Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 21

As minor league seasons move into their final full week of the regular season, the Philadelphia Phillies are using this time to evaluate at least one top prospect at a new position in hopes of finding a path for him to the major leagues.

Maikel Franco, who has played third base for nearly his entire minor league career, will spend the rest of this season playing first base, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.

Franco would still be blocked at first base by Ryan Howard at the major league level, but the Phillies could also move third baseman Cody Asche to the outfield at some point.

Salisbury also noted that Asche has been taking fly balls during batting practice.

Which top prospects could follow in Asche’s footsteps next season and earn a promotion to the major leagues? Will any top prospects earn a September call-up?

How did the rest of the top prospects, according to MLB.com’s 2013 Prospect Watch, fare this past week?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose is down following Week 21.

 

* Tommy Joseph (No. 5) is out for the remainder of the season due to injuries. Larry Greene, who is ranked No. 11 according to mlb.com’s 2013 Prospect Watch, will now be included in these rankings.

**All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Begin Slideshow

Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 20

With regular seasons winding down in Minor League Baseball, including those of the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor league affiliates, a number of prospects should be trying to finish strong in their remaining games.

One such player is Phillies’ 2013 first-round selection J.P. Crawford, who was promoted from the Gulf Coast League to the South Atlantic League this past week.

As for the rest of the Phillies’ top 10 prospects, the next few weeks could determine whether they receive a September call-up to play for interim manager Ryne Sandberg, or help decide where they will begin next season.

How did the Phillies’ top 10 prospects according to mlb.com’s 2013 Prospect Watch fare this past week?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose is down following Week 20.

 

* Tommy Joseph (No. 5) is out for the remainder of the season due to injuries. Larry Greene, who is ranked No. 11 according to mlb.com’s 2013 Prospect Watch, will now be included in these rankings.

**All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Begin Slideshow

Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 19

The Philadelphia Phillies made another move this past week to give their minor league talent more opportunities to earn a spot on the 2014 Opening Day roster.

By designating outfielder Delmon Young for assignment, the Phillies opened a spot for Darin Ruf to see regular playing time and try to make a case for the 2014 roster.

With Young gone and Michael Young at first base, the Phillies can play Cody Asche and Ruf regularly as they formulate their offseason plan.

Players such as Jonathan Pettibone and Ethan Martin have also been given opportunities to audition for spots for next season while Cesar Hernandez could become a September call-up and audition for a bench role.

The Phillies also made an international signing this past week by signing 16-year-old third baseman Luis Encarnacion to a deal worth $1 million, according to Tom Schad of the team’s website.

While Encarnacion gets set to begin his minor league progression, how did the Phillies’ top 10 prospects (according to mlb.com’s 2013 Prospect Watch) fare this past week?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose is down following Week 19.

 

* Tommy Joseph (No. 5) is out for the remainder of the season due to injuries, via Matt Gelb of Philly.com. Larry Greene, who is ranked No. 11 according to mlb.com’s 2013 Prospect Watch, will be included in these rankings.

**All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Begin Slideshow

Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 18

While deciding to stand pat at the non-waiver trade deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies promoted two of their top 10 prospects this past week.

Cody Asche and Ethan Martin were both promoted from Triple-A, although it’s still unclear how long Martin will remain in the major leagues.

Asche, meanwhile, now has a chance to audition to become the team’s starting third baseman heading into next season.

Both Asche and Martin join Jonathan Pettibone, Darin Ruf and Justin De Fratus as top prospects who began the season in Triple-A and are now on the major league roster.

Players such as Jake Diekman, Michael Martinez, Joe Savery and the recently promoted Zach Miner also began the season in Triple-A.

Will any of the Phillies’ other top 10 prospects earn a promotion this season? How did the rest of the team’s top 10 prospects, according to MLB.com’s 2013 Prospect Watch, fare this past week?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose is down following Week 18.

 

*All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Begin Slideshow

Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 17

The Philadelphia Phillies have less than three days until the non-waiver trade deadline and their last opportunity to move players prior to this upcoming offseason—not including any waiver deals in August.

