Biddle's climb is special
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Biddle's climb is special
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
The Baseball America list of top 10 Phillies prospects was released Monday and, for the first time, Jesse Biddle tops the magazine's rankings.
It would be difficult to find someone who disagreed with that selection. A year ago at this time, he ranked second behind Trevor May. Even if May had not been part of the trade that brought in center fielder Ben Revere from Minnesota, Biddle would still deserve the top ranking.
In fact, the 21-year-old lefty has a chance to become one of the best baseball stories in Philadelphia history. It's rare for a kid to be drafted by his hometown team and then become a star for that team. There is pressure on every first-round draft pick in every sport and it increases when that first-round pick is a local kid because of the added attention.
Biddle, a first-round pick out of Germantown Friends School in 2010, has so far climbed the minor-league ladder with remarkable aplomb and professionalism.
His three-year professional record is 21-15 with a 3.21 ERA. He has allowed 273 hits, walked 140 and struck out 325 batters in 319 1/3 innings. All of those numbers have been accomplished at minor-league levels where the players were typically older and more experienced.
In his first two full minor-league seasons, Biddle also overcame slow starts, which is also a positive sign for a young pitcher. Sometimes a snowball can become a boulder when things start rolling downhill for inexperienced players, but Biddle did not allow that to happen.
The 2013 season with the double-A Reading Fightin Phils should provide a great challenge for Biddle because of the close proximity to his home and the elevated level of competition. If he continues to excel at this level, it's conceivable that Biddle could pitch in Philadelphia as soon as September.
Here is the full Baseball America list and a link to its story:
Player Pos. 2012 Teams 2012 Stats
1. Jesse Biddle LHP High-A Clearwater 10-6, 3.22 ERA
2. Roman Quinn SS Rookie Williamsport .281, 56 runs, 30 steals
3. Tommy Joseph C AA Richmond and Reading .257, 11 HRs, 48 RBIs
4. Jonathan Pettibone RHP AA Reading, AAA Lehigh Valley 13-8, 3.10 ERA
5. Adam Morgan LHP High-A Clearwater, AA Reading 8-11, 3.35 ERA
6. Ethan Martin RHP AA Chattanooga and Reading 13-6, 3.48 ERA
7. Cody Asche 3B High-A Clearwater, AA Reading .324, 12 HRs, 72 RBIs
8. Maikel Franco 3B Low-A Lakewood .280, 14 HRs, 84 RBIs
9. Darin Ruf LF/1B AA Reading .317, 38 HRs, 104 RBIs
Phillies .333, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs
10. Carlos Tocci OF Gulf Coast League Phillies .278, 9 RBIs, 9 steals
Additional comments
Only three players -- Biddle, Pettibone and Franco -- from last year's top 10 are on this year's Baseball America list. May, as previously mentioned, was traded to the Twins.
Sebastian Valle was third on last year's list, but has been passed by Joseph as the organization's top catching prospect. Joseph was acquired in the trade deadline deal that sent Hunter Pence to San Francisco and is considered a much better defensive catching prospect. It will be interesting to see how Valle responds to the challenge from another top catching prospect in the system.
Also missing from last year's list are Phillippe Aumont, Freddy Galvis, Justin De Fratus, Brody Colvin and Jiwan James.
Aumont, a righthanded pitcher, made it to the big leagues and has a chance to be part of the Phillies' bullpen in 2013. Galvis lost his rookie status afte spending the first two months as the Phillies' second baseman. De Fratus, after missing much of last season with an elbow injury, still has rookie status. He has an excellent chance of being with the big-league team next season.
Colvin dropped out after consecutive disappointing seasons and it's beginning to appear as if James will be unsuccesful in his quest to make the transition from minor-league pitcher to outfielder that started after the 2007 season.
It was good to see Ruf on the list after his breakout 2012 season. Asche and Franco give the Phillies' two solid prospects at third base, a position where they have been unable to develop a player since the departure of Scott Rolen more than a decade ago. Franco, because of his power, is the more prototypical third baseman.
Center fielder Tyson Gillies has not played enough to be on any top 10 list, but he is talented enough. Ditto for outfielder Zach Collier.
