been since 1993 for the Blue Jays in the playoffs. longest stretch in baseball and only team not to have made it in the 2000s.
Point being?
I think the point was you and paulie walnuts have had plenty to revel in; time for some new blood.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
His first major league hit was a grand slam? That is pretty cool. Looks like there were a whole 15 people there to see it too.
F you. There were about 20,000 or so there including your Juggler. Think it was a BPS on a cold day.
The way he sprinted around the bases instantly endeared himself to me.
Is this the clip where they have his highlights set to the music from The Natural? Cuz that damn near brought a tear to my eye this morning. Had to collect myself for a moment before heading into the office.
ha. I wasn't talking shit. Just looked like there was no one there when the ball landed.
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
His first major league hit was a grand slam? That is pretty cool. Looks like there were a whole 15 people there to see it too.
F you. There were about 20,000 or so there including your Juggler. Think it was a BPS on a cold day.
The way he sprinted around the bases instantly endeared himself to me.
Is this the clip where they have his highlights set to the music from The Natural? Cuz that damn near brought a tear to my eye this morning. Had to collect myself for a moment before heading into the office.
ha. I wasn't talking shit. Just looked like there was no one there when the ball landed.
Welcome to Veterans Stadium. Home of a team who made the playoffs once in its last 20 years of existence.
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
The Phillies still have a ways to go before they can legitimately be considered a threat in the NL East again, but it’s hard not to be enthused by the team’s play in the second half, especially after pawning off a handful of veterans. They’re 24-18 in the second half, though they’ve narrowly outscored opponents 208 to 206.
On Tuesday, the Phillies handled the New York Mets 14-8 and the score made the game appear a lot closer than it really was. And it’s true that the Mets’ three errors and six walks contributed greatly to the win. That being said, Darnell Sweeney continued to impress, going 2-for-5 while driving in three runs. Since making his major league debut after coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Chase Utley trade, Sweeney is hitting .263/.417/.632 with a double, two home runs, and five walks.
Jerad Eickhoff, one of the six players the Phillies received from the Texas Rangers in the Cole Hamels/Jake Diekman deal, made his third major league start on Monday and held the Mets to three runs over seven innings. In 19 innings thus far, he’s allowed six earned runs on 15 hits and four walks with 15 strikeouts.
Alec Asher, who also came over from the Rangers, made his major league debut on Sunday against the San Diego Padres. Though he allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings, there were some positives. He kept his composure after a lead-off double in the second inning and settled down after allowing a solo home run to Matt Kemp in the third. He’ll start again on Saturday at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
Aaron Nola has looked terrific in nine starts since earning a promotion to the majors. He tossed eight shutout innings in Miami against the Marlins on August 23, and held the Padres to one run in seven innings on Friday. Things didn’t go Nola’s way on Wednesday night at Citi Field against the Mets, but his defense deserved more of the blame than he did. Nola has a 4.02 ERA with a 44/14 K/BB ratio in 53 2/3 innings.
Ken Giles, the subject of Corinne’s article on Monday, has seamlessly transitioned into the closer’s role after the Phillies sent Jonathan Papelbon to the Washington Nationals. In 13 appearances as the closer, the right-hander has gone 11-for-11 in save situations with a 0.60 ERA and a 19/1 K/BB ratio. Giles has a 1.38 ERA to begin his career, which is currently the best mark by any reliever in MLB history. Granted, it’s a comparatively small sample size of 104 1/3 innings, but still impressive — as is his 1.70 FIP, which is also the best in history, just ahead of Craig Kimbrel‘s 1.72. Even his 2.60 xFIP is bested by only six relievers during the time period for which batted ball data is available.
Maikel Franco was in the NL Rookie of the Year Award conversation before suffering a fractured wrist on August 11 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. His .356 weighted on-base average is seventh-best among major league third basemen, only a hair behind Nolan Arenado and Jung-Ho Kang at .362. He’s hit 13 home runs in 326 plate appearances, homering as often on a per-PA basis as Kris Bryant and slightly more frequently than the Mariners’ $100 million third baseman Kyle Seager. As he began his major league career last season, the big worry with Franco was that he would struggle with off-speed stuff, but as he showed here, he’s more than up to the task.
Odubel Herrera hadn’t played above Double-A and hardly had any outfield experience when the Phillies took him in the Rule-5 draft this past winter. They decided to stick him in center field. Though there have been a few hiccups, Herrera has vastly exceeded expectations, both offensively and defensively, as I wrote here. He’s been the Phillies’ most valuable position player, with 2.3 WAR to the departed Ben Revere‘s 2.2 and Andres Blanco‘s 1.6, per Baseball Reference. Herrera is batting .293 with 34 extra-base hits and 14 stolen bases while covering as much ground as All-Star and future Gold Glove Award winner Lorenzo Cain. His route-running still needs work, and it’d be great if he could draw more walks, but at only 23 years old, Herrera still has plenty of time to evolve.
Aaron Altherr made his season debut on August 18. It took him until August 29 to register his first single — not because he was hitting poorly, but because he was hitting too well! His first seven hits each went for extra bases: four doubles, a triple, and two home runs. Altherr suffered from a wrist injury last season which hampered his swing. And, as Matt Winkelman noted earlier this year, the 24-year-old made big strides in terms of plate discipline and in terms of quality of contact.
Cameron Rupp, at 26 years old, is the veteran of this group, but his breakout deserves mention. He’s earned increasing amounts of playing time as the season has gone on, and he rewarded the Phillies with a torrid month of August. In 66 plate appearances, he hit .310/.379/.707 with seven home runs. Rupp has also done well in limiting the running game, throwing out 36 percent of would-be base-stealers, eight percent better than the league average. Other aspects of his defense — including blocking pitches and framing — still need work, but the Phillies at least have a placeholder behind the plate for however long they need to find a permanent solution, be it Jorge Alfaro, Andrew Knapp, a free agent, or a trade acquisition.
