Not so long ago, the Phillies farm system was stacked with catching prospects for Jason Jaramillo, to Lou Marson, to Travis d’Arnaud. It looked as though it would only be a matter of time before one of them unseated Carlos Ruiz.
Now, it looks as though Ruiz will be our catcher through 2012, and all that remains in in the farm system is the 19-year-old Sebastian Valle, who will turn 22 before the 2013 season, and will hopefully be ready to step in and take the reigns.
Basic Info
Age: 19
Height/Weight: 6’1”, 170 lbs
Hometown: Los Mochis, Mexico
How Acquired: Amateur FA signing in 2006
Stats
Valle started 2009 in Lakewood and struggled, but once he went down to Short Season Williamsport, he began to rake. In 192 ABs, he hit .307 with 15 2B, 5 3B and 6 HR and an .866 OPS. He had 40 RBI in just 50 games. Right now he is playing the Mexican Winter League, mostly with older players. He is excelling there as well, hitting .286 with 11 HR and 9 2B in 52 games. His .882 OPS is the third best on the team.
Scouting Report
It’s impressive to me that a kid who weighs 170 lbs has hit 17 HR in his last 102 professional games. His overall SLG% in those games (.542) is also impressive for a teenager. He needs to learn to take more walks, and also work on reducing his strikeouts (you can say this about almost any player under 20). Offensively, he is moving in the right direction. Like Domingo Santana, his power potential is very intriguing.
Defense is a different story. Valle was converted to a catcher by the Phillies in 2007 and is still learning the position. It’s too early in the process to say whether or not he can be a good defensive catcher down the road, and there are questions as to whether or not that will be the position he ends up in anyway. He is often used as a DH when he is not catching, or if there is another catching prospect on the roster.
Path to the Majors
It’s going to be big for Valle to not have the same struggles he had at Lakewood again this year. My guess is that the ideal scenario would be for him to be ready when Carlos Ruiz becomes a free agent in 2012. That might be a little aggressive for Valle, especially on the defensive end. My personal guess is that he doesn’t end up at catcher. It’s one of the hardest positions to play on the field and his current stature (6’1”, 170 lbs) is much more middle infielder than catcher.
Maybe he ends up at 3rd, or even an eventual replacement for Utley at 2nd. Regardless, it is his bat, if anything, that will get him to the majors, and he is another young Phillies prospect with big-time upside, but who is a long way away from the Bank.
For prospects 11-20, and all other Phillies’ prospects posts, visit the Top Prospects page.
so in other words, he is another project.
is all of our farm system in this mold?
well all you can do is stockpile talent, and let it work itself out.
jkay -
much of it right now, yes. or at least the higher level talent is. 3 of the top 5 on this list though are relatively close to the majors.
My guess is that the thinking is that we are set for the next 2 years in terms of players on the big league level. After that, hopefully a couple of these toolsy young guys have blossomed into big time prospects and we can re-load in 2012-2013…
I feel like we’ll next see something along the lines of:
#4 Ramon Valevez, Age 6, 52lbs, 4″ 2″ P
A bit raw, and only features a knuckleball, but tore up T-Ball in ’08 and made a nice transition the Venezuelan Little League. Was named to the Hugo Chavez national team. Does have some injury issues and a tenancy to bedwet after poor outings. Also questions about his ability to respond to tough nosed coaching without crying.
Projects as a potential replacement for Domingo Sanatana in 2024.
Speaking of tk’s reference to 6 year old propects, are you guys (Pete, or anyone else) familiar with the name of Bryce Harper?
That’s the kid who I think was 16 last year when he hit a homerun at Trop Field in Tampa that measured at 502 feet.
I think it was Verducci over at SI that wrote a piece on him.
We appear to have a new if not revisited candidate for a 5th starter. Jose Contreras threw 131 innings last year, with an ERA of close to 5, WHIP of nearly 1.5. He’s made 10 mil or close the last 3 seasons, but he’s not finding that in the open market. Nor will he, or should he.
Ken Davidoff tweeted this in the last couple days.
<<Jose Contreras’ suitors include the #Cubs, #Cardinals, #Rockies, #Phillies and #Padres.>>
I’m guessing that for the next couple weeks, anytime you see a pitcher mentioned as a posibility with at least the Phils and Cards, the other will be mentioned in the same paragraph. Probably the Cubs, too.
I’m guessing, but with strong conviction that John Smoltz’s failure to sign to this point is smart. The rumor mills haven’t mentioned him much of late, they did early on, including conversation between RAJ and Smoltz’s representation.
The Nats and Cardinals also came across as having extensive talks.
At th end of the day, post arbitration and the dust settling before p/c reporting date, there will be a club that stands alone as right for Smoltz. The Phils are a better candidate the more their pitchers go down. Unless Smoltz is finally thinking retirement, and that would be a change from a lengthy committment to himself to pitch into 2010, the Phils could certainly use a guy like him more than earlier in the off season. If, of course, he’s in line to validate a prediction of mine, guess that it is, that after a full year of recovery from arm surgery, he’s got 1 Indian Summer reprise left in his outstanding career.
There simply is no current reason the Braves would be interested in him, so forget a return there. When Joel Piniero signs, the losers (Dodgers or Mets) will also find Smoltz more attractive.
