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2017 Prospects: Philadelphia Phillies Top 10 Prospects
Jeffrey Paternostro and BP Prospect Staff
Last year's Phillies list
The State of the System: Almost all the same names as last year, but another young Latin arm and a first-overall pick have boosted an already strong system in Philadelphia, and the top guns here are all ready to contribute to the major league squad in 2017.
SS J.P. Crawford
C Jorge Alfaro
OF Nick Williams
OF Mickey Moniak
RHP Franklyn Kilome
RHP Adonis Medina
RHP Sixto Sanchez
OF Roman Quinn
LF Cornelius Randolph
Choose Your Own Adventure: The Island of Klentak
The Big Question: How much should we care about 'makeup'?
Makeup is almost certainly the hidden factor as to why some seemingly similarly situated prospects bust while others succeed. Some players have an incredible ability to learn and develop. Some stagnate in situations they should conquer. Yet we have very little ability from the outside to determine which players are high makeup and which ones aren't.
We've often tried. Over the years in these pages, you've seen makeup as a column in our live reports. You've seen it as something we've talked about extensively in prospect lists. Sometimes, it's a euphemism for things we'd rather not talk about, trouble with the law or drug issues or things of that nature. Sometimes it's based on industry scuttlebutt, or information we have off-the-record. Sometimes we hear bad things that we very much believe, but without enough specificity to say exactly what, and the easiest crutch is to talk about the player's bad makeup in somber tones. Sometimes we hear that a player is a sponge and the hardest worker on the planet, and we talk about his great makeup in excited tones. Sometimes, it's just based on a player's posture on the field, or his effort during one play, or other visual cues you pick up around the ballpark.
All of this is probably more useful information to you, the reader, than absolutely nothing, even if we can't always say exactly what we'd like to say. These are absolutely things that we should be using to inform our judgments about prospects—to a degree. Because while we have some information on a player's makeup, it's often very limited. Even major-league organizations can get lost in the fog with makeup, since it's all subjective and we're all human with human biases. And the organizations have the best information possible about their own players.
Which brings us to Nick Williams. As early as 2014, then-BP writer and now Astros scout Tucker Blair obliquely referred to "makeup concerns" in a BP scouting report on Williams, then in the Rangers system, after noting "curious" body language. In one of those moments that makes you realize why certain evaluators get hired by teams, Blair also predicted "it may be portrayed in the wrong light by some in the future."
Williams, after being dealt to the Phillies in the Cole Hamels trade, was assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the 2016 campaign under the tutelage of veteran minor-league manager Dave Brundage. Brundage publicly benched Williams multiple times over the course of the season, for sins such as not running out routine grounders, showing up opponents, and failing to take an extra base on a flyball. In all honesty, these sorts of benchings are quite common in the minors, but what was uncommon was that the drama played out in the media. Typically, the manager disciplines the player quietly, and the local minor-league press is either kept in the dark or things are kept off the record. Here, both Brundage and Williams gabbed to the media early and often, turning Nick Williams' "bad makeup" into one of the more interesting running plots of the 2016 Phillies, even though it was 70 miles up the Blue Route from Philly in Allentown.
Lost in much of the commentary was another simple truth, that very few players in the majors run out routine plays all the time. Heck, very few players in the minors do either. It's eyewash, fake hustle on plays where 99.9 percent of the time it couldn't matter less whether you run your fastest or put in a representative jog. Moreover, there are times when it's clearly wrong to run everything out, where it puts you at risk of pulling a hamstring, or aggravating an existing injury on a play that doesn't matter. Sure, once in awhile you might lose that extra base when the outfielder drops that routine fly, but what never gets mentioned when we talk about all this is that you also might get thrown out trying to advance if said outfielder recovers quickly enough.
What does all of this say about Nick Williams as a prospect? A few more hints emerged after the season ended—Brundage was not retained by the Phillies for 2017, but Williams was also bypassed for a September call-up. It's certainly possible that there are greater underlying issues here that the Phillies organization, or even Brundage, was privy to that us here at Baseball Prospectus are not. But from behind the backstop, I'm much more worried about Williams' late-season regression back to extreme hacker than I am whether he plays with too much flair or too little hustle down the first base line. —Jarrett Seidler
1. J.P. Crawford, SS
DOB: 01/11/1995
Height/Weight: 6'2" 180 lbs.
