2003 Wrapups: Philadelphia Phillies
With the 2003 season coming to a close, we will be providing a brief wrapup of the season for all 30 minor league teams. In each report, we will take a look at how the team's Top 10 Prospects performed, identify some emerging prospects and organizational leaders, and report on the performance of their top draft pick.
Complete index of Team Wrapups 2003 League Wrapups
By Kevin Goldstein
November 12, 2003
Season Results
* won league championship
Performance of Top 10 Prospects
Here's how our top 10 prospects entering this season performed in 2003.
| 1. Gavin Floyd, rhp
Age: 20 |
The fourth overall pick in the 2001 draft, Floyd continued his one stop at a time progression through the system after receiving a club-record $4.2 million bonus. Floyd struggled early in the season after tweaking his mechanics, but rebounded to allow two or fewer earned runs in 13 of his last 17 starts. Responded well in pressure situations, limiting opposing batters to a .196 average with runners in scoring position.
| Team |
W-L |
SV |
ERA |
G |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| Clearwater (High Class A) |
7-8 |
0 |
3.00 |
24 |
138.0 |
128 |
61 |
46 |
45 |
115 |
|
| 2. Chase Utley, 2b
Age: 24 |
Utley started the year in the big leagues, but was sent down to get consistent playing time and improved his numbers across the board in his second year at Triple-A while leading the organization in batting average. Failed to impress in a September callup, but should be in a position for a permanent job in 2004.
| TEAM | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Scranton/W-B (Triple-A) |
113 |
431 |
80 |
139 |
26 |
2 |
18 |
77 |
41 |
75 |
10 |
.323 |
.390 |
.517 |
| Phillies (MLB) |
43 |
134 |
13 |
32 |
10 |
1 |
2 |
21 |
11 |
22 |
2 |
.239 |
.322 |
.373 |
|
| 3. Marlon Byrd, of
Age: 26 |
Byrd saw limited action over the first two months of the season due to a deep gash in his left leg suffered in a home plate collision. Move to the leadoff spot in July, Byrd gave the Phillies consistent production in the second half of the season, hitting .313 with 55 runs scored after the All-Star break and finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year balloting.
| TEAM | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Phillies (MLB) |
135 |
495 |
86 |
150 |
28 |
4 |
7 |
45 |
44 |
94 |
11 |
.303 |
.366 |
.418 |
| Reading (Double-A) |
3 |
16 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
.313 |
.313 |
.500 |
| Scranton/W-B (Triple-A) |
1 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.750 |
.750 |
1.000 |
|
| 4. Taylor Buchholz, rhp
Age: 22 |
Buchholz' solid performance at Double-A is masked by a losing record and a late-season slump (6.95 ERA in his last four starts) attributed to fatigue. Allowed more than three earned runs in just two of his first 21 outings, and was the top prospect sent to Houston in the Billy Wagner deal.
| Team |
W-L |
SV |
ERA |
G |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| Reading (Double-A) |
9-11 |
0 |
3.55 |
25 |
144.2 |
136 |
62 |
57 |
33 |
114 |
|
| 5. Cole Hamels, lhp
Age: 19 |
The Phillies' first round pick in 2002, Hamels started the season in extended spring training but was so impressive that the Phillies to sent him to full-season Lakewood in mid-May. Hamels was the most dominant pitcher in organized baseball for the next two months, allowing no runs in nine of 13 starts and limiting Sally League hitters to a miniscule .136 opponent's average (32-for-236, 115 K). Became mortal in the Florida State League, but still failed to give up more than two earned runs in five outings.
| Team |
W-L |
SV |
ERA |
G |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| Lakewood (Low Class A) |
6-1 |
0 |
0.84 |
13 |
74.2 |
32 |
8 |
7 |
25 |
115 |
| Clearwater (High Class A) |
0-2 |
0 |
2.73 |
5 |
26.1 |
29 |
9 |
8 |
14 |
32 |
|
| 6. Ryan Madson, rhp
Age: 23 |
Madson's career minor league record is now 59-34 after putting together a solid year at Triple-A and making his major league debut with two perfect innings of relief vs. Atlanta in late September. Could complete for a rotation job with a good performance in spring training.
