Joseph, Martin and Simon improved Phillies farm system
As they do every year around this time, the Phillies brought in a pack of minor-league prospects for a four-day orientation program that they hope will serve them well if and when they make the climb to the big leagues.
Joseph, Martin and Simon improved Phillies farm system
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
A couple hours after the Eagles introduce Chip Kelly as their 21st head coach Thursday, the Phillies will hold a media event of their own at Citizens Bank Park.
As they do every year around this time, the Phillies brought in a pack of minor-league prospects for a four-day orientation program that they hope will serve them well if and when they make the climb to the big leagues.
The final day of the program includes media interviews and there is something really interesting about this year's cast. Three of the seven players in town were not even with the organization a year ago at this time.
That trio consists of catcher Tommy Joseph and pitchers Ethan Martin and Kyle Simon. The other four players taking part in the program are projected third baseman of the future Cody Asche, outfielder Zach Collier, left-handed pitcher Adam Morgan and catcher Cameron Rupp.
Joseph, Martin and Simon came to the Phillies in three separate trades and performed well enough that the Phillies feel as if they significantly improved their farm system with the additions.
Here are some short bios on the three newcomers to the organization:
Tommy Joseph: He was acquired along with outfielder Nate Schierholtz and minor-league pitcher Seth Rosin in the July 31 trade that sent right fielder Hunter Pence to San Francisco. With Schierholtz released in December and Rosin considered more of a fringe prospect, Joseph will be the player that determines the outcome of the Pence trade.
That deal, of course, has already worked out well for Pence, who will have a World Series ring from the Giants to show his friends for the rest of his life. It could work out for the Phillies, too, if Joseph follows Carlos Ruiz as the team's next catcher.
Joseph, 21, batted a combined .257 with 24 doubles, 11 home runs and 48 RBIs last season at double-A Richmond and double-A Reading, the two Eastern League affiliates for the Giants and Phillies. His defensive tools and leadership qualities have pushed him ahead of Sebastian Valle as the team's top catching prospect. With Joseph, Valle and Rupp all targeted for double-A and above in 2013, it should be interesting to see how the Phillies handle the minor-league assignments at the end of spring training.
Ethan Martin: He was acquired along with pitcher Josh Lindblom and infielder Stefan Jarrin in the July 31 trade that sent Shane Victorino to the San Francisco Giants. Like Joseph in the Pence deal, Martin will likely determine the success or failure of the Victorino deal.
Martin, 23, was the 15th overall pick in the 2008 draft by the Dodgers, but his development with the team had been slow. He appeared to make strides forward last season, going a combined 13-6 with a 3.48 ERA in 27 double-A starts, including seven with the Phillies' Reading affiliate. He figures to be a part of manager Dave Brundage's starting rotation at triple-A Lehigh Valley this season.
Kyle Simon: When the Phillies traded Jim Thome to the Chicago White Sox after the 2005 season, they did well to get Aaron Rowand and Gio Gonzalez in the deal. Rowand only spent two seasons here, but was a very productive player and Gonzalez was later dealt back to the White Sox for Freddy Garcia in a trade former general manager Pat Gillick would rather forget.
It seemed much less likely that the Phillies would get a quality player for Thome when they traded him to Baltimore last summer, but Simon was outstanding in the combined 20 relief appearances he made at single-A Clearwater and double-A Reading after joining the organization.
The 22-year-old righthander was 3-0 with one save and a 1.26 ERA at Clearwater. He struck out 14 batters and walked only one in 14 1/3 innings.
In 13 ppearances at Reading, he was 1-0 with two saves and 1.42 ERA. He allowed just 12 hits, struck out 21 and walked five batters in 25 1/3 innings.
The Phillies sent Simon to the Arizona Fall League, but he did not fare as well in five starts with the Peoria Javelinas, posting a 2-2 record and 9.00 ERA.
Gabriel Lino, a 19-year-old catcher from Venezuela, was also part of the Thome trade and he played in 37 games at Lakewood last season, hitting .227 with three home runs and 14 RBIs. The Phillies also liked what they saw from Lino.
- Appreciate your response, but was there a question anywhere in my post ?
— zubzub - Gotta add in Cosart to the Pence deal, and the Phillies were going to the Playoffs with or without Oswalt...Gose and Villar are both talented speed merchants who may change your mind a few seasons from now...Basically, the Oswalt and Pence deals were made with a GM (Wade) who waseager to acquire talent he was familiar with, while dumping salary with guys he knew he wasn't going to keep..RAJ overpaid 2X.
— bearsfriend - It was actually Michael Taylor, d'Arnaud and Drabek for Halladay.
Gose is a lot like Revere: a speed/defense type outfielder. If we had Gose we might not have had to trade for Revere. Villar has some promise. If the Oswalt trade had gotten us to the World Series that trade would look a lot better. For a short term Oswalt rental it looks worse in hindsight than it did to me when it went down.
Gillies could also be that speed outfielder but he can't stay on the field. He may end up a bust at the rate he's going.
Not enough for Pence either. Another trade aimed at getting to a World Series that looks worse because we didn't get there.
I feel both Worley and May was too high for Revere. Either Worley alone or Worley and a lower level prospect sounds like the right price to me. If May goes nowhere and/or Revere really shines then paying extra will look fine in hindsight.
