Original Draft Series: #11 – Philadelphia Phillies

For those that missed the guidelines I am using for this series of posts, you can find them here.

Team #12: Philadelphia Phillies

General Managers(since 1994)

Lee Thomas (1994-1997): 258-325
Ed Wade (1998-2005): 643-652
Pat Gillick (2006-2008): 266-220
Ruben Amaro Jr (2009-Current): 93-69

Team Performance

Playoffs			Division Finish
WC	League	Playoff App	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Last
1	2	3	3	4	5	1	3

All information is drawn from Baseball Reference.

Position	Name	Acquired	Years with Org.	Stats with Organization	Left?
C	Carlos Ruiz	Int’l FA – 1998	12	440 gm, .256/.347/.390, 27 HR, 165 RBI, 10 SB	Currently with Org.
1B	Ryan Howard	2001 – 5th Rd	9	2005 NL ROY, 2006 NL MVP, 3 All-Star Appearances, 1 Silver Slugger 836 gm, .281/.373/.578, 245 HR, 721 RBI	Currently with Org.
2B	Chase Utley	2000 – 1st Rd (15)	10	5 All Star Appearances, 4 Silver Sluggers 963 gm, .294/.380/.518, 172 HR, 622 RBI, 88 SB	Currently with Org.
3B	Scott Rolen	1993 – 2nd Rd	9	1997 NL ROY, 1 All Star Appearance, 3 Gold Gloves 844 gm, .282/.373/.504, 150 HR, 559 RBI, 71 SB	Traded to STL – 7/29/02
SS	Jimmy Rollins	1996 – 2nd Rd	14	2007 NL MVP, 3 All Star Appearances, 3 Gold Gloves, 1 Silver Slugger 1456 gm, .273/.329/.437, 150 HR, 646 RBI, 335 SB	Currently with Org.
LF	Pat Burrell	1998 – 1st Rd (1)	10	1306 gm, .257/.367/.485, 251 HR, 827 RBI	Left via Free Agency – 11/6/08
CF	Michael Bourn	2003 – 4th Rd	4	122 gm, .268/.340/.362, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 19 SB	Traded to HOU – 11/7/07
RF	Marlon Byrd	1999 – 10th Rd	6	256 gm, .271/.332/.377, 13 HR, 79 RBI, 13 SB	Traded to WAS – 5/14/05
DH	Domonic Brown	2006 – 20th Rd	4	7 gm, .259/.241/.296, 6 RBI, 1 SB	Currently with Org.
SP	Cole Hamels	2002 – 1st Rd (17)	8	1 All Star Appearance 55-41, 3.65 ERA, 824 K, 233 BB, 875.2 IP	Currently with Org.
SP	Randy Wolf	1997 – 2nd Rd	9	1 All Star Appearance 69-60, 4.21 ERA, 971 K, 437 BB, 1175 IP	Left via Free Agency – 11/1/06
SP	J.A. Happ	2004 – 3rd Rd	6	14-5, 3.11 ERA, 159 K, 84 BB, 217 IP	Traded to HOU – 7/29/10
SP	Brett Myers	1999 – 1st Rd (12)	10	73-63, 4.40 ERA, 21 SV, 986 K, 413 BB, 1183.2 IP	Left via Free Agency – 11/6/09
SP	Gavin Floyd	2001 – 1st Rd (4)	5	7-5, 6.96 ERA, 75 K, 64 BB, 108.2 IP	Traded to CHW – 12/6/06
RP	Robinson Tejeda	Int’l FA – 1998	7	4-3, 3.57 ERA, 72 K, 51 BB, 85.2 IP	Traded to TEX – 4/1/06
RP	Alfredo Simon	Int’l FA – 1999	5	No Major League Appearances with Org.	Traded to SF – 7/30/04
RP	Kyle Kendrick	2003 – 7th Rd	7	31-18, 4.58 ERA, 196 K, 125 BB, 430.2 IP	Currently with Org.
RP	Ryan Madson	1998 – 9th Rd	12	41-27, 3.86 ERA, 19 SV, 449 K, 167 BB, 539 IP	Currently with Org.
RP	Taylor Buchholz	2000 – 6th Rd	3	No Major League Appearances with Org.	Traded to HOU – 11/3/03
CL	Brad Ziegler	2003 – 20th Rd	1	No Major League Appearances with Org.	Released – 3/28/04
BN	Carlos Silva	Int’l FA – 1996	7	8-1, 3.83 ERA, 89 K, 59 BB, 171.1 IP	Traded to MIN- 12/3/03
BN	Jason Donald	2006 – 3rd Rd	3	No Major League Appearances with Org.	Traded to CLE – 7/29/09
BN	Lou Marson	2004 – 4th Rd	5	8 gm, .286/.375/.476, 1 HR, 2 RBI	Traded to CLE – 7/29/09
BN	Nick Punto	1998 – 21st Rd	5	77 gm, .223/.273/.272, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 SB	Traded to Min – 12/3/03
BN	Jason Michaels	1998 – 4th Rd	7	383 gm, .291/.380/.442, 21 HR, 100 RBI, 6 SB	Traded to CLE – 1/27/06

