For a second straight series a top opposition prospect bat debuts against the Phillies

Embed from Getty Images

Brendan Rodgers was the third overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft

For the second straight series, Citizens Bank Park has been part of the introductory process to Major League Baseball for the top prospect of the Philadelphia Phillies opposition.

Earlier in the week, top Milwaukee Brewers prospect Keston Hiura made his big-league debut. The 22-year-old second baseman was the Brewers’ first round selection at ninth overall in the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft out of the University of California-Irvine.

Hiura went just 2-12 over his first three games, with both hits coming in his first start on Tuesday night. But all the California native has ever done is hit, wherever he has played. He was tearing up the Triple-A Pacific Coast League to the tune of a .333/.408/.698 slash line with 11 homers, 24 extra-base hits, 26 RBIs, and 23 runs scored prior to his promotion.

Last night in South Philly it was the visiting Colorado Rockies turn to break in their top prospect. Like Hiura, Brendan Rodgers is also an infielder who was their first round choice, going at third overall in the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft out of a Florida high school.

Also like Hiura, Rodgers had been tearing his way through the Pacific Coast League when he got the call. He was slashing .356/.421/.644 at Albuquerque with 20 extra-base hits, nine homers, 21 RBIs, and 34 runs scored.

Rodgers made his big-league debut with the Rockies on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. (David B. King)

A natural shortstop, Rodgers is expected to play mostly second base in Colorado, the position at which he debuted last night. That is due to the presence of All-Star shortstop Trevor Story already in the lineup for manager Bud Black.

Watching talented young hitters such as this make their entry into the big-leagues, Phillies fans have begun to wonder, where is ours? When will a legitimate top young hitter again come out of the Phillies minor league system and establish himself as a force in Major League Baseball?

For three decades the Phillies have largely been unable to develop a top prospect

Embed from Getty Images

Pat Burrell has been the Phillies best high draftee to develop into a top prospect

Earlier this week, I wrote a piece on the current standing of the Phillies best minor league players on recently released top prospect lists. For nearly three decades, one of the most respected of the resources tracking and producing such lists has been Baseball America.

The same day as my Phillies Nation article was released, Baseball America was publishing their own piece on the history of their top prospect coverage. Specifically, the BA staff was re-visiting every prospect ranked either #1 or #2 on their annual Top 100 Prospects list.

Before even bothering to look down the entire list, which covered every top prospect and runner-up since 1990, a thought popped into my head – have the Phillies ever had someone finish in either spot? I follow the prospect game pretty closely and couldn’t recall the team ever having a prospect ranked that highly.

Sure enough, the list revealed that no Phillies prospect has been ranked as the best in all of baseball on the annual Top 100 list. Only one of the club’s prospects has ever found themselves in the #2 spot. That would be Pat Burrell back in 2000.

A look around the National League East Division reveals that the Atlanta Braves have seen five of their prospects ranked as the best in the game: Steve Avery (1990), Chipper Jones (93), Andruw Jones (96-97), Jason Heyward (2010), and Ronald Acuna just last year. Jones was also the #2 prospect of 1994.

The Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos organization has produced a pair of top prospects: Cliff Floyd (94) and Bryce Harper in both 2011 and 2012. While still in Montreal, Vladimir Guerrero was the #2 prospect in 1997. After the franchise had moved to D.C., Stephen Strasburg finished in the runner-up slot for 2010.

Two of those divisional rivals, the New York Mets and Florida/Miami Marlins, have fared even worse than the Phillies in placing prospects at the top of the ranking lists.

The Mets had Paul Wilson rank #2 in 1996. Wilson pitched just one disappointing season in the Big Apple at age 23 in 1996 before his career was derailed for four years by injuries. He finally recovered enough to appear in parts of three seasons with Tampa Bay and three more in Cincinnati.

The Marlins, established as an expansion organization in 1993, have never placed a prospect in either of the top two slots on the Baseball America rankings. But despite not joining Major League Baseball until the 1998 season, the best at producing top prospects has been another expansion club, the Tampa Bay Rays.

There have been a pair of Rays at the top: Josh Hamilton in 2001 and Delmon Young in 2006. Five Rays prospects have finished in the runner-up slot: Rocco Baldelli (03), B.J. Upton (04), Evan Longoria (08), David Price (09), and Matt Moore in 2012.

