Phillies Prospect Matt Imhof Injured

Yesterday we got the news that Phillies Pitching Prospect Matt Imhof suffered an eye injury due to a freak accident during a post game workout.

2014 Bowman #DP45 Matt Imhof


Imhof was the Phillies 2nd pick (#47 overall) in their 2014 draft which has already yielded Aaron Nola. The 22 year old lefty is currently in his 3rd season as a pro and second at single-A Clearwater.


I get freaked out putting in a contact lens, I can't imagine what it is like to suffer a major eye injury. Hopefully things work out well for Imhof and we get to hear positive things about his health in the future.


Flip

2014 Bowman #DP45 Matt Imhof (b-side)


Interesting graph on the back of these Bowman cards. Imhof's most recent numbers are displayed graphically to show how is collegiate numbers compared with the National Average. The Yellow bars correspond to the averages while the green and red are Imhof's numbers - Green is where he was above average (ERA, WHIP, K/9), Red shows his struggles (BB/9). The data is not sourced and doesn't specify the sample for the National Average, I suspect it is for all D1 pitchers.


The numbers proven to be a good glimpse into who Imhof has been as a professional, He has been able to get batters out while struggling with his control.


Sources and Links
Matt Gelb - Philly
Baseball-ref

TRENDY: 2015 Carolina Prospects #23 Lucas Giolito

The Nationals have put Star pitcher Stephen Strasburg on the DL. To replace the 2010 Prospect Washington has called up 2016 Prospect Lucas Giolito.

2015 Carolina Prospects #23 Lucas Giolito

I like to occasionally joke about Strasburg's injury history, but it is a shame to see the potential ace go down in the middle of what may be his best season to date. 

While Stephen Strasburg may not have had a standout season yet, I think the Nats would be happy if their latest top prospect Lucas Giolito someday puts up numbers similar to Strasburg has in 2016.

2015 Carolina Prospects
I picked up this set of 2015 Carolina Prospects at a recent Wilmington Blue Rocks game.  It is a nice looking set based on the hockey stick element from 1982 Topps. Other notables in the set include Adam Plutko, Bradley Zimmer, and Lucas Sims. 

2015 Carolina Prospects #23 Lucas Giolito (b-side)


Pretty decent flip side for a minor league card, the Text takes us up to the point where Giolito had Tommy John Surgery. The 21 year old Right-Hander is recovering well, posting a 3.17 ERA through 71 Innings at AA Harrisburg this year.

If Giolito's debut goes well, it still may be a while until Phillies fans get to see the him, the two clubs don't face each other until late August.
 
Sources and Links
Baseball-ref

TRENDY: Carlos Correa gets the Call

The Houston Astros have announced that they are calling up Baseball America's #4 Prospect

2014 06 17 Carlos Correa Greets Corey Seager at 2014 Class-A All-Star Game

Just short of a year ago the Wilmington Blue Rocks hosted the California vs Carolina League All-Star game. The two biggest stars in the game may have both played the same position. Shortstops Carlos Correa and Corey Seager were both on the California squad. The photo above was taken during the game intros. The shot is definitely one of the my favorites in the Phungo Collection.

Sources and Links
Houston Astros
baseball-ref

Baseball Prospectus #23 Prospect Austin Hedges

On Monday Night San Diego Padres Catching Prospect Austin Hedges made his major league debut.

2014 Bownan Chrome Fire Die Cut #FDC-AHE Austin Hedges

It was a tough assignment, Hedges first AB was a pinch hitting appearance versus 2014 World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner. The Rookie Struck out on four pitches.

I am sure there are better days ahead for the prospect who will likely get a start soon.

The 23 ranking by Baseball Prospectus may be a bit high as they have consistently ranked Hedges higher than Basemall America (who did not rank Hedges in the top 100 this year) and MLB.com. Perhaps it is because BP ranked Hedges a year earlier then the other sources.

2014 Fire Die Cuts
The FDC cards are inserted into 2014 Bowman Chrome. Apparently they are a common insert as I found this in a dime box. Hedges is found only in the insert set and not on the base checker for 2014 BowChro. 

I may have seen these bizarre cards previously, but don't remember. They look like somebody shrinky-dinked a chrome card. The b-sides with the floating type are an absolute trainwreck

2014 Bownan Chrome #FDC-AHE Austin Hedges (b-side)

Maybe it is the wording, but I had to read this card a few times before I figured out what the author was talking about. The shape of the card on this side doesn't make me think of a prospect on fire, It looks like a the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz Melting, "I'm Melting!!!" . 

Peanut Gallery
This card was covered by the Underdog Card Collector in March - Their analogy for the shape of the card is "cooked in a microwave"

Sources and Links
The Underdog Card Collector
Baseball Cardpedia
Cardboard Connection 
Baseball-ref
MLB
Michaels

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

Prospect Eye Test #WhiteSox OF Courtney Hawkins 2013 04 28

I recently saw the player that Baseball America has projected as the starting Leftfielder for the 2016 Chicago White Sox and his day was a horrible failure. 

If you follow baseball prospects you likely remember Courtney Hawkins from the 2012 MLB entry draft. He is the guy that did a backflip on the podium after being drafted 13th overall. 

2013 04 28 - Courtney Hawkins Batting for Winston-Salem Dash v Wilmington Blue Rocks

This past Sunday Courtney Hawkins swung early and he swung often. He struck out and he popped out - for good measure he ran himself into an out on an agressive baserunning play off of an errant pickoff attempt.   

His game Sunday v the Blue Rocks and a Non-prospect Starter (Aaron Brooks) is apparently not an anomaly.  He has struck out 45 times in 77 AB for Hi-A Winston Salem. It isn't just the Ks. It is the way he strikes out.  He had several check swings early in the count, fouling off pitches for strikes. He appeared to be really jumpy at the plate - perhaps that is slump driven.

On the flipside Hawkins at 19 Years Old is the 3rd youngest player in the Carolina League on and he does have 7 Home Runs in April. The White Sox have him on an accelerarted trek. He is a big man with decent speed, he didn't appear to have issues playing centerfield.

Throughout the day It appeared Hawkins was working closely with Winston Salem's hitting coach Rob Sasser. Hopefully the two of them can work through his issues. I consulted BA columnst @BenBadler via Twitter regarding Hawkins struggles and he mentioned that  recognition is a concerrn for the prospect. 

Surprise

The two Dash players that had had great days were both non-BA prospects Starting RHP Chris Bassitt and Shortstop Chris Curley.  Bassitt took a no-hitter into the 6th inning, He pushed his record to 3-0 giving up 2 Hits and 2 walks over 7 innings.  Curley's 4-4 day included a double and a Home Run - He is batting .304 for the season and has been moved from 3rd to short this season. 

The Home squad really didn't have any noteworthy performances.  2B Justin Trapp scored the sole Blue Rocks run and walked twice.  RHSP Aaron Books settled down after a rough first inning to get through  4 2/3 IP allowing only a single run.

2012 Phungo Cards Bryce Harper

2012 Phungo #15 Bryce Harper

I made it to two of Harper's game last season, both for AA Harrisburg.  The picture on his 2012 Phungo Card above was taken at a game he played versus the Reading Phillies.  My impressions of that game are here.

The nature of the long season of Baseball makes it hard to judge a player from a single game or series.  In  the two games I saw, Harper had one strongly hit ball a Flyout deep to the RCF alley that was caught on the track.  He was just beginning to play LF and had trouble coming in on balls.  He was fast on the basepaths and I would think that skill would translate to the OF. 

The other game I saw him play was in July for Harrisburg versus the Akron Aeroes - My game report on that game here.