Philadelphia Phillies’ Untouchable List at the 2013 MLB Trade Deadline

While the baseball world is still in the midst of the All-Star break, the conclusion of the festivities means one thing: It’s the peak of trading season. Teams around the majors will be dealing for or trading away players based upon their standings and future potential.

Such a position isn’t always clear-cut, and for the Philadelphia Phillies, this could not be any truer in 2013. Their prospect depth isn’t ideal for the future by any means, but their recent winning ways have them slated toward making one final push for October.

Even though there still remain just under two weeks until the July 31 trade deadline, things still can change. The Phillies could move into first place in the division, or they could fall flat on their faces into the cellar of the division. Right now, they’re leaning toward buying, but as is always the case with baseball, anything can happen.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. has admitted that nobody on the Phillies is untouchable, per CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, but it’s hard to imagine that there aren’t some players about whom the Phillies would hang up the phone immediately if they received calls for them. Here’s a run-through of the Phillies who will definitely be here to stay through the trade deadline and beyond because the team will refuse to even listen to offers about them.

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Scouting Reports for Philadelphia Phillies Prospects in the 2013 Futures Game

With the All-Star break soon to begin and the Home Run Derby set for July 15, the official halfway mark of the 2013 MLB season is upon us.

While the Mets will host both the Home Run Derby and the July 16 All-Star Game at Citi Field, one event that precedes both marquee festivities and which often flies under the radar is the Futures Game.

Headlined by the best prospects in the minor leagues, the Futures Game presents the best opportunity for the general public to see its favorite teams’ best prospects in action and learn about the future stars of the major leagues.

As is the case for the MLB All-Star Game, each team’s farm system is represented by at least one prospect. Prospect will be placed on either the U.S. or World team rosters, with the latter being host to any international prospects.

For those of you who are interested, the U.S. Team has won eight of the first 14 Futures Games.

Like the rest of baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies farm system has some prospects of its own to showcase to the rest of the baseball world. The Phillies will be represented by one player on each squad. 

For the U.S., top prospect Jesse Biddle will serve as one of two left-handed pitchers on the roster, while third baseman Maikel Franco will be a reserve for the World Team.

Let’s preview each of these prospects and what Phillies and baseball fans will see come Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.

 

Jesse Biddle, LHP

Baseball America Preseason Ranks: No. 1 (Phillies system), No. 89 (MLB)

Baseball America Midseason Top 50 MLB Prospects Rank: No. 43

MLB.com Season Ranks: No. 1 (Phillies system), No. 50 (MLB)

Bleacher Report Prospect Pipeline Midseason Top 50 MLB Prospects Rank: “Close Call“

Ever since being drafted with the 27th overall pick in 2010 out of Germantown Friends School, Jesse Biddle has risen through the ranks in both the Phillies organization and around the majors.

Ranked as the team’s eighth-best prospect by Baseball America prior to the 2011 season, Biddle has steadily increased his stock, rising to No. 2 before 2012 and finally to No. 1 in the Phils‘ farm system before this season.

There were some doubts about Biddle’s ability to last as a pitcher, since he had only tossed 33 innings in his junior year of high school and wasn’t especially experienced on the mound. Those concerns have been put to rest, as Biddle has excelled through each of his minor league stages thus far, racking up more strikeouts and lowering his ERA along the way.

The Baseball America 2013 Prospect Handbook likened Biddle to the New York Yankees‘ Andy Pettitte before the season due to his four-pitch arsenal and frame. In particular, Biddle and Pettitte share a three-quarters arm slot that results in strikeouts and weak ground-ball contact. Biddle’s fastball sits at 88-93 mph, while his curveball absolutely drops while ranging from 72 to 75 mph.

While Biddle also throws a changeup, it’s still a work in progress at 78-80 mph—albeit one that continues to improve. Biddle’s slider and two-seam fastball were introduced to him after his start in the Phillies’ system.

His Achilles’ heel is his command, which ranks at 50 on the 20-80 scouting scale. If Biddle can harness his control, he could become at least a No. 2 starter in the Phillies’ rotation.

This season with Double-A Reading, Biddle hasn’t been the luckiest recipient of run support, as he’s 3-8. Nevertheless, he has still managed to post a 3.09 ERA and an average 1.20 WHIP. Biddle has struck out 102 batters over 93.1 innings with opponents batting .200 against him and he has allowed just six home runs on the year.

Biddle made headlines earlier this season when he struck out 16 batters in one outing and had a perfect game through 6.1 innings while hitting a double that was nearly a home run. He has a bright future with the Phillies provided they don’t trade him, and he could find himself as a starting rotation candidate as soon as next spring training.