Drafted/Acquired: Drafted 16th overall in the 2013 MLB Draft, Lakewood HS (Lakewood, CA); signed for $2,299,300
Previous Ranking(s): 2016: #1 (Org), #3 (overall)
2016 Stats: 244/.328/.318, 4 HR, 7 SB in 87 games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, .265/.398/.390, 3 HR, 5 SB in 36 games at Double-A Reading
The Good: Crawford is a polished, near-complete baseball player on both sides of the ball. He is a plus shortstop, borderline plus-plus, who could compete for Gold Gloves. He won't wow you with the spectacular as much as, say, Francisco Lindor, but he makes everything look easy through outstanding instincts, plus actions, and a plus arm. At the plate he had an advanced approach and works at-bats as well as anyone in the minors, and he is comfortable hitting in any count. He's a potential plus hitter who will get on base more than enough to write him in at the top of a lineup. He is a solid runner, if not a particularly aggressive base-stealer.
The Bad: Crawford's 2016 "feels" disappointing for a top prospect, although I don't know if that is entirely fair. He was a 21-year-old in the International League and did struggle at times against advanced arms with major-league experience and a major-league plan of attack. He'll flash average pull-side power at times, but his swing/approach is geared to line the ball back up the middle, leaving him more of a four-tool than five-tool shortstop.
The Irrelevant: Before Crawford, you have to go back to 2007 and Joe Savery to find a Phillies first-round pick that made that majors. Maybe that actually isn't so irrelevant, at least not to why the Phillies are near the top of our running order for prospect lists.
OFP 70 — All-star shortstop
Likely 60 — Above-average regular
The Risks: Crawford is the lowest-risk prospect we will cover that hasn't already accrued service time. His defensive profile and strong approach give him a high floor as a major-league contributor, but if his occasional struggles with the bat this year were more than just a blip or an adjustment period against advanced arms, he may "only" be a good regular.
Major league ETA: 2017, post super-2
Ben Carsley's Fantasy Take: Crawford is a better MLB prospect than a fantasy one, but he's still a really good fantasy prospect. Shortstop is a bit deeper than it used to be, but there will always be room for players like Crawford, who could contribute materially across all five fantasy categories and significantly in two of them (AVG, R). If you want to get optimistic, we could be looking at a .300-plus average with 15 homers and steals apiece in his prime, and Crawford's top-of-the-order profile and favorable ballpark factors should aid his runs scored and power stats even more. He's a lock to stay at short, a lock to appear in the majors soon, and a near-lock to hit well. That also makes Crawford a lock for a top-15 spot when our Dynasty 101 list hits later this winter.
2. Jorge Alfaro, C
Drafted/Acquired: Signed January 2010 out of Colombia by the Texas Rangers for $1,300,000, traded to Philadelphia in the Cole Hamels deal
Previous Ranking(s): 2016: #8 (Org), #46 (Overall)
2016 Stats: .125/.176/.125, 0 HR, 0 SB in 6 games at the major league level, .285/.325/.458, 15 HR, 3 SB in 97 games at Double-A Reading
The Good: His throwing arm is as good as anyone in the game. His raw power is legendary, going back to whispers from Jason Parks (R.I.P.) on Arizona backfields shortly after he signed. His overall hitting ability plays well given the position, and he's specifically improved his ability to hit the ball to all fields. He's unusually athletic for a catcher, and possesses average-to-above speed. Notice that there's no caveat there, because he runs well in general, not just for a catcher.
The Bad: Alfaro's elite raw power hasn't yet translated well into game power. While that can come late, especially for catchers, his power output in Reading was dwarfed by lesser prospects like Dylan Cozens and Rhys Hoskins. His defensive game has improved greatly since Philadelphia acquired him, but he's not Jonathan Lucroy yet either, and it's still a little up in the air if he ultimately lands at a new position.
The Irrelevant: If Alfaro cracks the BP 101 again this offseason, it'll be his sixth consecutive list.