June Amateur Draft

Well, they’ve done very well in the first few rounds of the draft. Clearly, adding players like Pat Burrell, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, and Brett Myers in the first round is going to help. But the team has done well in the next 3 rounds as well, getting Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Scott Rolen, and Randy Wolf. This is one of the first teams that I can remember where I was able to put a solid major league regular into nearly every spot in the lineup and into the starting rotation, and it’s almost entirely from the draft. But they’ve also done well in later rounds, with Domonic Brown being the highest potential of anyone they’ve drafted after the 10th round so far. Even the players that they drafted that have not done a whole lot (Jason Donald, Lou Marson) were both used to acquire Cliff Lee in 2009.

International Free Agency

They have not been as active in international free agency as some teams, but with the success they’ve had in the draft, it’s not as glaring as a problem. The team has only had two success stories from the IFA markets in Carlos Silva and Carlos Ruiz. While it’s not a lot, there’s a lot of hope for Ruiz yet.

Overall Grade

B+. With 2 home grown MVPs, and quite a few players who would be welcome on any team in Chase Utley, Scott Rolen, and Cole Hamels, the team has done extremely well at not only scouting these players, but developing them and getting production for their own team out of them as well. The only weakness is the bullpen, but I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that the bullpen is something that any team can fill in with a little diligence. The fact that they have solid regulars at every lineup position, and 5 excellent starting pitchers leads me to give them this good grade.

The Week in Review: June 7-June 13

If the Playoffs Started Today

Tampa Bay Rays (40-23) vs. Minnesota Twins (36-27)
Texas Rangers (35-28) vs. New York Yankees (40-23)

Los Angeles Dodgers (36-27) vs. Atlanta Braves (37-27)
Cincinnati Reds (36-28) vs. San Diego Padres (37-26)

League Leaders

Batting Average – Robinson Cano (NYY) – .371
Runs – Kevin Youkilis (BOS) – 54
Home Runs – Miguel Cabrera (DET) – 19
Runs Batted In – Miguel Cabrera (DET) – 56
Stolen Bases – Juan Pierre (CHW) – 25

Wins – Ubaldo Jimenez (COL) – 12
Saves – Matt Capps (WAS) – 20
ERA – Ubaldo Jimenez (COL) – 1.16
Strikeouts – Dan Haren (ARI) – 97
WHIP – Cliff Lee (SEA) – 0.93

Roster Movement

To the Disabled List: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Nate McLouth, Rich Harden, J.J. Hardy, Jeremy Hermida, Aramis Ramirez, Orlando Hudson

