Balls, Sticks, & Stuff regular reader/commentor Tony Gross sent to me the following scouting report on Mike Costanzo, the Phillies top draft pick in 2005:
This past weekend, my girlfriend and I went to Buffalo to visit her
family. Since Batavia is less than a thirty minute drive, we watched the Muckdogs play Jamestown (a Marlins affiliate)
.
Mike Costanzo played third base for the Muckdogs and batted third. From my first view of him, I have a couple of observations. He has an easy, aggressive swing. He went 1-for-4 on Sat., smacking a double. In the field, he has excellent range. He moved well to his left,
digging out a slow-roller headed for shortstop. He had the only play on it, making the bullet throw across his body to beat the runner by a step.
He has some work to do, as expected. He crossed himself up with bad footwork on a hard chopper between third and short, allowing the ball to squirt through for a single. I suspect a few lessons from Schmidt will help that.
Thanks Tony, I know I am optimistic about him as well, and the big club will need him soon (well, actually, they need him now, but that is a different column entirely).