OFP 60 — he could make some All-Star teams
Likely 55 — a solid regular catcher
The Risks: Without that power, the hit tool is just playable and not a carrying tool. He could end up as a medium-pop catch-and-throw guy, or even worse if he ultimately moves off catcher. He's athletic enough to play somewhere like third or right, but would the bat play up enough there? Also, catchers are weird. —Jarrett Seidler
Major league ETA: Debuted in 2016
Ben Carsley's Fantasy Take: If you stuck with Alfaro through his disappointing 2015 season, your patience may soon be rewarded. Catcher remains fantasy's shallowest position. Welington Castillo was the 10th-best fantasy backstop last year per ESPN's Player Rater, and he hit .264 with 14 homers and 68 RBI. Alfaro should eclipse that power output if he gets the playing time, and while he may not aspire to such an average, he could add a few steals to help compensate. There's substantial risk here thanks to the hit tool and less-than-certain defensive future, but given the sad state of fantasy catching and Alfaro's proximity to the majors, he's well worth the gamble.
3. Nick Williams, OF
Height/Weight: 6'3", 195 lbs.
Bats/Throws: L/L
Drafted/Acquired: Drafted 93rd overall in the 2012 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers, Ball HS (Galveston, TX); signed for $500,000, traded to Philadelphia in the Cole Hamels deal.
Previous Ranking(s): #2 (Org), #23 (Overall)
2016 Stats: .258/.287/.427, 13 HR, 6 SB in 125 games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley
The Good: The entire tool set still flashes average or better in large part due to Williams' pronounced athleticism. While it is a corner outfield profile, the band of variance for questions around his defense and arm narrowed, showing range and advancement in his arm strength. Before wearing down in the last month of the season, Williams put together a very respectable offensive season in his first trip through Triple-A. His bat speed is plus with quick wrists and a short path to the ball. When locked in, he possesses a special ability to barrel balls and make quality contact.
The Bad: After glimpses of improved plate discipline in 2015, the impatient, free-swinging approach at the plate returned. This was especially evident in his susceptibility to expanding the zone on off-speed offerings with two strikes. There was a severe decline in offensive performance in August, though fatigue was more a factor than his skill set being overmatched. Any optimism for a future in center field is likely dwindling given some of the inefficiencies in his routes and reads.
The Irrelevant: Despite having what you'd think would be a fairly common name, Nick Williams has a pretty good chance to be the best Nick Williams to play baseball. It is fortunate that like many Texans he goes by his middle name, rather than his first name. The best Billy Williams is a little bit higher bar to get over in baseball terms.
OFP 60 — First Division Outfielder
Likely 50 — Major League Regular Outfielder
The Risks: The band of variance is still a band of variance; there's boom and bust to the offensive profile and some questions still exist for the defense. On the plus side, he's still young for Triple-A, and, while he will go on the 40-man this winter, there is still time to iron things out. Another trip through the International League should give a better sense of which way the pendulum will swing. – Adam Hayes
Major league ETA: Late 2017
Ben Carsley's Fantasy Take: Williams is the reverse Crawford; he's an even more enticing fantasy prospect than he is a future IRL big leaguer. I've been president of the Nick Williams fan club since I fell in love with his swing in Arizona a few spring trainings ago, and nothing he's done or I've seen since has changed my mind. I will always bet on bat speed and hit tool first in fantasy, and I'm a believer in Williams' potential five-category fantasy future. He'll bring less value to those of you in OBP leagues, but Williams is a potential high-end OF3 in standard formats, capable of mashing 20 homers, stealing double-digit bases, and flirting with a .300 average. I'm all in, and you can't stop me, though I reluctantly acknowledge that his floor is pretty low.
4. Mickey Moniak, OF
Drafted/Acquired: Drafted First Overall in the 2016 MLB Draft by Philadelphia, La Costa Canyon HS (Carlsbad, CA); signed for $6.1 MM
Previous Ranking(s): N/A
2016 Stats: .284/.340/.409, 1 HR, 10 SB in 46 games at complex-level GCL
The Good: Moniak might not have been the consensus best talent in the draft, but the Phillies got a relatively safe high school bat at 1-1. Moniak's hit tool was among the best in the draft, featuring a line-drive swing with good barrel control. He is a plus runner with a good shot to stick in center field.
The Bad: He's not a lock to stick in center and doesn't project as a plus defender there. He may not have the arm for right field or the power to be an impact bat in left.
The Irrelevant: Mickey is not short for "Michael," rather "McKenzie," which makes more sense if you actually think about it.
OFP 60 — Above-average center fielder
Likely 50 — Average outfielder
The Risks: Moniak is a prep pick with no professional track record outside of the complex. Hit-tool guys aren't seen as traditionally "risky" profiles, but Moniak doesn't have much to fall back on if he is "only" an average hitter in the end.