Phillies off-season moves will mean goodbyes for some current position players

Embed from Getty Images

Altherr, Franco, Herrera (L-R) among current Phillies who could be gone in 2019

Most of the talk during this current Major League Baseball off-season where the Philadelphia Phillies has been concerned has revolved around new players coming to the team.

A new shortstop was brought in via trade in Jean Segura. A new corner outfielder signed in Andrew McCutchen. A couple of new bullpen pieces in left-hander James Pazos and right-hander Juan Nicasio.

In the deal with the Seattle Mariners that saw Segura, Pazos, and Nicasio all arrive, two holdover infielders left in Carlos Santana and J.P. Crawford. That deal made room for the return of Rhys Hoskins as the everyday first baseman.

But a number of Phillies position players remain on the roster in limbo. Moves still to be made could well determine the immediate future for each of them.

The Phillies are one of the finalists for the services of infielder Manny Machado. If he chooses to play his home games at Citizens Bank Park for most of the next decade, that could have an effect on Maikel Franco, Scott Kingery, and Cesar Hernandez.

If Machado comes and agrees to play third base, then Segura is at shortstop. Hernandez, if not traded himself, would then open spring training as the starting second baseman with Kingery as a super-utility player. If Hernandez is dealt, Kingery starts at second base.

In that scenario, Franco is clearly out. The Phillies would be aggressively shopping the 26-year-old prior to or during spring training.

Franco could survive, if Machado insists on shortstop and the Phillies slide Segura over to second base. If that happens, then it would likely be Hernandez who is shipped out before the season. The team could also decide to play Kingery every day at third base. Then we are back to Franco leaving town.

In the outfield the Phillies are one of the finalists for Bryce Harper. The likelihood is that they will see what happens first with Machado. If they land him, then they probably drop out of the Harper bidding. If the miss out on Machado, the Phillies may then become even bolder in trying to land Harper.

Franco and Hernandez could be joining their former Phillies infield mate Galvis in soon wearing a different uniform.

So, let’s say Machado chooses the New York Yankees or Chicago White Sox. And then let’s say the Phillies are able to outbid the Los Angeles Dodgers and other for Harper’s services. Then what happens in the outfield? Two of the three starting spots would be taken by him and McCutchen.

That would leave a glut of holdover outfielders scrambling for a final starting berth, or for the opportunity to become part of a platoon. Those players would be Odubel Herrera, Aaron Altherr, Nick Williams, and Roman Quinn.

The Phillies would probably be best served playing Harper in right and McCutchen in left, with Quinn playing center field in between them. However, Quinn’s injury history may always prove a question mark. That might make Herrera the lead option in the short term.

Harper and Machado would make this a happy holiday for Phillies fans

Harper would make a great Christmas gift to fans

If you follow Philadelphia Phillies social media as closely as I do, you have come to the same realization that I have over the last few days. Phillies fans are growing increasingly impatient with management’s failure to make really big moves so far this off-season.

The Phillies fan base was finally thrown a piece of red meat at the start of this week with the trade to acquire infielder Jean Segura and a pair of relievers.

In that deal the team also shed the contract and lineup albatross of Carlos Santana and officially gave up on J.P. Crawford as the shortstop of the future, a position to which he once seemed destined.

But tossing that piece of meat served as nothing more than chum in the waters for those victory-starved fanatics. The Phillies fan base wants something big done – really big – and Segura ain’t that.

In fact, from what I have read and heard, those fans want not something, but somethings, plural.

The Phillies are coming off a season in which they collapsed from a month on top of the division to finish in third place in the National League East, and only held on to that spot because time ran out on the New York Mets, who were charging up from behind at the end.

So far this off-season the two teams who finished ahead of them, the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, have each made multiple big moves to strengthen their teams. And the Mets just pulled off a trade that could be considered even more impactful than the Phillies move to add Segura.

Despite making a significant trade with the Seattle Mariners just days ago, Phillies fans are not feeling very positive. The reason for that comes from a combination of three things, one of those being the aggressive actions of those divisional rivals.

A second reason for their frustration comes from the team itself. It was three weeks ago that I wrote here at Phillies Nation on multiple reports  that owner John Middleton had stated the club “expected to spend money” and might even “be a little bit stupid about it“, implying major big-ticket additions.

