Why the Phillies Are Usually Bad

[jvett77]

Did anyone take note of Josh Tobias when he was labeled a top prospect at WIL, CLR, and LWD? He put up excellent stats which was one reason I went to Lakewood to see him play last year. But, it was his turn to coach 3b. lol.

2015 WIL .321/.362,4 hr, 37 rbi, 19 2b, 3 3b
2016 LWD/CLR .291/.362, 6 hr, 48 rbi, 31 2b, 9 hr

Looked impressive to me so I checked his earlier NCAA stats at FL, at age 19 - 22. Also impressive.

2012, 19, ss .252/.320/.319, 0 hr, 5 2b
2013, 20, ss .260/.341/.351, 3 hr, 5 2b
2014, 21, ss .297/.372/.436, 3 hr, 3 2b
2015, 22, ss,.355/.435/.524, 5 hr. 5 3b, 14 2b

Then, I saw last year he'd been traded to Boston affiliate Portland for....32-yr old has been, the disabled Clay Buckholtz. Now, at 24, playing 2b, and promoted to their AA Portland team, Tobias' 2017 figures for 54 games are .308/.361, 18 2b, 3 hr.

Tobias will be a good one because he can flat out hit, and plays both ss and 2b. He's listed at 5'9, 195. Cesar is a skinny 5'10, 160 and better than an average hitter, but only a 5-yr SLG of .367. In 3 minor league seasons, Tobias' SLG in .438. This is why the under-powered Phillies continue to look like wimps at the plate.

Phillies management missed the boat here and that's typical. With Kingery arriving in 2015 with rave reviews as potential golden boy, I wonder if a little racism was involved in the decision, making it easy to dump the talented Tobias. Would they have let him go if he were white? Nope, and I predict Phils will regret it. Hopefully, Kingery will work out because it appears he can also flat out hit (.299/.375). We just have to wait a few more years.

 

[northeastphillyguy]

I don't agree with you. Trading for pitching is always a gamble. Tobias is not a top prospect by any means.
Also I do not see a racist connection in any way. They allowed Howard to block out white replacements, plus Howard forced Tome out. Phillies are not racist.

 

[jvett77]

I don't agree with you. Trading for pitching is always a gamble. Tobias is not a top prospect by any means.
Also I do not see a racist connection in any way. They allowed Howard to block out white replacements, plus Howard forced Tome out. Phillies are not racist.

Why isn't Tobias a top prospect despite his numbers? Trading for a 32-year old pitcher whose best years are behind him is certainly risky.

 

[northeastphillyguy]

Tobias is limited. His base running and speed are average. His power is limited. His defense is actually a little below average. He does project to hit for a decent average. He hits lefties better than righties. He just learned
how to switch hit last season, so he is trying to become more valuable. He projects to be a bench player at best.
So the Phillies made a small gamble and lost. No biggie!

 

[jvett77]

Maybe the Phils are looking for too much perfection which is why prospects seem to linger longer in the minors after its proven they can handle a bat. All prospects have the usual defense to work on but when the punchless Phils spot a guy who can really hit, they should pay attention and not hold him up because he needs to work on one or two things.

You don't have to sit down with Tobias and say "now, here's how you can hit." He's ready to go to work at 24. If he screws up a play in the second inning, he always has a shot at covering the error in the next AB because he does the most important stuff - hitting and getting on base. The TV guy, Murphy, via the FO I suppose, last night tried to give fans some hope by stating that Kingery might be moved up to LHV. Oh, great! We can wait. But why not give one of your own a shot like a Tobias or Williams and then we might have avoided, e.g., a Saunders. End of rant.

Note: This message fully approved by the Phila. DDRC (dumpster diving reduction committee).

 

[northeastphillyguy]

You sound like a frustrated Phillies fan jvett. Join the crowd! If Saunders was having a good year this conversation
would not happen. So many ifs in baseball. Here is my if; If we had a better manager we would have at least 5 more wins at this time. If we had a better bullpen we could have another 5 wins by now. And so on!

 

[jvett77]

You sound like a frustrated Phillies fan jvett. Join the crowd! If Saunders was having a good year this conversation
would not happen. So many ifs in baseball. Here is my if; If we had a better manager we would have at least 5 more wins at this time. If we had a better bullpen we could have another 5 wins by now. And so on!

Yeah, we're all frustrated phans but I'm just suggesting that guys who might help are being left on the bus in favor of those midnight dumpster runs.