The Class-A Clearwater Threshers open the second part of their season with a 4-17 record as the farm system continues to struggle.
It’s never too early to establish a winning culture, but in Clearwater, where prospects get down to business in the competitive Florida State League, players have experienced nothing but extreme failure the last two seasons.
The Threshers were trying to rebound from a 55-82 2004 campaign under the misguided Mike Schmidt managerial experiment, another in a long line of joke personnel decisions. They’re off to another bad start this second half with former Reading Phillies manager and player Greg Legg at the helm. For the season, Clearwater is now 22-68.
With so many levels of the organization comprised of high school talent or foreign amateurs, very few players come to the Phillies with a history of competing at a high level. Between Triple-A Scranton and Low-A Lakewood, the Phils farm system had a .464 winning percentage in 2004, in addition to short-season Batavia, with a record of 28-46 (.378).
It’s the same story this season. Double-A Reading (44-50) has been mired in the Eastern League cellar all year. Aside from homegrown talent like Michael Bourn and Chris Roberson, essentially the same type of slashing outfielder, the brightest moments have come from older players like Randy Ruiz and pitchers Allen Davis and Chris Rojas, all transplants from other organizations.
As for homegrown talent, Juan Richardson, thought to be the slugging future at third base, had a brutal start to the season and seldom plays his position anymore. Shortstop Danny Gonzalez, once praised for his hard work, was released before mid-season. Both Richardson and Gonzalez were ranked at one time by Baseball America.
The bulk of hyped talent resides in Clearwater this season, but the early results are less than impressive. Opponents are hitting .297 off Zach Segovia (2-9, 5.85). Segovia was a second-round choice in 2002 out of high school and missed all of last season with shoulder surgery. And Scott Mathieson, another high school draft pick and ranked by BA, is a mediocre 1-4 with a 4.16 ERA.
In short, the minor leagues are in turmoil once again, with a disturbing talent void in Double-A and troubling results from former top prospects, including Gavin Floyd, who has all the "tools" except the one that counts.
Aside from Ryan Howard and a couple of surprises among minor league free agents, there’s been little to celebrate down on the farm.
Talent isn't the issue, just as talent isn't the only issue with the big club. The minors suffer from too many high school picks, poor development and coaching decisions and a losing mentality that's plagued the organization for years.
They let Schmitty managed simply because he asked. Michael Jack gets bored living in Clearwater and decided to give managing a try. There's no surprise he quit after a year, single A is too small for him - he wants to manage in the bigs. He thought he could get some experience in Clearwater and but knew he would never be welcomed in Philly as a manager, not after how Bowa was treated. It was quite a joke that the Phils, a major league ballclub worth hundreds of millions, played along and let him waste a year of their time.
Posted by: Brian Michael | Sunday, July 17, 2005 at 06:01 PM
Mathieson, who struggled last year, has pitched better than his record (23 walks, 83 strikeouts, only 4 home runs mostly in a hitter's park)
Posted by: Brian | Sunday, July 17, 2005 at 11:07 PM
Good points, guys. As for Mathieson, you're right. I didn't give him enough credit.
Posted by: J. Weitzel | Monday, July 18, 2005 at 08:43 AM
If Mathieson has am 83/23 k/bb ratio and has a 4something ERA, he must have a lousy defense behind him.
Posted by: Tom G | Monday, July 18, 2005 at 11:17 AM
It was stupid for me to use Mathieson. There are much bigger fish to fry.
I wish the advanced defense numbers were available for minor leagues. I would like to look up Sandoval but all I can find are errors. 29 last season is terrible, but David Bell has a lot and I think he's a good defender.
Posted by: J. Weitzel | Monday, July 18, 2005 at 11:22 AM
Clearwater with a 22-68 record is bad. Someone who knows someone says the Phils are high on pitcher Evangelista, who's a Berks County kid.
Posted by: martin | Monday, July 18, 2005 at 01:32 PM
Thanks, Martin. I didn't list the first and second half totals.
Posted by: J. Weitzel | Monday, July 18, 2005 at 01:42 PM