April 2002 Prospects List

1) Brett Myers, RHP, SWB--this is written after spring training, and his effective, sometimes dominating performance there has, in my mind, moved him to the head of the class. Fastball now consistently 92-94, touching 97, and power overhand curveball make him a difficult opponent for even experienced major-leaguers. His third pitch, a change-up, is getting better and was, at times, a fine complement to the rest of his arsenal this spring. I mentioned in another thread that he came across as quite nervous an immature in his first TV interview on comcast, almost hyperactive. He'll need to keep his emotions under control (at least on the field, which has reported to have been a problem with him) when (not if) he comes up this year. BBA #2.

2) Marlon Byrd, CF, SWB--Byrd reacted to his early cut this spring by showing up an hour before everyone else at the complex to take extra hitting practice--you've got to love the guy's attitude. A lot of us forget that at the end of April last year Marlon was hitting a robust .125, then finished at .316 with 28 HR's and 89 RBI. Marlon on his goals, "I want to be an All-Star like Jimmy Rollins. I want to be a player everyone knows." Does he have a chance to do it? "His work ethic is absolutely unbelievable," said Bill Dancy, the Phillies' minor league field coordinator. He needs to have a very good year, given he's still about a year older than most AAA prospects at 24. Only Phil to win the Paul Owens award in consecutive years. BBA#1.

3) Gavin Floyd, RHP, Lakewood--I don't like ranking "pure" rookies this high, but he flat-out blew away hitters in the FIL and this spring in the low-A minors spring games. An interesting tidbit about Floyd's last HS game, against the team that had given him 4 of his 5 HS losses:

With a huge crowd in attendance, thanks in large part to a feature story in The Baltimore Sun that same day, Floyd did not disappoint. He pitched 10 shutout innings (remember, high school games usually last seven innings) and only allowed two hits and two walks while striking out 13 and tossing 110 pitches. To top it all off, he even stroked the game-winning hit to center field with two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the 10th to give the Gaels a hard-fought 1-0 victory.

Scouts said his curveball was better than Myers', which was voted the best breaking pitch in the EL by scouts. BTW, Floyd was a freshman on the JV team while Mark Teixiera was a senior on the varsity at the same HS, Mt. St. joseph. BBA#3.

4) Carlos Silva, RHRP, SWB--I'm assuming he gets sent down when Wolf returns--spring training vaulted him ahead of several others grouped from about number 4 to number 12. Bowa loves his hard sinker, and his future is certainly in relief unless he learns an off-speed pitch. His biggest problem is he just can't get enough swings and misses, but he sure gets the ground balls. The first signee from the revitalized Phils Latin American program to make it to the majors. Twice an all-star in the minor leagues, believe it or not this is his sixth year in the Phils' system (he began in Martinsville at age 17). BBA#10.

5) Chase Utley, 3B/2B, SWB--the UCLA alum who holds the school's single-season freshman HR record seems to have finally begun to show the promise the Phils expected when they drafted him #1 in 1999, as the level jump and position switch indicate. Needs to listen carefully to Mike Schmidt or Greg Gross about working the count--he seemed to lose this skill after his 2000 season at Batavia. Homered off of Cubs' prospect Juan Cruz in last year's Futures Game. The report on his 2B defense in BBA indicates no pressing need for the switch in positions, "Utley will never be a Gold Glover, but the Phillies are thrilled with the progress he made with his range and double-play pivot. He has enough arm to play second base but lacks natural actions around the bag." I personally think he's a better prospect as a middle infielder. Utley was a little league teammate of Padres' 3B Sean Burroughs.