Major league ETA: 2020
Ben Carsley's Fantasy Take: Safe doesn't always mean boring! Moniak has the tools to hit .300-plus with 20-plus steals and enough homers to matter in a few years, sort of like Adam Eaton ratched up 10-20 percent. The long lead time and relatively modest upside make him a non-elite fantasy prospect, but still one you should be perfectly content drafting or bidding on as 2016 draftees become eligible in your dynasty league (if they haven't already).
5. Franklyn Kilome, RHP
Height/Weight: 6'6" 175 lbs
Drafted/Acquired: Signed January 2013 by Philadelphia out of the Dominican Republic for $40,000
2016 Stats: 3.85 ERA, 4.23 DRA, 114.2 IP, 113 H, 130 K, 50 BB in 23 games at Low-A Lakewood
The Good: All of the individual pieces are present for a top pitching prospect—when he's on his game. He possesses a fastball that can sit 92-97 and touch a little higher, a curve with easy plus potential, and a change that flashes as more than just an interesting third pitch. He's a tall drink of water with a great power-pitcher physique. If you catch him on the right day, you might see a top-of-the-rotation starter kit. There were more right days than wrong days later in the season, which gives hope for in-season progression.
The Bad: When not on his game, Kilome can look like an organizational player. If you show up on the wrong day, you're liable to get a fastball flagging down into the high-80s, off-speeds that won't impress anyone, and brutal command problems. As you might suspect, he's often unable to repeat his mechanics. When it goes bad, it goes really bad.
The Irrelevant: Three players have been named Franklyn in baseball history—two were Dominican relievers from the 2000s (Franklyn Gracesqui and Franklyn German), and the third (William Franklyn "Bill" Wolff) pitched one game for the Philadelphia Phillies in September 1902.
OFP 60 — Mid-rotation starter/back-end reliever
Likely 50 — Setup man who feels like he should be more
The Risks: Absolutely enormous. If anything, OFP undersells the upside, because if it somehow all clicks there really are top-of-the-rotation pieces here. And the likely role oversells the floor, because sometimes these guys can't repeat their mechanics in relief, either. Also, he's a pitcher. —Jarrett Seidler
Ben Carsley's Fantasy Take: The "Dominican Clay Buchholz" vibe one gets from reading Kilome's breakdown above might be off-putting, but upside is what we're after when we talk fantasy starters, and Kilome has it. In his Top 101 list from last year, Bret Sayre referred to Kilome's upside as an SP1 and his downside as "The Mariana Trench." That still sounds right to me, though Kilome's strong second half and move into the mid-minors elevates him to borderline top-50 dynasty prospect status.
6. Adonis Medina, RHP
Drafted/Acquired: Signed May 2015 by Philadelphia out of the Dominican Republic for $70,000
Previous Ranking(s): NR
2016 Stats: 2.92 ERA, 7.66 DRA, 64.2 IP, 47 H, 34 K, 24 BB in 13 games at short-season Williamsport
The Good: In hindsight, I should have just pulled the trigger on Medina as a top-10 prospect in the system last year. He sports a heavy fastball that regularly touched 95 as a starter in Williamsport and even higher in short bursts. It's a heavy pitch and he shows advanced command of it for a short-season arm. He can pitch just off the fastball when he is going well. His mechanics are repeatable and among as low-impact as you will see for a guy who can dial it up into the mid-90s.
The Bad: While not to the same extent as Kilome, Medina's stuff does vary from outing to outing. His fastball was 89-92 when I saw him, for example, and reports have him as low as 87-90 during the season. His secondaries (curveball and change) are still mostly projection, and until at least one of them turns into a consistent bat-misser, there will be questions about how the profile will fare at higher levels. He doesn't have ideal size for a starting pitcher (although I suspect Medina is now a bit bigger than his signing height and weight listed above).
The Irrelevant: There are currently 11 active Adonises in affiliated baseball. Yeah, more than I thought too.
OFP 60— Mid-rotation starting pitcher
Likely 50— Back-end starting pitcher or 8th inning guy
The Risks: Very High. Medina only has a short-season resume, and has to find more consistent velocity and more consistent secondary offerings to reach even his likely outcome. He does have a precocious level of polish and pitchability, more than the young Latin arms on either side of him on this list. But like those two, he's a pitcher.
