Phillies Prospect Lists

[bigegypt0417]

How close is he currently to being correct?

[andyb]

That was just typical draft-speak from Almaraz on Howard. Whenever a pick is made that pick is always described in glowing terms. None of that takes away from Howard being a good pick. Whether the Phillies knew he was going to add 3-4 mph of velocity and a plus plus change is merely conjecture. We actually took Howard as a below-slot pick to help manage Haseley's bonus, so it is not that realistic to say the Phillies really thought he was the best RHP in that draft.

And to be technical, there are 3 RHPs from the first 2 rounds that year already in the majors (Kyle Wright, Griffin Canning, Corbin Martin) and a slew of HS RHPs (Hunter Greene, Shane Baz) and other first round college RHPs (7 more in the first round that year who have not been in the majors yet) who have a decent chance to be better than Howard. Howard was a good pick, but we probably got a little lucky in that he developed physically more than anticipated. He clearly is one of the 10 best RHPs in the draft at this point. Maybe even top 5-7. Best would be an overstatement at this point. We also still don't know if his body can handle starter innings with his new velocity. To date he has not really shown he can (though some of that is undoubtedly the conservative handling of any top pitching prospect).

[Austinfan]

Howard was an upside gamble, because he hadn't started a lot of college games, there was more risk.
"Almaraz felt that his fastball was one of the best in the country. Not measuring velocity, but measuring the action, the deception, and the ability to use it."
We've seen this with Velasquez, Pivetta throws slightly harder but his FB has no movement.

But isn't that what we've been asking for, to gamble on upside, especially after the 1st round.
Simmons and Baylor are those kind of picks.

[allentown]

Yes, after the first, or arguably first and second, round(s) it makes a lot of sense to focus on guys with upside, plus guys who can be converted from college starters into MLB relievers and college positon starters who can become back-up catchers and utility IF, OF guys.

[andyb]

Nobody is arguing against upside. At that point though Howard had not had a velocity bump and he was clearly NOT the best RHP in the draft. He still is not today. Maybe he was the best upside bet of the RHPs selected in the second round, but I bet the Phillies would have selected a half dozen of the RHPs that were picked in the first round before they would have picked Howard.

Both things can be correct. Howard could be an upside bet that has improved since the draft. AND he was also clearly not the best RHP in the draft when he was drafted.

[Austinfan]

If velocity is that important, how come teams smash Pivetta's 95 MPH FB but struggle to hit Velasquez's FB which has a slightly lower average velocity?

Almaraz was talking about the movement on Howard's FB, the velocity jump has been a bonus.
The value of velocity is it forces hitters to make faster decisions, but to take advantage of it you need a secondary pitch that can work off that velocity.

[andyb]

Are you seriously suggesting that Howard's fastball at 93-94 would have been effective as his fastball at 97-98? Movement is important but velocity is too. It is better to have that velocity than to not have it. Howard is a good prospect now because he has both. When he was drafted he did not have the high end velocity even if the team suspected he might add it.

[Austinfan]

Nola has a 92-94 FB, is he effective?

[California_Dreamin]

Surprised to see that 17 year old Alexeis Azuele was released. If memory serves me, we were quite excited about him last year. Perhaps A] he was older than the Phillies thought he was or B] something happened privately that we are unaware of and really don't need to know.

Gosh, seems like yet another position player international player that fails to make it. I admit that if I were to list my Top 10 All Time Phillie administrative group, Uncle Sal would have been on it but I am now wondering if this confidence has been grossly overstated. The Phils sure seem to have been lapped by almost every team in their division in this area.

[gmwannabe]

CD, i think the spelling is incorrect. on the other site it has been corrected. wrong Alexeis i think. maybe i'm wrong.
gm

[andyb]

Nola has a 92-94 FB, is he effective?

Not as effective as he would be in he were 96-98. There are many pathways to success.

[Squire]

Where are you seeing this? RHP Alexis Araujo was released per BA but I see no mention of SS Alexeis Azuele being released. Maybe I missed something

[zambonir]

Yeah post the link

[California_Dreamin]

Yes, it was mistakenly mentioned on PhuturePhillies, it was Araujo. Good to see as Azuele was someone we talked about often. My mistake for mentioning it here.

[andyb]

Yeah it was just a mistake in an article quickly corrected. Our guy BTW is Alexeis Azuaje with a "j".

Alexeis Azuaje Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of...

[andyb]

MLB Pipeline position lists. Howard is 9th best RHP prospect.
http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2020?list=rhp

[andyb]

Prospects 1500 has been releasing one list a day. Today is the Phillies top 50.

Philadelphia Phillies 2020 Top 50 Prospects | Prospects1500

Strange list. I think he puts way too much stock on the most recent information (like Seabold way too high at 7th and Moniak way too low at 28th). Some strange choices too like Pujols 13th (it is not like he was a top prospect and then he missed a year because of injury). Muzziotti at 34 is also way too low.

[bigegypt0417]

That is a very strange list.

I'm not sure what the metrics were.

[Austinfan]

Is there any rumours about baseballs in 2020?
Not only changes in the ML baseball, but whether they'll standardize baseballs throughout the minor leagues.
Doesn't make sense for AAA to use ML baseballs but lower levels to use balls that are easier to grip.

[julio]

Is there any rumours about baseballs in 2020?
Not only changes in the ML baseball, but whether they'll standardize baseballs throughout the minor leagues.
Doesn't make sense for AAA to use ML baseballs but lower levels to use balls that are easier to grip.

There probably won't be any comments about changing the ball - the recent changes weren't by design, but due to changes in the manufacturing process that were targeted on process consistency, not the actual performance of the ball.

We can hope that MLB and the National Association will standardize - e.g., that the balls for all levels will come from the same factories. But I've seen nothing from MLB or the NA about that.