6) Taylor Buchholz, RHP, Clearwater--another guy who helped himself in spring training this year, he actually started one game for AAA SWB and pitched four solid shut-out innings, and he's only 20 years old. Buchholz after the game, "This was a big test for me. It was my first game at the Triple-A level, and the caliber of play is much higher than I'm used to. I pitched with a lot of confidence, because I knew I had an outstanding defense behind me. My fastball was working in and out. I think it topped out around 94. I wasn't afraid to challenge hitters." Buchholz said he patterns his style of pitching after Curt Schilling, who was his childhood idol. "Curt's a power pitcher who goes after people, and he doesn't back down. I would like to have those same attributes." Drafted from local Springfield Delco High School. BBA#4

7) Jorge Padilla, RF, Reading--Padilla, whose mannerisms and potential have often been compared to Sammy Sosa (we can only hope!), tied Chase Utley for the team lead in HR's at CLW with 16 (big FSL parks, heavy air tend to reduce these totals). Padilla has been plagued with nagging injuries each year in the minors and has yet to play a full season. One of the very bright spots last year was he began to work the count more, and upped his walk totals to acceptable levels. Mike Arbuckle recently said about him, "He's developing the power we thought he would, plus he's a very good rightfielder. ' But, Arbuckle then indicated that the organization didn't see any opportunities for him because of Burrell and Abreu. Padilla attended the same high school as Danny Gonzalez, the Lakewood SS--Florida Air Academy. BBA#7

8) Eric Valent, RF/1B, SWB--He's the guy with the career HR record at UCLA, as well as the PAC-10 career record formerly held by Mark Magwire. Had a great year going in AAA last season, but shuttling back and forth to Philly in the middle of the year put him in a 3-week slump that made his year look average. Has a tremendous outfield arm, strong and accurate, and has been playing occasionally at 1B to prepare for a possible utility role. Valent has an interesting off-season regimen, "I just start lifting and running with my trainer, two times a week during the month of November, to go along with some lifting and cardio on my own. Come the first of December, we lift and run three times a week, concentrating on a lot of explosive lifts, and explosive running. Other players that train with me are fellow ex-Bruins Troy Glaus (Angels), Pete Zamora (Phillies), Scott Seal (Rockies), and Eric Byrnes (Athletics). We work hard and also have a great time." BBA#9

9) Ryan Howard, 1B, Lakewood--OK, so you all know I love power/patience guys, and this one might be the Phils best, along with the old-for-level and throwing-challenged Nate Espy at Reading. Howard posted an .840 OPS last year at Batavia, and, despite playing only half the short season, led the team in walks and HR's. Won the "Player Most Likely to go Furthest" (how about that grammar?) award at Batavia last year, and was a college teammate of current Lakewood catcher Ben Margalski at SW Missouri State. BBA--not in top 15 (I think he was added at 15 after Asencio was deleted).

10) Ryan Madson, RHP, Reading--make or break year for the 6'6" Madson who in 2000 out-pitched Myers at Piedmont, but struggled with injuries and inconsistency at Clearwater last season. A long quote from madson about the scouting process and signing with the Phils:

Madson will never forget the recruiting process of the pro scouts.

“My junior year was big for me,” he said. “That’s when all the scouts came to see me and got to know who I was.”

As a senior, he counted representatives from 25 major league teams who said they were interested.

Like Kannapolis HS pitcher Daniel Moore, he had already signed, putting his name on a sheet of paper bearing the logo of the University of Southern California. And he learned a hard lesson about the real world, thanks to the scouts.

“Somebody can tell (Moore) he’s getting a million but it doesn’t mean that’s what’s going to happen,” Madson said.“They told me, `We’ll draft you here and we’ll draft you there.

“I had one team call on the day of the draft.”

That one team, the Philadelphia Phillies, called in the morning.

“They asked me if I wanted to sign in the third round for $125,000,” Madson recalled. “I said, ‘No’ and hung up, not thinking.”

At 3 p.m., the Phillies called again, telling Madson they were going to draft him in the ninth round.

“I got decent money,” he said, not elaborating on figures. “But it wasn’t about money. It was about what I wanted to do.

“There were a lot of reasons Isigned,” he continued. “One was just a gut feeling. The other was, I didn’t want to go to college, risk injury and not get a chance to play professionally. That’s probably the biggest reason.”

