Phillies Allow Brian Gordon To Sign with Yankees: A Mistake in the Making?

Creative contract clauses are becoming more and more of a normal occurrence in Major League Baseball, and the creativity is slowly seeping through the cracks in the Minor Leagues. While the classic “opt-out clause” isn’t going anywhere, agents are getting more creative to make sure that their clients have the best chance of making it to the parent club.

That was the case for the Philadelphia Phillies‘ Minor League pitcher, Brian Gordon, who essentially guaranteed himself a bit of job security (and a fistful of dollars) by having a solid out-clause written into his contract.

Normally, when a player who has had a taste of the Major Leagues, or is advancing in age, signs a Minor League contract, he agrees to a deal based on the condition that he has the option to opt-out of the agreement on a date that both sides agree upon. The only drawback, of course, is that said player is taking a chance by opting-out and testing free agency.

Gordon, 32, made sure that there were no chances when he opted-out of his deal. Along with the out-clause, he had a condition in his contract stating that he could not opt-out of his deal unless he was added to a Major League roster.

Not a bad deal for a converted outfielder struggling to find his way in the Minor Leagues.

His deal guaranteed that, at the very least, he would pitch an entire season under contract for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs—but, he controlled his own fate. If he could pitch well enough to grab the attention of a few scouts, he could very well be pitching in the Major Leagues by mid-June—and that is, indeed, the case.

Gordon began the season (his second in the Phillies organization) as a reliever, and was soon moved into the starting rotation, thanks to a lack of depth and success out of the bullpen. Little did the Phillies know that they were finding a Minor League gem. Overall, he appeared in 12 games for the IronPigs (with nine starts) and posted a record of 5-0, with an ERA of just 1.14 (2.55 FIP).

His success went much deeper than that though—he was throwing up impressive numbers in every statistical category. In 55.1 innings of work, he struck out 56 hitters and allowed just seven walks. For the stat buffs out there, that is a BB/9 of just 1.14.

Along with the seven walks, Gordon allowed just 37 hits, and only 44 runners reached a base against him. Of those runners, just 11 scored; only seven of those scored runs were earned.

Not bad for a guy who was originally drafted in the seventh round of the 1997 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks as an outfielder, making the transition to the mound in 2007.

Apparently the New York Yankees thought the same thing, as they made contact with Gordon to express an interest in signing him. Of course, they knew that he would have to be added to the major league roster, and the only way the Phillies could avoid losing him was by adding him to their own roster.

As it turned out, the Phillies did not add Gordon to their roster and the Yankees gobbled him up, signing him to a one-year deal.

Now that he’s on his way to the Bronx, we have to ask ourselves: Was it a mistake letting him go?

At a glance, it may not seem like much of a big deal. With Kyle Kendrick and Vance Worley in the system, the Phillies didn’t have a real need for Gordon in the rotation. But further evaluation shows that he could have helped this team in the bullpen, namely replacing struggling relievers like Danys Baez, JC Romero or David Herndon.

Now all we can do is hope that the Phillies didn’t let one get away, but the track record for this team in similar situations isn’t all too great. The chances of Brian Gordon coming back to haunt the Phillies is fairly high, so break out your lucky charms and pray that this guy stays as far away from the Major League Phillies as possible (more sarcasm intended, of course).

For those who are interested, the Yankees are throwing Gordon right into the fire. He’ll start against one of the most potent offensive teams in all of baseball—the Texas Rangers—on Thursday. We should get a pretty good sense of whether or not he could have helped the Phillies after that.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

2011 MLB Draft: Philadelphia Phillies Select Larry Greene with 39th Selection

On Sunday afternoon, I posted a piece here on Bleacher Report that summarized just how much of a mystery the draft strategy of the Philadelphia Phillies was heading into the first round on Monday evening, and when all was said and done following the Supplemental Round, that was still the case, as the draft crew wrapped things up with more curiosities than answers.

Heading into Monday, it was rumored that the Phillies were interested in building some depth at their weakest points in the Minor Leagues—catcher, middle infielders and left-handed pitching—but when the 39th overall selection of the 2011 First Year Player Draft came to pass, the Phils’ didn’t select a player from any of the above positions.

Instead, the team of scouts, led by director Marti Wolever and general manage Ruben Amaro Jr., selected a high school outfielder out of the state of Georgia who’s bat was just too good to pass up on. In somewhat of a surprise selection, the Phillies picked the only player to be in attendance at Studio 42, the left-handed outfielder out of Nashville, Ga., Larry Greene.

On one hand, the selection isn’t much of a surprise. Wolever in on the record say that if push came to shove, he would take the best player available in the draft when the Phillies selected with their 39th pick, which was compensation for losing Jayson Werth. So as it turns out, taking the talented outfielder was almost appropriate.

With Domonic Brown and Jonathan Singleton being the most recent examples, the team has not shied away from drafting left-handed bats with the athleticism to play in the outfield, though Singleton has recently moved back to first base. So even with a number of highly touted left-handed arms and a very nice catching prospect still on the board, the Phils’ went with the sweet, raw left-handed swing of Greene.

Standing at 6’1″, 225 lbs., Greene was easily the biggest high school outfielder to go thus far in the draft, and as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki pointed out in an interview with Wolever, it’s no surprise to hear the Phillies’ scouting director call Greene a “man amongst young men.”

In the same interview, Wolever compares Greene to Singleton, saying that although the former is likely to hit for more power, the stroke and bat speed are comparable.

