Phillies prospects wrap up successful Arizona Fall League season
Position players put up strong numbers while pitchers threw the ball better than final stats might indicate

The Arizona Fall League has to be considered a success for the nine Philadelphia Phillies prospects that took part in the league. The AFL has long been considered “finishing school” for players just a heartbeat away from the Majors. 

The Phillies contingent played for the Mesa Solar Sox who tied for the best record in the league at 26-12. The Sox fell 10-4 to the Phoenix Dessert Dogs in the one-game championship.

Even if one doesn’t agree with our opinions based on the numbers we’ll break down shortly, one must agree that the fact that all nine participants are home grown for the first time in a while is a great sign. Seven of the nine saw time in Reading in 2008 and the remaining two likely will in 2009. 

The Phillies sent four pitchers to the AFL, all of whom were R-Phils for all or part of 2008. Starters Tyson Brummett and Andrew Carpenter were joined by relievers Sergio Escalona and Pat Overholt. The final numbers for all four looked a little rough but in each case was due to one or two bad outings. “For the most part they were pretty consistent,” said Phillies Minor League Pitching Coordinator Gorman Heimueller. “Overall I think there were some good things that happened.”

Brummett, a fast-mover through the system so far, appeared in 12 games. Primarily a starter during the regular season, Brummett came out of the bullpen 11 times. He went 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA but struck out 13 while only allowing three walks. Take away one outing where he gave up four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning and his ERA was 3.65. Factor in his adjusting to relieving and the fact that he was just drafted in 2007 and we’ll call his AFL campaign a success. 

Carpenter recovered from a horrible April and May in Reading to end up making his big league debut in August. He was 1-2 with a 5.88 ERA in seven games, all starts, in the AFL. In 26 innings he fanned 21 while walking nine. In five of his seven outings he posted a 2.84 ERA. In the other two he was touched for 11 ER in seven innings. 

The Phillies kept Escalona, the only lefty they sent to the AFL, in the Venezuelan Summer League for his first three pro seasons (2004-2006). The VSL would be considered lower than rookie ball. Their early patience has allowed Escalona to jump out into the passing lane since coming state side to play with the grown-ups. He was 1-0 in the AFL with a 6.14 ERA (14.2 IP, 4 BB, 15 SO) but held lefties to a .190 (4-21) batting average. Take away an outing of three earned runs in two innings and another three spot in one inning and his ERA against baseball’s best prospects was 3.08. 

Overholt was 0-0 with a 6.06 ERA in 12 relief appearances. In 16.1 innings he had one bad one in which he allowed five earned runs. He posted a 3.30 ERA in his other 15.1 innings. Overholt is probably more upset about the 10 walks he issued along with 10 strikeouts than that misleadingly high ERA. His fastball and slider remain big league quality. 

“Each (pitcher) had a different thing they wanted to work on that I think they got better at,” Heimueller added. “Hopefully that carries over into next season.”

The five position players that represented the Phillies all posted great numbers. 

Center fielder Quentin Berry, whose 30-game hitting streak was the longest in the Minors for Clearwater in 2008, hit .311 (28-90) in the AFL with 18 runs in 22 games. His five stolen bases were second on the Solar Sox. Berry is a big reason why the Phillies were able to swap Greg Golson for a power-hitting outfielder. If tomorrow were April 9 he’d be patrolling center for the R-Phils. 

Jason Donald played even better than he did in Reading and the Olympics. Donald hit .407 (37-91) with 23 R, 12 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR and 17 RBI in 25 games. He also played two new positions, second (6) and third (9), in addition to appearing at his natural shortstop nine times. He made just three errors, two at third and one at second. Donald was 2nd in the AFL in hitting, doubles, extra-base (19) hits and OPS (1.223). He was 4th with a .476 OBP, and third with a .747 slugging%. He also won the Darnell Stenson Award for sportsmanship. Adding second and third base to his resume, coupled with Pedro Feliz and Chase Utley both needing surgery this offseason, makes Donald a valuable commodity. 

Catcher Tuffy Gosewisch (Gus-ave-ich) had the fewest amount of at-bats (25) of the Phils position players but made them count by hitting .280. He gunned down 3 of 7 runners trying to steal (42.9%). Gosewisch caught in 102 games for Clearwater in 2008.

Lou Marson arrived in his native Arizona later than the other prospects because he spent all of October in Philadelphia with the World Champs. Not playing for a month really seemed to take its toll on perhaps the Phillies top prospect. Marson only hit .324 (11-34) with 5 R, 3 2B, 3 3B, 10 RBI and 6 BB in 11 games. Still, we don’t think he’ll be back in Reading in 2009. 

Jeremy Slayden’s final stat line from every league he’s every played in as a pro always looks just about the same. The AFL was no different. Mr. Consistent was again an offensive force. Slayden hit .286 (30-105) with 19 R, 9 2B, 3B, 3 HR and 27 RBI in 26 games. Slayden expanded his defensive horizons a bit splitting time almost equally between left (10) and right field (12), committing just one error. 

The Phillies five position players hit a combined .328 (113-345), right on the team average. All to the delight of their AFL hitting coach, 1980 R-Phil, Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg, whose No. 26 is one of three retired jerseys in Reading, is a manager in the Chicago Cubs farm system. 

This story first appeared in "The Scoop", The R-Phils digital newsletter, on November 25 and was posted online December 1, 2008