The local Philly sports media has stoked the hot stove fires with statements such as this from Scott Lauber at Philly.comon Middleton:

“Officials from multiple rival teams have suggested, more seriously than not, that he’s (Middleton) prepared to offer a blank check to either Harper or Machado and have him fill in the number. There has even been speculation that the Phillies could drop more than $700 million to sign both players.” ~ Scott Lauber, Philly.com

Phillies fans are still hoping that Middleton will spend some stupid money this Christmas season.

There remains plenty of reason for Phillies fans to continue to hope during this off-season. That comes primarily from the simple fact that both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado remain unsigned. Both impact hitters are still free agents and available for Middleton and the Phillies to sign.

That combination fits perfectly what this Phillies team needs to become a genuine contender in the National League over the next half-decade or so. Two impactful middle-of-the-order bats, one an infielder, one an outfielder.

James Pazos not just a throw-in in trade between Phillies and Mariners

Embed from Getty Images

Pazos arrives to Phillies as part of Jean Segura trade

The Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners have completed a tradethat was anticipated for days. In the formal announcement, the Phillies have sent Carlos Santana and J.P. Crawford to Seattle in exchange for Jean Segura, Juan Nicasio, and James Pazos.

Phillies fans are very familiar with the stories of the two players who are headed out to the Pacific Northwest, so I won’t spend time regurgitating the details of their careers.

Segura is the obvious centerpiece of the deal from a Phillies perspective. He upgrades the shortstop position immediately. Nicasio is a 32-year-old veteran right-handed reliever who doesn’t beat himself with walks, and who is owed just one year at $9.25 million on his contract.

Pazos, the “third” piece in the deal coming to the Phillies, is the player in this deal with whom fans are least likely to have some familiarity. While he is not a lights-out closer-type pitcher, he is far more than a simple throw-in on the back-end of a big deal.

Pazos is a 27-year-old native of Gilbert, Arizona who was the New York Yankees 13th round selection in the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft out of the University of San Diego. His big-league debut came in 2015 and he would make 18 total appearances with the Yankees over two seasons.

On November 18, 2016 the Yankees dealt the southpaw to the Mariners in a straight-up deal for right-handed pitching prospect Zack Littell. New York would subsequently flip Littell to the Minnesota Twins in the July 2017 trade for veteran starting pitcher Jaime Garcia.

Over the last two seasons Pazos has become a key member of the Mariners bullpen. He has allowed just 98 hits over 103.2 innings across 119 games with a 3.39 ERA, 3.83 FIP, and a 1.322 WHIP during those two seasons.

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times found the inclusion of Pazos in the deal to be “curious”, writing the following in his own story on the deal:

“Pazos’ inclusion in the deal is curious but speaks to his struggles and lost velocity at the end of last season. The big lefty’s fastball slowly deteriorated from upper 90s down to low 90s and still no ability to consistently spot what was labeled an average breaking ball. The Mariners said publicly that it was a mechanical issue that led to the decrease, but some people in the organization worried that he was dealing with an injury.” ~ Ryan Divish, Seattle Times

While Pazos isn’t the kind of power lefty that free agents Andrew Miller or Zach Britton, both of whom remain on the Phillies radar, would bring he is a steady option from that side for manager Gabe Kapler to use in the match-up game that the skipper prefers.

However, Pazos was actually much more effective in 2018 against right-handed batters than against left-handers. The righties hit just .228 against him over 125 plate appearances while lefties hit him at a .280 mark in 86 plate appearances. Per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia he was often a one-pitch hurler last season.

Mariners and Phillies have a long and at times pivotal trade history

Embed from Getty Images

Jamie Moyer was an important pitcher in both Phillies and Mariners history

The Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners appear to be on the verge of a significant trade. If the rumors are true, this deal should be announced at some point later today.

In the deal, the Phillies would reportedly be sending first baseman Carlos Santana, young shortstop J.P. Crawford, and possibly a prospect to the Mariners in exchange for shortstop Jean Segura and a relief pitcher.

Assuming the deal is indeed completed, this would be the 11th trade between the Phillies and Mariners. It would mark the 16th transaction overall involving the two clubs dating back to even prior to Seattle playing their first-ever game as an expansion team in the 1977 season.

In that initial Philly-Seattle transaction on November 6, 1976, the Mariners purchased the contract of pitcher John Montague from the Phillies. It would be the last transaction involving the two clubs for nearly seven years.