The high school outfielder isn’t going to win any Gold Gloves on defense, but he projects as an average corner outfielder, most likely in left field for the Phillies, should things go as according to plan, and even then, he’ll probably play better defense than Raul Ibanez is right now. (Zing!) Regardless of his defensive ineptitude, this guy is going to make his money at the plate.

In his latest season of high school baseball, Greene destroyed local competition. He posted an average well above .500, slugging 19 home runs, 11 doubles, a triple and even stole 13 bases. It isn’t hard to see where his power comes from, just looking at the guy, and he projects to hit for big time power at the major league level, drawing comparisons to another slugger and former Phillie, current member of the Los Angeles Angels, Russell Branyan.

Wolever wasn’t happy with that comparison, however. He thinks that Greene is a much better overall hitter than Branyan and expects him to make much better contact than Branyan, who is a career .233 hitter.

For Greene though, he was just happy to be picked to play baseball, and Spencer Fordin of MLB.com had him covered. It was an emotional moment for Greene, who’s mother passed away just last year.

“I knew this is what my mom wanted me to do. She got what she wanted,” he said. “Words can’t explain it. It’s a blessing. I’m happy to have my dad and family behind me. I thought I was going to be a Brewer, but I’m happy to be a Phillie.”

And the Phillies are happy to have Greene in their outfield mix for the distant future. Though they’ve never been a team that has shied away from the player they want because of sign-ability issues, it sounds like Greene is ready to begin his career playing professional baseball, and moreover, will begin said career with the Phillies.

“I’m going to go home and think about it,” said Greene on his probability of signing with the Phillies, “but more than likely, I’m going to play pro baseball.”

I’m personally a huge fan of this selection by the Phillies. Looking over Greene’s swing, I’m surprised he fell into the compensation round but pleased that he did. The thought of having both he and Brown playing the corner outfield spots for the Phillies way into the future is an interesting thought, and with the way this system develops pitching, it is picks like this that keep the Phigtin’ Phils’ on top.

As always, I’ll be following the draft well into days two and three, so stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all of the latest draft news regarding the Phillies!

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

MLB Draft 2011: As Draft Nears, Philadelphia Phillies Strategy Still a Mystery

What is the price of success? Since 2007, the Philadelphia Phillies have been the cream of the crop for Major League Baseball. They’ve won the National League East in four consecutive seasons, appearing in the World Series twice—back to back—in 2008 and 2009, bringing the title to Philadelphia in 2008.

Over that same span of time, they’ve seen a lot of great players dressing in the red pinstripes. The Phillies have sent nine different players to various All Star Game venues across the country. Over those years, they’ve housed an MVP (Jimmy Rollins in 2007) and a Cy Young (Roy Halladay in 2010.) So what exactly is the price for this level of talent?

Well, that’s a broad conversation with a plethora of answers, but in a crude sense, the price for this level of talent revolves around the level of success a team has in the First Year Player Draft, which will take place this Monday, June 6.

Looking around baseball, it isn’t hard to see that the Phillies have used the draft to build a lasting success. They’ve used their picks wisely, be they on “can’t miss” talents like Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, or gems found in later rounds, like Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson and Domonic Brown, the Phillies have built their current core through the draft, but that’s hardly where the production ends.

You see, building a strong Minor League system is how the Phillies have become and remained successful over their current run. Not only do they draft players that will help them at the Major League level, but they draft players that other teams will eventually have interest in, and trade them for the final piece to a contending team’s puzzle, be it Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Brad Lidge or any other name you can think of that the team has acquired in a trade.

So needless to say, the Phillies invest an incredible amount of resources into the draft each year, and all in all, they’ve been incredibly successful, using the draft picks they have wisely. But being a contender year in and year out has its drawbacks in regards to the draft, if you can believe it.

Because of their success at the Major League level, the Phillies haven’t selected higher than 19th overall since 2007, when they took pitcher-turned-slugger Joe Savery. In 2009, they didn’t even have a pick in the first round, when they handed their pick to the Seattle Mariners as compensation for signing “Type A” outfielder, Raul Ibanez.

That hasn’t deterred the Phils, though. They’ve simply found ways to be more efficient in the draft, investing more time and money into scouting than ever. They’ve drafted local players, like last year’s top selection Jesse Biddle, and thanks to some due diligence, have found gems like Jarred Cosart in the back end of the draft.

Already with one of the strongest farm systems in baseball, it’s difficult to imagine which direction the Phillies will head this year. While rumor has it that the Phils will scour the draft boards for catchers, middle infielders and left-handed pitchers, scouting director Marty Wolover hasn’t been shy in saying that they’ll take the best player available at any given time.

That said, they’ll have to be creative. Yet again, the Phillies do not have a selection in the first round, having lost their first-round selection to the Texas Rangers for the signing of Cliff Lee. However, they do have a pick in the supplemental round, where they’ll pick 39th overall as compensation for losing Jayson Werth to the Washington Nationals.

So which players can we expect to see the Phils target on day one? Well, that’s still a mystery.

Even with the rumor that they’ll look towards middle infielders, catchers and left-handed pitchers, one of the names that continually pops up on mock drafts is Charles Tilson, who is an outfielder yet to graduate high school. He may not play in a position of need for the Phils, but he has a sweet left-handed swing and above-average speed that may be too good to miss.

But what if they don’t go in that direction? Who are some of the players the Phillies could take with their 39th pick?