BBA#13

Second ten:

11) Anderson Machado, SS, Reading—everyone but me rates him higher—I’ll have to see him hit at AA before I believe the hype. From Phillyburbs.com last year when machado was hitting .300 in CLW: “"I wanted Anderson to go back and repeat that league because I wanted him to do exactly what he's doing,'' Arbuckle said. "He needed to show that he can handle pitching at that level.'' Defensively, Machado has committed 10 errors in 47 games, but is making highlight-film plays on a nightly basis. "He can play defense with anybody,'' minor league field coordinator Bill Dancy said. Machado reminds Dancy of one of Venezuela's greatest shortstops ever, former Cincinnati Reds Gold Glover Dave Concepcion. "Anderson has long legs, and from the waist down has Dave's build,'' Dancy said, "And he wears Concepcion's number (13).”

12) Franklin Nunez, RHP, SWB—a power-pitching righty with a 97 mph heater, Nunez was showing some consistency (finally) near the end of last year in AA, including a masterful playoff victory. Nunez started the AFL championship game for Grand Canyon and pitched well in a game that featured 4 hits by marlon Byrd and a dramatic, last inning comeback win by Phoenix (long after Nunez had hit the showers). Comments from a topprospectalert article on the game: “Nunez was especially effective, mixing a mid 90s fastball with a very good high 70s breaking ball to hold the Desert Dogs to two runs (one of which was unearned) over his five innings of work. The 24-year-old Dominican right-hander yielded only three hits and two walks, striking out six batters.”

13) Carlos (Rosario) Rodriguez (CRod on this board), SS, Batavia or GCL—Hit very well and posted a high fielding percentage in the GCL last year at an extremely young age after signing a huge (by Philly standards) $850,000 bonus. A long article about an October FIL game discusses him and Danny Gonzalez in particular:

C-Rod. Has a nice tone to it, huh?!!

I had heard wonderful things about this shortstop Carlos Rodriguez. The Phillies signed him for a (at that time) club-record bonus for a non-drafted signee, $850,000. Got my first look at him yesterday.

Wasn't much of a "look." The Phillies inserted him in the late innings of a Fall Instructional League game against the Pirates yesterday.

Actually, the guy he replaced had a pretty fabulous game defensively. 19-year-old SS Daniel Gonzalez (.238-0-20 at short-season Batavia in 2001) had two spectacular plays (guys, I'm not exaggerating here), including one where he dived to keep a grounder from going through the 3b/ss hole, then threw the hitter out with an amazing off-balance pirouette. I'm not too familiar with Gonzalez, but he bears watching due to the defensive expertise he displayed yesterday.

Bottom line, Carlos replaced him in the late innings, showed some decent range (although nothing was hit to him that actually tested him), got a base-hit in his only AB and flashed some moves on the basepaths.

The base hit came off of RHP Josh Higgins, a 22-year-old relief specialist who pitched at low-A Hickory this year. See, that's one cool thing about instructionals (and also a reason why they don't keep stats)...you can actually see how a player fares against higher competition. Prior to this fall, C-Rod had only faced GCL pitching in competitive situations...but here he was, bringing his bat against a guy five years older than him, who had 1 1/2 years of organized ball experience, and sported a 2001 WHIP of 0.84, with 71 Ks in 61 innings pitched in low-A ball in 2001. C-Rod drilled a base-hit to left-field.

So what did I learn new about C-Rod yesterday? Not much...just that he could get a base-hit off of low-A ball pitching. But he seemed pretty heady, which was impressive for a 17-year-old surrounded by guys who were 2-4 years his senior

13A) Rob(inson) Tejeda, RHP, Clearwater—part of the 4-prospect Lakewood rotation last year, some think he might have a very high upside, although, like teammate Yoel Hernandez, he doesn’t light up the radar guns but locates his fastball well. His major weakness, however, is the breaking pitch, which is teachable, so he might come on quickly if he masters a change, curve, or slider. A "Q and A session" with BBA’s highly respected Josh Boyd this past December:

Q: Dan from Philadelphia asks:
The top 15 phillies prospects featured two members of Lakewood's staff (Taylor Bucholz, Yoel Hernandez), but for much of the summer a lot of the buzz coming from the phillies was that Rob Tejeda was the real jewel of the rotation. Was he close to being on the list?
A:
Josh Boyd: Tejeda did make major strides at Lakewood, and even the other member of the rotation Keith Bucktrot was impressive. Tejeda was close to the top 15, but checked in around No. 20. He lacks the feel for a consistent breaking pitch, but upped his velocity into the 92-94 range. Clearwater will be a big test for him next year.

