Phillies made strides in the minors, too

Earlier this decade, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels were minor-leaguers in the Phillies' system. They developed into major-leaguers and eventually formed part of the core that helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series.

Rollins, Utley, Howard and Hamels exemplify why a minor-league system exists - to ultimately help the big-league club win games.

But a minor-league system isn't successful only when it sends productive players to the majors. Sometimes a minor-league system does its job when it helps a club acquire established big-league talent in trades.

That's why it can be argued that the Phillies' 2009 minor-league season became a success on July 29, the day the team sent four young players to Cleveland for Cliff Lee, the 2008 American League Cy Young winner.

In addition to the payment needed to get Lee, there were other successes in the Phillies' minor-league system this year. Let's take a look at some of them.

Winning seasons. Wins aren't everything in the minors, but player development is enhanced when done in a winning environment. Double-A Reading (75-67) and single-A Lakewood (78-58) made their league playoffs. Lakewood is in the South Atlantic League finals, with a two-games-to-none lead heading into last night's Game 3. The Phils' rookie-level clubs in Williamsport and the Gulf Coast League also had winning seasons.

Top players. The Phils valued the four players (pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp, catcher Lou Marson and infielder Jason Donald) they surrendered for Lee, but only Knapp was considered a blue-chipper. The Phils were able to hang on to their elite prospects, and all of them enhanced their worth this season. They are 21-year-old righthander Kyle Drabek, 23-year-old outfielder Michael Taylor, 21-year-old outfielder Domonic Brown, and 19-year-old outfielder Anthony Gose. All project as big-league difference-makers.

Drabek, with his mid-90s fastball, hard-dropping curveball and improved change-up, went 12-3 with a 3.19 ERA at Reading and single-A Clearwater. He struck out 150 and walked 50 while allowing 141 hits in 158 innings. The Phils envision him working his way into their rotation at some point next season.

Taylor hit .333 with 15 homers, 65 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and a .977 combined on-base and slugging percentage in 86 games at double A, then made a nice showing at triple A, where he hit .282 with five homers, 19 RBIs, and an .850 OPS in 30 games. This after hitting .346 with 19 homers and 88 RBIs in single A in 2008.

"Even with as good a year as he had in A ball [in 2008], I don't think anyone could have predicted what he did in the Eastern League this year," assistant GM Chuck LaMar said. "He tore it up. We've always thought of him as a major-league prospect, but he sped his clock toward Philadelphia."

Brown is often compared to a young Darryl Strawberry because of his 6-foot-6 frame and whippy lefthanded swing. He is widely considered the most promising position player in the system. He made a strong showing at Clearwater and Reading, hitting a combined .299 with 14 homers, 64 RBIs, and an .880 OPS.

With Taylor and Brown, both corner outfielders, the Phils have potential successors to Raul Ibañez and Jayson Werth. The team also has a potentially dynamic centerfielder in Gose, who, a year out of high school, held his own in the SAL and led all of minor-league ball with 76 steals.

The next tier. Shortstop Freddy Galvis, a dynamic fielder, became just the 11th teenager in Reading's 43-year history. The 19-year-old's defense is already big-league caliber. The team can afford to be patient as his switch-hitting improves.

Catcher Travis d'Arnaud, 20, is another player who vastly improved his standing this season. He hit .302 for Lakewood in the second half and finished with 13 homers and 71 RBIs. D'Arnaud passed Marson on the catching prospect ladder this season. Phils officials believe he can become a big-league catcher with a good bat. Sabastian Valle, 19, also has emerged as a catching prospect.

Some arms to watch. Reading had several pitchers who should eventually contribute in the majors. Drabek was at the head of the class, obviously. Righthanders Vance Worley and Mike Stutes, products of the 2008 draft, held their own in double A after skipping over the Florida State League. Lefty Yohan Flande came out of nowhere and could earn a spot on the 40-man roster this winter. Righthander B.J. Rosenberg, a 2008 draft pick out of Louisville, saved 22 games between Lakewood and Reading and won a spot on Team USA for the World Cup. Righthander Scott Mathieson made it back from two elbow operations and hit 98 m.p.h. on the radar gun.

Scouts say 19-year-old Lakewood righthander Trevor May, a fourth-round pick in 2008, is a potential frontline starter. Also keep an eye on another member of that draft class, righthander Jarred Cosart, who has dazzling stuff.

For immediate pitching depth in 2010, the Phils have Kyle Kendrick and Andrew Carpenter, who both had solid seasons at triple A.

Improvement sought. Lefthander Joe Savery and third baseman Anthony Hewitt were first-round picks in 2007 and 2008, respectively, but neither is a shoo-in to make it to Philadelphia. Savery, 23, won a combined 16 games at double A and triple A, but his stuff is not overpowering, and he doesn't throw enough strikes. He had a poor 96-77 strikeouts-to-walks ratio in 1511/3 innings. Hewitt, 20, was a project from day one. He still needs to improve on making contact, as evidenced by a .223 batting average and 77 strikeouts in 61 games at Williamsport.

Two intriguing guys. It's very unusual for a 16-year-old Dominican not to play in the Dominican Summer League. The Phils were so high on outfielder Domingo Santana that they sent him to the Gulf Coast League, where he hit .288 with six homers and 28 RBIs in 118 at-bats. "He's a beast," one frequent observer of Santana said.

The Phils might end up getting a contributor out of the Bobby Abreu trade, after all. In his first season as a pitcher, converted catcher Jesus Sánchez, 21, went 10-6 with a 3.44 ERA in 26 starts for Lakewood. Scouts are impressed by how quickly Sánchez developed a feel for pitching. He went 7-2 with 2.59 ERA in 13 starts in the second half.