On July 29, 1983 the Phillies purchased a 29-year-old righty relief pitcher from Seattle, one who would help them nail down the 1983 NL East crown and National League pennant. That reliever would spend parts of the next three years with the Phillies before a trade to Houston.

He would return as a free agent to help the 1993 Phillies win their next NL pennant, and has grown to become a beloved figure as a broadcaster with the team. I’m talking about none other than ‘LA’ himself, Larry Andersen.

More than four years later the Phillies and Mariners completed their first-ever actual trade. The Phillies sent popular veteran outfielder Glenn Wilson and a reliever who would become one of baseball’s best over the next decade, Michael Jackson, to Seattle in exchange for outfielder Phil Bradley and a prospect.

Following a couple of minor deals in the early-1990’s, the next interesting Phillies-Mariners trade came at the non-waiver deadline in the 1996 season. Veteran lefty starter Terry Mulholland was dealt to the Mariners in exchange for shortstop prospect Desi Relaford.

Mulholland and another lefty obtained by Seattle from the Boston Red Sox that year, Jamie Moyer, would help a Seattle team that featured Ken Griffey Jr. Alex Rodriguez, and Edgar Martinez make a late charge before finishing in second place to the Texas Rangers in the AL West. Relaford became the Phillies starting shortstop for a couple of years before yielding the position to Jimmy Rollins.

There were a couple of minor deals between the two teams over the next few years, but it would be a decade before another impact trade. That one came down on August 19, 2006 when the Phillies obtained Moyer for a pair of inconsequential prospects.

New rumors have shortstop Jean Segura possibly headed to Phillies

Embed from Getty Images

Could Segura be bringing his speed and shortstop play to the Phillies soon?

The Seattle Mariners are easily the busiest team in Major League Baseball to this point in the Hot Stove season. Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto has already pulled off two deals, and is now reportedly on the verge of at least two more.

On November 8, Dipoto sent catcher Mike Zunino and two others to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for outfielder Mallex Smith and a prospect.

Less than two weeks later he traded away pitcher James Paxton to the New York Yankees, receiving pitching prospect Justus Sheffield as part of a three-prospect package.

The big story over the last 24 hours has been the finalization of a deal between the Mariners and New York Mets. In that trade, reports have the Mets new GM Brodie Van Wagenen sending veteran outfielder Jay Bruce, reliever Anthony Swarzak, and a pair of recent first round draft picks in outfielder Jarred Kelenicand pitcher Justin Dunn to Seattle.

Headed to the Big Apple in the deal would be veteran second baseman Robinson Cano along with the best relief pitcher in the game last year, Edwin Diaz.

Numerous reports are now saying that the deal could go down this weekend at some point, but certainly by Monday at the latest. The two teams apparently have settled on the players involved. Now they are sorting out financials, such as whether and how much money would be exchanged to help alleviate contract concerns regarding Cano, as well as player physicals.

The Mariners are also rumored to be involved with the Phillies in trade talks involving shortstop Jean Segura. In fact, a heavy Mariners follower on Twitter, Trent Hadler, tweeted early on Friday morning that a Segura to the Phillies deal could come down soon.

Trent Hadler@TrentBooty

Colome to the White Sox, Segura to the Phillies, and Cano/Diaz to the Mets all could be announced tomorrow, according to a insider for the Mariners

252

12:03 AM - Nov 30, 2018

Twitter Ads info and privacy

104 people are talking about this

Twitter Ads info and privacy

How good Hadler’s information is, if at all, and who is the “insider’ providing it remains unknown. I contacted him today, and Hadler told me that he had information from someone inside the Mariners organization who had previously been reliable. That source was stating that the only holdup to the deal was the prospect(s) going back to Seattle from the Phillies in the deal.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweeted later this afternoon that the Phillies could still be in on Segura. If there is any credence to it, there would be major ramifications for the Phillies.

Adonis Medina to be added to Phillies 40-man roster prior to Rule 5 Draft deadline

Embed from Getty Images

Adonis Medina is one of the consensus Phillies top five prospects

All teams in Major League Baseball have until 8:00PM EST on Tuesday, November 20 to set their 40-man roster in anticipation of the Rule 5 Draft, which will take place on December 13.

Players who were signed when they were 19 years or age or older and have played in professional baseball for four years are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft, as are players who were signed at 18 and have played for five years. All players on an MLB team’s 40-man roster, regardless of other eligibility factors, are “protected” and ineligible for the Rule 5 Draft.

