It’s official: The Phillies like tall prospects with great frames, making 6-5 right-hander Zac Stott the player to be named later in the Ryan Franklin deal with Cincinnati.
The 23-year-old Stott had a 2.53 ERA in 23 relief appearances for Class A Sarasota and fits the physical profile of some of the other pitchers acquired over the past two weeks.
With Sarasota, Stott allowed 23 hits in 32 innings with 22 strikeouts and 10 walks. In the past two seasons, he has been used almost exclusively as a reliever. A former 27th round pick of the Reds, Stott becomes the eighth prospect acquired in deals around the trade deadline. He was assigned to Clearwater.
Beerleaguer take
I won’t even pretend to know anything about young Mr. Stott, but I definitely endorse the idea of developing your own relief pitching. This is an area where the Phillies have sorely lacked, and in general, the relievers in their system have been around the block too long.
In addition, Mr. Gillick and company are definitely from the old school, adding yet another player with repordely excellent physical gifts.
All these players they've picked up for the minors aren't anything great...yet, and may never be great. But like Weitz stated, they're setting themselves up to grow their own relief help in future seasons rather than searching the crap-pile for Santanas, Franklins, and Whites.
Posted by: Drama Queen | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 10:20 AM
Well, Madson, Geary and Sanches was in our system for 3 years.
Posted by: chris | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 10:31 AM
I'd love to see a complete home grown bullpen and bench...that's how you save money to go sign proven veterans that are free agents. And sometimes those guys from the system turn out to be the proven veterans down the road too.
Posted by: Drama Queen | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 10:45 AM
Just read Conlin's piece on J.F. Martinez, looks like the Mets acquire another blue-chipper.
It was encouraging to hear PG state his intention to use more resources for international scouting, Phils have lagged behind far too long in that department.
Posted by: voice of reason | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 10:57 AM
the fact that gillick keeps going after these big guys makes me even more pumped about 5'8'' fabio castro. pg wouldn't have made that kind of exception if he didn't see something he really liked in "the blonde dictator".
what do we have to do to get ryan freel to play third next year?
Posted by: Tim | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 11:16 AM
Teach him the position seeing that Freel's an outfielder.
Posted by: cap | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 11:24 AM
Tall pitchers are good. You can coach technique, but you can't coach height.
Posted by: Lake Fred | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 11:50 AM
I can't believe we got a warm body for Ryan Franklin.
Posted by: Tony | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 11:57 AM
Tony could be right. There must be something wrong with Zac Stott.
Posted by: Lake Fred | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 12:05 PM
No, its that the Reds are giving away everything to try and win this year...
Posted by: joe | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 12:08 PM
cap - i don't think that's necessary as he's started 68 games there in 04 and 05 and has another 40 ab's there this year. i'll grant that his not your typical big 3b, but he can play there.
Posted by: Tim | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 12:12 PM
Conlin's article was interesting. Nice to see a story that doesn't rip someone for once. It will definitely be interesting to see the Phils actually spend some money and sign some high profile prospects in the Caribbean and in Asia. Maybe but I have my doubts.
The last couple of years the Phils have drafted "tools" players who would be relatively cheap to sign. So far, most of the those guys have developed quite poorly to date.
Guess that Gillick is stockpiling so many relief arms because he really does believe this farm system is so swallow and really limited with any kind of depth.
Gillick probably figures that if even 2 or 3 if the guys he acuqired help this club down the road (probably in the bullpen), then he did ok. Only time will tell since most of them are so young but the rate of a pitcher developing from A to the majors is not great. Alot of washouts.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 12:24 PM
"Tall pitchers are good. You can coach technique, but you can't coach height. "
Now all we need is a pitching coach.....
Posted by: phanatics brother | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 12:30 PM
the other day, we were talking about possible leadoff hitters for philly next year. Pierre is a lot like J-Roll with less power, so I don't think we'd be too happy with him. If Brady Clark were available, we could plug him in up to the lineup and at CF, or as mentioned early Ryan Freel. Who can play a butt-load of positions.
Posted by: Drama Queen | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 12:49 PM
Stott is not mentioned on any prospect list I can find. I'm guessing he's organization filler. Rotoworld says this about him: "Stott, 23, had a 2.53 ERA and a 22/10 K/BB ratio in 32 innings of relief for Single-A Sarasota. He's probably not a future major leaguer."