The Phillies, with baseball’s worst record at 53-80 and longest MLB odds to win the NL Pennant, are still the leaders for the #1 overall draft pick next season. Add that into a system which still has J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Cornelius Randolph, Franklin Kilome, and Scott Kingery, among others, and this is a team that can get very good very quickly, especially with one of the league’s largest payrolls. It is, at long last, a good time to be a Phillies fan.
The Phillies still have a ways to go before they can legitimately be considered a threat in the NL East again, but it’s hard not to be enthused by the team’s play in the second half, especially after pawning off a handful of veterans. They’re 24-18 in the second half, though they’ve narrowly outscored opponents 208 to 206.
On Tuesday, the Phillies handled the New York Mets 14-8 and the score made the game appear a lot closer than it really was. And it’s true that the Mets’ three errors and six walks contributed greatly to the win. That being said, Darnell Sweeney continued to impress, going 2-for-5 while driving in three runs. Since making his major league debut after coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Chase Utley trade, Sweeney is hitting .263/.417/.632 with a double, two home runs, and five walks.
Jerad Eickhoff, one of the six players the Phillies received from the Texas Rangers in the Cole Hamels/Jake Diekman deal, made his third major league start on Monday and held the Mets to three runs over seven innings. In 19 innings thus far, he’s allowed six earned runs on 15 hits and four walks with 15 strikeouts.
Alec Asher, who also came over from the Rangers, made his major league debut on Sunday against the San Diego Padres. Though he allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings, there were some positives. He kept his composure after a lead-off double in the second inning and settled down after allowing a solo home run to Matt Kemp in the third. He’ll start again on Saturday at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
Aaron Nola has looked terrific in nine starts since earning a promotion to the majors. He tossed eight shutout innings in Miami against the Marlins on August 23, and held the Padres to one run in seven innings on Friday. Things didn’t go Nola’s way on Wednesday night at Citi Field against the Mets, but his defense deserved more of the blame than he did. Nola has a 4.02 ERA with a 44/14 K/BB ratio in 53 2/3 innings.
Ken Giles, the subject of Corinne’s article on Monday, has seamlessly transitioned into the closer’s role after the Phillies sent Jonathan Papelbon to the Washington Nationals. In 13 appearances as the closer, the right-hander has gone 11-for-11 in save situations with a 0.60 ERA and a 19/1 K/BB ratio. Giles has a 1.38 ERA to begin his career, which is currently the best mark by any reliever in MLB history. Granted, it’s a comparatively small sample size of 104 1/3 innings, but still impressive — as is his 1.70 FIP, which is also the best in history, just ahead of Craig Kimbrel‘s 1.72. Even his 2.60 xFIP is bested by only six relievers during the time period for which batted ball data is available.
Maikel Franco was in the NL Rookie of the Year Award conversation before suffering a fractured wrist on August 11 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. His .356 weighted on-base average is seventh-best among major league third basemen, only a hair behind Nolan Arenado and Jung-Ho Kang at .362. He’s hit 13 home runs in 326 plate appearances, homering as often on a per-PA basis as Kris Bryant and slightly more frequently than the Mariners’ $100 million third baseman Kyle Seager. As he began his major league career last season, the big worry with Franco was that he would struggle with off-speed stuff, but as he showed here, he’s more than up to the task.
Odubel Herrera hadn’t played above Double-A and hardly had any outfield experience when the Phillies took him in the Rule-5 draft this past winter. They decided to stick him in center field. Though there have been a few hiccups, Herrera has vastly exceeded expectations, both offensively and defensively, as I wrote here. He’s been the Phillies’ most valuable position player, with 2.3 WAR to the departed Ben Revere‘s 2.2 and Andres Blanco‘s 1.6, per Baseball Reference. Herrera is batting .293 with 34 extra-base hits and 14 stolen bases while covering as much ground as All-Star and future Gold Glove Award winner Lorenzo Cain. His route-running still needs work, and it’d be great if he could draw more walks, but at only 23 years old, Herrera still has plenty of time to evolve.
Aaron Altherr made his season debut on August 18. It took him until August 29 to register his first single — not because he was hitting poorly, but because he was hitting too well! His first seven hits each went for extra bases: four doubles, a triple, and two home runs. Altherr suffered from a wrist injury last season which hampered his swing. And, as Matt Winkelman noted earlier this year, the 24-year-old made big strides in terms of plate discipline and in terms of quality of contact.
Cameron Rupp, at 26 years old, is the veteran of this group, but his breakout deserves mention. He’s earned increasing amounts of playing time as the season has gone on, and he rewarded the Phillies with a torrid month of August. In 66 plate appearances, he hit .310/.379/.707 with seven home runs. Rupp has also done well in limiting the running game, throwing out 36 percent of would-be base-stealers, eight percent better than the league average. Other aspects of his defense — including blocking pitches and framing — still need work, but the Phillies at least have a placeholder behind the plate for however long they need to find a permanent solution, be it Jorge Alfaro, Andrew Knapp, a free agent, or a trade acquisition.
The Phillies, with baseball’s worst record at 53-80 and longest MLB odds to win the NL Pennant, are still the leaders for the #1 overall draft pick next season. Add that into a system which still has J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Cornelius Randolph, Franklin Kilome, and Scott Kingery, among others, and this is a team that can get very good very quickly, especially with one of the league’s largest payrolls. It is, at long last, a good time to be a Phillies fan.
at long last? jeez have some fans/people around here become jaded. like we've waited so long for the phils to be good. man those good old days of 2007-2011 are sooooooo long ago. stupid comment by the author.