| Team |
W-L |
SV |
ERA |
G |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| Clearwater (High Class A) |
0-0 |
0 |
5.63 |
2 |
8.0 |
11 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
9 |
| Scranton/W-B (Triple-A) |
12-8 |
0 |
3.50 |
26 |
157.0 |
157 |
70 |
61 |
42 |
138 |
| Phillies (MLB) |
0-0 |
0 |
0.00 |
1 |
2.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| 7. Anderson Machado, ss
Age: 22 |
Machado was voted the best defensive shortstop in the Eastern League, led the minor leagues in walks and stole a league-leading 49 bases. Now the bad news: After hitting .270 in his first 30 games, he was distracted by some off the field issues and fell into a season-long slump (.170 for the remainder of the season), finishing just below the Mendoza line. There's a fascinating skillset here, but he'll need to pick up the average to become more than just a statistical oddity.
| TEAM | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Reading (Double-A) |
123 |
423 |
80 |
125 |
19 |
4 |
5 |
20 |
108 |
120 |
49 |
.196 |
.360 |
.296 |
|
| 8. Ryan Howard, 1b
Age: 23 |
Howard continues to look like a fifth-round steal from the 2001 draft, leading the Florida State league in batting average, slugging percentage and home runs in his second full season while winning league MVP honors. Double-A will be a significant test for his all-or-nothing approach at the plate.
| TEAM | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Clearwater (High Class A) |
130 |
490 |
67 |
149 |
32 |
1 |
23 |
82 |
50 |
151 |
0 |
.304 |
.374 |
.514 |
|
| 9. Elizard Ramirez, rhp
Age: 20 |
Ramirez garnered attention with an eye-popping 73-2 strikeout-walk ration in rookie ball last season, but his lack of a true out pitch caught up to him in his first full-season, as Sally League batters hit .290 against him. Finished the year strong, with back-to-back games of six shutout innings.
| Team |
W-L |
SV |
ERA |
G |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| Clearwater (Low Class A) |
13-9 |
0 |
3.78 |
27 |
157.1 |
181 |
85 |
66 |
33 |
101 |
|
| 10. Zach Segovia, rhp
Age: 20 |
Segovia began the season trying to pitch with a tender elbow, but after 10 innefective starts for Lakewood in which his velocity fell to the mid-80s, the Phillies shut him down. Rest, rehab, MRIs and several visits to specialists have failed to diagnose the problem, and Segovia enters the 2004 season just a big a question mark as he was in late May.
| Team |
W-L |
SV |
ERA |
G |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| Lakewood (Low Class A) |
1-5 |
0 |
3.99 |
11 |
49.2 |
63 |
25 |
22 |
14 |
27 |
| GCL Phillies (Rookie) |
0-1 |
0 |
4.00 |
5 |
9.0 |
8 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
|
Top Draft Pick:
| Tim Moss, 2b
U. of Texas Bonus: $440K |
Dipping into the free agent market to sign Jim Thome and David Bell cost the Phillies their first and second round picks. With their third round selection, they nabbed Moss, who began his junior season as a potential first-rounder, but fell after a disappointing year at Texas both at the plate and in the field. Moss had an absolutely miserable debut at Batavia, including a 6-for-61 (.098) slump in his final 16 games. Scouts are mixed on his ability to stay in the infield, but unless he hits, it's not going to matter.
| TEAM | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Batavia (Short Season) |
43 |
160 |
10 |
24 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
11 |
11 |
47 |
5 |
.150 |
.220 |
.225 |
|
Emerging Prospects:
Kiel Fisher, 3b: A third-round pick in 2002, Fisher flashed a quick left-handed bat, hitting .332 while splitting time between Batavia and the Gulf Coast League. Will face his first real challenge by starting 2004 in Lakewood.
Juan Richardson, 3b: Richardson makes the list despite aging two years before the 2002 season. Was leading the Eastern League with 15 home runs in 65 games before injuring his ankle in his home, costing him the remainder of the season. Has 31 home runs and 102 RBIs in his last 162 minor league games, but needs to move quickly.
Statistical Leaders
| Batting Average |
Chase Utley |
.323 |
| Home Runs |
Jeff Inglin |
24 |
| Runs Batted In |
Jeff Inglin |
103 |
| Stolen Bases |
Chris Roberson |
59 |
| Earned Run Average |
Cole Hamels |
1.34 |
| Wins |
Ezequiel Astacio |
15 |
| Strikeouts |
Cole Hamels
Ryan Madson |
147 |
| Saves |
Bobby Korecky |
25 |