I recently finished my mock draft of the first round, and I projected that both of these catchers would be off the board well before the Phillies pick, but they would love for Austin Hedges or Andrew Susac to fall into their hands. Hedges is one of the best catchers available, but could slide thanks to his asking price. On the other hand, questions about Susac’s swing could drop him down the board.

With just a day remaining before the Phils’ first pick, nabbing Hedges or Susac seems like a pipe dream, at best. They could always target a middle infielder with the 39th pick, and while Kolten Wong is exactly what the doctor ordered, he’ll probably be long gone by then. There simply aren’t many middle infielders to be had at this point in the draft.

Outside of Levi Michael, whom some project the Toronto Blue Jays to take with their first pick, common names around this spot are Brandon Martin and Phil Evans—both shortstops out of high school that are going to need a good amount of time for development. The Phils need reinforcements in the middle infield as soon as possible, so expect them to take a middle infielder out of college.

If I was forced to make a prediction, I think the Phillies pick a left-handed starter here, and there are a few good ones to be had. One interesting name is Matt Purke, who has fallen way down the draft boards. He has the potential to be a top-five pick, and would have been last year, but injuries and inconsistency have moved him down. If the Phils are willing to take a small chance, Purke could pay dividends.

A couple of other interesting left-handed pitchers that could go in this position are Andrew Chafin and Sean Gilmartin, whom the Phillies would love to have at 39th overall, seeing as how they’re shooting up the draft boards during the final weekend.

All in all, it’s hard to go wrong in the first couple of rounds. This is one of the deepest drafts in recent history, and there is plenty of talent to be had. What does that mean for the Phillies?

This is the perfect draft to build upon. One of the best farm systems in baseball is about to get better.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies Notes: The Offense, Chase Utley, Brad Lidge and More

The Philadelphia Phillies‘ offense have been a puzzling bunch for most of the 2011 season. For a while, on Opening Day as the team struggled making contact with Houston Astros‘ starter Brett Myers, it looked like the lineup picked right up where it left off following the 2010 National League Championship Series—standing at the plate looking at strike three.

On that day though, John Mayberry Jr. delivered a clutch base hit off of the bench, where he sat next to Greg Gross, one of the greatest pinch-hitters of all time, Greg Gross, now Phillies’ hitting coach, for most of the game. From that at-bat onward, it seemed as though the offense was going to reach down inside and deliver some of that potential we had been waiting for.

A few weeks later, Phillies’ fans were demanding a trade for a legitimate offensive superstar as Chase Utley sat out with Patellar Tendinitis and the rest of the lineup sputtered through a rough patch, headlined by tremendous offensive struggles like Raul Ibanez’s 0-for-35 slump. At that moment, it became painfully clear that this offense may not live up to its potential and was going to be a very streaky team throughout the season.

So for those reasons alone, I took to Citizens’ Bank Park last week to try and get to the bottom of the Phils’ offensive struggles and how they planned on breaking free of those streaky shackles. Needless to say, from one hitter to the next, from coach to coach, the Phillies’ clubhouse echoed like a  cavernous hall about staying consistent and not trying to change their approach at the plate. (I summarized my findings in this piece earlier in the week.)

Continuing with their streaky ways, as soon as I posted that article about breaking out of the well documented slump, the Phillies’ offense caught fire. The date I posted my piece coincided with the date that the team activated its All-Star second baseman and catalyst, and even though he didn’t do much to support the cause, the Phils’ pounded Bronson Arroyo and the Cincinnati Reds for 10 runs.

As much as I would like to believe that my fingertips hold some sort of voodoo like magic and I propelled the Phillies to a big offensive night by putting a jinx on their offensive struggles, I think it’s much more likely that Utley’s return provided some sort of spark—or maybe not. Be it Utley’s return or a return to consistency, the Phils’ have certainly played better baseball since.

The Phillies as a team have scored 34 runs in five games since Utley’s return last Monday. Prior to his return, it took the Phils’ 14 games to score a total of 34 runs. There are critics out there that won’t be keen on giving Utley credit for providing a spark to a slumping offense, but the results are undeniable—with Chase Utley playing second base, the Phillies are scoring runs at a rapid pace, and that bodes well.

Heading into the season, we knew that if they could put runs on the board, they’d win games behind this rotation, and that’s been exactly the case.

After shutting things down in spring training, there is finally good news coming out of Florida in regards to Phillies’ reliever Brad Lidge. After missing close to two months of the regular season with a partial tear in his rotator cuff, Lidge is scheduled to pitch an inning in an extended spring training game. It’s a big first step for the Phils’ right-hander.

Pitching in an extended spring training game may not seem like a big deal for a major league reliever, but for Lidge, this marks the official restart of his spring training. Barring any setbacks, Lidge will probably make 10 to 12 appearances, including an official rehab assignment. If all goes well, he could rejoin the Phillies sometime in June.

Though he won’t be closing games initially upon his return, he gives the Phils’ impressive depth at the back end of the bullpen. Along with Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson, whom opponents are hitting a combined .179 against and have allowed just five earned runs, Lidge will join breakout relievers Mike Stutes and Antoino Bastardo, who’ve been better than advertised through the end of May.

With the way those four have been pitching, the rest of the bullpen is on notice upon Lidge’s return. In his role as a long reliever, Kyle Kendrick has pitched well, inspiring Charlie Manuel to use him in a couple of spot starts (one of which didn’t go very well, thanks to Jason Giambi).

