Move Over, JDT: Roman Quinn and Mitch Walding Sign
Jesen Dygestile Therrien may "progression and could be accelerated," but right now, the focus among Phillies prospect hounds shifts to 2nd rounder Roman Quinn ($775K) and 5th rounder Mitch Walding ($800K), who join the Quebec right hander in the Phillies organization. What's notable about this is that both Quinn and Walding are shortstops (though few project Quinn to stay there long-term). Add in Tyler Greene, and this is the first legitimate haul of shortstop draftees that the Phillies have made in... well, in quite some time. Count me as a big fan of this: toolsy outfielders are all well and good, but the best teams are built with an up-the-middle backbone, and the organization has been lacking in middle infield prospects recently. There's an hour left to go, but I expect that the Phillies are probably done at this point. The 2011 draft class represents a pretty solid haul overall, and I'll wrap it up with a draft recap in the next few days.