Tejeda had the best stats of all the Lakewood 4, striking out 152 hitters in 150 IP and allowing only a .228 OBA.

14) Brad Baisley, RHP, Reading—the tall, injury plagued pitcher has to get it together this year and post some decent numbers or he enters the suspect zone rather than the prospect zone. Scouting summary, “He uses a low-to-mid-90s fastball and power curve as his top two pitches. With his age, you could expect his fastball to gain some speed and possibly to clock in the mid-90s consistently if he can recover fully from the injury. I don't think you will see him rushed to Philadelphia. Instead, he should get a full season at each level, allowing him to start in the majors sometime around 2003. If he is healthy, Baisley could be a No. 1 type of starter. At 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds, he could be an imposing force.” From Phillyburbs, “Brad Baisley, finishing up his second consecutive frustrating season, has been much-improved the last month and pitched well in a no-decision on Friday, when the R-Phils beat Erie to take a 2-games-to-1 lead in their best-of-five Southern Divisional playoff series. Two years ago, Baisley was the organization's No. 1 pitching prospect. Despite earning a July promotion to Double-A, the 6-9 right-hander no longer is in the top five. Baisley fell behind by missing two months in 2000 with a shoulder injury and another month at the start of this season to work on his mechanics. In 12 regular-season games at Reading, he was 5-4 with a 6.50 ERA, allowing 82 hits over 62 1/3 innings. "I think Brad's playing catch-up all year because of the time where we backed him off," farm director Mike Arbuckle said. "He doesn't have command of his secondary pitches yet." Because Baisley is just three years removed from high school, Arbuckle still believes the 1998 No. 2 draft pick can live up to his potential. "He's 21 and at Double-A, I'll take that," Arbuckle said.”

15) Yoel Hernandez, RHP, Clearwater—classy pitcher, young but knows how to pitch, one wonders if he has the stuff to advance to the majors. Comments from an older USAtoday prospect report, written after his first season (2000) at GCL:

Pitching in his first professional season in the United States, Hernandez provided a pleasant surprise to the Phillies organization while pitching in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 1998, the 18-year-old led the league with a 1.35 ERA while going 4-1 in 14 appearances.

Hernandez, who was named as a league All-Star, also led the loop with a .183 batting average against and a fewest baserunner/9 IP ratio of 9.65. A very mature and professional pitcher for his age, he did not allow more than two runs in any of his 14 appearances. He also struck out five or more batters seven times, including his first six outings. The righthander does not have overpowering stuff but does have excellent command of his pitches.

The 6-foot-2, 170 pounder has an excellent idea of how to pitch and can even work through days when he does not have his stuff. Hernandez has good mound presence and can spot his breaking pitch for a strike at anytime. With more experience, the young hurler should continue his improvement as he moves up through the system.

16) Danny Gonzalez, SS, Lakewood—continued reports of his excellent defense and a fast start with the bat this spring training now continuing at Lakewood have finally convinced me that he might live up to his draft-day promise. Another great first-hand account of him in the FIL last year from FSL.com:

We're about halfway through the 2001 Fall Instructionals, yet I'm already convinced on who my pick is for top defensive infielder: SS Danny Gonzalez.

I ventured up to Bradenton again today, ironically to check out C-Rod (Carlos Rodriguez). C-Rod was suited up, but remained on the bench throughout the game. In my earlier brief on C-Rod, I noted that the other Phillies' SS (Danny Gonzalez) had made a couple of mind-boggling defensive plays. Saw more of the same today.

After seeing him twice this Fall, I can confidently say this kid has major league defensive talent, along with a flair for making spectacular plays look...well...spectacular.