He seems to be safe. Danys Baez’s stellar outing in that 19-inning marathon seems to have garnered him some respect amongst the organization, so it may very well be JC Romero, who has the worst K:BB rate of all relievers over the last three seasons, who is on the way out.

With Chase Utley’s return to the lineup, the Phillies regulars are almost, well, regular. With the infield intact in its entirety, only Shane Victorino is missing from the starting lineup and not for long. The speedy center fielder will begin his rehab assignment this weekend, and the plan is to have him test his legs in the minor leagues for about a week.

He’ll play for the Lakewood BlueClaws on Saturday and Sunday, followed by an off day on Monday. If that goes according to plan, Victorino will join the Reading Phillies on Tuesday and play there through Thursday, rejoining the big league Phillies by Friday.

With a full lineup finally intact, I’m somewhat curious as to what Charlie Manuel plans on doing with his lineup. He seems to be comfortable with the duo of Chase Utley and Placido Polanco anchoring the 2- and 3-spots in his order, and Raul Ibanez is hot enough to hit fifth.

The real question may be who becomes the right fielder when Victorino is activated. Team officials seem to be infatuated with Michael Martinez’s skill set, though he hasn’t contributed much to the team yet, and Domonic Brown, Ben Francisco and John Mayberry Jr. all have at least one minor league option.

From a baseball perspective, cutting ties with Martinez may be most beneficial for a team that is trying to win now, but from a gut feeling, we may be seeing the last of Mayberry for a while.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

B/R Exclusive: Phillies Trying to Break Out of Slump Without Breaking Routine

Slump.

It’s a word the Philadelphia Phillies have heard a lot lately and frankly, it’s a word they are becoming quite irritated with.

Regardless of how many times they hear phrases like, “Every team and every major-league hitter goes through slumps,” the Phils are obviously frustrated with their offensive output over the last few weeks.

Entering Monday night’s series opener against the Cincinnati Reds, the Phillies hadn’t scored more than three runs in a game since May 13 in Atlanta and, to push the topic even further, hadn’t scored more than five runs since May 9, doing so just three times in the month of May as a whole.

Usually, however, when people around baseball talk about a slump, they’re talking about a single player. The Phillies have slumped as a whole team, though, causing some concern throughout the city.

Up and down the lineup, the Phils’ bats are struggling to get things going, and a number of players have taken hitless streaks well into double-digit at-bats.

At the beginning of the month, Raul Ibanez went hitless for so long that fans were calling for his head in left field, but he wasn’t the only Phillie they were worried about. Carlos Ruiz took his slump to the disabled list with him and joined Ryan Howard in a struggling lineup when he returned.

Luckily enough for the Phillies, the star-studded pitching rotation that they had assembled in the offseason was doing more than just keeping them in games—it was shutting down the opposition and leading the Phillies to wins.

However low the offense has gotten over the last month or so, the pitching has been well above average, leading the Phils to a National League-best record of 28-18. Who knows where they’d be without this rotation or with a bit of offense?

Regardless of that, the Phillies know that they have to get back on track offensively. Sure, guys like Roy Halladay are almost always going to keep you within striking distance of a win, but you can’t put a win in the left column unless you score runs.

Obviously, you can’t score runs if you can’t hit the ball, and that’s been the real problem with this team over the last month—too many good hitters slumping their way into offensive oblivion.

But how do you get out of a slump? If it were as simple as a quick fix, the Phils would be way up in first place.

I caught up with Phillies infielder Pete Orr over the weekend, and he provided an interesting quote about how major-league players break out of slumps—they don’t do anything differently.

“You just continue to believe in yourself and work hard, obviously,” said Orr. “You do the things that got you here and made you successful. You don’t want to do things that are out of your element.”

When you think about what Orr said, it makes a lot of sense. While half of the city is calling for a blockbuster trade for a legitimate offensive threat, the Phillies are trying their hardest not to change a single thing.

For these players, baseball is their lives. They’ve grown up working hard on their hitting, and changing something now could end their careers. For a lot of these players, Orr included, the best way to break free of an offensive slump is to weather the storm.

“You are always going to go through slumps. You just have to believe you can get out of them,” said Orr.

The Phillies are a team that believes it can hit, and why not? With the best rotation of baseball wearing the Phils jersey and a lineup filled with All-Stars from top to bottom, putting runs on the scoreboard should not be as hard as the Phillies are making it on themselves.

One guy that believes in the Phillies offense is hitting coach Greg Gross, who joined the team during an offensive slump last season. Specifically, he believes that the Phillies are only a couple of hot hitters away from breaking out of this slump for good: “Ryan Howard could get this team on track,” quipped Gross.

Like Orr before him, Gross made it resoundingly clear that changing a hitter’s approach to hitting was not going to break him out of a tough slump. In Howard’s case, a lot of people believe that with the exaggerated defensive over-shift that teams play on him, going to the left side of the field would improve his numbers.

The Phils’ hitting coach couldn’t disagree more.

“He’s the type of guy who will work his way out of a slump. He doesn’t go the other way because he is a natural pull hitter. Teams recognize this, and when they put the shift on him, they also pitch him inside. He’ll work his way out of it.”

Once again, changing a hitter’s approach is not on Gross’ agenda, and he believes that breaking out of this slump could be something as simple as being more aggressive early in the count.

