Extreme Philly Sports Forum

I think there are some prospects worth protecting like Muzziotti, Morales and Jones and probably a couple of others. But, what gets me is where Gowdy hasn't dazzled anyone and struggled in Low A and I felt bad for this kid, he lost a year or more to elbow surgery after being the second round pick and you would think picks that lose a year, the team would be given another year to evaluate and protect them. They signed Moniak and part of the thinking was Gowdy got some of that money from Moniak below slot. It just kind of doesn't sit right even if he isn't projected to be a kid worth protecting.

The Phillies have 9 openings and besides the three above, I'm not sure of those eligible, who else might be worth it. The one intriguing guy is Medina and I'm not sure if he is eligible or not but he struggled at AA and yet when he got a shot last year, he showed well. If he can recover that 97/98 mph 4 seamer, and the control/pitch to contact he's is so vested in, he could be someone they should at least keep around to look at for the BP. Not sure if they protect Moniak or Gowdy, both picked 1 and 2 in the same year. Gowdy definitely isn't ready for a ML roster and Moniak is going to take up space and needs to play at AAA just to prove he belongs as a fourth OFer IMO.  Ortiz was the $4 million bonus baby signed when he was 16 but he's struggled to make contact at High A and Low A for that matter. Dohy was an impressive reliever in the minors until he got to AAA and then flamed out. I don't know. Not much to protect really.

Morales has the tools, but he’s still a few years away.  He could probably contribute as a reliever now, but you obviously want to give a kid every chance as a starter.

Nick Maton is likely a bench middle infielder, but we thought that about Cesar too.  Let’s see the kid play.

Dohy will probably be another no control reliever.

Muzzioti sounds like Quinn without the speed and without the injury history.

Damon Jones lost his control at the high levels.  Maybe since he can throw high velocity, he was trying to hard to blow guys away rather than pitch.  I imagine we’ll see him this year.

I don't disagree with anything you said. But, the thing that really stands out on Muzziotti and Maton is that they just get better as they move up and with Muzz, exclamation point. When he came into the pros, the one thing that every scout agreed on with him was one word, "patience". It would take time for him to acclimate and learn and there has been no better example than this kid. Unlike Quinn, he's shown the willingness to put in the work without distractions of injuries and every year he keeps getting better. He has an above average CF glove, good speed, and won't be surprised to see him hit +.300 eventually. He's got some pop in his bat but probably more gap power than HR stuff. Maton? Utility infielder I suspect at best but another kid who just outperforms expectations. Morales reminds me of Alcantara from Miami when he first came up although I'll be surprised if he makes it as a starter. Given the bare cupboard of our minor league system, I could just be taking the best of what we have and overestimating them, but we'll see.