Phillies prospects were 'touchable' after all

AT ONE POINT, Ruben Amaro Jr. did use the word "untouchables." It was in July, as the first chapter in the Roy Halladay-to-Philadelphia saga was being written. He was sitting in the home dugout at Citizens Bank Park before that night's game.

"There are some untouchables in our system," he said.

Later, he was asked if there were prospects he absolutely would not trade even for a pitcher of Halladay's caliber.

"There are," he responded.

But while his contention yesterday that he had never used the word "untouchable" when discussing his farm system may not have been entirely accurate, the spirit of his comments - both when he pondered the trade market that day in July and when he introduced Halladay as a Phillie yesterday - have remained consistent.

"What I have said is that some [prospects] are more touchable than others," Amaro said yesterday, when, after days of wrangling, he put the finishing touches on a deal that sent top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek, well-respected outfield prospect Michael Taylor and high-ceiling catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud to Toronto for Halladay. The Blue Jays then traded Taylor to the Oakland Athletics for third baseman Brett Wallace.

On a scale of untouchability, according to various organizational insiders, Drabek ranked near the top, on par, or just below outfielder Domonic Brown, and well above Taylor. Manager Charlie Manuel has compared him to former Mets great Tom Seaver. Amaro said yesterday he expected Drabek "is going to be an outstanding major league pitcher" and that Taylor "has a chance at being an outstanding major league outfielder."

Taylor, who hit .320 with a .395 on-base percentage and 20 home runs between Double A Reading and Triple A Lehigh Valley, has put up phenomenal numbers since the Phillies selected him in the fifth round out of Stanford in 2007. In the scouting community, opinions on Taylor's potential differ. As an organization, the Phillies project Brown as the better pro corner outfielder, but many scouts also view him as their most major league-ready position player. Still, the presence of Jayson Werth in rightfield this season (he'll be a free agent at the end of the year) and Raul Ibanez in left for the next two seasons, along with Brown and up-and-comer Anthony Gose in the system, made Taylor a player Amaro felt he could afford to lose.