Ben Carsley's Fantasy Take: Wait until Medina is closer to the majors or until he starts profiling as someone with a higher ceiling to bite. You don't want to eat up a roster spot for four or five seasons to end up with an SP6. Dave Stewart does not understand that last sentence.
7. Sixto Sanchez, RHP
Drafted/Acquired: Signed in February 2015 by Philadelphia out of the Dominican Republic for $35,000
Previous Ranking(s): unranked
2016 Stats: 0.50 ERA, 2.69 DRA, 54 IP, 33 H, 44 K, 8 BB in 11 games at complex-level GCL
The Good: Sixto has premium arm strength and velocity for someone his age, touching 98 while routinely sitting 93-96. He has a clean, well-balanced delivery with plus arm speed and a smooth arm action. He has good feel for his curveball and, while inconsistent at times, shows above-average potential with 12/6 shape with premium bite and action. He has a good feel for the strike zone and was able to throw his entire arsenal for strikes.
The Bad: Sixto lacks prototypical size for a starting pitcher as he looks closer to 5-foot-10 than 6-feet. His changeup is clearly a third pitch and was only used against lefties sparingly. He has a limited professional track record. While he shows feel for the curveball, he struggled to finish batters with it, leaving it in the zone far too often.
The Irrelevant: After an almost 13-year drought of players named Sixto in affiliated baseball, 2015 saw Sixto Sanchez and Sixto Torres sign professional contracts.
Likely 50— 7th/8th inning reliever
The Risks: Relatively high. While he is still quite young, he has not been challenged against better competition. His lack of size will always be held against him as he moves up the ladder. Also, he's a pitcher. —Steve Givarz
Ben Carsley's Fantasy Take: Wait until Sanchez is closer to the majors or until he starts profiling as someone with a higher ceiling to bite. You don't want to eat up a roster spot for four or five seasons to end up with a middle reliever. Terry Ryan does not understand that last sentence.
8. Roman Quinn, OF
Height/Weight: 5'10" 170 lbs.
Bats/Throws: S/R
Drafted/Acquired: Drafted 66th overall in the 2011 draft, Port St. Joe HS (Port St. Joe, FL); signed for $775,000
Previous Ranking(s): #5 (Org)
2016 Stats: .263/.373/.333, 0 HR, 5 SB in 15 games at the major league level, .287/.361/.441, 6 HR, 31 SB in 71 games at Double-A Reading, .500/.522/.591, 0 HR, 5 SB in 6 games at complex-level GCL.
The Good: Roman Quinn is fast. Like really fast. Like sub-4.0 from both sides of the plate fast. Like fastest real prospect in baseball fast. And he is a real prospect, as he should hit enough, get on base enough, and play well enough in center field to make him an ideal table-setter for your lineup. It's a slash-and-dash swing, and he has the speed to beat out almost anything into the 5.5 hole or bunt for a base hit. His speed covers for any sins in the outfield (and we'll get to those), and he has a strong enough throwing arm to handle right field if he ends up in more of a fourth-outfielder role.
The Bad: Despite 80 speed, Quinn is still a little rough in the outfield, especially at tracking balls in the air. He's a slap hitter without much in the way of power, which might be an issue if he ends up in a corner. He has yet to play 100 games in a season, losing time over the years to a ruptured Achilles' tendon and a fractured wrist, along with the usual array of sprains and strains. He strikes out a bit more than you'd like out of this profile, and more than you'd expect given his simple hitting mechanics. He will expand the zone and chase.
The Irrelevant: Even an unspectacular major-league career should earn Roman more money than 1989 Denzel Washington vehicle, The Mighty Quinn, which pulled in just $4.5 million at the box office.
OFP 55 — Solid-average center fielder
Likely 50 — Average outfielder, when he is actually on the field
The Risks: Quinn has already debuted in the majors and he's hit wherever (whenever) he has played. But anytime you have as checkered an injury history as Quinn's, you are going to get a reputation as brittle. The injuries haven't sapped his athleticism yet, but it is fair to wonder if his body can handle the rigors of a 162-game major league season.
