Results tagged ‘ Reading Phillies ’
Prospect Uniformed: Phillies Catcher Tommy Joseph in Every Minor League Uniform He’s Worn
Tommy Joseph is not the next Buster Posey, but at least now he’s no longer blocked by Buster.
If you recall, Joseph — the No. 3 Phillies prospect and the No. 8 overall catching prospect in baseball entering the 2013 season — was involved in last summer’s Hunter Pence-to-the-Giants trade. As a result, the 21-year-old backtop merely switched Eastern League clubs, going from Richmond to Reading. And after a full year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley beginning this spring, he could be ready for a full-time, big-league job in ’14. That would never have occurred had he stayed in the Giants organization and behind Posey, one of the game’s greats.
Here is a gallery of Joseph (career bio, stats here) in every uni he’s donned to date. Click on any picture to begin the slideshow. For all past editions of Prospect Uniformed, head here.
Prospect Uniformed: Phillies Right-hander Ethan Martin in Every Minor League Jersey He’s Worn
Dodgers-turned-Phillies pitching prospect Ethan Martin (bio, stats here) emerged in MLB.com’s new Top 100 Prospects list, which was released on Wednesday. Martin, a 23-year-old right-hander, checked in at No. 80. If you recall, he was traded from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, in a Nonwaiver Trade Deadline deal on July 31, 2012 for veteran outfielder Shane Victorino. Originally a first-round pick of the Dodgers four years earlier, Martin has now pitched for five Minor League teams in his career. Based on his success with his first Phils affiliate, Double-A Reading, last fall (5-0, 3.18 ERA in seven starts), he could begin 2013 with a sixth in Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Here is a gallery of Martin, in every uni he’s donned to date. Click on any picture to begin the slideshow. For all past editions of Prospect Uniformed, head here.
Lost and Found: Phillies Prospect Cody Asche
Editor’s note: Lost and Found is an offseason series in which one underrated prospect from each of the 30 MLB clubs will be discussed in a short, snappy post.
(Kevin Pataky/MiLB.com)
Lost: A fourth-round draftee of Philadelphia in 2011, Cody Asche went from University of Nebraska product and legitimate Major League prospect to, well, disappointment, and in a hurry.
2011: .192/.273/.264 — 24-50 BB-K — 68 G at Class A Short-Season Williamsport
Found: For draftees who enjoyed nothing but success entering the pros, particularly those who never failed at the college level, changing their approach in the batter’s box would seem backward. So Asche stuck with what he knew in his first pro experience. That, plus the struggles of learning a new position (the Phils liked his bat so much that they moved him to a position, second base, that requires less development), resulted in those awful numbers you see above. So how did he achieve those numbers you see below? Asche learned in instructional league how to start his swing earlier and was returned to his natural spot at third base, which undoubtedly eased his mind at the plate. If not for Darin “Babe” Ruf’s season, Asche may have gotten more attention.
2012: .324/.360/.513 — 22-56 BB-K — 130 G at Class A Advanced Clearwater/Double-A Reading
So Asche was lost, now he is found. Now, about the Phils’ returns: To read the headlines is to believe that Asche is the “third baseman of the future” in Philadelphia. I wouldn’t go that far, given his 18 errors on the hot corner this season. (For what it’s worth, he’s played mistake-free defense in his first 19 Arizona Fall League games.) But the Phillies definitely like Asche’s bat. He will have to sacrifice strikeouts to hit home runs going forward, but he can also be a doubles machine that approaches the .300 level. Either way, he’ll be welcomed into the bigs, probably by the latter half of 2014.
Emptying My Notebook: Quotes of Note on Jake Odorizzi, Michael Choice and Tommy Joseph
- Royals assistant GM J.J. Piccolo said third-ranked prospect Jake Odorizzi proved he has all the necessary stuff in 2012: “He showed excellent command of his fastball, really started to be able to throw his breaking ball — he throws a curveball and a slider — early in the count and that made his fastball more effective; he struck out a lot of guys with his fastball. And his changeup continued to develop.” (For more on his repertoire, see Odorizzi’s Prospect Pitch.)
- A’s player development director Keith Lieppman is excited about the future of No. 1 prospect Michael Choice, who played just 91 games this season after fracturing his hand: ”Choice is a big-time potential Major League player. He started to figure things out at [Double-A] Midland and was playing very good defense. Once he figures things out [offensively], his tools will take over. He is not far from the big leagues and [in addition to the power] can steal 15-20 bases once he gets there.”
- Phillies fourth-ranked prospect Tommy Joseph, who has played four Arizona Fall League games as of this writing, on his hitting philosophy, “I need to have a plan when I go up there to hit. I have to put myself in a position athletically and, whatever is happening at the time, hit to the situation: move the guy over, get the ball up the middle to get an RBI. I always like to know how hard the [pitcher] throws and what’s his out-pitch because obviously you’re going to see an out-pitch at a key point in the game. Those are really the two things that I want to know: if he comes at me with his fastball, with his breaking ball, if he likes to pitch backwards, little things without going in depth — keep it as simple as possible.”
Tommy Joseph, with Double-A Reading (Ralph Trout).
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