MMO Mailbag: What’s Up With Phillip Evans?

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• Kevin October 12, 2012 at 2:44 pm

  Phillip Evans is so far away that I could project him as the next great shortstop and not be wrong.

  Huh?
  • Sean Kenny October 12, 2012 at 5:39 pm

    The Phillip Evans you see now, will probably resemble nothing like the one in a few years. He doesn’t have a seasons worth of AB’s, he hasn’t even played full season ball yet and will be young at every level he plays in until he reaches AAA.

    Some players improve from level to level, so who knows? Evans could turn the gap power into serious power and with experience become an above-average shortstop
    • Fan October 12, 2012 at 11:09 pm

      You have no clue how good he is unless you have seen him play a few games and over the years.He will continue to improve and then dominate at the next level.

      2012 New York-Penn League Top 20 Prospects With Scouting Reports

      #18 Phillip Evans, ss, Brooklyn Cyclones

      Age: 19 B-T: R-R Ht.: 5-10 Wt.: 185 Drafted: La Costa Canyon HS, Carlsbad, Calif., 2011 (15th round).

      A star of the high school showcase circuit, Evans saw his stock slip a bit as a senior, though he still fetched $650,000 as a 15th-round pick in 2011. Many area scouts doubted he would stay at shortstop in pro ball, but evaluators who saw him in the NY-P think he has a real chance to do so. He has reliable hands, above-average instincts and sound mechanics at shortstop, where his range is fringy but his arm is solid.

      “He learned how to make the play coming in and made it as good as anybody,” Donnelly said. “Just a massive improvement from last year to this year. He made every routine play. He makes the play in the hole, makes the play up the middle. Those groundballs that short hop or hop funny, he made every one of them.”

      Evans is maxed out physically, but his short righthanded swing and feel for his barrel allow him to project as a solid hitter with good pop to the alleys. He sees plenty of pitches, but the Mets would like to see him become a bit more aggressive. He has fringy speed at best and his baserunning needs work.
• Anakin Corleone October 12, 2012 at 5:02 pm

  I’m a little confused here. Evans is described by you and others as “a strong, compact build (5’10, 190 LBS)”. However, Ruben Tejada is essentially the same size (5’11, 185 LBS) and no one describes him as strong and compact. Is there more to Evans than height and weight or does packing an additional five pounds in one less inch of height make that big a difference?
  • Sean Kenny October 12, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    Ruben actually put that weight on his frame, and weight distribution can be a tricky thing to tell amongst players. Some players have larger legs, and some are evenly proportioned.

    Ruben is turning 23, and as height and weight measurements are notorious for being doctored (short players are notorious for getting “the extra inch”) So Evans may be closer to 5’9.

    But even while eyeballing both of them, they do not resemble each other build wise. Ruben has a solid distribution of weight, with longer arms and legs and Evans looks Uggla-esque.
    • stick October 12, 2012 at 5:48 pm

      different guys get way different results out of the same dimensions too.
      • Anakin Corleone October 12, 2012 at 7:30 pm

        That’s what I thought but wanted to clarify that I understood it correctly. In fact, I’m the exact same size as Evans (5’10″, 190 lbs.) However, I probably have twice the body fat of Evans and Tejada combined.

        For what it’s worth, I hope he does well. From the video I’ve seen, he seems to have a smooth swing. The Mets paid him second-round bonus money as a 15th round pick, meaning he had a lot of interest if signability and the lure of a strong college program didn’t get in the way.
  • stick October 12, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    we need to see side by side pixs without shirts on I guess, but usually it is related to body type (long arms vs. barrel chest?). either that or just semantics.