Welcome Wagon: Anthony Gose

And we welcome 19-year old lefty CF Anthony Gose to the organization, a player in which the most-used adjective is "toolsy."

Gose was the Phillies' 2nd Round pick in the 2008 draft, and is currently in High-A Clearwater hitting .263/.325/.385, with 103K:32BB, and 36 stolen bases (in 63 attempts).

Let's look further at his 2010:

Unfortunately, his average is inflated by a .348 BABIP, and he's hitting groundballs 60% of the time. His OPS against RHP is .780, with a .280/.352/.428 slash line (and .248/.287/.326 against LHP). His XBH rate in 2010 is 29.0% (up from his 26.5% 2009 rate).

So. Not overly impressive, but we're put on notice by Baseball America's Ben Badler:
I don't like the deal for the Astros, but if you're just looking at stats for Villar and Gose, you're missing the boat.

Baseball America:
Gose led all minor leaguers with 76 stolen bases in 2009, when he batted .259/.323/.353 for low Class A Lakewood. While he remains an unfinished product with the bat, his speed, center-field defense and arm all draw raves from scouts—and even a few 70s on the scouting scale. His tools are apparent in his standing in the Florida State League. Gose ranks second in the circuit with 36 steals (one behind Jupiter's Kevin Mattison) and 15 outfield assists, while pacing all FSL batters with 67 runs scored and 11 triples. He employs a slashing hitting style that lends itself to below-average power, though he will occasionally sting one the other way. Gose's pitch recognition needs significant refinement if he's to profile as a true on-base-oriented leadoff batter. The Astros (and before them the Phillies) are betting that Gose's batting eye will improve, given his athleticism and baseball acumen.

Welcome Wagon: J.A. Happ

And now we can welcome LHP J.A. Happ to the Houston Astros rotation.

Your starting rotation at 2:15pm on Thursday looks as such: Brett Myers, Wandy Rodriguez, J.A. Happ, Bud Norris, Wesley Wright.

Happ will be 28 on October 19, and was the Phillies' 3rd Round pick in 2004.

In his 109-game minor-league career (including three rehab starts in 2010), Happ posted a 3.52 ERA/1.26 WHIP in 565.2IP, with 579K:224BB. In 2008, he was 8-7 for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, with a 3.60 ERA/1.22 WHIP, 151K:48BB in 135IP.

2009 was his breakout year for the Phillies, going 12-4 in 23 starts (35 games) with three complete games and two shutouts, posting a 2.93 ERA/1.24 WHIP in 166IP and finishing 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting, behind Chris Coghlan. Among all rookies who received votes, Happ had the highest WAR, with 3.8.

Overall, his splits are encouraging: .636 OPS Against on the road. .460 OPSa w/RISP. There are lots of things to be encouraged about (and we can manipulate statistics to fit our mood), and also plenty to be discouraged about. Chief among them are the injuries, and that Happ will be 30-31 when the Astros likely get respectable again.

Welcome!