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Singleton is a stud
The next great Phillies prospect is playing at low Class-A Lakewood in the South Atlantic League and his name is Jonathan Singleton.
Through Thursday night's action, the strapping first baseman, who bats and throws left and is built similar to Ryan Howard, although he's leaner and more athletic than the Phillies' first sacker, is batting .390 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs in 123 at-bats. He has 48 hits, has scored 24 runs and stroked 13 doubles in 34 games. He's helped the Blue Claws get off to a 40-27 first-half record, good for first-place in the Northern Division with three games remaining in the first half.
The 6-2, 215-pounder has struck out just 24 times while walking 22 times. He also has four steals, not bad for a player who looks like he should be patrolling the football field at linebacker or tight end for a big-time BCS football power. He boasts a .483 on-base percentage, a .667 slugging percentage and a 1.150 OPS.
Singleton's pitch selection is unreal for an 18-year-old kid who was drafted in the eighth round in 2009 by the Phillies. He had a scholarship to Long Beach State, but that's not what made him fall to the eighth round of the draft. He had an early season slump playing for Millikan High School in Long Beach, Calif., and he didn't fare well at some of the showcase events against quality pitching. Thankfully, the Phillies scooped him up in Round 8 and the rest is history. The Phils signed him for $200,000, according to Baseball America.
Most impressively, Singleton has committed just one error this season for Lakewood and is very smooth around the bag at first base. He also has a sweet arm and has the perfect makeup to succeed.
Obviously, there is a guy named Ryan Howard standing in Singleton's way, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Singleton, who batted .290 with two homers and 12 RBI in 100 at-bats for the Gulf Coast Phillies after being drafted in the June amateur draft last year, is just 18 years old and won't turn 19 until Sept. 18. In other words, he'll be 18 all season long since the South Atlantic season ends the first week of September.
Should the Phillies rush Singleton along and move him up to high Class-A Clearwater, or should they keep him at Lakewood? That's a no-brainer. Singleton should remain at Lakewood all season. Could he get a cup of coffee the last week or two of the season and move up to the Threshers in mid-August? Sure.
Singleton could force the Phillies' hand by being too good for high Class-A and they would have no choice but to jump him past the Florida State League and send him to Double-A Reading as a 19-year-old in 2011.
Braves outfielder Jason Heyward is only 20 years old and is already one of the best players on his team as a rookie. And Florida Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton is only 20 and looks like he'll be in the big leagues for a long, long time.
So you never know about a guy like Singleton, who has to be considered one of the Phillies' Top 10 prospects right now.
Heading into this season, the Phillies' Top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America, were:
1. RF Domonic Brown
2. RHP Kyle Drabek
3. OF Michael Taylor
4. C Travis D'Arnaud
5. RHP Trevor May
6. CF Anthony Gose
7. C Sebastian Valle
8. RHP Jarred Cosart
9. LHP Antonio Bastardo
10. OF Domingo Santana
With Drabek, Taylor and D'Arnaud traded for Roy Halladay, the list has changed.
Obviously, the 6-5, 200-pound Brown, who bats and throws left, remains No. 1, but Singleton has to be considered No. 2 at this point, and that says something because May is a hard-throwing 6-5, 235-pound right-hander who enabled the Phils to include Jason Knapp in the Cliff Lee deal last year. Knapp is very similar to May in that both are big, strapping players who throw heat. May is 20. Knapp is 19 and will be 20 Aug 31.
The left-handed-hitting Gose is only 19 and won't be 20 until Aug. 10. He is a potential future major leaguer who reminds many of Juan Pierre although he's built like a running back/defensive back at 6-1, 190. He stole a minor-league-leading 76 bases for the Blue Claws last year while leading Lakewood to the South Atlantic League title. He strikes out too much, as evidenced by the 110 Ks last season at Lakewood, but he did bat .259 with two homers and 52 RBI for the Blue Claws. He's at high Class-A Clearwater this season, batting .269 with two home runs and 13 RBI through Thursday's action. He has stolen 23 bases for the Threshers, but he's been caught 18 times, which isn't a good ratio at all. Sounds like he needs some baserunning work with Phillies first base coach Dave Lopes, who is considered one of the top baserunning coaches in the game.
The 6-3, 190-pound Cosart has unlimited potential and is already 7-1 with a 3.25 ERA for Lakewood. He has 73 stikeouts and just 15 walks in 63-plus innings for the Blue Claws. The right-hander turned 20 May 25.
The 6-1, 180-pound Valle (prounounced VIE A) is 19 years old and won't turn 20 until July 24. He's a better hitting prospect than D'Arnaud, in my opinion, but he needs to improve his catching and throwing skills. And D'Arnaud, who is at high Class-A for Toronto, is a sure-shot major leaguer.
Santana is a strapping 6-5, 200-pound right-handed hitting outfielder from the Dominican Republic who looks like a young Dave Parker. The 17-year-old got a cup of coffee with Lakewood to begin this season and will open tonight for the Williamsport Crosscutters, the Phillies' affiliate in the short-season New York-Penn League. He won't be 18 until Aug. 5. The Phillies did the same thing with Valle and outfielder Leandro Castro last year, starting them at Lakewood and then sending them to Williamsport once the NY-P League started. They got at-bats in the tougher South Atlantic League instead of wasting time in Extended Spring Training.
Castro, who recently turned 21, is batting .257 with six homers and 45 RBI for the Blue Claws through Thursday. Valle has nine homers and 40 RBI and is batting .254 through Thursday for the Blue Claws.
