Skip to main content

Prospect Nation 2013: #7 Catcher Tommy Joseph

Tommy Joseph, who was acquired from San Francisco in the Hunter Pence trade last July, quickly landed among the Phillies' top positional prospects upon joining the organization.  Joseph now rounds out a collection of young talent that has the Phils extremely deep at the catcher position in the minors.

The 6-foot-1 215-pounder, was the Giants' second round draft selection (55th overall) in 2009.  Upon making his professional debut the following year, Joseph played with Class A Augusta of the South Atlantic League.  That year, with the GreenJackets, Joseph posted a .236 average with 16 homers and 68 RBI in 117 games.

In 2011, Joseph batted .270, smashed 22 home runs and drove in 95 runs in 127 games for Class A Advanced San Jose. Over the off-season that followed, he was ranked as San Francisco's 5th best prospect by MLB.com.

An All-Star in the Double-A Eastern League in 2012, the righty hitting Joseph tallied a .257 average with 11 home runs and 48 RBI in 108 games between Richmond and Reading.  Joseph spent a month this past off-season playing in the Arizona Fall League, where he sported a .204 average with one double, five RBI in 14 games played.

Overall, Joseph, who grew up admiring All-Star catchers Mike Piazza and Jorge Posada, is an aggressive batter that can really drive the ball.  In his past two seasons, Joseph sports solid marks in OPS (.758) and ISO (.173).  Having displayed power at multiple levels, many feel that the 21-year-old projects to be a 20+ home run guy.   

Defensively, Joseph, who possesses a top notch work ethic, is strong behind the plate and is capable of leading a pitching staff and keeping the opposition's running game under control with his arm.  And while Joseph might reach the big leagues because of his bat, it will be his skills as a backstop that keep him there.

On the bases, Joseph runs like a catcher and will never be a true stolen base threat.

Currently, the Arizona native is in Major League camp with the Phillies and should get some solid reps in spring training games.  With Sebastian Valle expecting a light work load, due to a fractured finger, Joseph could get a nice chance to impress the entire organization with some extra playing time.  Having caught all of the Giants' aces last spring, Joseph may now get to see game action with the Phils collection of elite hurlers.

Look for Joseph to begin the 2013 back in Double-A, with Valle occupying the starting catcher spot at Triple-A, with both men possibly ready for the next level at any point.  The Phils' depth at the position could result either man being a trade chip this year as well.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mike McGuire Living a Dream With Favorite Team

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Every young ballplayer grows up wishing he could play for his favorite team. Mike McGuire has an opportunity to do just that after signing with the Phillies organization in July. McGuire was a 43rd round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. Early scouting reports liked McGuire's abilities, despite some arm trouble. He advanced as far as High A Level Kinston last season. While there, he posted an 0-3 record with a 5.46 ERA in 9 games, 8 of which were starts. The Indians weren't happy with McGuire's efforts this spring and released him. McGuire caught on with the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, where he stayed in shape and pitched against other formerly affiliated minor leaguers. As a starter with the Skyhawks, McGuire went 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 8 outings. From there, just as all players in those independent leagues hope for, the 24-year-old McGuire got noticed. The Phillies wer...

Harry's Plaque Has Misprint

At the ballpark today for the first time since Harry Kalas was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday, I noticed an error in the text on his plaque. Verbage on the plaque reads like this... Voice of Phillies baseball on radio and TV for 39 seasons. Teamed with Richie Ashburn from 1971 until 1997. Harry was on the air for all of Mike Schmidt's 548 home runs, five Phillies no-hitters, seven National League Championship Series, three World Series, the first and final games at Veterans Stadium and the Citizens Bank Park 2004 opener. Received the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award in 2002 for "Major Contributions to Baseball" and was inducted into the broadcasters' wing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. His calls were legendary, especially his signature home run call, "Outta heeere." On October 29, 2008, he brought utmost joy to Phillies fans: "The 0-2 pitch, swing and miss , struck him out. The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 Worl...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...