Phillies 2010 Top 20 Prospect Rankings (1 through 10)
by Scott Butler 2/20/10
10. Jarred Cosart (RHP)
Cosart was a questionable pick from the 2008 draft due to negative reports about his makeup, but he is a tremendous down-the-road prospect to keep your eye on. Cosart is quite a physical specimen who was converted from outfielder to pitcher. He possesses a clean, downhill delivery which creates high velocity and could make him a great power pitcher. Along with his fastball, he features a sharp curveball that is an out pitch.
9. Antonio Bastardo (LHP)
The Phillies liked Bastardo enough to bring him up and even pitch in the postseason. Ruben Amaro announced that Bastardo will pitch strictly in relief and is a good candidate to win a bullpen role in Spring Training. He has added about 30 pounds, which should address questions about his durability. He relied too much on his low-mid 90's fastball last year, so he is working on a slider and changeup that he will need to compete.
8. Domingo Santana (OF)
Santana is a 6'5", 200 pounds and combines speed, power, and a good throwing arm. He batted .288 in the rookie Gulf Coast League in 2009. He does have the propensity for strikeouts, but at age 17, he has plenty of time to work on that.
7. Tyson Gyllies (OF)
Gyllies is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. A 25th round draft pick of the Mariners and legally deaf, Gyllies has worked his way to become a "diamond in the rough" for the Phillies. Although known for his speed and defense, Gyllies hit .341 last year. His offense continues to progress, and he demonstrated his speed with 14 triples and 44 stolen bases last year. Like Anthony Gose, he has the potential for some power down the road.
6. Anthony Gose (OF)
Gose is one of those "high risk, high rewards" players with great athleticism and unrefined mechanics. He has amazing speed (stole 76 bases in Lakewood) and a ton of great tools. Along with his speed, he has the physical projections to have the power of a player like Curtis Granderson. He plays to his strengths by working long counts and keeping the ball on the ground, but he has way too many strikeouts for a player with his speed.
5. Sebastian Valle (C)
Valle has excellent power potential, but needs to be more patient at the plate and cut down on his strikeouts. Although only 170 pounds, the Phillies converted him to catcher. His defense at catcher is not very good, but he is only 19 and has time to improve it. There's a good chance he will be moved again to another position.
4. J.C. Ramirez (RHP)
Ramirez is a 6'3", 225 pound right-hander from Nicaragua and at 21-years-old, he already has a great deal of minor league experience, having thrown 341.2 innings over the past three seasons. But he remains a work in progress. Despite a 5.12 ERA in the California League, he will start the season at Reading for the Phillies. His fastball sits in the low to mid 90's, and he has a good slider that he needs to learn to control, as well as a changeup he needs to further develop.
3. Phillipe Aumont (RHP)
Aumont is a big dude, standing at 6'7", 220 pounds and is universally considered the best of the three prospects acquired by the Mariners. Injuries have been an issue already with Aumont. Durability is a concern and he will need to alter his mechanics to stay healthy. He has a terrific upside with a good hard fastball and a nasty spike curve. It sounds like the Phillies will try to convert him from a reliever to a starter, but he looks to me like a closer in the making.
2. Trevor May (RHP)
Trevor May dealt with a back injury which caused him to miss Spring Training and the beginning of last season, but the Phils liked him enough to have him skip Clearwater and head straight to Lakewood. He is another big guy at 6'5" and features a heavy fastball and a good breaking curveball, but he still needs to improve his changeup. He had a high number of strikeouts and a low H/IP ratio. He still needs to refine his control and limit the number of walks.
1. Domonic Brown (OF)
Brown has complete five-tool potential and a good approach at the plate. He's tall and athletic, with plus speed he can use on both sides of the ball. He should grow into more power as he matures. He batted .299 in 395 at-bats from low Class A to Double-A. Although he made the Arizona Fall League all-star team, Brown faltered near the end, and ended up batting just .229. That shows he is not quite ready to contribute at the major league level. Phillies assistant GM, Chuck LaMar has this to say about Domonic Brown: "He has the potential to be a five-tool player. He's unique in size alone. When you talk about athleticism, you usually don't talk about somebody 6-foot-5 in our sport, but he truly has the size, the leverage and the athleticism to make him unique.
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