Phillies Add Four Prospects to 40 Man Roster

The Phillies today added four prospects to the 40-man roster: RHPs Trevor May, Jonathan Pettibone, and Ethan Martin, and OF Zach Collier. They had until 11:59 this evening to set the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft scheduled for December 6th.

May, 23, was the Phillies top prospect when 2012 began, but he struggled on the way to a 4.87 ERA (4.88 FIP), spending the entire year in AA. His K/9 fell from the 11-12 range he had been getting to 9.08, while his BB/9 stayed at a relatively high 4.69.

Pettibone, 22, enjoyed a solid season, earning a promotion to AAA at the end of July. His 19 starts in AA produced a 3.30 ERA, and 3.63 FIP. He did even better in 7 starts at Lehigh Valley, with a 2.55 ERA and 3.25 FIP. That was despite a 4.68 BB/9 rate (to go with 6.80 K/9). He was helped by not giving up any home runs in his 42.1 AAA innings, a .254 BABIP, and a 77.4% strand rate, indicating he had some luck on his side.

Martin, 23, was acquired from the Dodgers in the Shane Victorino deal, and made 7 starts at Reading. He posted a 3.18 ERA (3.78 FIP). His 4.08 BB/9, while high, was the lowest of his minor league career (as was his K/9 of 7.94).

Collier, 22, is coming off an impressive Arizona Fall League stint, where he batted .371/.461/.532 (108 wRC+) in 76 PAs, helped by a .426 BABIP. That was after his best regular season to date: after starting the season with a 50-game suspension for Adderall, he batted .269/.333/.399 at Clearwater.

Those left unprotected and eligible to be chosen by other teams in the Rule 5 draft include:

OF Leandro Castro, 23 -- hit a decent .287/.316/.427 (102 wRC+) at Reading, but walked only 17 times in 511 PAs (3.3%).

OF Jiwan James, 23 -- moved up to AA this year, but had his worst season yet: .249/.291/.360 (77 wRC+)

RHP Colby Shreve, 24 -- split 2012 between Lakewood, Clearwater, and Reading. His ERA varied at the three stops (3.60, 2.25, 3.56), while his FIP was consistently in the 4.20 range.

RHP Julio Rodriguez, 22 -- after a very strong season at Clearwater in 2011 (2.76 ERA, 3.46 FIP), J-Rod struggled at Reading on the way to a 4.23 ERA and 4.70 FIP.

Both James and Castro were also left unprotected for last year's draft and weren't selected.

The roster stands now at 38, leaving room for additions to be made over the coming weeks.