Return from the Disabled List: Miguel Montero, George Sherrill, Ivan Rodriguez

To the Minors: Jake Fox, Lou Marson

Called Up: Stephen Strasburg, Mike Stanton, Carlos Santana, Brad Lincoln, Jose Tabata

Top Stories and Weekly Links

• Clearly, the dominant story on the baseball landscape this week was the much-anticipated debut of Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday. And boy did he not disappoint. 14 strikeouts and only 2 earned runs over 7 innings on Tuesday en route to his first major league victory. As a result of this, Sunday’s start at the Indians became almost as hyped. He pitched well enough to get a victory on Sunday, striking out 8 and only allowing 1 earned run. But there does appear to be a human being under there, as he walked 5 and only went 5 1/3 innings in that start.
• Not to be outdone, the Marlins called up top prospect Mike Stanton to make his debut on Tuesday as well. In the 5 games he has played since being called up, he has hit .368 with 4 runs batted in and 2 stolen bases. The strikeouts will remain a bit of a concern for him, but let’s remember that the kid is still just 20 years old, and probably likely to see at least a bit of growing pains.
• On Friday, the Indians called up their top prospect C Carlos Santana. He is hitting .273, but slugging .636 after a homerun and a double in Saturday’s game. He faced off against Strasburg in his start on Sunday, and was the only player in the Indians’ starting lineup to not strikeout against the phenom. Pretty good start so far.
• Lost in all these top prospects making their debuts was the fact that on Monday, Bryce Harper’s rights officially became the property of the Washington Nationals. I did find it interesting that the Nationals have announced already that he will be moved to the outfield immediately upon his signing. Looking at the Nationals’ minor league system, this is probably the fastest way for him to get to the Majors, and the Nats also have a solid prospect (Derek Norris) already at the catcher position who is more likely to make it to the Majors behind the plated before Harper would. Either way, Harper could very well end up making it to the Majors in two to three seasons at most, and is very likely to be no older than 20 when he does so. Lots of paydays in his future.

Links are a bit light this week, as I’ve been pretty busy. I am looking for some input from the readers, as I am starting to look into which prospects I should review in the offseason. My only rules really for this for the next offseason is that I want to preview a prospect from each team again. So if you have someone you think is going to be a top-10 prospect in an organization that you’d like to see a scouting report for, leave a comment and let me know.

Upcoming Posts This Week:

Tuesday: The Original Draft Series – Team #30 and #29
Wednesday: The Original Draft Series – Team #28 and #27
Thursday: The Original Draft Series – Team #26 and #25
Friday:  Trade Retrospective – Rickey Henderson to the Yankees

Trade Retrospective: Bartolo Colon

The next trade up on the retrospective list is the acquisition of Bartolo Colon by the Montreal Expos in exchange for 1B Lee Stevens, P Cliff Lee, OF Grady Sizemore, and SS Brandon Phillips. The trade was completed on June 27, 2002.

The Background

The Indians had started the 2002 season hot, winning 11 of their first 12. However, by midseason they had faltered, and it had become quite clear that they were not going to compete that season. Their most coveted trading piece had become starting pitcher Bartolo Colon.

The Expos had spent the majority of the offseason prior to the 2002 season trying to keep from being contracted by MLB, but had managed to stay in the race much to everyone’s surprise for a large portion of the 1st half of the season. It was an extreme surprise to say the least when the Expos went out and acquired Colon from the Indians.

The Moving Pieces

Bartolo Colon came to the Expos, and his main goal was to help guide the Expos into the playoffs.

Lee Stevens was slotted in to help out at 1B and in the OF, but was not particularly expected to be a part of the future of the Indians. He was included more to help offset some of the salaries.

Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, and Grady Sizemore were prospects at the time, and the Indians were hopeful that all 3 would provide value at the Major League level when they were ready to compete again.