Slumps have a tendency to get in the head of a hitter and they start taking good pitches for strikes. Gross believes that feeling comfortable at the plate and hitting good pitches are the keys to offensive success.

Charlie Manuel echoed those sentiments about his cleanup hitter following Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers.

“I thought he stayed on the ball real good,” said the Phillies manager. “Pitchers like to change speeds on Howard to keep him off balance.”

He preached about how plate discipline was the key to freeing themselves of the offensive shackles that are this slump and like Gross believes that hitting is a matter of hitting a pitch you can handle.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the Phillies. Not only did the team activate their All-Star second baseman Chase Utley from the disabled list on Monday, but they also recalled slugging right fielder Domonic Brown, who Gross believes has “very good hand-eye coordination.”

When Shane Victorino returns from his injury, the lineup will look more intimidating then it has all season.

Pair that with the starting rotation that has helped them to the best record in the National League and the depth that kept them afloat as they weathered the storm, and it certainly isn’t hard to see why this team was projected as one of the best in baseball entering the 2011 season.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

The Philadelphia Phillies 2008 First Year Player Draft: Where Are They Now?

For the Philadelphia Philles, 2008 was quite special for the Philadelphia Phillies, as I’m sure you know. But long before the team captured the World Series title in October, the front office and its team of scouts set out to find the next great Phillie in the Rule 4 (or First Year Player) Draft, in the month of June.

So by now, I’m sure you’re thinking, “What’s the relevance for this article, Greg? Who cares about 2008?” Well a couple of recent highly touted promotions  got me thinking, which may or may not be a good thing. Earlier in the week, the Kansas City Royals promoted one of the best prospects in all of baseball when they called up slugging first baseman Eric Hosmer to the big league club. Through six games, he’s posted a line of .333/.444 /.714, with a couple of home runs.

So, as a fan of baseball in general, I was rather impressed by this, and I took to the Internet to find out exactly where he was drafted. Needless to say, I was even more impressed that he was drafted just a couple of seasons ago, and then even more impressed to see the level of talent from that draft to have already reached the Major Leagues.

Along with Hosmer’s emergence, a number of other teams found core pieces to their current roster in this draft, the most notable of which was probably the fifth overall selection, when the San Francisco Giants selected Buster Posey—now a World Champion.

Those weren’t the only two high-profile players selected in the first round of the 2008 draft though. Several other major league regulars were picked in this draft, and moreover, a number of blue-chip prospects that were traded for big name players were picked here.

Be it as a big prospect or productive player, a number of recognizable names were selected in this draft, including Tim Beckham, Pedro Alvarez, Brian Matusz, Yonder Alonso, Gordon Beckham, Aaron Crow (who would not sign), Jason Castro, Justin Smoak, Brett Wallace, Ike Davis, Andrew Cashner, Daniel Schlereth, Lonnie Chisenhall, Casey Kelly and even Gerrit Cole, who could be the first overall pick in this year’s draft.

So as the die-hard Phillies’ fan that I am, this looked to be an extremely productive draft to me, and I was left wondering, as we suffer through a lack of production on the big league roster, what happened to the guys that the Phils picked in this draft. So I decided to do some exploring, and at first glance, the results are ugly.

Their first pick in this draft came in the first round, as the 24th overall selection. The Phils chose a shortstop out of Salisbury School in Connecticut by the name of Anthony Hewitt. I suppose the good news is that he is still within the Phillies’ system.

After drafting Hewitt, the Phils’ immediately moved him from his natural shortstop position, finding him a new home at third base. The thought was that they were grooming their third baseman of the future, but needless to say, he isn’t going to be playing for the big league club any time soon.

In fact, he hasn’t even been able to stick at third base. Hewitt has bounced around between third, the outfield and even spent time as the team’s designated hitter, but just could not light a fire under his bat. In his only full season (2010), he posted a slash line of .202/.243 /.327, with 11 home runs.

Following the selection of Hewitt, the Phillies picked again in the supplemental round after losing outfielder Aaron Rowand to the San Francisco Giants in free agency the prior winter. So with the 34th overall pick in 2008, the Phils’ took an outfielder by the name of Zachary Collier out of Chino Hills High School in California.

Much like Hewitt, Collier has been a bust thus far in the Phillies system. Once a highly touted prospect, he has fallen through the system like a rock, surpassed by the talented outfielders coming through. He missed the entire 2010 season thanks to injury, and his return to the baseball field in 2011 has been slow. To date, he’s posted a line of .208/.313/.333 with the Low-A Lakewood BlueClaws, and with numbers like that, he won’t be moving through the system any time soon.

With picks like those two and the amount of talent in this year, the 2008 draft had to be a complete bust for the Phillies, right? Wrong. Though they may not have found that “can’t miss” prospect, the Phils did select a number of interesting players.

One thing that the Phils certainly did do was bolster the level of pitching talent in their system. In the third round, they selected a crafty right hander by the name of Vance Worley out of Long Beach State, and from that point forward, drafted a number of talented, but under-the-radar, pitchers that would become the base of their system, including Jonathan Pettibone, Trevor May, Colby Shreve, Julio Rodriguez, Michael Stutes, Brian Rosenberg, Michael Schwimer, Jordan Ellis and Jarred Cosart.