Arm strength? This guy is no slouch...I've seen him make three off-balanced throws after vacuuming balls hit in the hole between 3b and short--all of them hit the 1b's mark and all three nailed the hitter. Basically, in a game-and-a-half (he played a half-game last week, sharing time with C-Rod), he robbed 3 hitters of base hits. Okay, making the throw from deep in the hole is tough enough for a young shortstop, but I've seen Gonzalez do it three times while making the throw with neither foot on the ground and off-balance. Mike Arbuckle was sitting behind me today and I even heard him exclamate an "ooooh!!" on one of Gonzalez' feats.

Hand-eye coordination? This afternoon, he took a slow grounder towards second base, barehanded it and in the same motion as grabbing it, nailed the runner at first. If you're a fan of defensive acrobatics, this is a guy you need to see.

The 6' 0", 180-pounder's stick is so-so, but then again, he's only 19. Signed too late to participate in summer ball last year, his first exposure to competitive pro ball was this summer at Batavia. His offensive stats were anything but impressive, compiling a .588 OPS in 281 ABs. But then again, he was a 19-year-old, in his first season of pro ball, going up against opposing New York-Penn League pitchers--most of whom came directly out of 4-year college programs. So you naturally have to cut him some slack there--theoretically, based on his age and experience, he should've been playing for the GCL Phillies or an advanced-rookie level squad, if the Phillies had one. As well, Batavia's Team OPS was only .652...so Gonzalez was only 64 basis points below the team average--again, on a team and in a league made up of primarily collegiate players. Today, the switch-hitting Gonzalez got on base once.

The good news on Gonzalez is, he doesn't turn 20 until November. It will be interesting to see how Arbuckle & Co. slot Gonzalez and C-Rod for their 2002 Opening Day assignments. You'd think they'd push C-Rod to Lakewood (low-A), but then again, maybe they slot Danny at Lakewood and let C-Rod linger in extended spring training. It will certainly be an interesting race to watch.

A native of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Gonzalez was the Phillies' 4th round selection in the 2000 draft, out of the Florida Air Academy. Florida Air Academy is a military prep school based in Melbourne, Florida...despite playing at the 2A level in Florida high school sports, FAA has produced several baseball draft picks and minor leaguers.

17) Keith Bucktrot, RHP, Clearwater—based primarily on Arbuckle rating him very highly this spring. He was dominating early last year in Lakewood with a no-hitter and a one-hitter. Here’s Arbuckle’s quotes on him, "He's similar to Nunez in that he just has to improve his command and get some innings in. He has the makings of a good breaking ball and an idea on the changeup." (from Phillyburbs) Don't be misled by Keith Bucktrot's 5.36 ERA and 5-8 record. This 20-year-old right-hander isn't just a prospect, but one of the very best in an organization suddenly filled with talented young arms. A third-round pick in 2000 out of high school, Bucktrot has a 94-mph fastball and a lot of pitching ability. "He's easily in our top 10 pitching prospects," Arbuckle said. "I think Keith can be a No. 2 guy in a major-league rotation." Bucktrot took a no-hitter into the seventh last Sunday, when he allowing two runs on two runs over 6 1/3 innings to a victory over Greensboro. But in many of his 18 starts, he's had problems with his command, and thus has allowed 99 hits and 35 walks over 100 2/3 innings. "He's just the typical up-and-down high school kid," Arbuckle said. "He can't consistently repeat his pitches, especially the secondary pitches."Bucktrot on his no-hitter (really a perfecto except for 2 errors), “It felt great," Bucktrot said. "I moved my fastball in and out and hit my spots. I never threw [a no-hitter] in high school or Little League. It was great to throw one, but winning the game was most important.”

18) Elio Serrano, RHRP, SWB—for two years the Phils have raved about this guys’ arm but haven’t really pitched him as a closer or a starter, so it’s hard to reconcile their words with his usage (like Doug Nickle). From USAToday prospect analysis, “The Phillies' latest addition to their 40-man roster could vie for a bullpen spot in spring training this coming season, Arbuckle said. He throws a fastball in the mid-90s with good life and a plus slider. "Things really clicked for him this year," Arbuckle said. "He really goes after them out of the bullpen." In his last seven games at Clearwater before his promotion, he allowed one run and one walk over 16 innings. In his last 17 games at Reading, he allowed two runs over 19.1 innings and had a month-long scoreless streak.”

