2011 First Round Pick Larry Greene

Referring to Larry Greene as a first rounder is a bit of a misnomer, He was a 1st round supplemental picked 39th overall.  Part of a first round that featured 60 picks total - basically two full rounds.

The pick was a compensation pick for the Free Agent loss of Jayson Werth.

2011 Bowman Prospects #BDPP36 Larry Greene

As we know being a first round pick doesn't make you baseball player. This appears to be the case for Larry Greene who elected to not report to Spring Training this year.

Baseball America's First Ranking of Larry Greene as a Phils Prospect came in 2012. He was ranked 20th among the players in the club's system. He progressed to #11 in 2013 before falling out of the top 30 last year. In early reports BA comped Greene to short time Phils bench bat Russell Branyan.  

Larry Greene is only 22, so he is young enough to return to baseball. He also likely has other athletic options outside of baseball. The Phillies lured Greene away from Alabama where he had the opportunity to play College Football. 

MLB Draft Pick #39
In 2014 MLB held the 50th edition of the draft.  Out of the fifty #39 picks 22 have made it to the majors - 2 possibly 3 recent draftees will likely be added to that list meaning the #39 pick has a 50/50 shot of making the majors.

Using WAR as a barometer, the best player to be drafted #39 is Barry Bonds (162.4), after that you have 2 players above 10 WAR, Don Baylor (28.3) and Todd Hundley (10.3). One additional notable is 2008 #39 pick Lance Lynn who is set to break the 10 barrier currently residing at 7.7 WAR

Among all #39 picks there are 15 players with positive Career WAR numbers. Among that 15 are Current Phillies starting pitcher Jerome Williams and Recent Phil Tony Gwynn Jr.

Sources and Links
Baseball-ref
Baseball America Prospect Handbook Various Years

Phillies 2015 AFL roster: Logan Moore 2011 Bowman #BDPP44

The Phillies 2014 season is in a shambles and we have been looking ahead to Phillies future since prior to the All-Star break. This week the Arizona Fall League rosters were announced. This gives us a glimpse into some of what the Phils may be thinking regarding 2015 and beyond.

2011 Bowman #BDPP44 Logan Moore (rc)

Tommy Joseph was the top catching prospect in the Phillies system, but he has had multiple health issues the last few seasons which may leave an opening for Logan Moore.  Unfortunately Moore's offensive output has been light (.226 /.290/.339 combined A & AA in 2014). On the plus side he has spent the majority of the season in Reading which is up a level for his age.

The Phillies entire minor league system appears pretty soft, and catcher is no exception. When the time comes to replace Carlos Ruiz, I am not sure the answer will be Cameron Rupp, Tommy Joseph or Logan Moore.   If he is adequate defensively Logan Moore may be able to contribute at the Major league level simply because he is a left-handed hitting catcher. This will help him get a nod as a platoon backup and situational pinch hitter.

The Phillies will send seven players to their AFL rep, the Scottsdale Scorpions. Joining Moore will be Pitchers Ryan O'Sullivan, Colton Murray, Nefi Ogando, and Ethan Stewart, along with Shortstop Roman Quinn (BA #10 Phillies Prospect). The final spot is TBA.

Other than Quinn, there doesn't appear to be a lot to get excited about in that list. Hopefully one of the pitchers will find themselves during the fall and can emerge as a 2015 prospect.  

Updated 2014 10 08
Adam Morgan has filled the TBA spot according to Williamsport Crosscutters via Twitter (@crosscutters) 

Sources & Links
Arizona Fall League (twitter)
Baseball-ref
@ChrisEckstein via That Balls Outta Here 
Baseball-America
@crosscutters

September Calls: 2011 Bowman Draft Propects #BDPP2 Cody Asche

One of the byproducts of the Phillies miserable season is an incredible array of new faces. Hopefully some of these folks will stick around and be part of the Phillies future.  Cody Asche may be one of the candidates for Phils 2014.  

2011 Bowman Draft Propects #BDPP2 Cody Asche

Cody Asche has gotten himself into 30+ games in his first campaign as a major leaguer. The third baseman has looked good in the field and provided some pop at the plate. Asche hit his 5th homer of the season earlier tonight - He had 15 at AAA Lehigh Valley prior to getting called up.

The Phillies have struggled to find a solution for the hot corner.  During the recent stretch of  winning seasons they have settled on mediocre players at a position that is traditionally considered a premium offensive spot.  Both Pedro Feliz and Placido Polanco were adequate, but it would be nice to get some production from a homegrown talent.  

2011 Bowman
We recently featured a 2011 Bowman Chrome of Cesar Hernandez.  For more info on that set click here. The 2011 Bowman Design looks pretty decent on both base and Chrome. I like the way the keep the photo in black/white beyond the border of the color photo.  It helps the player photo pop a bit.

Other Voices
The Phillies Room featured the Bowman Card whenever Asche was first called up a month ago.


Sources
The Phillies Room
baseball-ref.com

September Calls: 2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP122 Cesar Hernandez

This isn't Cesar Hernandez's first call to the majors. That happened earlier this season when Team Phungo Was out of town. 

2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP122 Cesar Hernandez

The 23 year old Hernandez is yet to make an impression at the major league level.  He did bat .309 at AAA.  Similar to Ben Revere he racked up a bunch of steals without much pop. The Bowman card above specifies that Cesar is a second baseman, but also like Revere he has been playing Centerfield this year.  The Phils have signed Chase Utley on for the next few seasons, so if Hernandez has a future with the Phillies it may be in the outfield. 

2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects

BCP 2011 is a 110 card subset #111-#220 which is a continuation of the set initiated in regular Bowman. The few players from the Chrome subset that have made it to the majors include Bryce Harper, Matt Moore, Jean Segura, Andy Dirks, Steve Cisheck, Tyler Moore, Taylor Pastornicky, Brett Lawrie, Rob Brantley, and a couple of Phillies pitchers Ethan Martin, Jonathan Pettibone and JC Ramirez.  Recent new Dad Cutter Dykstra is also in 2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects.

Other Voices
14,000 Phillies featured this card when Hernandez was initially called up in May

Sources
14,000 Phillies
baseball-ref.com
Baseball cardpedia