The one thing missing from this draft was a position player of importance. After failing with selections like Hewitt and Collier, the Phillies really didn’t hit on any of the position players they selected in this draft. One intriguing name, however, is Cody Overbeck, who is lighting the Phillies’ system on fire this season. He isn’t thought of much as a prospect, but he has made progress this season with the AA Reading Phillies. Through 31 games, he’s posted a line of .278/.325/.548, with nine home runs. It’s worth mentioning that he hit just 13 home runs in all of 2010.

The front office did what it does best in this draft, they drafted players they can use. Whether it’s developing crucial prospects to be part of the Phillies in the future or as major trade chips, the Phils have a knack for drafting interesting talents. 2008 was not an exception, when they drafted a couple of players who would become parts of major trades—Jason Knapp (sent to the Cleveland Indians in the 2009 Cliff Lee trade) and Anthony Gose (sent to the Houston Astros in the 2010 Roy Oswalt trade).

So fear not, Phillies fans. I admit that while I’m a bit disappointed the Phils couldn’t find a legitimate, over-the-top prospect like Eric Hosmer in this draft, they went for quantity instead of quality. And while normally that may not be a good thing, it seems as though they’ve managed to draft a quantity of quality prospects.

Let’s not forget. It takes more than one player to form a team, and the Phillies are well prepared to form an elite team both now, and in the future.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Florida Marlins: Roy Halladay and Josh Johnson

Roy Halladay and Josh Johnson are widely considered two of the best starting pitchers in the National League, and it isn’t hard to see why. Through a little more than a month of the 2011 season, they’ve dominated National League opponents, going a combined 8-2 with an ERA of just 1.94 in 14 starts. Tonight, they’ll square off for the fourth time in their careers as the Florida Marlins host the first place Philadelphia Phillies.

Though it’s only the second week of May, the Cy Young debate has already started among baseball faithfuls, and the lead candidates are the guys we’re discussing right here. With Adam Wainwright on the shelf, the field has narrowed to Halladay, Johnson and World Series Champion Tim Lincecum, who isn’t off to quite the same start the first two are.

Now 34 years old, Halladay has rejuvenated himself with his move to the National League last season. After dominating the American League East for years, Halladay took his talents to the more pitcher friendly National League East, and he has certainly dominated.

After taking home the Cy Young Award last season, Halladay is off to another Cy-worthy start, already boasting a record of 5-1 for the Phillies through a month and some change into the season. At 2.19, the Phils’ ace holds the fifth best ERA in the National League, but his advanced stats tell the real story of just how good he’s been through the first month.

His Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), is the best in baseball at 1.49. Though he often claims he is not a strikeout pitcher, he’s certainly contradicting himself quite a bit by punching out more than nine batters per nine innings, and walking less than two. He’s given up just one home run this season, and boasts a WHIP of just 0.98. All of those statistics help culminate in a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) rating of 2.5—also the best in baseball among starting pitchers.

With numbers like that, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Halladay winning the Cy Young—but not so fast. Marlins’ ace Josh Johnson isn’t going to let him run away with the title. He’s been a huge part of the Marlins’ early season success, and if they’re going to make a postseason run, he is going to be a huge part of it.

Though he hasn’t won many decisions, Johnson has kept the Fish close in just about every game he has started. Coming into play on Tuesday, he posted a record of 3-1 with a minuscule ERA of 1.68—second best in the National League to Jair Jurrjens of the Atlanta Braves, who has made two fewer starts.

Like Halladay though, some of these basic stats don’t do the Marlins’ ace any justice. While ERA can present a false result in gauging a pitcher’s success, his FIP of just 2.23 supports the notion that he’s been very, very good this season. He is punching out the opposition at a rate of just over eight per nine innings and walking less than three on the same scale. Like Halladay, he’s allowed just a single home run and the opposition is barely touching him—coming into play Tuesday, they were managing to hit just .158 against him, helping him to a WHIP of 0.85 and a WAR of 1.6.

As I said above, this will be the first time this season that the two will square off, but not the first overall. Halladay and Johnson have been pitted against one another three times in the past, with Johnson coming out on top twice, but Halladay making history.

Back in 2006, when Halladay was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays and Johnson was just breaking into the league, the Fish took on the Jays in interleague play, and the two squared off for the first time. Halladay wasn’t his usually dominate self, allowing four runs in six innings, and was bested by the young Johnson who allowed just a single earned run through five-plus innings of work.

Now a member of the Phils’, Halladay opposed the Marlins several times last season and was pitted against Johnson twice, with one start being significantly more memorable than the other. The first time the two met was in May, when the Phillies traveled to Miami to square off with the Marlins. Halladay faced 27 Marlins that day and retired all 27 of them, recording the second perfect game in the history of the Phils’ franchise.

Later on that season, however, as the two squared off once again, Johnson had his revenge, shutting the Phillies out and besting a good Halladay, who allowed just one run in eight innings of work.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 will be the fourth time that these two dominate starters match up in their careers, and more than likely, far from the last. It’s very rare that a game in early May is seen as significant, but a Halladay vs. Johnson duel is far from just the best pitching match-up on the docket. This could be a significant match-up for both the Phillies and the Marlins.

For the Phils’, they’re sending the ace of aces to the mound to try and pad their lead in the National League East to a comfortable four games over those pesky Marlins. From the Marlins’ perspective, falling behind four games is never a good sign, and they’d like to stay close behind the arm of their ace.

So if you want to keep an eye on the early Cy Young race, this is the game to watch. As the Fish host the Phils’ for Game 2 of this three game set, we wonder—will the veteran Halladay show us why he’s the reigning Cy Young by returning to the site of his perfect game, or will the young gun Johnson show us that the Marlins are not to be taken lightly this year, forcing the Phils’ to look over their shoulders while in first place?