19) Vinnie DeChristofaro, LHP, Lakewood—again, Arbuckle loves him. Here’s an article about his situation on draft day from the Savanah Morning News

Vinnie DeChristofaro received a lot of advice on how to handle the first day of the Major League Baseball draft. Most well-wishers told the Richmond Hill senior, "Whatever you do, don't stress out."

So what does DeChristofaro do?

"For about three hours, I was very stressed out," DeChristofaro said. "That's one thing you can't help but do."

He got one hour of sleep Monday night, then he stayed close to the phone Tuesday afternoon.

Then the Philadelphia Phillies called in the seventh round, and all of the left-hander's anxieties were released like air from a popped balloon.

"I'm doing great now," DeChristofaro said. "I expected to go in the top five rounds. That's where the predictions were. But I'm happy where I am."

DeChristofaro's stock rose after an outstanding junior season with the Wildcats, where he improved from a losing record and a 7. 42 earned run average to a 5-2 record with a 2. 81 earned run average and a school-record 99 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings. Scouts like his 6-foot-2, 170-pound frame, which suggests his 88 mph fastball can only increase in velocity once he puts on weight and gets stronger.

DeChristofaro finished his senior season with a 7-3 record, 125 strikeouts and an 0. 96 earned run average.

"The one thing the scouts wanted to know was his work ethic, and Vinnie's one kid you don't have to lie about," said Richmond Hill coach Mickey Bayens. "It's good to see a kid put in a lot of hard work, who wants to be a pro baseball player, and see it all pay off."

During the season, DeChristofaro talked with friend and former Chain Gang teammate Adam Wainwright about the draft. Wainwright, from Glynn Academy, was selected in the first round by the Atlanta Braves last June.

"(Wainwright) would say, "Don't worry, things will work out. Just worry about pitching,'" DeChristofaro said. "Adam and his whole family really helped me get through this."

And although scouts, armed with radar guns, were lining up behind the backstop of Richmond Hill games, DeChristofaro said he was never in awe.

"(The scouts) told me, 'Go out and have fun. Work hard and good things will come out of it,'" he said.

Actually, DeChristofaro was almost in a no-lose situation. He signed a baseball scholarship to Georgia Southern, just in case he wasn't drafted high.

He talked to Eagles coach Rodney Hennon on Tuesday, shortly after being selected. Hennon offered congratulations.

But DeChristofaro is putting college on hold. His thoughts are on the Gulf Coast League, a short-season Class A league, where the Phillies most likely will send their first-year players.

Maybe, in the future he'll be matched against former Screven County star Macay McBride, who was picked in the first round Tuesday by the Atlanta Braves.

"It'll be like the old days," DeChristofaro said. "Right now, I just can't wait. I feel like I've been off too long already."

20) Travis Chapman, 3B, Reading—I can’t help but love this guy, he can flat out play. He’s one of a group of three or four guys (Chapman, MDelgado, Wes Carroll, Andre Marshall) that don’t seem to get the respect their performance deserves. Chapman has very good on-base skills and hits for a high average, but doesn’t post good power numbers, although he has the size to improve in that area. Chapman was the all-star third baseman in the FSL last mid-season and was promoted to Reading where he didn’t hit at first, but crushed two homers in the playoffs and played spectacular third base. He played college ball at Mississippi State, the alma mater of Will Clark and Rafael Palmiero.

21. Andre Marshall 22. Terry Jones 23. Nick Punto 24. Jason Michaels 25. Taft Cable 26. Mario Delgado 27.Tony Cancio 28. Brian Hansen 29. Wes Carroll 30 Ryan Hutchison 31. Ryan Carter 32. Martire Franco 33. Il Kim 34. Seung Lee 35. Rod Perry