn. Pat is still a viable option, but I'd like to see the Phils get a player who can hit for average, get on base, not strike out much, hit 20 HR's, drive in 80-100 runs, and play decent defense. Who that player is, I have no idea, but that player would fit well in 2009. Finally, it would be great if the Phils could sign Lowe or make a trade for a known-quantity starter. Short of that, it may be time to give Carrasco a shot.— MrPhillie
- Enjoyed thePOST. The Phills will not bring Marsonup unless they see 50-65 starts for him. Ruiz value to the team is way undervalued. Phils have 3 top cathing prospets in the minors, Marson, D'Amaud and Valle. The last two are probably 2-3 years away.— Don w
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