 

Maikel Franco, 3B

Baseball America Preseason Rank: No. 8 (Phillies system)

MLB.com Season Ranks: No. 3 (Phillies system), No. 96 (MLB)

Bleacher Report Prospect Pipeline Midseason Top 50 MLB Prospects Rank: No. 49

Maikel Franco went as an under-the-radar signing by the Phillies on Jan. 13, 2010. Inked to a $100,000 contract by the Phillies’ director of international scouting, Sal Agostinelli, Franco came out of the Dominican Republic as a relative no-name.

According to the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, he scared off scouts with his lowly 7.7 60-yard dash time, but the Phillies took a flyer on him, thinking he could eventually move to catcher. So far, they have reaped the benefits—and that’s with Franco sticking at the hot corner.

Upon promotion to full-season ball, Franco struggled, hitting just a .123 average at Low-A Lakewood in 2011. However, after being demoted and re-promoted to Lakewood, Franco thrived, batting .280 last year.

He started out the 2013 season in High-A Clearwater and was incredibly successful, batting .299 with a .925 OPS, 16 home runs and 52 RBI in 65 games. After his tremendous play, Franco earned a swift promotion to Double-A Reading where he began making a well-known name throughout the minors.

In 18 games in Double-A so far, Franco has been absolutely sensational. He’s batting .413 with a 1.128 OPS, five home runs and 15 RBI. Both his OBP and SLG have soared. Granted, it’s a small sample size, but Franco has done nothing but impress in 2013.

Franco’s swing is a bit unorthodox in that he has a lot of unnecessary slight movements before he actually swings the bat, making the process longer than it should be. Baseball America rates his running on the 20-80 scale at 20, as was evidenced by his 60-yard dash split.

Nevertheless, his glove ability is well above-average, and his arm is arguably his strongest attribute.

Franco can definitely hit, but once he masters seeing and hitting off-speed pitching, he could project into a very good power-hitting third baseman—if not a corner infielder at the very least.

He is certainly giving Cody Asche a run for his money as the Phillies’ third baseman of the future, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see Asche moved to second base if Franco’s play continues to be this outstanding.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

5 Keys to the Phillies Sweeping Braves, Getting Back into NL East Race

A belated happy Fourth of July to everyone, and, with that, to the Philadelphia Phillies as well.

In their series finale against baseball’s best team—the 52-32 Pittsburgh Pirates—on Thursday, the Phillies managed to take the series with a 6-4 victory.

The Phillies’ bats supplied Cole Hamels with enough run support for him to earn his third win of the 2013 season, lowering his ERA to 4.38. The Phillies also handed Pirates superstar rookie pitcher Gerrit Cole his first major league loss.

It was a fantastic and much-needed morale boost for the Phillies, who now sit at 41-45, nine games back of the division-leading Atlanta Braves at 49-35.

The Phillies’ upcoming weekend series against those Braves gives Philadelphia an opportunity to gain some ground in the NL East race. The two teams haven’t faced off since the third game of the season.

A Phillies sweep, or even a series victory, won’t be easy, with the Braves sending out their best starting arms to the mound in Tim Hudson, Paul Maholm and Kris Medlen. But it will definitely be possible for the Phillies to win all three games and gain some ground.

Here are five keys to the Phillies doing just that and making the NL East race much more interesting.

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Philadelphia Phillies’ 2013 Trade Deadline Shopping List

It’s been a weird season for the Philadelphia Phillies. They’ve had their share of highs and lows, good times and bad times—an indication of just how inconsistent they have been.

After embarking on a season-high five-game winning streak in early June, the Phillies proceeded to lose five straight and have sat a few games below .500 ever since.

Standing at 38-41 as of Thursday, June 27, the Phils are stranded in third place in a dispirited NL East and have only flirted with second place on a couple occasions.

As a result, the Phillies aren’t defined buyers or sellers heading into the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. It’s a good thing because it means that the team still believes it has a shot at climbing in the standings.

However, if things don’t change quickly, the Phils will likely go the latter route and trade off some veterans.

If the Phillies do end up going on a hot streak to find themselves locked into a division battle, there are three main areas of concern that need to be addressed, even if only slightly. The bullpen, right field, and starting rotation are what have troubled the Phillies the most, and any acquisitions should focus on those areas.

In light of that, here’s what the Phillies’ shopping list at the 2013 trade deadline should look like if the Phillies are indeed poised to be buyers this season.

