The Phillies picked up Chris Roberson in the 9th round of the 2001 Draft, the 260th pick OA out of Feather River College, not a baseball powerhouse school.
He went to work for the GCL Phillies in the Rookie leagues. He batted an okay .248/.323 (AVG/SLG). Not enough to land a full season berth, he advanced to the Short-Season A New York-Penn League, where heput in a season with the Batavia Muckdogs. He improved to.276/.369 but his strikeouts to walks were pretty high. His RBI production (24) almost doubled season over season.
In 2003 he was promoted to the Lakewood BlueClaws in the South Atlantic League for a full season of Class-A work. In 470 at bats, his production numbers dropped to .234/.309, largely because holes in his swing continued to dog him, and some scouts reported a vulnerability to breaking balls. He broke the century mark in strikeouts (109) although he also burned up the base paths with 59 steals.
During Spring of 2004, coaches worked with him to make some adjustments to his swing. The result was better power, fewer holes, and a lot more confidence.
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Player: Christopher William Roberson (Chris)
Position: Outfield (OF)
Height: 6-2
Weight: 175
Birthdate: 08.23.79
Birthplace: Oakland, California
College: Feather River College
Bats: R
Throws: R
Organization: Philadelphia Phillies
Acquired: Phillies, 2001 9th Round 260th OA
Signed By: Scott Ramsey
Last Ballclub: Reading Phillies
2004 FAB50 Ranking: 35
Other honors: All-Star, Florida State League (2004)
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He entered the tougher Florida State League playing for the Clearwater Threshers and finally broke out, batting .307/.473 with 9 home runs and 38 RBIs and a better strikeout count (71) in a season abridged by a fractured right leg mid-July.
Healed up and on the basis of his improvement, he was promoted to Class AA Reading for 2005. He hasn't disappointed: .317/.487 on the season to date, he has 15 home runs, 66 RBIs, and 29 stolen bases.
Chris is clearly showing himself not only to be the most improved player in the Phillies farm system, but he's also rapidly rising on the radar of both sources within the organization and other scouts who are talking him up as deal bait for potential trades. He keeps defying the reports that say he lacks quickness and 'baseball knowledge' that those above him on the depth sheets possess. Then again, if you can't get love at home, you may find it elsewhere.
Moving along may not be a bad thing for Roberson. In the Phillies organization, he might have a tough time beating out the depth chart, but he would easily be a prime top of the chart candidate at many other clubs.
Of course Chris should know about team movement: His dad, Rick, played as a Center or Forward from 1970-1976 in the NBA for the Lakers, Cavs, Jazz, and Kings.
We see him as developing well, but our crystal balls have trouble with him on the depth charts in Philly. He may push past Golson or Boum, get stuck/parked behind them, or he may get dealt to an organization that can make more use of him quickly. In either event, we expect to see him in Triple-A somewhere next year, with a shot at the majors sometime in 2007 or 2008.