Infield looks good for the future. starting pitching has some nice young arms. still need a power hitting outfielder though.
The Phillies still have a ways to go before they can legitimately be considered a threat in the NL East again, but it’s hard not to be enthused by the team’s play in the second half, especially after pawning off a handful of veterans. They’re 24-18 in the second half, though they’ve narrowly outscored opponents 208 to 206.
On Tuesday, the Phillies handled the New York Mets 14-8 and the score made the game appear a lot closer than it really was. And it’s true that the Mets’ three errors and six walks contributed greatly to the win. That being said, Darnell Sweeney continued to impress, going 2-for-5 while driving in three runs. Since making his major league debut after coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Chase Utley trade, Sweeney is hitting .263/.417/.632 with a double, two home runs, and five walks.
Jerad Eickhoff, one of the six players the Phillies received from the Texas Rangers in the Cole Hamels/Jake Diekman deal, made his third major league start on Monday and held the Mets to three runs over seven innings. In 19 innings thus far, he’s allowed six earned runs on 15 hits and four walks with 15 strikeouts.
Alec Asher, who also came over from the Rangers, made his major league debut on Sunday against the San Diego Padres. Though he allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings, there were some positives. He kept his composure after a lead-off double in the second inning and settled down after allowing a solo home run to Matt Kemp in the third. He’ll start again on Saturday at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
Aaron Nola has looked terrific in nine starts since earning a promotion to the majors. He tossed eight shutout innings in Miami against the Marlins on August 23, and held the Padres to one run in seven innings on Friday. Things didn’t go Nola’s way on Wednesday night at Citi Field against the Mets, but his defense deserved more of the blame than he did. Nola has a 4.02 ERA with a 44/14 K/BB ratio in 53 2/3 innings.
Ken Giles, the subject of Corinne’s article on Monday, has seamlessly transitioned into the closer’s role after the Phillies sent Jonathan Papelbon to the Washington Nationals. In 13 appearances as the closer, the right-hander has gone 11-for-11 in save situations with a 0.60 ERA and a 19/1 K/BB ratio. Giles has a 1.38 ERA to begin his career, which is currently the best mark by any reliever in MLB history. Granted, it’s a comparatively small sample size of 104 1/3 innings, but still impressive — as is his 1.70 FIP, which is also the best in history, just ahead of Craig Kimbrel‘s 1.72. Even his 2.60 xFIP is bested by only six relievers during the time period for which batted ball data is available.
Maikel Franco was in the NL Rookie of the Year Award conversation before suffering a fractured wrist on August 11 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. His .356 weighted on-base average is seventh-best among major league third basemen, only a hair behind Nolan Arenado and Jung-Ho Kang at .362. He’s hit 13 home runs in 326 plate appearances, homering as often on a per-PA basis as Kris Bryant and slightly more frequently than the Mariners’ $100 million third baseman Kyle Seager. As he began his major league career last season, the big worry with Franco was that he would struggle with off-speed stuff, but as he showed here, he’s more than up to the task.
Odubel Herrera hadn’t played above Double-A and hardly had any outfield experience when the Phillies took him in the Rule-5 draft this past winter. They decided to stick him in center field. Though there have been a few hiccups, Herrera has vastly exceeded expectations, both offensively and defensively, as I wrote here. He’s been the Phillies’ most valuable position player, with 2.3 WAR to the departed Ben Revere‘s 2.2 and Andres Blanco‘s 1.6, per Baseball Reference. Herrera is batting .293 with 34 extra-base hits and 14 stolen bases while covering as much ground as All-Star and future Gold Glove Award winner Lorenzo Cain. His route-running still needs work, and it’d be great if he could draw more walks, but at only 23 years old, Herrera still has plenty of time to evolve.
Aaron Altherr made his season debut on August 18. It took him until August 29 to register his first single — not because he was hitting poorly, but because he was hitting too well! His first seven hits each went for extra bases: four doubles, a triple, and two home runs. Altherr suffered from a wrist injury last season which hampered his swing. And, as Matt Winkelman noted earlier this year, the 24-year-old made big strides in terms of plate discipline and in terms of quality of contact.
Cameron Rupp, at 26 years old, is the veteran of this group, but his breakout deserves mention. He’s earned increasing amounts of playing time as the season has gone on, and he rewarded the Phillies with a torrid month of August. In 66 plate appearances, he hit .310/.379/.707 with seven home runs. Rupp has also done well in limiting the running game, throwing out 36 percent of would-be base-stealers, eight percent better than the league average. Other aspects of his defense — including blocking pitches and framing — still need work, but the Phillies at least have a placeholder behind the plate for however long they need to find a permanent solution, be it Jorge Alfaro, Andrew Knapp, a free agent, or a trade acquisition.
The Phillies, with baseball’s worst record at 53-80 and longest MLB odds to win the NL Pennant, are still the leaders for the #1 overall draft pick next season. Add that into a system which still has J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Cornelius Randolph, Franklin Kilome, and Scott Kingery, among others, and this is a team that can get very good very quickly, especially with one of the league’s largest payrolls. It is, at long last, a good time to be a Phillies fan.
at long last? jeez have some fans/people around here become jaded. like we've waited so long for the phils to be good. man those good old days of 2007-2011 are sooooooo long ago. stupid comment by the author.
Infield looks good for the future. starting pitching has some nice young arms. still need a power hitting outfielder though.
how is it a stupid comment when most agree they waited at least 2 years too long to start the rebuild? just because they were awful for decades before the glory days doesn't make it right to wait way longer than they should've to start the youth movement.
at least it looks like they're moving in the right direction now though.
