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Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training 2006 Report
The Phillies rep as the garbage disposal of player development may be coming to an end. The Phils have ground up some particularly promising players over the last few years, or locked a number behind players with long-term deals and pretty mediocre records.
The coming of Ryan Howard (See Thomecoming )seems to indicate a shift in Phils philosophy, along with the adoption of some young talents that can produce. Beyond the sun god Howard, the heaviest concentration of talent seems to be in the outfield with two great home grown prospects and a solid green capper moving from the Diamondbacks organization.
Arms
Of the pitchers surfacing this year at the major league Spring camp either on the 40 or the NRI list, there are eight arms worth looking at.
Gavin Floyd had a good enough 2004 to make our MLN FAB50 list that year (No. 50), but in 2005 he had high numbers (6-9 6.16 ERA) in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and astronomical numbers at Philly (1-2; 10.04) that kept him from advancing on our talent rankings. Based on our evaluation this Spring, we'll wait to see his strikeout count pass his earned runs.
Of the signings and acquisitions not with the Phils last year, Chris Booker comes in from the Reds organization with a solid 8-4 record and a 2.49 ERA with 91 strikeouts pitching for the AAA Louisville Bats. He pitched a scant pair of innings in Cincy which don't tell much. He may be one of the Phillies better invites. We also liked Ricardo Rodriguez when he was with Oklahoma last year (7-3, 2.91) His major league numbers weren't amazing (2-3, 5.53) but a change of scenery might do him good. See ya' in Scranton.
Daniel Haigwood moves well through the lower depths of the Phils Pharm, with a tidy 3.77 at Winston-Salem that turned into a smokin 1.74 ERA and 6-1 record for the Birmingham Barons. We'd look to see him in Scranton in 2006. Likewise we'd expect to see Yoel Hernandez return to the Red Barons.
Plate
Carlos Ruiz is a solid contact hitter who mixes up a nice variety of singles, doubles and triples which were good for a .300 with Scranton last season. Look for him behind the plate there again in the Spring of 2006.
Base Path
The new franchise player is Ryan Howard, who, much like the winners of the lottery, beat the odds and unseated the legendary Jim Thome. Before all you Thome fans bring out your arsenal of f-bombs and rotten garbage, team first: The guy is that good. He batted .371 for Scranton with 16 dingers and 54 RBIs and only 66 strikeouts. He played for Thome part of the season, and generated a powerful .288 average in 88 games knocking in 22 home runs and 63 RBI. If he can keep his strikeouts in the majors under last year's 100, he's a regular member of the .300 club.
Now that his big light has passed, someone may notice that Venezuelan Danny Sandoval banged .331 for AAA Scranton last year, and also may be worth a look in the near future.
Deep Grass
Chris Roberson (MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 No. 23 ) and Shane Victorino are our two top outfielders.
Roberson is well touted in the organization, and batted .311 with 15 home runs and 70 RBIs for Reading. He has to work on plate discipline to bring his strikeout count below last year's 112 in AA ball. Look for him to start in Scranton.
Victorino delivered last year for the Red Barons, hitting across the board with 25 doubles, 16 triples, 18 home runs, and 70 RBI, topped off by 17 stolen bases. His K count is pretty economical for a power hitter, with 74 to his credit in Scranton. He did well in Philadelphia for a brief appearance where he had a .294 with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs in just 17 at-bats.
Josh Kroeger (MLN FAB50 2004 No. 20) has been wasting away under the green cap in Arizona. The opening he's looking for may be with the Philadelphia organization. He still has a lot of potential, and looked good coming into Spring.