Prospect lists should be heavy on pitching as ours has been. Used some for trades; others are playing/waiting in the wings. I like our team next year. We will win more games; maybe a lot more. Health will be the biggest issue.— terrycindyian- I love the fact there are 6 position players out of the 10 on this list. Also,note that 2 of the top 6 prospects were acquired last summer in exchage for our underachieving OFs (which I often referred to as "dumb and dumber").— Phront_Runner
- I hope everyone on here does realize that every team has a 10 ten list, with glowing remarks being made about everyone on the list. Let's see where the players end up on the MLB top 100 list.— Yellow Dog
- Weak farm system is all the list really points out. When your potential starting LF is only number 9 on a list of your best minor league players, it is a slight concern entering the season. That being said, I believe Ruff to be a good player, and I think he will have a solid season. Is he better then either Cody Ross, Nick Swisher, or Delmon Young. No. He needs at least a few full seasons to say that, however the potential is there. Hopefully the Phillies do pass on signing a player like Swisher so they can keep the 16th overall pick in draft and try and get a future OF/1b this year. Unless the blow it like they did on Hewitt.....— ryanrockzzz
- @dewsch....nice to see you living up to your name.....@rc1000.....agreed.....I don't see any scnerio on God's green Earth that has Biddle ready or able to pitch in the Majors this summer in any way. Somebody must be smokin' somethin' funny. (HTML deleted)— Mark1npt
- Rube will trade this guy for a 42 year gold glove from 1995, and he'll get Lindblom and Contraras thrown into the deal to sweeten it.— fmMD
- Lets keep it in perspective on Biddle. I'm not sure we should be expecting him in the big leagues in 2013. Pettibone has risen and seems to be slightly ahead and he may not be ready either. They're both young and you never know if they'll take a step back at a new level. AA can be a big step.— rc1000
- Wouldn't be surprised to see Jesse make his major league debut some time in the 2013 season. He will likely be on the Route 22 AA to AAA shuttle like Cloyd was last year. The Phillies No.5 starter this upcoming season looks like it will be John Lannan who has a 2-5 record with a 6.49 ERA pitching in CBP in eight career starts with the Nats. Don't think Lannan will last long in the rotation with those numbers at the Bank.— Dull
- @nestro......thanks for the Luzinski stats.......the only diff is that Luzinski didn't go to college and Ruf did for all 4 years so he's getting a bit of a late start compared to the Bull......— Mark1npt
- At age 25 Greg Luzinski hit .304 with 21 HR and 95 RBI in his 5th major league season with the Phillies.
At age 25 Darin Ruf hit .317 with 38 HR and 104 RBI in AA Reading.
At age 24 Greg Luzinski hit .300 with 34HR and 120 RBI and finished #2 in National League MVP.
At AA Reading in 1970 at age 19 Greg Luzinski hit .325 33HR and 120 RBI— gtnestro - The Phil's have unloaded a ton of pitching talent over the last few years...Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia, Kyle Loshe allowed to walk for nothing, Gio Gonzalez (a Cy Young candidate) and the list goes on and on. We seem to have a tendency to not let players mature and give up on them too early - especially pitchers. If we pencil a guy in as a future stud arm don't give up on him so early. Our drafts have been very good but the Fightins are too impatient. If I thought about it for a few more minutes I could easily come up with 3 or 4 more pitching prospects they threw under the bus. I have to admit Rub's knows his baseball, but he is too quick on the trigger.— DandyFarAndy
- Ruf's numbers seem to say, "At least platoon me in left field against LHPs next year and let me hit" don't they? You hate to rush someone but what is the harm in playing him in April and May and seeing what happens? If he hits .150, fine, send him back down. I'd love to see a comparison between Ruf at this age and Luzinski.— eman
- dom brown - baseball america #1 prospect in all of baseball a few years ago... don't listen to them clowns— SlimFox
- I agree with cdedrick05....they have an exciting crop of kids in the pharm...let Ruf and Brown play...give them a chance...if the rest of the club stays healthy, this team should make a good run!
- It is funny how the #9 "prospect" on this list is probably a better hitter right now than the $25 million dollar man.— ronin32
- No, he's not. Which is why he's #9 on the list. — mike l
- Would be very interested to see Biddle's numbers alongside Hamels from those years in his development.....might we one day have another Hamels?
Also interesting to see that we do have some position players who may have a future. Projection is tough. Look at Ruf. I really think this kid has a decent chance to be a good MLB player. Love his short powerful swing. Reminds you of Luzinski or Jeff Kent more recently. Not a lot of ways he can mess that up like you can with DBrown's long looping swing. Clearly the Phils business model once they got the core position players set on the team, Utley, Rollins, Rolen, Ruiz, Howard was to turn their attention to trades (of their prospects who they knew would not unseat their vets) draft tons of pitching which you can always use and adding FA's when available. Now that they have an aging core you can bet the Phils will draft differently and pass prospects thru the system differently because they know replacement pieces are going to be needed in the not too distant future. Believe it or not folks they really do have a plan and it's a continuous everchanging plan covering many years if not a decade at a time, unlike some companies who can't see or plan for a future more than one business quarter down the road.— Mark1npt - At age 25 Greg Luzinski hit .304 with 21 HR and 95 RBI in his 5th major league season with the Phillies.
At age 25 Darin Ruf hit .317 with 38 HR and 104 RBI in AA Reading.
At age 24 Greg Luzinski hit .300 with 34HR and 120 RBI and finished #2 in National League MVP.
At AA Reading in 1970 at age 19 Greg Luzinski hit .325 33HR and 120 RBI— gtnestro - Great to see that list...and guys that are still good prospects that didnt make the top ten - Valle, Collier, Dugan, Gillies, Hernandez, Julio Rodriguez, etc. Every year guys come out of the woodwork and mature at different speeds. Look at the jump made by Ruf. I really hope they let Ruf play LF and let Dom Brown play RF. See what you have there rather than signing a Swisher or Ross....who we know are average players.— cdedrick05
- Nice chunk of a team there, should they all continue to develop and pan out. Fun to watch. Fun to know there is a future.
Interesting to see Valle's drop. Surprising, not shocking.— 24sDad - Keep those bags packed, Biddle, I smell a trade for a right fielder in the works.— CoettaGarner25
- I hope RAJ doesn't include him in a trade for a 30plus player.— The One Who Knows
- Bob - thanks for putting everything and everybody in perspective for me. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the bloggers interpret what you have reported.— dwp66