The Phillies still have a ways to go before they can legitimately be considered a threat in the NL East again, but it’s hard not to be enthused by the team’s play in the second half, especially after pawning off a handful of veterans. They’re 24-18 in the second half, though they’ve narrowly outscored opponents 208 to 206.
On Tuesday, the Phillies handled the New York Mets 14-8 and the score made the game appear a lot closer than it really was. And it’s true that the Mets’ three errors and six walks contributed greatly to the win. That being said, Darnell Sweeney continued to impress, going 2-for-5 while driving in three runs. Since making his major league debut after coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Chase Utley trade, Sweeney is hitting .263/.417/.632 with a double, two home runs, and five walks.
Jerad Eickhoff, one of the six players the Phillies received from the Texas Rangers in the Cole Hamels/Jake Diekman deal, made his third major league start on Monday and held the Mets to three runs over seven innings. In 19 innings thus far, he’s allowed six earned runs on 15 hits and four walks with 15 strikeouts.
Alec Asher, who also came over from the Rangers, made his major league debut on Sunday against the San Diego Padres. Though he allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings, there were some positives. He kept his composure after a lead-off double in the second inning and settled down after allowing a solo home run to Matt Kemp in the third. He’ll start again on Saturday at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
Aaron Nola has looked terrific in nine starts since earning a promotion to the majors. He tossed eight shutout innings in Miami against the Marlins on August 23, and held the Padres to one run in seven innings on Friday. Things didn’t go Nola’s way on Wednesday night at Citi Field against the Mets, but his defense deserved more of the blame than he did. Nola has a 4.02 ERA with a 44/14 K/BB ratio in 53 2/3 innings.
Ken Giles, the subject of Corinne’s article on Monday, has seamlessly transitioned into the closer’s role after the Phillies sent Jonathan Papelbon to the Washington Nationals. In 13 appearances as the closer, the right-hander has gone 11-for-11 in save situations with a 0.60 ERA and a 19/1 K/BB ratio. Giles has a 1.38 ERA to begin his career, which is currently the best mark by any reliever in MLB history. Granted, it’s a comparatively small sample size of 104 1/3 innings, but still impressive — as is his 1.70 FIP, which is also the best in history, just ahead of Craig Kimbrel‘s 1.72. Even his 2.60 xFIP is bested by only six relievers during the time period for which batted ball data is available.
Maikel Franco was in the NL Rookie of the Year Award conversation before suffering a fractured wrist on August 11 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. His .356 weighted on-base average is seventh-best among major league third basemen, only a hair behind Nolan Arenado and Jung-Ho Kang at .362. He’s hit 13 home runs in 326 plate appearances, homering as often on a per-PA basis as Kris Bryant and slightly more frequently than the Mariners’ $100 million third baseman Kyle Seager. As he began his major league career last season, the big worry with Franco was that he would struggle with off-speed stuff, but as he showed here, he’s more than up to the task.
Odubel Herrera hadn’t played above Double-A and hardly had any outfield experience when the Phillies took him in the Rule-5 draft this past winter. They decided to stick him in center field. Though there have been a few hiccups, Herrera has vastly exceeded expectations, both offensively and defensively, as I wrote here. He’s been the Phillies’ most valuable position player, with 2.3 WAR to the departed Ben Revere‘s 2.2 and Andres Blanco‘s 1.6, per Baseball Reference. Herrera is batting .293 with 34 extra-base hits and 14 stolen bases while covering as much ground as All-Star and future Gold Glove Award winner Lorenzo Cain. His route-running still needs work, and it’d be great if he could draw more walks, but at only 23 years old, Herrera still has plenty of time to evolve.
Aaron Altherr made his season debut on August 18. It took him until August 29 to register his first single — not because he was hitting poorly, but because he was hitting too well! His first seven hits each went for extra bases: four doubles, a triple, and two home runs. Altherr suffered from a wrist injury last season which hampered his swing. And, as Matt Winkelman noted earlier this year, the 24-year-old made big strides in terms of plate discipline and in terms of quality of contact.
Cameron Rupp, at 26 years old, is the veteran of this group, but his breakout deserves mention. He’s earned increasing amounts of playing time as the season has gone on, and he rewarded the Phillies with a torrid month of August. In 66 plate appearances, he hit .310/.379/.707 with seven home runs. Rupp has also done well in limiting the running game, throwing out 36 percent of would-be base-stealers, eight percent better than the league average. Other aspects of his defense — including blocking pitches and framing — still need work, but the Phillies at least have a placeholder behind the plate for however long they need to find a permanent solution, be it Jorge Alfaro, Andrew Knapp, a free agent, or a trade acquisition.
The Phillies, with baseball’s worst record at 53-80 and longest MLB odds to win the NL Pennant, are still the leaders for the #1 overall draft pick next season. Add that into a system which still has J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Cornelius Randolph, Franklin Kilome, and Scott Kingery, among others, and this is a team that can get very good very quickly, especially with one of the league’s largest payrolls. It is, at long last, a good time to be a Phillies fan.
at long last? jeez have some fans/people around here become jaded. like we've waited so long for the phils to be good. man those good old days of 2007-2011 are sooooooo long ago. stupid comment by the author.
