AFL wraps up this week for Phillies farmhands

Infielder Jason Donald represents the Phils’ biggest standout in the autumn scouting league.

Only once in the history of Beerleaguer has the Arizona Fall League revealed useful information as it pertains to a Phillies prospect. That was Scott Mathieson, who, in 2005, was named best pitcher in the AFL, a precursor to the breakout season he had with Double-A Reading beginning that spring. But for every Mathieson, whose career would be derailed with Tommy John surgery later that season, there’ve been many more Arizona stints that offered no hint of future performance.

It’s starting to sound like Jason Donald, who’s hitting .405/.466/.696 with four homers in 87 Arizona plate appearances, is going to play a productive second or short in the Majors some day, but probably not with the Phillies and almost certainly in a situation where he’s used as more of a super-utilityman. A little old to be in Arizona and having never graduated past Double-A, Donald, 24, saw action at third base this fall, but it doesn’t seem like much more than an experiment.

Lou Marson joined Donald and other Phillies teammates last week and has only taken a few hacks. Marson’s coming off a great season with Reading and was present when the Phillies popped the corks in Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Philadelphia again. As I've reiterated, Marson's next step is Triple-A, not the Majors.

The Phils are also represented by a couple of outfielders, Quintin Berry and Jeremy Slayden, players who shouldn’t be considered prospects. Berry has great speed, but produced a .701 OPS as a 23-year-old in Clearwater. Slayden, the darling of the Phillies minor league blogosphere, can’t run or throw, but knows how to hit the baseball and work the count against Double-A pitchers who are five years younger. Someday, Slayden might have a chance to walk in Andy Tracy’s shoes as the last man on a bench.

Pitching-wise, Pat Overholt, Sergio Escanola, Tyson Brummett and Andrew Carpenter have not been good. Overholt, Escanola and Brummett are non-prospects, but there’s some degree of hope for Carpenter, the recipient of an Aug. 27 cup of coffee with the big club. The Long Beach State product lost a half season of development when he showed up out of shape and was demoted to Clearwater, but I think the Phils see something in him.

[Jump to newest comments]

Comments

[AWH]

Rosenthal's latest on Burrell:

"The Rockies, after trading left fielder Matt Holliday to the A's, are content merely to listen to trade offers for third baseman Garrett Atkins and new closer Huston Street. The team also does not plan to pursue free-agent outfielder such as Pat Burrell or Adam Dunn, believing it needs more speed in the vast left field at Coors Field. Seth Smith and Ryan Spilborghs could form a platoon in left, and the Rockies have multiple options in center, likely ensuring that Willy Taveras will be the odd man out ...

The Mets want to add a right-handed bat in addition to a closer and a possible replacement for free-agent left-hander Oliver Perez. Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran are switch-hitters, but after David Wright, Fernando Tatis is their biggest right-handed threat. The Mets are not high on Burrell, and free agent Raul Ibanez, a left-handed hitter, is not an ideal fit. Though Ibanez hit lefties better than righties last season, his career batting average against lefties is 25 points lower."

[clout]

I have no clue about how big LF will be in the Mets new stadium, but Burrell in Coors would be a disaster.

[clout]

ae: You may have forgotten. Cust was in AAA from ages 22 thru 27. As a 25-year-old (Slayden's age) in AAA he hit .235/.357/.433 with 17 HRs. I stand by7 my comparison.

[clout]

Alby: Let me return to your original words "decent hitter but likely not .300 hitter at the MLB level."

It doesn't say .300 career hitter. It says he likely can't hit .300 at the major league level. My only point, and it was a simple one, is that this statement is false.

Although I have no doubt that flipper will come on to explain how BA is not an accurate measure of whether someone can hit .300.

[ae]

clout, that explanation makes no sense whatsoever, but I'm sure you knew that already.

[clout]

Alby: Re: Dobbs defense, did you watch the games when he was playing semi-regulkarly in August and September? If you did, you saw improvement in his defense.

I figure you'd be the last one on here to defend starting Feliz over Dobbs vs. RHP for defense purposes.

[Lake Fred]

As a fan of the World Champion Phillies, I agree with Hugh, the offseason sucks. Football, Basketball and Hockey don't thrill me like they used to. The World Champion Phillies euphoria still rages strong through my veins. I don't care who won individual MLB awards as that's not as good as being a fan of the World Champion Phillies.

Which year would you prefer to enjoy:

2006, when Howard won the MVP;
2007, when Rollins won the MVP; or
2008, when the team became the World Champion Phillies?
My vote is on 2008.

This same World Champion Phillies euphoria extends to talk about this or that free agent or this or that minor league prospect. Does it excite me? No.

Even less exciting is who Junior names to be the Under Assistant West Coast GM man in charge of minor league coordination. Yawn!

The only thing I need to excite me is to see stuff about the World Champion Phillies and wait for the spring training birds to start chirping.

[Andy]

I'm guessing that the Mets' reaction to Burrell has less to do with their new stadium and more to do with "familiarity breeds contempt." They know Burrell too well and have seen both his upside and his shortcomings. (They may also have taken a peek at his seven year PECOTA.)

And I have to wonder to what degree Minaya's still thinking Manny.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

These insights on Burrell bring up the proverbial question: Who IS going to make him an offer?

[Lake Fred]

The World Champion Phillies are fially getting respect. I was reading Ken Rosenthal's AL MVP article on the FoxSports site and lo and behold, on the right hand border were ads trying to sell me Phillies caps! Hallelujah! The World Champion Phillies have finally arrived in the world of sports marketing!

[Andy]

LF - You continue to misspeak, forgetting a key modifier everytime you mention the accomplishments of this year's team. I refer you to Mr. Utley's more proper rendition of who the Phillies are in relationship to all other teams. "WFCs" if you please!

P.S. I eagerly await the Wheaties box with Chase Utley on the front and the temporarily altered heading:
"Breakfast of F***ing Champions!"
I will pass up a lot of pancakes (and even Cafe du Monde beignets) (that reference is specifically for you) to eat cardboard cereal from that particular orange box.

[Andy]

I am interested in the changes that Jr. is making in the scouting staff. Since I don't know the quality of who he's hiring or who he's replacing, I have no real idea if he's really improving thngs. But it is the kind of thing one might do if one saw flaws in an organization and wanted to actually improve it. He may believe that Arbuckle's team was detrimental to the results over the years and he's eager to try some new people.

Who knows?

(Or maybe I'm just sipping at the Flavoraid fountain.)

[Lake Fred]

Andy, Thanks! In my mind the Chase Utley modifying adjective is always there.

I just read where the University of Texas has just named a Head Coach in Waiting for when Mack Brown retires. (I actually shook Mack Brown's hand when he was Head Coach of Tulane.) Maybe, Junior needs to hire an Heir Apparent for Cholly. When the players come running for more money, Junior can say, "Sorry, fellas, we spent all your raise money on the front office."

[Edmundo]

"Breakfast of F***ing Champions!"

Pretty F***ing Funny. It could be a gold mine for Utley.

"Home of the F***ing Whopper"
"A Little F***ing dab will do ya" (Sorry, showing my age)
"Fly the F***ing Friendly Skies of United"
"Just F***ing Do It"
"You're in good F***ing hands with AllState"
and of course, but with Clara Peller instead of Chase
"Where's the F***ing Beef?"

[CJ]

Yo... new thread!