Down on the Pharm

The more I can spell things with a Ph instead of an F, the better. I stole that from the jumbo tron at Phillies games. They have some feature that updates on minor league players called Down on the Pharm. That doesn't really matter to me though I'm just gonna use it anyway.

Something that I like to do is follow the Phillies prospects in the minors to see how they are progressing. It's a really weird part of my life, and I often know way too much for my own good. It's especially tough around the trade deadline because I've actually become so attached to these players that I'd rather wait a few years and win with them than trade them for a one year fix. Trading outfielder Greg Golson in the offseason was a difficult day in my life and I don't know if I'm still fully recovered. But he struck out too much anyway and we have better outfield prospects than him. So below is the list of people I will be keeping an eye on this season and updating here probably about every 2 weeks. My requirements for a player to be good enough to keep my eye on him are as follows (could be any one of these or combination of these things):
-Younger than 30 (a must for all players otherwise they aren't even prospects they're just wasting my time. Chris Coste doesn't come around very often)
-High draft pick
-Awesome
-Traded for him
-Something cool about him

Minor League Opening Day is Thursday!

Lehigh Valley (AAA):
P Carlos Carrasco - only 21 years old and already in AAA. And he's awesome
SS Jason Donald - 24 years old, awesome. I'm afraid he'll be trade bait sometime soon unless he can learn a few other positions
C Lou Marson - 22 years old and possibly our best prospect. Look for him this season if Coste struggles or there's an injury at catcher
OF John Mayberry - 25 years old. traded for him
OF Jeremy Slayden - 26 years old. solid power hitter

Reading (AA):
P Antonio Bastardo - 23. great last name
P Sergio Escalona - 24. lefty who strikes a lot of guys out
P Matt German - 24. He's 6'8"
P Joe Savery - 23. First round pick a few years ago
P Michael Stutes - 22. was 7-2 with a 1.42 ERA in the minors last year
P Vance Worley - 21. very young and put up solid numbers last year
3B Neil Sellers - 27. A good hitter at 3rd base, something the Phillies haven't had since Rolen
1B Brian Stavinsky - 28. Look for us to trade this guy. I have no attachment to him but he's a solid hitting first baseman, something we don't need.
OF Michael Taylor - 23. Might be my favorite prospect. I don't know anything about his glove but he can do most other things

Clearwater (A):
P Drew Naylor - 22. Australian
2B P.J. Antoniato - 25. Hopefully we can trade him I dont even know why I'm keeping my eye on him

Lakewood (A):
P Jason Knapp - 18. yes, 18.
P Robert Roth - 20. anyone down in Lakewood I basically picked because they have looked good and are very young
OF Zachary Collier - 18. 34th overall pick last year
2B Harold Garcia - 22. If we'll ever need a backup 2nd baseman, he could be the guy down the road
OF Anthony Gose - 18. first round pick last year
1B Jeremy Hamilton - 22. in a few years, if we can't pay Howard anymore, he could be next

I decided to not go below Lakewood this season because they don't even start playing until June. That bores me. But I will try to stay updated on Kyle Drabek, our first round pick 3 years ago who has had arm problems but is still only 21 and the son of former major league pitcher Doug Drabek. He's down in Williamsport, but hopefully he'll be moving up sooner rather than later.
Any of these people I mentioned could easily be knocked off the list if I feel they aren't progressing at all or anything like that. People can also be added to the list if they are doing well.

My Favorite Baseball Teams:
1) Philadelphia Phillies
2) Reading Phillies
3) New York Mets (pure entertainment value)
4) Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs
5) Atlanta Braves (also entertainment value)

Game 2 tonight, look for an update afterwards