Infield looks good for the future. starting pitching has some nice young arms. still need a power hitting outfielder though.
how is it a stupid comment when most agree they waited at least 2 years too long to start the rebuild? just because they were awful for decades before the glory days doesn't make it right to wait way longer than they should've to start the youth movement.
at least it looks like they're moving in the right direction now though.
it's was a stupid comment because 2 years isn't a long time in sports. saying 'at long last' implied fans have waited a lot longer than 2 years. just another jaded 'new' fan i guess. probably the type who ran out and put stickers all over his car after 2008 and rarely or ever went to a game prior to 2008.
bill baer is on the same level as jayson stark, jim salisbury, and bob brookover. pretty sure he's on the phils' payroll. I don't even read crashburn anymore because he's so pro phillies-biased...and has been for a long time (baer has always maintained a stance that the phils should keep ryan howard, which has proven to be the dumbest course of action possible).
I don't buy into their rebuild. The problem has always been the guys running the show...namely montgomery and amaro. Andy MacPhail was a terrible hire...just look at his age and track record. He brings more of the same minutiae, which is exactly what they should be moving away from.
They waited too long to rebuild. Now they have 'replenished' their system (highly ranked -- which means nothing), with players who have exaggerated ceilings. Crawford is a star, but the rest of the system is filled with players who are long shots to be difference makers...they are complimentary pieces. These types are necessary to championship clubs, but certainly not pillars of success.
The franchise is still resistant to sabermetrics and their track record of player development is horrid. Best of all, the player and contract that they should have gotten rid of to start the rebuild (howard) is the only one still left. They're a joke of a franchise. If you need proof just ask yourself 'why????' every time you see a ryan howard or jeff francoeur at bat. there is no rational or sane reason for either player to be on the roster at this point.
the optimism surrounding this rebuild is illusory. nothing to see here until the management structure and organizational objectives drastically change...which isn't happening anytime soon. the phillies are the pre-hinkie sixers. no plan, no future, and not worth paying attention to
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Bill Baer might as well be on the Phils payroll? Ha. Talk about laughable. Is Keith Law on it to now? No reason even reading the rest of that novel of a post. You know as well as I do that Baer was one of Amaro's loudest and staunchest critics. You've copied and pasted articles from his site multiple times here over the years.
I guess you're having a tough time coming to terms knowing that all your "go to" websites have come around and admitted this team has done a pretty good job restocking over the last year or so.
Bill Baer might as well be on the Phils payroll? Ha. Talk about laughable. Is Keith Law on it to now? No reason even reading the rest of that novel of a post. You know as well as I do that Baer was one of Amaro's loudest and staunchest critics. You've copied and pasted articles from his site multiple times here over the years.
I guess you're having a tough time coming to terms knowing that all your "go to" websites have come around and admitted this team has done a pretty good job restocking over the last year or so.
Bill Baer might as well be on the Phils payroll? Ha. Talk about laughable. Is Keith Law on it to now? No reason even reading the rest of that novel of a post. You know as well as I do that Baer was one of Amaro's loudest and staunchest critics. You've copied and pasted articles from his site multiple times here over the years.
I guess you're having a tough time coming to terms knowing that all your "go to" websites have come around and admitted this team has done a pretty good job restocking over the last year or so.
the dude was incredibly negative during the greatest stretch in franchise history, do you really expect him not to be negative now? besides it's September he needs to figure out who he is cheering for this year. last year this time all of a sudden he was an O's fan. he's probably a Mets fan now.
Bill Baer might as well be on the Phils payroll? Ha. Talk about laughable. Is Keith Law on it to now? No reason even reading the rest of that novel of a post. You know as well as I do that Baer was one of Amaro's loudest and staunchest critics. You've copied and pasted articles from his site multiple times here over the years.
I guess you're having a tough time coming to terms knowing that all your "go to" websites have come around and admitted this team has done a pretty good job restocking over the last year or so.
Bill Baer might as well be on the Phils payroll? Ha. Talk about laughable. Is Keith Law on it to now? No reason even reading the rest of that novel of a post. You know as well as I do that Baer was one of Amaro's loudest and staunchest critics. You've copied and pasted articles from his site multiple times here over the years.
I guess you're having a tough time coming to terms knowing that all your "go to" websites have come around and admitted this team has done a pretty good job restocking over the last year or so.
the dude was incredibly negative during the greatest stretch in franchise history, do you really expect him not to be negative now? besides it's September he needs to figure out who he is cheering for this year. last year this time all of a sudden he was an O's fan. he's probably a Mets fan now.
notice how he's stopped quoting keith law too? a couple years ago he was talking about how law had the phils farm system ranked 27th...but now when they're top 10 rankings mean nothing? i find that unsurprisingly ironic.
sooner or later he's gonna have to come to terms with the fact that almost universally, baseball pundits across all spectrums-- saber supporters like baer and law, to guys like stark and salisbury mostly agree that the phils have done better than expected in the rebuild, despite being a couple years late to the party. time will tell, of course. but it looks like they are further along than most thought they'd be at this point with another top pick coming next june.
nice got swept by Boston and back to the worse record in baseball
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
Odubel Herrera keeps on truckin’. The Phillies’ center fielder went 2-for-3 with a walk and a three-run home run, putting Tuesday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves out of reach at 5-0. Herrera bolstered his triple-slash line to .302/.340/.434 and crossed the 3-WAR threshold on the season, according to both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.
Matt Winkelman of Phillies Minor Thoughts tweeted this during the game:
J.J. Cooper of Baseball America did the research earlier this year and found that Rule 5 picks, since the eligibility rules were altered in 2006, have about a 1-in-4 chance of remaining with their new team. The Phillies had two Rule 5 picks this past winter, selecting Herrera and lefty pitcher Andy Oliver, who opted for free agency after refusing an assignment to Triple-A. 50 percent still ain’t too shabby for the Phillies.