One thing is for certain—this is a game that any fan of the sport absolutely can not miss.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: As Team Heals, Roster Decisions Become Focal Point

The Philadelphia Phillies are a team built around pitching. We knew that the moment they signed Cliff Lee over the offseason and paired him up with the trio of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.

However, we also expected an offense that was injured for much of last season to rebound in a big way, and to date, that hasn’t exactly been the case.

While the majority of the lineup has been healthy, the results aren’t there in grand fashion. Who would have thought that heading into the month of May, Placido Polanco would have been the team’s best hitter?

As the beef of the team’s order continues to struggle, many wonder if there is help on the horizon, and the good news is, reinforcements may be on the way.

The Phils’ disabled list has become crowded. On the offensive side of the ball, the major blows were to Chase Utley and Domonic Brown. The team could take solace in knowing that the best staff in the game is going to keep them in the game, however, and they’ve been able to play to a well above average level, despite missing All-Star talent.

The amount of pitchers on the disabled list, however, has become a bit of a concern. Brad Lidge opened the season on the bench, and he was quickly joined by JC Romero, Jose Contreras and Joe Blanton.

Luckily for the Phils, they’ve had players that were able to step right in and contribute do just that. Of course, that creates a number of difficult roster decisions when the big boys are ready to return.

The closest return seems to be Romero, who pitched in a rehab game last night in Lakewood. He threw a scoreless inning for the Blue Claws on Tuesday and reported no pain in his strained calf. He threw all of his pitches, which was a good sign and should be ready for Major League action within the week.

Now the Phils’ have to make a decision about their roster. Right now, the team is carrying 11 pitchers, and with the way that Halladay, Lee and Hamels have gone about their business lately, that may be enough.

However, the obvious roster move is to send back up catcher Dane Sardinha back to AAA, making room for Romero as the 12th pitcher on the staff.

Of course, the Phillies are not going to option Sardinha back to the minors unless they are certain that Carlos Ruiz can at least be used off of the bench. He’s been sidelined with back problems over the last week or so, and sending Sardinha to AAA would leave Brian Schneider as the only completely healthy catcher on the staff.

While Charlie Manuel was hopeful that Ruiz could be ready for game action in this series against the Washington Nationals, the extent of his condition hasn’t been made completely apparent. If I had to guess, (and we all know that I’ve been completely wrong in the past), I’d say that Ruiz is healthy enough to allow the Phils’ to option Sardinha, making room for Romero.

One guy that doesn’t stand much of a chance here is Vance Worley. While he’s been great every time the Phillies have called on him, Joe Blanton is expected to return when his stint on the disabled list is finished.

While I’m all for keeping Worley around in the Major League bullpen, my baseball sense is overwhelming my brain by telling me that keeping him stretched out in AAA is the best thing for him. You have to wonder though, if Worley hurls another good game tonight, is he making it easier for the Phils’ to move Blanton?

That, however, was the easy part of the upcoming roster decisions. While these big league ball players like to take things one day at a time, I’m far too impatient for that. Let’s get a bit ahead of ourselves.

Because he offers no real information on the state of his rehab, it’s tough to determine exactly how close Utley is to a return to a Major League field. About a week ago, Ryan Lawerence of the Delco Times told me that a mid-May return was a possibility, and that coincided with a few reports from injury specialists around baseball.

Assuming that is the truth, Utley may be just two weeks away from a return to baseball. After playing in a couple of simulated games, the collective spirit of Phils’ fans is high. On the other hand, I’ll tell you who may not exactly be thrilled about Utley’s apparent return—one of two guys on the Phils’ bench, Pete Orr or Michael Martinez.

While Orr hasn’t exactly been awe inspiring with the stick, he has been productive. He’s appeared in 14 games for the Phils’, collecting 10 hits and scoring four runs while playing above average defense at second base.

While he played in the outfield during spring training, he doesn’t have the versatility that Martinez has, and could be in some trouble when Utley is ready to return, since he does have a minor league option.

But that doesn’t tell the entire story because if Charlie Manuel had his way, it would be Martinez who was the odd man out. The switch-hitter has appeared in 12 games for the Phils’, collecting just three hits and making most of his appearances as a late-inning pinch-runner or defensive replacement.

He’s scored just one run and hasn’t given the team much of a reason to keep him around, aside from his Rule 5 status, which may make it hard to let him go.

If the Phils had seen enough of him but wanted to keep him around, they’d either have to work out a trade with the Washington Nationals to send him to AAA or offer him back all together, and it’s highly unlikely that the Nats’ would give a division rival a player without something special in return.

So Utley’s return also creates a bit of a roster debate. Would the Phillies be better off keeping the veteran Pete Orr around, or the young Martinez, who has made an impression on the club but has yet to produce?

If I was a betting man (and I’m not because it’s bad for my health), I’d say that the Phils keep Orr. He’s been getting more starts lately, thanks in large part to Wilson Valdez’s own slump, but makes the most of his opportunities.

He’s the gritty, hard working player that we love here in Philadelphia, and at a glance, Martinez simply isn’t ready to help this team, despite his versatility.

Finally, let’s chalk up one more hypothetical return, since he could be ready for action right around the same time as Utley. Jose Contreras hit the disabled list a couple of weeks ago, and Ruben Amaro first reported that he would be out for roughly three to four weeks.