What Happened Next

Colon pitched extremely well. In 17 starts, he went 10-4 with a 3.31 ERA, 74 strikeouts and 39 walks in 117 innings pitched. Unfortunately, he was not able to carry the Expos to the playoffs, as they finished 83-79, good for 2nd place in the division, but unfortunately 12 games out of a playoff spot.

The Indians sent all 3 prospects to the minors, and had September call-ups for Lee and Phillips.  They finished out the 2002 season with a 74-88 record, which was surprisingly able to put them in 3rd place in the division.

The Net Moves

Montreal – First Level

• Colon was moved in January of 2003 in order to help cut salaries for the Expos. He was traded to the White Sox for pitchers Rocky Biddle and Orlando Hernandez, 1B Jeff Liefer, and cash.

Montreal/Washington – Second Level

• Biddle spent the 2003-2004 seasons with the Expos, posting a 9-16 record with a 5.83 ERA in 120 appearances. At the end of the 2004 season, Biddle was released by the team.
• Orlando Hernandez spent the entire 2003 season rehabbing in the minors for the Expos, and was a free agent at the end of the 2003 season.
• Liefer finished the 2003 season with a .193/.217/.330 batting line with 3 HR and 18 RBI in 35 games. The 26 strikeouts to 3 walks were not particularly helpful to him either. He was waived at the end of the 2003 season.

Cleveland – First Level

• Lee Stevens finished off the 2002 season, appearing in 53 games and hitting 5 HR and 26 RBI for the Indians. He didn’t play in the Majors after the end of that season.
• Brandon Phillips spent portions of the 2002-2005 seasons with the Indians Major League team. In 135 total games, he hit .206/.246/.310 with 6 home runs and 38 RBI. He was traded 4/7/06 to the Reds for minor league P Jeff Stevens.
• Cliff Lee evolved into a top-tier pitcher. With the team from 2002-2009, he posted an 83-48 record with a 4.01 ERA in 1117 innings pitched. He also won the 2008 Cy Young award with a 22-3 record and a 2.54 ERA. At the trade deadline in 2009, he was traded to the Phillies for P Carlos Carrasco, P Jason Knapp, IF Jason Donald, and C Lou Marson.
• Grady Sizemore spent the 2002-2003 seasons in the minor leagues, and has been the starting center fielder since 2004. In that time, he has hit .275/.366/.484 with 129 HR, 418 RBI, and 131 SB. He also won 2 Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger in that time.

Cleveland – Second Level

• Jeff Stevens spent the 2006-2008 seasons in the minors for the Indians, and was traded during the offseason after 2008 to the Cubs as a part of the trade which brought the Indians IF Mark DeRosa.
• Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Jason Knapp, and Lou Marson are all still with the team, with Marson being the only one who has already become a regular starter for the Major League team. Carrasco and Knapp are both considered to be high-end pitching prospects.

Cleveland – Third Level

• Mark DeRosa spent half of the 2009 season with the Indians, posting a .270/.342/.457 line with 13 HR and 50 RBI in 71 games. He was traded on 6/22/09 to the Cardinals for pitchers Chris Perez and Jess Todd.

Cleveland – Fourth Level

• Chris Perez has been slotted in as the closer while Kerry Wood has been on the disabled list, and Jess Todd is currently working in the minor leagues for the Indians.

Overall Reactions

This trade looked like a steal for the Expos at the time, as Colon was a widely sought after starter and had been pitching extremely well. As time has progressed, the Expos/Nationals clearly would have been better served if they had not made this trade. Lee and Sizemore both have been All-Stars for the Indians, and Phillips has been an All-Star for the Reds. The Indians essentially traded 1.5 seasons of Bartolo Colon to the Expos for Carrasco, Donald, Knapp, Marson, Perez, and Todd, along with 6 seasons of Cliff Lee and 6 seasons of Grady Sizemore. The Expos then got 1/2 a season of Colon for essentially nothing back in return from the White Sox. The Indians CLEARLY won this trade.