Even so, organization filler for one of Pat's many mistakes (Franklin) is a good move.
P.S. DQ, I'd way rather have Freel who is a superior base-stealer and superior fielder to Clark plus can play 3B and 2B. His career OB is also higher. In both cases the OB is nearly 40 points higher than J Roll
Posted by: clout | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 01:33 PM
if pierre can play again like he did in florida, he would be amazing here. his signing would really complicate the outfield picture with burrell still here though. i guess you'd have to move burrell to right? yikes!
i'm for freel or chone figgins (if available). i love the way freel plays though. he is a rowand/utley clone.
Posted by: Tim | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 01:35 PM
Freel is a guy the Phillies have had a lot of interest in in the past; it may be too late now, however. He keeps showing up on the highlights every other night and he's got to be a fan favorite in Cincy. Too bad, he'd fit in perfectly in the Phils' plans as a fourth fourth oufielder.
I know people remember how Pierre killed the Phillies, but I don't feel he'd be any more effective a leadoff hitter than Rollins. For one thing, Rollins has actually out-walked him this year, 40 to 25, and in fact even has a little better OBP. And because Rollins can do so many more things offensively, he's scored 87 runs to Pierre's 57 (the plate appearances being about even).
Posted by: RickSchuBlues | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 01:56 PM
Glaring holes for the offseason include C, 3B, and a leadoff hitter. CF might be a void that needs to be filled as well. I would love to see Freel in the Phillies uniform batting leadoff, he instantly would become a fan favorite and fit in with the hard-nosed style play of the new regime we've been seeing lately. I only suggested Clark because he might come on the cheap and his OB% is nice.
Posted by: Drama Queen | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 02:05 PM
Clout: Again with the Rotoworld. How many times do I have to tell you that this site, and its readership, give an atomic elbow drop on Rotoworld and sites like that.
Posted by: J. Weitzel | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 02:23 PM
I would think that in the offseason, PG would be in a good spot in the Freddy Garcia free agent sweepstakes. Here's a big game pitcher and done well under Gillick in Seattle. On the downside, the Phils would have to trade for him and the clubhouse is getting more American and less international.
Posted by: Mike H. | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 02:24 PM
My mistake - not the free agent sweepstakes. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Williams wants to trade him for a younger arm in their system.
Posted by: Mike H. | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 02:27 PM
freddy garcia would be an excellent addition to the phillies but im afraid williams asking price may be too high. he would be great to pair with myers,hamels, and hopefully wolf
Posted by: dane | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 02:42 PM
The prospects for the Phils signing a major frontline starter are pretty grim. The free agent market is really thin this offseason. Also, there are some other teams like the Astros (Clemens, Petitte, Bagwell all come off the books) that will have alot of money to use this offseason.
I don't want to see the Phils spent money on a retread (Redman), stiff (Marquis), or a player on the decline (Mulder). Also, Zito-type pitcher is going to want min 4 yr/$50 million dollar deal. I just don't see the Phils committing that kind of money.
I see the Phils going after a middle rotation guy like Ted Lilly or Miguel Batista. Maybe a Tomo Okha. Also, I would expect that they make an attempt to resign Wolf. No way the Phils make a major trade because they have either undesireable commodities at the major league level (see Burrell, Pat) or a lack of interesing prospects.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 03:03 PM
Agreed MG. Add in the Cardinals, Yankees, Cubs, and possibly the Red Sox and Dodgers to the mix of high revenue teams seeking pitchers on the free agent market and the price for even a mediocre starter will be sky-high.
Makes the Phils maligned farm system look much better with their stockpile of young arms.
Seems to be the model for a successful franchise: keep the payroll low by developing pitching, then use the free agent market to add position players where you get more bang for the buck.
Posted by: voice of reason | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 03:29 PM
makes me hope we lock up Wolfy real quick. Before he can see what the other guys are getting. And hopefully we get some credit for paying him 9mill this year.
Posted by: Will | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 03:40 PM
I agree MG, the Phillies likely won't be adding front-line starting pitching; a middle-of-the-road third or fourth starter seems more likely, and probably through a trade of some kind. I just hope whoever it is is more enjoyable to watch than junkfood-eating, junkball-throwing stiffs like Lieber and Lidle. Myers and Hamels are almost certainly going to open next year as the "top" two starters, with probably Wolf as a three.