That puts a timeline for his return from around the mid to end of May. When the Phils placed Contreras on the DL, they called up Mike Stutes, who honestly has been too good to let go so far.

It’s a small sample size, but in 2.1 innings of work for the big league club thus far, Stutes hasn’t even allowed a hit. He’s faced a total of eight batters and just one wasn’t retired—he reached base via the walk.

That said, anyone who has seen Stutes pitch knows that this kid has potential. The coaches were infatuated with him during spring training, and I honestly thought he would get the call over David Herndon, who now with the emergence of Stutes, could be on his way out.

Herndon, of course, was the Phils Rule 5 selection from last season and after making it through the entire 2010 season on the big league roster, is property of the Phillies. However, I don’t know how to explain his performance this season other than he just hasn’t been good.

In 10.2 innings for the Phillies this season, Herndon has been tagged, surrendering 14 hits while facing just 49 batters. He’s walked seven and struck out just three, all the while allowing three home runs out of the bullpen.

As his ERA hovers around nine (and his FIP around eight), you have to wonder whether or not it will be Herndon who is sent packing when Contreras is ready to return, as opposed to Stutes, who has been rather impressive.

So while things seemed dark and dreary for the Phils once upon a time, the skyline is clearing. Once upon a time, we wondered whether Chase Utley would even step on the field this season. We questioned the bullpen as both Brad Lidge and Jose Contreras hit the DL and wondered whether or not Antonio Bastardo could handle being the go-to lefty.

But that is what is most fascinating about baseball. While those injuries creates a whole slew of questions in the past, the return of those exact same players give use something more to question.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: Ranking the 10 Greatest Teams in Franchise History

In more ways than one, waiting for the 2011 regular season to begin was especially taxing for guys like myself.

After the Philadelphia Phillies nabbed Cliff Lee from the clutches of the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, the flurry of headlines began to develop. That echoed throughout the offseason, and Lee joined a rotation filled with Cy Young winners, backed by a lineup filled with All-Stars.

As we patiently waited for Opening Day and the 161 games that would follow, fans, ball scribes and former players alike wondered whether the 2011 version of the Phils’ would be the greatest team in the history of the franchise.

Though the team is, technically, off to one of the hottest starts in baseball, that is yet to be determined. However, it does open the door for an interesting question. What exactly was the greatest team in the history of the Phillies?

Before we break those team downs into an order, I think it’s important that we establish what exactly constitutes a “great” team.

Obviously, every team breaks camp with the hopes of winning the World Series, and a couple of championship teams will appear on the list, but does that automatically make them numbers one and two?

Not on my list. I’ve been pretty vocal about the postseason being a crap-shoot for sometime now, and I think there is a growing voice for this argument. A lot of times, the “best” team is outdone by the “hottest” team.

With a number of variables going into the postseason, it isn’t fair to automatically call one franchise’s team the best because they’ve won a World Series, and I won’t.

At the same time, however, winning a championship is the greatest accomplishment, and surely, will not go unnoticed.

Yet there’s much more to a “team” than the caliber of names on it’s roster. I think we can all think of a number of star-studded teams that have underperformed, and in the lengthy history of the Phils’, there are a couple of those as well.

So what is a great “team?”

In relevance to this slide show, the best teams will be the guys who came together and left everything they had on the field.

A team consists of every guy playing his role the right way, and thus, an excellent, consistent effort will put certain teams ahead of other ones, as we count down the greatest Philadelphia Phillies teams of all time.

Begin Slideshow

Too Soon to Upgrade? 10 Early Trade Targets for the Philadelphia Phillies

With just 19 games in the books to date for the Philadelphia Phillies, it’s very early in the season and any trade rumors you hear at this point in time should be taken with a grain of salt. For a lot of teams it is simply too early to start dismantling their clubs, with the hope of postseason glory still within reach.

Take for instance the two teams atop the American League Central—the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals. Both were supposed to be cellar dwellers throughout the season and sell off their top stars at the trade deadline. In full fledged “rebuilding mode,” people around baseball believe the Tribe will turn the likes of Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner and Fausto Carmona into top prospects and ditto for the Royals and veteran players like Jeff Francis.

Early in the season, however, we wonder where the Indians, who have a better record than the New York Yankees and the same record as the Phils, will be come the trade deadline at the end of July. That sentiment is echoed around the league, where every team in baseball is still in contention. There is a lot of baseball left to play.

That said, it’s not too early to notice some of the best teams’ greatest weaknesses, and in the case of the Phillies, those flaws are quickly becoming obvious. As I wrote here the other day, with Brad Lidge on the disabled list and Chase Utley recovering slowly, the bullpen and offense could become problem areas for the Phils.

Outside of Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras, the team lacks a reliable arm out of the bullpen. As the seventh inning carousel continues to turn and the likes of Kyle Kendrick, David Herndon and Danys Baez continue to get shelled, we fans are left wondering if a trade could be in the works sooner rather than later.

Of course, the same sort of woes ravage the offense. Without Utley the Phils are missing some spark and power and without Jayson Werth the need for a right handed bat has become apparent. As the likes of Raul Ibanez and Ben Francisco continue to struggle, could the Phillies make a move if for nothing more than to shake things up?

At the very least, it is worth taking a look at some of the players who could be wearing a Phillies uniform this season and making an impact down the stretch run.

Begin Slideshow

« Previous Page — Next Page »