2006 Bowman Draft Picks #DP53 Quintin Berry

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My interest in this year's World Series isn't low enough for me to re-do the list I put together a few years ago.  But it's still pretty low.  I was hoping for an Orioles-Reds World Series, a rematch of the 1970 Fall Classic, but it was not to be.

That being said, I'll be rooting for Quintin Berry and the Tigers when Game One's first pitch is thrown tonight in San Francisco.  I have nothing against the Giants*, but the pain of them knocking the Phillies out of the postseason back in 2010 still lingers.  (*Actually, that's a lie.  I can't stand the Giants.)

Berry was originally selected by the Phillies in the 5th round of the 2006 amateur player draft.  In his first full season in 2007, he won the Paul Owens Award as the best position player in the Phillies minor league system.  He slowly climbed through the team's system for parts of five seasons, making it as high as Double-A Reading in 2010.

In July 2010, the Phils placed him on waivers in order to free up a spot on their 40-man roster.  He landed in the Padres system, and then bounced around the minors with the Mets, Reds and finally the Tigers.  He got the call to the Majors in May of this year, and he performed well enough to earn a spot on the Tigers postseason roster.

Berry's trip from waivers to World Series is a great story.  It would be even greater if he was still with the Phils and the first pitch tonight was being thrown in Citizens Bank Park.

New Additions to the 40-Man Roster

2009 Multi-Ad Reading Phillies #3 Quintin Berry

2009 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #51 Yohan Flande

2009 Multi-Ad Lakewood BlueClaws #25 Jesus Sanchez

2009 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #22 Drew Naylor

With the recent flurry of free agent signings (Juan Castro, Brian Schneider, Placido Polanco and Ross Gload - still pending), the Phillies added several established players to their 40-man roster. A few weeks ago, the Phils also added three prospects to their 40-man roster who may have an outside chance of spending some time with the big club in 2010:

Quintin Berry - The speedy 25-year-old Berry was drafted by the Phils in the 5th round of the 2006 draft. He was the starting center fielder for the AA Reading Phillies in 2009, hitting .266 with very little power, but with 48 stolen bases. In 2007, Berry won the Paul Owens Award as the best minor league player in the Phillies organization.

Yohan Flande - Lefty Yohan Flande, 24 in January, went 11-5 between Clearwater and Reading in 2009, striking out 117 and walking 45 in 152.2 innings of work. He pitched an inning in the 2009 Futures Game during the All-Star weekend. Paul Hagen wrote a great piece on Flande for the Philadelphia Daily News back in June.

Jesus Sanchez - Sanchez is the last remaining player obtained in the 2006 Bobby Abreu trade still with the Phillies. Originally a catcher, Sanchez converted to a pitcher last year and started 26 games for the Lakewood BlueClaws. He compiled a record of 10-6, striking out 120 in 136 innings with a 3.44 ERA.

And a bonus prospect . . .

Drew Naylor - Australian Drew Naylor has been on the 40-man roster since last spring. Naylor led all Phillies minor leaguers with 156 strikeouts in 2008. He spent all of 2009 in Clearwater, going 8-11 with a 4.22 ERA. The right-handed Naylor is 23.