Posted by: RickSchuBlues | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 03:44 PM
Jason, what's an atomic elbow drop? Is that a new hip hop dance move?
Posted by: Lake Fred | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 03:46 PM
For the remaining optimists among us: Cincy & SD lost this afternoon, a loss by the Dodgers tonight would be sweet!
Posted by: voice of reason | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 03:46 PM
Guys, we really need to pray that the Phillies don't try to get Freddy Garcia... his numbers in the past were interesting, but by all accounts, he's lost 3-5 mph on his fastball and his breaking pitches have lost something as well. and I'm not just basing this on Olney's blog entry, but I've heard it on numerous other websites. His numbers this year are ghastly, aren't they?
Not that Mathieson is putting up great numbers either, however.
Posted by: Ed | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 03:50 PM
VOR, I'm an optimist (at least today, I am).
Posted by: Lake Fred | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 03:57 PM
re: pierre - he is definately having an off year. no reason to sign him if pg doesn't think he'll return to form.
re: garcia - depending on what his contract is like, i don't feel like looking it up, i would or wouldn't have interest in him. he has post season experience, which i like. if we don't resign wolf i would like lilly.
re: freel - hey RSB, i don't remember us having interest in him previously. can you fill me in?
Posted by: Tim | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 04:03 PM
ok i looked it up. he gets paid 10 mil in '07. the last year of his deal.
Posted by: Tim | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 04:04 PM
I'm not sold on Pierre, too many runs allowed by teams taking the extra base on his weak arm.
Posted by: voice of reason | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 04:12 PM
Pierre is really having his second consecutive off year. Still a good player, but I don't know if the Phillies need him.
I recall that Freel's name was linked to rumors involving the Phillies in each of the past two year, particularly when the Phils were loking for a CF replacement for Byrd in '04. It's not hard to see why they'd think he'd go over well in Philadelphia.
I would avoid Garcia. Lilly strikes me as the second coming of Cory Lidle. I would hope the Phils could find a Capuano/Doug Davis type: the kind that are consistent from year to year as well as within a given season (in a better way than Lidle) and don't beat themselves with walks or mistakes.
Posted by: RickSchuBlues | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 04:54 PM
I haven't heard Freel's name mentioned by the front office before. But one 3B's name that I saw surface in Philly trade rumors, at least from the Baltimore end, is Melvin Mora.
Posted by: Alby | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 05:09 PM
If the Phils go the free agent route this year for a pitcher, let's hope Gillick does better than Ryan Franklin. Everyone is going to be looking for pitching this offseason. Even the Mets will be replacing Trachsel, Hernandez, and possibly Glavine (if they don't pick up his $12M option). I assume at least one or two of their young guys (Pelfrey , Bannister) will get a rotation spot, but certainly they will be looking to sign at least one free agent. Even someone like Padilla will probably get 3 years and $20M. It will be very hard to get quality starting pitching unless you overpay.
Posted by: Billy Mac | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 05:23 PM
VOR: Good point on Pierre's arm. Offensively he's been bad for well over a season and a half now. Maybe he's a guy who loses it early.
P.S. OK Jason I won't mention it by name again! Was only place I could find a scouting report on an obscure non-prospect.
Posted by: clout | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 06:10 PM
RE Pierre: He's not worth it. His defense is average to below, arm below average, speed above average, bat below average. He is not the answer to CF. Rowand is a better all around CF. If PG can upgrade the position great, but its not a high priority. However for the Phils to upgrade their SP, it will probably be by trade and Rowand may be a very tradable player. Michael Bourne would do better than Pierre and he is a better leadoff hitter. He may not be far from making the Phils.
Posted by: Bob D | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 07:08 PM
it's been a while since i looked at one myself. but when i used to look at Cubs message boards, they talked about Pierre like people here talked about Bell.
Posted by: seth. | Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 09:01 PM
I'd like to see Bourn given a chance to play. He very well might be our leadoff hitter solution, but shouldn't be called on to do so as a rookie.
Posted by: Drama Queen | Friday, August 11, 2006 at 06:21 AM
DQ I agree. Bourn should be close to play in the majors. The Phils may want to keep him at AAA and use him if an injury occurs or a trade at next years deadline (Burrel/Rowand), then play him the 2nd half.
Posted by: Bob D | Friday, August 11, 2006 at 06:46 AM