The Philadelphia Phillies are in as good shape as any team in the game right now in this regard. The Phillies currently have 34 players on their official roster. The club will definitely be adding one of their top prospects, pitcher Adonis Medina, prior to the deadline.

With the other five spots there are a number of options. The Phillies could simply protect five more of their own prospects. They could also trade with other teams who might be having difficulty cutting down to their own 40-man limit.

If the Phillies do choose to protect more players, the most likely would probably be pitcher Tom Eshelman and infielders Arquimedes Gamboa and Daniel Brito.

One player who could find himself getting moved before the deadline is Cory Spangenberg of the San Diego Padres. A versatile player, the 27-year-old appeared in 49 games at second base and 44 at third base, with another handful of appearances in left field this past season with the Padres. He even made a cameo in one game at shortstop.

Spangenberg hit .264 with 13 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 486 plate appearances as a regular for San Diego in the 2017 campaign. He made $1.7 million this past season and is arbitration eligible now during this current off-season.

The Phillies might be attracted to Spangenberg’s positional versatility on the infield if the price is right in exchange. About the only sure thing in the Phillies 2019 infield at this point is Scott Kingery, but will he end up at second base or return to shortstop?

Various rumors have the Phillies moving on from Carlos Santana, Cesar Hernandez, and Maikel Franco. The team could include J.P. Crawford in any trade. They also remain a leading contender to sign free agent shortstop Manny Machado.

Adding someone such as Spangenberg as an infield backup might make it easier to deal a couple of those veterans as the Phillies sort out their 2019 starting infield.

Improper utilization costing Scott Kingery in his rookie season

Kingery has started at second base just five times
(Photo: Ian D'Andrea via Wiki Commons)

In the second round of the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft the Philadelphia Phillies selected Scott Kingery out of the University of Arizona. 

Kingery was coming off an outstanding season as the Wildcats second baseman, one in which he had been chosen as the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year.

After signing his first pro contract, Kingery was assigned to Low-A Lakewood in the Phillies organization. He played in 65 games that summer, all at second base.

His 2016 campaign was split between two levels. He played in 94 games with High-A Clearwater and 37 games at Double-A Reading. After the season, Kingery was sent to the Arizona Fall League where he appeared in 20 games for Scottsdale. In all 151 games, he played second base.

Last season, Kingery started out back with Reading but was promoted to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, just a step away from a debut in Major League Baseball. He played in 59 games with Reading – all at second base.

On being promoted to Lehigh Valley the Phillies decided to try him out at a couple of other positions to see how he looked. Kingery got his first action at both shortstop (two games) and third base (four games) but played in 54 games at his natural position of second base.

If you’re counting at home, that’s his entire Junior year at Arizona played at second base. That was followed by 335 minor league games, 329 of those at second base. And he was succeeding at the position. Following the 2017 season, Kingery was awarded the Rawlings Gold Glove Award as the best defensive second baseman in minor league baseball.

At the plate he slashed .304/.359/.530 with 63 extra-base hits (including 26 home runs), 65 RBI, 103 runs scored, and 29 stolen bases. For that 2017 performance, Kingery was honored to receive the Paul Owens Award as the best player in the Phillies farm system.

Baseball America then named him as the second baseman on their Minor League All-Star Team second team. The second baseman. The position at which he had been playing, succeeding, and excelling for three years.

And then the Phillies hired Gabe Kapler as manager, and they decided to continue their questionable commitment to Cesar Hernandez as the second baseman at the big-league level. Kingery made the club out of spring training, but he would not be given the everyday job at the keystone position.

Instead the Phillies have bounced Kingery around in his rookie campaign. He appeared in seven early-season games at third base, 10 in all at the hot corner by late May. In those early weeks of the season Kapler also put him out in center field once and in right field three times.

Then when fellow rookie J.P. Crawford went down injured, Kapler made Kingery his everyday guy. The now 24-year-old has received a baptism by fire at the most crucial infield position at the highest playing level in the world, playing in 99 games as the Phillies shortstop.

When Crawford finally got healthy again he was sent to the minors. The Phillies obtained shortstop Asdrubal Cabrerain a deal to bolster the lineup. And yet Kingery has still started 13 games since that trade – all at shortstop.

The Phillies have actually used him more as a pitcher – you read that correctly – than they have at second base since summer began.