There aren’t a whole lot of memorable Rule 5 picks. Most of them are either offered back to their original team, or struggle while remaining on the 25-man roster and break out later. Shane Victorino, often cited as a Rule 5 success (because he was), took only 19 plate appearances for the Phillies in 2005. He broke out as an average-value outfielder the next year and continued on an upward trajectory. Johan Santana was taken by the then-Florida Marlins in the Rule 5 draft ahead of the 2000 season, then was traded to the Minnesota Twins, but posted a 6.49 ERA over 86 innings.
There are only two Rule 5 picks that stuck out prior to Herrera: Dan Uggla and Josh Hamilton.
Player
Year
B-R WAR
FG WAR
Herrera 2015 3.0 3.0 Hamilton 2007 2.5 2.3 Uggla 2006 3.0 4.2 Soria 2007 2.4 2.1 Victorino 2005 0.2 0.1
Uggla made the NL All-Star team and finished third in Rookie of the Year balloting in 2006 after hitting .282/.339/.480 with 27 home runs in 683 plate appearances for the Marlins, who took him in the Rule 5 draft from the Arizona Diamondbacks. B-R credited him with three Wins Above Replacement. FanGraphs was much kinder to his defense, resulting in 4.2 WAR.
Hamilton was selected by the Chicago Cubs from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the Rule 5 draft before the 2001 season. That same day, the Cubs sent him to the Cincinnati Reds in a cash transaction. Hamilton finished with 2.5 WAR, batting .292/.368/.554 with 19 home runs in 337 plate appearances.
Reliever Joakim Soria deserves a mention as well, as he saved 17 games while compiling a 2.48 ERA and a 75/19 K/BB ratio in 69 innings for the Kansas City Royals in 2007. The Royals selected him from the San Diego Padres in the Rule 5 draft.
Herrera doesn’t stack up as well as Uggla and Hamilton offensively, but he’s been an asset on the bases despite a 67 percent stolen base success rate in 21 attempts, and he’s played well above-average defense in center field. Herrera’s .337 weighted on-base average is 24 points higher than the National League average and 14 points higher than the average for NL outfielders specifically. As noted recently, Herrera easily rates as the Phillies’ best position player this season.
A lot of the talk about the Phillies’ talent acquisition has focused on trades, as the Cole Hamels trade in particular made the most headway in the Phillies’ rebuilding process. But Herrera could very well become one of the most important players for the Phillies going forward. All he has to do is do it again next season.
Odubel Herrera keeps on truckin’. The Phillies’ center fielder went 2-for-3 with a walk and a three-run home run, putting Tuesday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves out of reach at 5-0. Herrera bolstered his triple-slash line to .302/.340/.434 and crossed the 3-WAR threshold on the season, according to both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.
Matt Winkelman of Phillies Minor Thoughts tweeted this during the game:
J.J. Cooper of Baseball America did the research earlier this year and found that Rule 5 picks, since the eligibility rules were altered in 2006, have about a 1-in-4 chance of remaining with their new team. The Phillies had two Rule 5 picks this past winter, selecting Herrera and lefty pitcher Andy Oliver, who opted for free agency after refusing an assignment to Triple-A. 50 percent still ain’t too shabby for the Phillies.
There aren’t a whole lot of memorable Rule 5 picks. Most of them are either offered back to their original team, or struggle while remaining on the 25-man roster and break out later. Shane Victorino, often cited as a Rule 5 success (because he was), took only 19 plate appearances for the Phillies in 2005. He broke out as an average-value outfielder the next year and continued on an upward trajectory. Johan Santana was taken by the then-Florida Marlins in the Rule 5 draft ahead of the 2000 season, then was traded to the Minnesota Twins, but posted a 6.49 ERA over 86 innings.
There are only two Rule 5 picks that stuck out prior to Herrera: Dan Uggla and Josh Hamilton.
Player
Year
B-R WAR
FG WAR
Herrera 2015 3.0 3.0 Hamilton 2007 2.5 2.3 Uggla 2006 3.0 4.2 Soria 2007 2.4 2.1 Victorino 2005 0.2 0.1
Uggla made the NL All-Star team and finished third in Rookie of the Year balloting in 2006 after hitting .282/.339/.480 with 27 home runs in 683 plate appearances for the Marlins, who took him in the Rule 5 draft from the Arizona Diamondbacks. B-R credited him with three Wins Above Replacement. FanGraphs was much kinder to his defense, resulting in 4.2 WAR.
Hamilton was selected by the Chicago Cubs from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the Rule 5 draft before the 2001 season. That same day, the Cubs sent him to the Cincinnati Reds in a cash transaction. Hamilton finished with 2.5 WAR, batting .292/.368/.554 with 19 home runs in 337 plate appearances.
Reliever Joakim Soria deserves a mention as well, as he saved 17 games while compiling a 2.48 ERA and a 75/19 K/BB ratio in 69 innings for the Kansas City Royals in 2007. The Royals selected him from the San Diego Padres in the Rule 5 draft.
Herrera doesn’t stack up as well as Uggla and Hamilton offensively, but he’s been an asset on the bases despite a 67 percent stolen base success rate in 21 attempts, and he’s played well above-average defense in center field. Herrera’s .337 weighted on-base average is 24 points higher than the National League average and 14 points higher than the average for NL outfielders specifically. As noted recently, Herrera easily rates as the Phillies’ best position player this season.
A lot of the talk about the Phillies’ talent acquisition has focused on trades, as the Cole Hamels trade in particular made the most headway in the Phillies’ rebuilding process. But Herrera could very well become one of the most important players for the Phillies going forward. All he has to do is do it again next season.
Herrera had a nice pedigree coming in. led his league in hitting last year i believe and had a big winter league season. Nice pickup although his play in centerfield still needs work but overall not too bad for a guy who never played there before.
i think Rule-5 is under utilized by bad teams. why not take a shot on a guy like Herrera if you are going to stink anyway?