— s - What's up S. Yeah. Some hits and misses. Good points.
I do disagree heowever on Gose. He is a perennial .260 hitter in the minors with a strikeout rate that rivals Howard. I'm not sure there has ever been a light hitting outfielder who strikes out as much as this kid. For his skill set he just doesn't swing the bat very well.
Revere on the other hand is a first round pick who has batted over 300 at every level of the minors. And .298 last year in the majors. And he does not strike out much. Yeah, Gose is younger. But I think Revere is ready now. And Gose, at best, a few years from now. If that.— zubzub - Gose is MUCH faster than Revere. He was overmatched at the plate in his first call up, but goes home to third as fast as anyone you'll see in the bigs...He's superior in the field, and you're right, would be head and shoulders the talk of the 2013 Spring Training (along with Ruf) for the Phillies, if here...While losing Singleton hurts, it was inevitable once his LF experiment failed...Villar has power,speed,and size, but might go thru a positional change from SS, and needs to show he can stay healthy...The one that may really sting down the line is Santana, who has gone from a raw talent to becoming an offensive force against players 2-3 years older in High A ball...One of Conlin's favorites before he left the scene. — bearsfriend
- more rantings of a madman:
"I warned you doggie bone..
those "voices in your head" ...
I showed the bizarre aspect ...
manic, over-the-top hysteria....
I warned you to stay away from me. You didn't listen...reflection of one day is haunting you already..."
Thank you -- that was quite elucidating.— warbiscuit - See phillyboyinnyc -- I'm really posting as zuzbzub, specialagent, dogbiscuit, colette, copper, dirtracker, phillyboyinnyc too .... whoa --if i'm phillyboyinnyc, then who are you..oh my are you really there or are you a merely a figment of your imagination ...oooh this is getting spooky..what's with those voices again you referred to?— warbiscuit
- @1980: Your 1:38 pm post almost had me spit up my Welch's Grape Soda! LOL It looks like everyone is in mid-season condition here by the looks of things.
Looking at the bottom right hand corner....."Sign in to report abuse" takes on a whole new meaning on the Phillies boards. With hope, maybe we can get back to some respectful dialogue. Ok now, how's everyone feel about a long term contract extension for RAJ? I'm in! :)— DelawareRiverRat - zubzub, great analysis as usual, but I really liked your breakdown on club OWNERSHIP, and the value of the team. It raises several questions, not the least of which is that to rail against Amaro, without questioning who HIRED HIM, KEEPS HIM hired, is absurd if all you want to do is criticize his each and every move. Someone with the cash must want him there, right rainman, I mean doggiebone.
Thanks for proving me right again doggie. Ignore the good advice, but prove my prescience by making a triplicate posting within seconds, adding a line each time. Do you cut and paste or save EVERY article and comment rainman? Sorry, but that is illness speaking.
Anyway, the Phillies prospects are not bare bone, but you have to question why we aren't more of a player in Asia, have such a minimal presence in South America, Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic, and even western Europe. How much more could scouting cost? 1-2 great scouts is a thing of the past; Hugh Alexander was from an era of Gene Mauch and the 40's. Now, we need to find the grass roots talent, before anyone else gets a bead, or at least be more competitive in going after foreign talent.
This Phillie's aversion reminds me of Ed Snider and Bobby Clarke's disastrous choices against getting good Russian skaters, because they hated Russians. All that did was put them behind every other team until they finally saw the light. Go Phils, and Let's go Flyers on Saturday against Cindy Crosby and the Penqueens.— PhillyboyinNYC - Martin is a good guy who the Dodgers did not want to give up but they did. He will be on the staff sometime in the near future.— Koons
- If Revere is a really good player for the Phillies, that trade won't look so bad. Right now, it looks horrible. It looks like a deal made in desperation.— Copper34
- @Phillyboy: The below link answers your question, a multi part story by Paul Hagen (I miss this guy and his writing) on this very site. It seems the money well runs dry after spending on the North American scouting, bonuses, etc. A shame. The last major pickup, not counting Bastardo was Carlos Ruiz......in 1998. That, is simply not good enough!
http://articles.philly.com/2011-05-04/sports/29508814_1_carlos-ruiz-top-dogs-antonio-bastardo— DelawareRiverRat - I'm surprised Ruin didn't trade for Alvin, Theodore, and Simon.— dasher
- @rRiverRat -- do you really buy that? Is there a salary cap on scouts?? Seriously -- the Phillies can spend as much as they want on Latin America scouts. They decide to keep it instead. It isn't a shame - it is a disgrace. Isn't that what motivated Arbuckle to leave? They operate like a small-market team, but reap the rewards of, what, the 4th largest market in the U.S. ...
— Copper34 - @Copper34: Yep, it is a shame and disgrace. I can only guess Mike Arbuckle left because RAJ was named GM and not him. Personally, I think the players developed under Mike speak for themselves: Rollins, Utley, Howard, Hamels, Ruiz, Rolen, et all. Not bad. I would have had no problem whatsoever had Mike been named GM, he certainly earned it with his player developement. To be a fly on the wall with some of those internal team discussions........— DelawareRiverRat