Without knowing how either is doing this off season, I’d take Smoltz over Contreras in a heartbeat. Whether he wants to compete against the Braves directly, I’m not sure. It looks likely that Tom Glavine is headed back to the Braves in a non player role, and there was as much bitterness there as when Smoltz left, so things will eventually be patched up there when Smoltz is done, but for now, he’s about as free agent as a free agent can be.
Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton, Carlos Ruiz and Chad Durbin all filed for arbitration prior to Friday night’s deadline.
The Phils have a history of avoiding arbitration. They should be expected to make every effort to do so with Carlos given the lack of depth in the catching position, I would think settling on a multi year deal.
I wonder if Pete might have an opinion on what strategy the Phils might have on the other 3 players. I could see them taking their chances in the arb hearings with the other 3 despite the long history of arbitration hearings seeming very player friendly. I say that more because I wonder how anxious they are to sign any of them to long term contrcts.
If you are wondering whatever happened to Ben Sheets hooking up, Tuesday is a big day. Not a word of interest from the Phillies. Sheets, despite not pitching last year, was said to be seeking 12 million for the coming year.
I suspect an incentive laden deal could take him not too terribly far from that.
<<Ben Sheets will throw for teams Tuesday at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, reports ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian. Said Sheets: “They’re going to like what they see.” Kurkjian indicates six to ten teams have expressed interest, the Cubs included. Kurkjian believes a one-year deal with incentives is in order. He says to “keep an eye on Seattle,” given Jack Zduriencik’s familiarity with Sheets. The Mariners were first connected to Sheets on December 11th by Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Kurkjian talked to Sheets about his year off from baseball, after the righty had flexor tendon surgery in February. Sheets feels “refreshed” and “fantastic,” and seems raring to go. He thinks he can regain his old form, adding “Watch, I’ll show ‘em.”
Rumored suitors aside from the Cubs and Mariners? The Rangers, Yankees, Mets, and Orioles have been linked to Sheets this offseason, but several of those clubs have added starters since. The Angels and Dodgers would make sense.>>
quote courtousey MLB traderomors.com
Personally, I look back at Scott Rolen’s long ago departure as part of the process that positively led to a good run this decade. Here’s a view that details what might have happened had the Phils kept him, for what its worth.
Missing Rolen probably cost the Phillies at least one playoff appearance and it’s not a stretch to say it cost the Phillies at least two Wild Card berths and a pennant, perhaps as many as two pennants and a World Series.
http://thephrontiersman.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/rolen-back-history/
Twice today, I’ve attempted to send posts through with a Ken Davidoff tweet from this week saying the Phils are 1 of 5 clubs (Cards, Cubs, Pads and the Rox) interested in Jose Contreras, 38, 131 IP last year, near 5 ERA, near 1.5 WHIP, averaged 92 mph fastball.
Swingman candidate, should get a mil a year a a free agent.
Lets see if this simple text gets through.
Hi everyone,
This is way, way off the point. But its January and I’m starved for baseball. Lo and behold, I was channel-surfing and it turns out that MLB Network is showing the 1989 Phillies’ come-from-behind 15-11 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. A few random thoughts:
1) My God, Vet Stadium was butt-ugly. I appreciate Citizens Bank Park so much more now.
2) John Kruk (wearing #11 and playing left field) and Barry Bonds are half their current sizes. Kruk has half the fat and Bonds has half the muscle.
3) Steve Jeltz — STEVE JELTZ! — has more meat on him than Barry Bonds. If that isn’t evidence enough that Bonds juiced, nothing is.
4) Astroturf just seems SO wrong. I can’t believe the Eagles played on the same field.
5) Nice to see Larry Bowa and Tony Taylor, coaching 3rd and 1st bases respectively.
6) Von Hayes just grounded out, and each hop was at least two feet high. Still can’t get over astroturf.
7) Kruk has a sweet swing.
9) Greg Harris looks like Weird Al Yankovic.
10) The. 2009 Phils were a helluva lot better than the 1989 Phils, and I can’t wait for the 2010 season to begin. Its a great time to be a Phillies fan.
Pete asked the other day about Jim Thome. This was tweeted, or twittered depending on what kind of English you speak by Scott Merkin of MLB.com less than an hour ago.
<<Three or four teams have contacted Jim Thome, including Tampa Bay. Nothing contractually imminent, though.>>
Generic as that is, although I hadn’t heard Tampa mentioned previously (Ihad heard the Chisox and Oakland), I might guess Detroit is a possibility also. Lately, Johnny Damon has been mentioned with Detroit to soften the loss of Curtis Granderson, but the connection seems awkward considering Damon’s supposed price (one never knows with Scott Boras), and Thome could at least soften the blow offensively. Not to mention that Thome is probably a tremendous clubhouse guy (Damon is probably good too). Lots of teams would still like Damon, but not at the 6-7 mil he’s supposedly come down to, and that might just be with the Yankees.
Whenever its time, Thome’s one of these guys you’d like to see leave on his own terms.
still cant get over the fact that the evil empire got their greasy palms on maybe the best CF in the AL. arggh. was in the hope that their players will just grow old and wither away. now they’re regenerating new buds of overpaid, pin striped sell-outs.
Pete: FYI – the ‘archive’ section of the blog has got some issues.
Oh Boy. If a 19-year old converted catcher who has little chance to be a catcher is #6 on the depth chart, we are pretty thin again aren’t we. I was hoping those days were past.
we are thin on MLB-ready talent, which we don’t need.
as a system, we are not thin, and I believe Baseball America still ranked us top-10 after the Lee/Halladay deal.