Comments
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
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10/31/09- Philly
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4/28/16- Philly, PA
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5/1/16- NYC
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9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/Chase-Utley-Thanks-Fans-Again-in-Newspaper-Ad-322672061.html
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/109406/rapid-reaction-mets-16-phillies-7
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10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
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5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
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Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
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Pearl Jam bootlegs:
http://wegotshit.blogspot.com
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
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EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
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Portland 13, Spokane 13
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10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
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7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
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9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Tom O.
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
Ruf with 6 rbi tonight!
10/31/09- Philly
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9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
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10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
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9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
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Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
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DEGENERATE FUK
This place is dead
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Phillies Youth Movement Paying Off Early
by Bill Baer
The Phillies still have a ways to go before they can legitimately be considered a threat in the NL East again, but it’s hard not to be enthused by the team’s play in the second half, especially after pawning off a handful of veterans. They’re 24-18 in the second half, though they’ve narrowly outscored opponents 208 to 206.
On Tuesday, the Phillies handled the New York Mets 14-8 and the score made the game appear a lot closer than it really was. And it’s true that the Mets’ three errors and six walks contributed greatly to the win. That being said, Darnell Sweeney continued to impress, going 2-for-5 while driving in three runs. Since making his major league debut after coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Chase Utley trade, Sweeney is hitting .263/.417/.632 with a double, two home runs, and five walks.
Jerad Eickhoff, one of the six players the Phillies received from the Texas Rangers in the Cole Hamels/Jake Diekman deal, made his third major league start on Monday and held the Mets to three runs over seven innings. In 19 innings thus far, he’s allowed six earned runs on 15 hits and four walks with 15 strikeouts.
Alec Asher, who also came over from the Rangers, made his major league debut on Sunday against the San Diego Padres. Though he allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings, there were some positives. He kept his composure after a lead-off double in the second inning and settled down after allowing a solo home run to Matt Kemp in the third. He’ll start again on Saturday at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
Aaron Nola has looked terrific in nine starts since earning a promotion to the majors. He tossed eight shutout innings in Miami against the Marlins on August 23, and held the Padres to one run in seven innings on Friday. Things didn’t go Nola’s way on Wednesday night at Citi Field against the Mets, but his defense deserved more of the blame than he did. Nola has a 4.02 ERA with a 44/14 K/BB ratio in 53 2/3 innings.
Ken Giles, the subject of Corinne’s article on Monday, has seamlessly transitioned into the closer’s role after the Phillies sent Jonathan Papelbon to the Washington Nationals. In 13 appearances as the closer, the right-hander has gone 11-for-11 in save situations with a 0.60 ERA and a 19/1 K/BB ratio. Giles has a 1.38 ERA to begin his career, which is currently the best mark by any reliever in MLB history. Granted, it’s a comparatively small sample size of 104 1/3 innings, but still impressive — as is his 1.70 FIP, which is also the best in history, just ahead of Craig Kimbrel‘s 1.72. Even his 2.60 xFIP is bested by only six relievers during the time period for which batted ball data is available.
Maikel Franco was in the NL Rookie of the Year Award conversation before suffering a fractured wrist on August 11 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. His .356 weighted on-base average is seventh-best among major league third basemen, only a hair behind Nolan Arenado and Jung-Ho Kang at .362. He’s hit 13 home runs in 326 plate appearances, homering as often on a per-PA basis as Kris Bryant and slightly more frequently than the Mariners’ $100 million third baseman Kyle Seager. As he began his major league career last season, the big worry with Franco was that he would struggle with off-speed stuff, but as he showed here, he’s more than up to the task.
Odubel Herrera hadn’t played above Double-A and hardly had any outfield experience when the Phillies took him in the Rule-5 draft this past winter. They decided to stick him in center field. Though there have been a few hiccups, Herrera has vastly exceeded expectations, both offensively and defensively, as I wrote here. He’s been the Phillies’ most valuable position player, with 2.3 WAR to the departed Ben Revere‘s 2.2 and Andres Blanco‘s 1.6, per Baseball Reference. Herrera is batting .293 with 34 extra-base hits and 14 stolen bases while covering as much ground as All-Star and future Gold Glove Award winner Lorenzo Cain. His route-running still needs work, and it’d be great if he could draw more walks, but at only 23 years old, Herrera still has plenty of time to evolve.
Aaron Altherr made his season debut on August 18. It took him until August 29 to register his first single — not because he was hitting poorly, but because he was hitting too well! His first seven hits each went for extra bases: four doubles, a triple, and two home runs. Altherr suffered from a wrist injury last season which hampered his swing. And, as Matt Winkelman noted earlier this year, the 24-year-old made big strides in terms of plate discipline and in terms of quality of contact.
Cameron Rupp, at 26 years old, is the veteran of this group, but his breakout deserves mention. He’s earned increasing amounts of playing time as the season has gone on, and he rewarded the Phillies with a torrid month of August. In 66 plate appearances, he hit .310/.379/.707 with seven home runs. Rupp has also done well in limiting the running game, throwing out 36 percent of would-be base-stealers, eight percent better than the league average. Other aspects of his defense — including blocking pitches and framing — still need work, but the Phillies at least have a placeholder behind the plate for however long they need to find a permanent solution, be it Jorge Alfaro, Andrew Knapp, a free agent, or a trade acquisition.
The Phillies, with baseball’s worst record at 53-80 and longest MLB odds to win the NL Pennant, are still the leaders for the #1 overall draft pick next season. Add that into a system which still has J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Cornelius Randolph, Franklin Kilome, and Scott Kingery, among others, and this is a team that can get very good very quickly, especially with one of the league’s largest payrolls. It is, at long last, a good time to be a Phillies fan.