Next: A look at the Lakewood roster. Who's a prospect and who's an organizational player just filling out the roster.
Through Thursday night's action, the strapping first baseman, who bats and throws left and is built similar to Ryan Howard, although he's leaner and more athletic than the Phillies' first sacker, is batting .390 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs in 123 at-bats. He has 48 hits, has scored 24 runs and stroked 13 doubles in 34 games. He's helped the Blue Claws get off to a 40-27 first-half record, good for first-place in the Northern Division with three games remaining in the first half.
The 6-2, 215-pounder has struck out just 24 times while walking 22 times. He also has four steals, not bad for a player who looks like he should be patrolling the football field at linebacker or tight end for a big-time BCS football power. He boasts a .483 on-base percentage, a .667 slugging percentage and a 1.150 OPS.
Singleton's pitch selection is unreal for an 18-year-old kid who was drafted in the eighth round in 2009 by the Phillies. He had a scholarship to Long Beach State, but that's not what made him fall to the eighth round of the draft. He had an early season slump playing for Millikan High School in Long Beach, Calif., and he didn't fare well at some of the showcase events against quality pitching. Thankfully, the Phillies scooped him up in Round 8 and the rest is history. The Phils signed him for $200,000, according to Baseball America.
Most impressively, Singleton has committed just one error this season for Lakewood and is very smooth around the bag at first base. He also has a sweet arm and has the perfect makeup to succeed.
Obviously, there is a guy named Ryan Howard standing in Singleton's way, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Singleton, who batted .290 with two homers and 12 RBI in 100 at-bats for the Gulf Coast Phillies after being drafted in the June amateur draft last year, is just 18 years old and won't turn 19 until Sept. 18. In other words, he'll be 18 all season long since the South Atlantic season ends the first week of September.
Should the Phillies rush Singleton along and move him up to high Class-A Clearwater, or should they keep him at Lakewood? That's a no-brainer. Singleton should remain at Lakewood all season. Could he get a cup of coffee the last week or two of the season and move up to the Threshers in mid-August? Sure.
Singleton could force the Phillies' hand by being too good for high Class-A and they would have no choice but to jump him past the Florida State League and send him to Double-A Reading as a 19-year-old in 2011.
Braves outfielder Jason Heyward is only 20 years old and is already one of the best players on his team as a rookie. And Florida Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton is only 20 and looks like he'll be in the big leagues for a long, long time.
So you never know about a guy like Singleton, who has to be considered one of the Phillies' Top 10 prospects right now.
Heading into this season, the Phillies' Top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America, were:
1. RF Domonic Brown
2. RHP Kyle Drabek
3. OF Michael Taylor
4. C Travis D'Arnaud
5. RHP Trevor May
6. CF Anthony Gose
7. C Sebastian Valle
8. RHP Jarred Cosart
9. LHP Antonio Bastardo
10. OF Domingo Santana
With Drabek, Taylor and D'Arnaud traded for Roy Halladay, the list has changed.
Obviously, the 6-5, 200-pound Brown, who bats and throws left, remains No. 1, but Singleton has to be considered No. 2 at this point, and that says something because May is a hard-throwing 6-5, 235-pound right-hander who enabled the Phils to include Jason Knapp in the Cliff Lee deal last year. Knapp is very similar to May in that both are big, strapping players who throw heat. May is 20. Knapp is 19 and will be 20 Aug 31.
The left-handed-hitting Gose is only 19 and won't be 20 until Aug. 10. He is a potential future major leaguer who reminds many of Juan Pierre although he's built like a running back/defensive back at 6-1, 190. He stole a minor-league-leading 76 bases for the Blue Claws last year while leading Lakewood to the South Atlantic League title. He strikes out too much, as evidenced by the 110 Ks last season at Lakewood, but he did bat .259 with two homers and 52 RBI for the Blue Claws. He's at high Class-A Clearwater this season, batting .269 with two home runs and 13 RBI through Thursday's action. He has stolen 23 bases for the Threshers, but he's been caught 18 times, which isn't a good ratio at all. Sounds like he needs some baserunning work with Phillies first base coach Dave Lopes, who is considered one of the top baserunning coaches in the game.
The 6-3, 190-pound Cosart has unlimited potential and is already 7-1 with a 3.25 ERA for Lakewood. He has 73 stikeouts and just 15 walks in 63-plus innings for the Blue Claws. The right-hander turned 20 May 25.
The 6-1, 180-pound Valle (prounounced VIE A) is 19 years old and won't turn 20 until July 24. He's a better hitting prospect than D'Arnaud, in my opinion, but he needs to improve his catching and throwing skills. And D'Arnaud, who is at high Class-A for Toronto, is a sure-shot major leaguer.
Santana is a strapping 6-5, 200-pound right-handed hitting outfielder from the Dominican Republic who looks like a young Dave Parker. The 17-year-old got a cup of coffee with Lakewood to begin this season and will open tonight for the Williamsport Crosscutters, the Phillies' affiliate in the short-season New York-Penn League. He won't be 18 until Aug. 5. The Phillies did the same thing with Valle and outfielder Leandro Castro last year, starting them at Lakewood and then sending them to Williamsport once the NY-P League started. They got at-bats in the tougher South Atlantic League instead of wasting time in Extended Spring Training.
Castro, who recently turned 21, is batting .257 with six homers and 45 RBI for the Blue Claws through Thursday. Valle has nine homers and 40 RBI and is batting .254 through Thursday for the Blue Claws.
Next: A look at the Lakewood roster. Who's a prospect and who's an organizational player just filling out the roster.
posted by Brian Freeman at
9:59 PM
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