The Phillies made one midseason move last week when, according to Jeff Passan on Yahoo! Sports, the team reached a six-year deal worth nearly $59 million with Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.

Any additional moves, however, could involve prospects either joining or leaving their minor league system.

A new set of prospect rankings was also released this past week when MLB.com’s 2013 Prospect Watch was updated to include players from the June draft.

These rankings feature just two changes from last week’s rankings, but several players have made either major moves up or down since their preseason rankings.

Which players are new to the top-10? Will any new players be added to this list following the non-waiver trade deadline? How did the current list of top-10 prospects fare this past week?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose is down following Week 17.

 

*All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Begin Slideshow

Phillies’ Signing of Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez Can Help Team in 2013 and Beyond

After watching teams such as the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers find success in signing international talent, the Philadelphia Phillies have decided to try their own luck.

According to Jeff Passan on Yahoo!, the Phillies have reached a deal with Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez on a six-year deal potentially worth nearly $60 million.

The Phillies have not spent as much on international prospects as other teams in recent seasons. However, with players such as Maikel Franco, Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez in their minor league system and having success at various points in their minor league careers, it made sense for the team to trust their scouting department on another international signing.

Gonzalez, a 26-year-old right-handed pitcher, will receive $48 million guaranteed.

The Phillies have struggled for a season and a half now in trying to push their record above .500 and keep it there while climbing back into playoff contention.

This season, with players such as Chase Utley, Roy Halladay, Carlos Ruiz and Michael Young nearing free agency and the team once again struggling to reach .500, general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. and the front office have multiple difficult decisions to make.

Ideally, Amaro will find a way to trade the right players who bring back the types of prospects who can help continue to improve a farm system that should benefit from a solid First-Year Player Draft this past June, while putting the team back into contention as soon as next season.

Ideally, Amaro will give the Phillies at least a chance to make a run at the second Wild Card spot this season, while pushing for the National League East next season.

In signing Gonzalez, he just might have made a move in that direction.

Gonzalez, who has a fastball that can reach 96 mph, a curveball, changeup and splitter, should be sent to the minor leagues before potentially receiving a major league promotion by mid-August, according to Passan.

If the Phillies want to at least make things interesting in the National League playoff race, they must improve a bullpen that has been among the worst in the major leagues for more than a season and a half now.

However, as the recent trade of Francisco Rodriguez to the Baltimore Orioles showed, the price for bullpen help is very high, with the demand far outweighing the supply. The Orioles traded a highly ranked prospect for essentially an eighth-inning reliever.

The Phillies’ bullpen currently has the third-highest ERA in the National League at 4.18 and the third-highest opponents’ batting average at .262.

Although Gonzalez projects as a starting pitcher, the Phillies could use the right-hander out of the bullpen for the final two months of the season as he acclimates to the major leagues.

Just as the Cincinnati Reds had plans of Aroldis Chapman moving into the starting rotation at some point, the team first—and still is—enjoying his tremendous success out of the bullpen.

Gonzalez could pick up his first few major league innings as a reliever and potentially become the Phillies’ best bullpen option besides Jonathan Papelbon for the rest of this season.

Once the non-waiver trade deadline passes, Gonzalez could turn out to be one of the best bullpen additions in the second half of the season.

After this season, with Roy Halladay and John Lannan possibly reaching facing free agency, the Phillies should have at least one opening in their starting rotation, if not more.

Gonzalez could move into one of these spots and, in the best case scenario, give the Phillies a solid starting pitcher under contract through at least 2018.

Jesse Sanchez on mlb.com recently wrote that scouts believe that signing Gonzalez is like picking up a top pitcher before the non-waiver trade deadline. 

Few options exist for the Phillies to improve in the future without giving up young talent that may also help the team in the future seasons.  However, signing an impact free agent in the middle of the season is a unique opportunity that the Phillies and six other teams, according to Sanchez, had an interest in doing.

With demand outweighing supply on the trade market and teams signing their own players to long-term extensions, both the trade deadline and free agency could take a hit in upcoming years.