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Breaking Down Every Phillies’ Odds of Being Moved at the Deadline

40 days. That’s how long the Philadelphia Phillies have before they have to decide whether to go for it all one last time or build anew.

The only question remaining: which route will they choose?

Given their 35-38 record and relative inability to get any sort of hot streak going (at least without a cold streak immediately afterward), chances are that the Phillies are primed to be sellers at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. While there’s still hope that the Phils can turn things around—fortunately, they’re not in the cellar of the division—their position at the All-Star Break in a few weeks will be very telling.

In the meantime, rumors and speculation have continued to pile up all around baseball, and the Phillies are not excluded from that distinction. While seasoned veterans and players with All-Star pedigree are most likely to be discussed publicly, any player has a chance of being moved, even if those chances are slim to none.

With a month and a half to go before it either all begins or all ends, here’s a mid-June prediction of each Phillies’ odds of being moved by July 31.

*This slideshow will include all Phillies on the active roster and disabled list. Players on the 40-man roster who are not at the major-league level as of June 21, 2013 will not be included.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Players Who Are Proving the Doubters Wrong

For the critics who said that the Philadelphia Phillies would be an average to below-average team in 2013 before the season…well, you were right.

The good news? The Phillies climbed above .500 on Thursday. The bad news? It’s not Thursday anymore, and the Phillies went from a five-game winning streak to a three-game slump and now sit at 31-33.

In terms of trade deadline implications, they could either buy or sell at this point, though with a few more losses without wins to boot, the latter becomes more likely. But I’ll save that point for later.

However, a select few players on the Phillies have lived up to their standards or, more importantly, defied the standards which the public placed upon them. Here’s a list of five players who have surpassed the threshold of what was expected of them in 2013.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Grades for Every Player in May

It hasn’t been the easiest of seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans alike to endure. At times when it’s seemed that they’re ready to climb over the hill that blocks their way, the Phillies have often lost and have plummeted further below .500.

In the month of May, the Phillies have gone 13-12, close to .500 like their season on the whole. However, not all Phillies players can say the same—some have been excellent, while others have faltered. While the Phillies are roughly a third through the season, there’s still time to correct their errors, albeit not much.

In the meantime, here’s a list of grades for each Phillies player during the month of May, sorted by grade.

Stats available at baseball-reference.com and as of May 29.

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Phillies 2013 Mock Draft: Projecting Their Top 5 First-Round Targets

With the 2013 MLB Draft right around the corner, the Philadelphia Phillies have likely narrowed their choices as to who they want to select with the 16th pick, their highest in the draft since 2002 when they drafted Cole Hamels with the 17th pick.

The Phillies’ top-16 pick is a result of a 2012 season in which they played .500 baseball, ending with an 81-81 record. While it wasn’t a losing record, it was the first time the Phillies had not finished a season with a winning record since 2002 when they ended at 80-81.

The Phillies’ farm system is pretty bare across the board as a result of the many high-profile trades Ruben Amaro, Jr. has made in his time as Phillies GM. Nevertheless, some areas of the farm have more depth than others, so while the Phillies may disagree with my philosophy and select someone based upon talent alone, positional play will impact this list.

With a farm system thin of outfielders and first basemen, players at those positions will be the primary focus of this slideshow. So without further ado, here’s a look at the top five players the Phillies will look to take with their first draft pick on June 6.

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5 Things We Learned About the Phillies Through the 1st Quarter of the Season

The Philadelphia Phillies have had an interesting season thus far in 2013. The season has been riddled with ups and downs, from offensive resurgence of some players to injuries and depth issues concerning others.

As the season has now officially reached the one-quarter mark, it may be safe to say that certain trends are here to stay for the Phillies. Certain performances by certain players have been stellar, while others have been terrible.

I’m being intentionally ambiguous here. The point is, even after a quarter of the 2013 MLB season, there is enough information to gauge the Phillies so far. Here are five things that we’ve learned about the Phillies after the first quarter of the season.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Winners and Losers from 1st Month of Action

With the the 2013 MLB season’s first month of six practically in the books, the scope of contenders and pretenders is already starting to form. For some middling teams sitting around the .500 mark, like the Philadelphia Phillies, things may not be as clear-cut.

One thing’s for sure, though: Some parts of the Phillies have been good if not great, while others have been bad if not atrocious.

The Phillies aren’t exactly winners or losers right now—they’re both. So why not take into account what they have to offer from both sides of the spectrum?

Here are the Phillies’ biggest winners and losers after the season’s first month of play.

*All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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