Infield looks good for the future. starting pitching has some nice young arms. still need a power hitting outfielder though.
at least it looks like they're moving in the right direction now though.
I don't buy into their rebuild. The problem has always been the guys running the show...namely montgomery and amaro. Andy MacPhail was a terrible hire...just look at his age and track record. He brings more of the same minutiae, which is exactly what they should be moving away from.
They waited too long to rebuild. Now they have 'replenished' their system (highly ranked -- which means nothing), with players who have exaggerated ceilings. Crawford is a star, but the rest of the system is filled with players who are long shots to be difference makers...they are complimentary pieces. These types are necessary to championship clubs, but certainly not pillars of success.
The franchise is still resistant to sabermetrics and their track record of player development is horrid. Best of all, the player and contract that they should have gotten rid of to start the rebuild (howard) is the only one still left. They're a joke of a franchise. If you need proof just ask yourself 'why????' every time you see a ryan howard or jeff francoeur at bat. there is no rational or sane reason for either player to be on the roster at this point.
the optimism surrounding this rebuild is illusory. nothing to see here until the management structure and organizational objectives drastically change...which isn't happening anytime soon. the phillies are the pre-hinkie sixers. no plan, no future, and not worth paying attention to
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
I guess you're having a tough time coming to terms knowing that all your "go to" websites have come around and admitted this team has done a pretty good job restocking over the last year or so.
http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/comment/2937982#Comment_2937982
http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/comment/3293950#Comment_3293950
notice how he's stopped quoting keith law too? a couple years ago he was talking about how law had the phils farm system ranked 27th...but now when they're top 10 rankings mean nothing? i find that unsurprisingly ironic.
sooner or later he's gonna have to come to terms with the fact that almost universally, baseball pundits across all spectrums-- saber supporters like baer and law, to guys like stark and salisbury mostly agree that the phils have done better than expected in the rebuild, despite being a couple years late to the party. time will tell, of course. but it looks like they are further along than most thought they'd be at this point with another top pick coming next june.
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
Odubel Herrera Ranks Among Best Rule-5 Picks Ever
by Bill Baer on September 9, 2015
MLB • Philadelphia Phillies • Sabermetrics
3 Comments
Odubel Herrera keeps on truckin’. The Phillies’ center fielder went 2-for-3 with a walk and a three-run home run, putting Tuesday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves out of reach at 5-0. Herrera bolstered his triple-slash line to .302/.340/.434 and crossed the 3-WAR threshold on the season, according to both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.
Matt Winkelman of Phillies Minor Thoughts tweeted this during the game:
J.J. Cooper of Baseball America did the research earlier this year and found that Rule 5 picks, since the eligibility rules were altered in 2006, have about a 1-in-4 chance of remaining with their new team. The Phillies had two Rule 5 picks this past winter, selecting Herrera and lefty pitcher Andy Oliver, who opted for free agency after refusing an assignment to Triple-A. 50 percent still ain’t too shabby for the Phillies.
There aren’t a whole lot of memorable Rule 5 picks. Most of them are either offered back to their original team, or struggle while remaining on the 25-man roster and break out later. Shane Victorino, often cited as a Rule 5 success (because he was), took only 19 plate appearances for the Phillies in 2005. He broke out as an average-value outfielder the next year and continued on an upward trajectory. Johan Santana was taken by the then-Florida Marlins in the Rule 5 draft ahead of the 2000 season, then was traded to the Minnesota Twins, but posted a 6.49 ERA over 86 innings.
There are only two Rule 5 picks that stuck out prior to Herrera: Dan Uggla and Josh Hamilton.
Player
Year
B-R WAR
FG WAR
Herrera 2015 3.0 3.0
Hamilton 2007 2.5 2.3
Uggla 2006 3.0 4.2
Soria 2007 2.4 2.1
Victorino 2005 0.2 0.1
Uggla made the NL All-Star team and finished third in Rookie of the Year balloting in 2006 after hitting .282/.339/.480 with 27 home runs in 683 plate appearances for the Marlins, who took him in the Rule 5 draft from the Arizona Diamondbacks. B-R credited him with three Wins Above Replacement. FanGraphs was much kinder to his defense, resulting in 4.2 WAR.
Hamilton was selected by the Chicago Cubs from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the Rule 5 draft before the 2001 season. That same day, the Cubs sent him to the Cincinnati Reds in a cash transaction. Hamilton finished with 2.5 WAR, batting .292/.368/.554 with 19 home runs in 337 plate appearances.
Reliever Joakim Soria deserves a mention as well, as he saved 17 games while compiling a 2.48 ERA and a 75/19 K/BB ratio in 69 innings for the Kansas City Royals in 2007. The Royals selected him from the San Diego Padres in the Rule 5 draft.
Herrera doesn’t stack up as well as Uggla and Hamilton offensively, but he’s been an asset on the bases despite a 67 percent stolen base success rate in 21 attempts, and he’s played well above-average defense in center field. Herrera’s .337 weighted on-base average is 24 points higher than the National League average and 14 points higher than the average for NL outfielders specifically. As noted recently, Herrera easily rates as the Phillies’ best position player this season.
A lot of the talk about the Phillies’ talent acquisition has focused on trades, as the Cole Hamels trade in particular made the most headway in the Phillies’ rebuilding process. But Herrera could very well become one of the most important players for the Phillies going forward. All he has to do is do it again next season.
i think Rule-5 is under utilized by bad teams. why not take a shot on a guy like Herrera if you are going to stink anyway?