If that’s the case, it makes sense for the Phillies to hold onto their prospects while making sure that any trades involves more prospects entering their system rather than leaving.

In signing Gonzalez, the Phillies were able to keep their farm system intact, possibly improve their bullpen for the rest of this season and avoid bidding wars this offseason, if multiple starting pitchers had been needed.

At an AAV of likely less than $10 million, Gonzalez’s contract could pay him less than what free agent starters will make this offseason.

Gonzalez’s signing could improve the Phillies both in 2013 and in future seasons, and at least gives the team a chance to follow in Oakland and Los Angeles’ footsteps and find success in the international market and leave more of a global foot print.

 

*All statistics courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 16

Following June’s First-Year Player Draft and the first half of a majority of minor league seasons, we now have an updated ranking of the Philadelphia Phillies’ top 10 prospects.

The new ranking, according to Bob Brookover, Matt Gelb and Marc Narducci on Philly.com, sees both new names and some shuffling of previously highly ranked prospects.

Between Jonathan Pettibone losing his prospect status, Darin Ruf’s first taste of Triple-A and the Phillies having a first-round draft choice for the first time since 2010, the updated rankings feature three new names.

Additionally, between injuries and outstanding seasons so far, some players’ rankings have either increased or decreased since prior to the season.

Which players are now considered top 10 prospects? Which players have seen their ranking improve based on their first-half performances?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up, whose stock is down and who is new to the list following Week 16.

 

*All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Begin Slideshow

Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 15

The Philadelphia Phillies may be heading into their All-Star break this week, but the majority of their minor league teams will continue on with their respective seasons.

The Phillies have reached the All-Star break with a record of 48-48, adding to the mystery of whether the team will buy, sell or do a little of both with the non-waiver trade deadline approaching.

What’s more certain, however, is that a number of prospects may see their futures with the team impacted depending on what the Phillies decide to do.

While general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. and the front office decide whether to add to the farm system or use current minor leaguers as trade pieces, the team’s prospects must continue progressing and try to follow in the footsteps of Jonathan Pettibone and Darin Ruf.

One prospect who is not ranked in the top 10 but who has had an outstanding season so far is Severino Gonzalez.

In the South Atlantic League, Gonzalez has 31 strikeouts to just three walks in 21.1 innings and, combined with his numbers from the Florida State League, has 64 strikeouts and has walked just six batters this season.

But how did the rest of the Phillies’ top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America, fare this week? Did Jesse Biddle and Maikel Franco shine at the Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose is down following Week 15.

 

*All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Begin Slideshow

Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 14

The Philadelphia Phillies promoted their second top-10 prospect to the major leagues this past week, when Darin Ruf was called up from Triple-A to take the roster spot of the injured Ryan Howard.

Although Ruf’s numbers in Triple-A were not quite up to par with his numbers from Double-A last season, his promotion is still an intriguing one. 

A successful run from Ruf, combined with a prolonged absence from Howard, could lead to a platoon role at first base at some point in the future, or it could at least help Ruf stick on the roster.

It will be interesting to see if Ruf also receives playing time in left field, with Domonic Brown moving over to right for a few games here and there. 

If Ruf heats up, he could not only serve as a first base option, but he could also push Delmon Young for an outfield job. 

In the meantime, how did the rest of the team’s top-10 prospects fare this week?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose is down following Week 14.

 

*All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Begin Slideshow

Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 13

The Philadelphia Phillies‘ minor league system may soon see some changes as the trade deadline approaches at the end of July and prospects are either added or subtracted from their system. 

In the meantime, at least two prospects currently in the Phillies’ system were recognized last week for their success this season.

Jesse Biddle and Maikel Franco, both of whom are now playing for the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate, were named to the Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game at Citi Field.

While Biddle and Franco have performed as arguably the team’s top pitching and position player prospects, respectively, others are still trying to consistently find success this season.

How did the rest of the Phillies’ top-10 prospects fare this past week?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose is down following Week 13.

 

*All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Begin Slideshow

Next Page »