Jesse Biddle rated as the Phillies' top talent and 83rd best minor league prospect overall by MLB.com. Several names who made the list of the 20 best team prospects come as a surprise.
Beerleaguer: Nobody more than right-hander Brody Colvin, who rated as the third-best prospect in the chain despite a 6-10 mark and 5.87 ERA across Clearwater and Reading, including an abysmal 11.02 ERA and 16/23 K/BB ratio in 32 2-3 innings to finish the season in Reading. The same goes for right-hander Trevor May, who rated as the best prospect in the system prior to this season but struggled with his control in a full year at Double-A. Still, his stuff was enough to impress MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, who slotted him second behind Biddle. Larry Greene, the first Phillies' overall pick in the 2011 draft, newly acquired right-hander Ethan Martin and 2012 draft pick Shane Watson represented other notable inclusions in the top 10.
Meanwhile, Todd Zolecki wrote an interesting companion summary of the minor league season, with insights from assistant general manager of player personnel Benny Looper and director of player development Joe Jordan. Each remained upbeat about May and Colvin. One name that jumped off the page, as Jordon touted the emergence of Darin Ruf and Cody Asche, was catcher Cameron Rupp, who hit .267/.345/.424 with 10 homers in 390 plate appearances for Clearwaters, numbers at least comparable, perhaps better, than the best catchers in the Phillies' system. Perhaps it's time to include Rupp, a former third-round pick, in the catcher discussion alonside Tommy Joseph and Sebastian Valle.
I looked at that list yesterday and was convinced it was phoned in. I would be very surprised if Brody Colvin ever wears a Phillies uniform.
Posted by: Scotch Man | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 02:50 PM
Ruiz activated.
Posted by: Iceman | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 02:52 PM
These lists are a total waste of time.
Posted by: Moondog | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 02:57 PM
What are the chances of seeing Ruiz at 3B this year?
Much rather have that explored than Utley.
Posted by: Cyclic | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 03:01 PM
Iceman - I don't put it past Amaro to call players out here and there publicly, and I certainly wouldn't put it by him to orchestrate some multi-team deal that moves Rollins and Lee for some controversial combination of prospects and position players. I just think there are more charitable/likely explanations for the deadline talk. I don't mean to squash the hints you're talking about. I just think they're only really evidence for the fact that anyone can be dangled (Olney) and other team's interest in Rollins.
Posted by: Sophist | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 03:04 PM
What's the bigger story: the guys they traded away or the guys they kept. May, Colvin, Galvis, Valle, De Fratus, Gillies, Jiwan James. One would think prospect failure was the norm. Trade them all.
Posted by: Sophist | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 03:08 PM
Yo, new thread
Posted by: EastFallowfield | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 03:16 PM
This list is garbage. I'm pretty sure Mayo was high when he wrote it. The rankings are a half-assed sloppy mix of preseason rankings and 2012 performance. Asche, Franco and Quinn belong in the top 10. Greene doesn't. Where's Tyson Gillies? Tocci? I'll wait until the real prospect guys do their offseason lists, thank you much.
Posted by: Governator | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 03:16 PM
Clearly, this is an extremely tools-oriented prospect list -- so much so that the actual results seem to be completely irrelevant (i.e., Colvin, May, Aumont, Valle, Watson, Gueller). If you were grading these guys on the actual likelihood of fulfilling their presumed potential and/or making the big leagues, I think it's fair to say that a lot of these guys wouldn't show up on the list.
Even by its own terms, I think it's a lazy list. It almost feels like someone listed the first 20 guys he could think of. What on earth are Julio Rodriguez and Mitch Gueller doing on a list that excludes Carlos Tocci, Dylan Cozens, Kelly Dugan, & Tyson Gillies? And how is Mitch Walding our best 3rd base prospect & Maikel Franco only our 3rd best?
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 03:23 PM
Clearly, nobody who posted in this thread knows anything about the minor league teams and players.
Oh, I think they actually do. The list is ridiculous for many reasons. While Colvin and May are still good prospects, there will be lists that are put together by people who have been playing attention. And they will be much better. There's a lot of room for disagreement in any prospect ranking. But that list is simply ridiculous.
Posted by: aksmith | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 06:22 PM