Photo: Philliedelphia/Frank Klose
The first wave of cuts in Phillies camp has come and gone. As it occured I found myself a bit more bullish on the Phillies' future than I was.
Tommy Joseph, the finest position player prospect in the system, impressed offensively and defensively. He reminds me a lot of Mike Lieberthal but one wonders if I should stop there with my level of expectation. Cody Asche is a major defensive question mark among prospect nerds but he seemed very capable at the hot corner in limited action. It's a small sample size but I saw a lot of improvement. Remember, Chase Utley was a defensive butcher once too.
Pitching wise, it was nice to get a look at Adam Morgan, Ethan Martin, and Jonathan Pettibone. These guys figure to be part of the plan at some point and could find themselves leaping over Tyler Cloyd in the depth chart for this season. Kyle Simon could be on the short list for bullpen inventory as well.
The most interesting cut was the one that wasn't made. Justin Friend, who was lights out in Reading last year, remains in big league camp. Aumont had a serious blow up inning in the World Baseball Classic the other day vs. Italy. Leaves me wondering if Friend is quietly in the mix. It would be nice for my Friend's Friends fan section idea.