Ben Carsley's Fantasy Take: Comping Quinn to Billy Hamilton is super lazy, but what about playing fantasy sports isn't lazy? Hamilton hit .260 with 69 runs (nice) and 58 steals last season, good for a finish as fantasy's 15th-best outfielder. Quinn may not play enough or be quite fast enough to reach such a lofty SB total, but 40-plus steals are well within his reach if he manages to stay on the field. The risk is that Quinn won't be healthy enough to rack up counting stats, but one-trick fantasy ponies can be pretty useful if their one trick is good enough. Jarrod Dyson only got 337 PA this season, but he still swiped 30 bags and finished as a top-60 OF. That seems like a perfectly reasonable median fantasy outcome for Quinn.
9. Cornelius Randolph, LF
Drafted/Acquired: Drafted 10th overall in the 2015 MLB Draft, Griffin HS (Griffin, GA); signed for $3,231,300
Previous Ranking(s): #6 (Overall)
2016 Stats: .274/.355/.357, 2 HR, 5 SB in 63 games at Low-A Lakewood, .077/.200/0.77 0 HR, 0 SB in 5 games at complex-level GCL
The Good: Randolph shows quick hands at the plate and a really good feel for hitting. He's also got a very good sense of the strike zone and an overall idea of what he wants to do at the plate. He kept his head above water at Low-A in his first full season despite battling a bad shoulder injury. Because of the hit tool and overall knack for offense, Randolph has an unusually high floor for a Low-A prospect of his caliber.
The Bad: There isn't much present power, even raw and even in batting practice. Lack of physical projectability might open some questions how much is coming. He's already a LF-only player at age 19. The profile might limit overall upside.
The Irrelevant: If Randolph makes the majors, he'll become just the second MLB draftee out of Griffin High School in Georgia to reach The Show—and both will have been top-10 overall picks (2008 first-overall pick Tim Beckham).
OFP 55 — Hit tool carries the day into a good, high-average offensive threat
Likely 50 — Just a regular old bat-first corner outfielder
The Risks: Low-to-medium power corner projections are tough unless you hit, and Randolph might only hit. Shoulder injuries can linger and hamper hitting development. —Jarrett Seidler
Ben Carsley's Fantasy Take: Randolph's hit tool makes him worthy of our attention, but his lack of power or speed and his distance from the majors make him a fringy bet to appear on our top-100 dynasty list. A future as an OF3 who grows into some pop and uses AVG as a carrying tool is in play, but so are less inspiring fantasy outcomes, such as, oh, I don't know, Lonnie Chisenhall?
You awake from a fitful sleep. You were dreaming, you think. It wasn't a nightmare, but the forms that seemed crystal clear in your mind a moment ago, are now abstract shapes, the connections between them growing more tenuous by the second. You groggily assess your surroundings and realize you are no longer in the bedroom where you laid down to sleep some hours(?) ago. Your bed is the same, but it's four brass posters are now sitting in an empty cave, the rock formations that surround you an unnatural shade of purple.
You should be confused, scared even, but you feel like you have been here before. Are you still dreaming? You get up out of bed, and your legs feel like jelly, but you are strangely compelled to walk toward an eerie green light at the far end of the cavern peaking out from around a dilapidated wooden door.
The door is unlocked and find yourself in a well-appointed library. The floor is old oak, the many bookshelves the same. In the center of the room, behind an almost comically-oversized desk sits a man, his face buried in stacks of paper. He's a young man, about your age, well-dressed in the style of a Ivy League finance major, or maybe economics. His reams of notes are spread across the surface of the desk in a not-quite-haphazard manner, although you imagine it would take you weeks to figure out his filing system. You are trying to decide how best to announce your presence when he dramatically looks up from his work. He doesn't seem surprised that there is a visitor before him. The young man pushes his glasses up further on his nose and begins to assess you.
"Ah, you have arrived. Good we are nearing our deadline. I am Klentak. You are now on my island of prospects. I am compiling a list. The first nine names were a simple enough task, but I need your help for the last spot. I have many prospects now, and frankly once you get to this point, it all depends on what you want to value. But be warned, the last person to come to this place selected Ben Lively. He now lies at the bottom of a very deep pit."
If you want to take the safe major league future, proceed to "Scott Kingery"
If you don't want to know the terrible truth about this player's hit tool, and just want to sock some dingers, proceed to "Dylan Cozens"
If you are intrigued by Dylan Cozens, but prefer he was older and more Australian, proceed to "Rhys Hoskins"
If you prefer to roll the dice with an 18-year-old pitcher, proceed to "Kevin Gowdy"
10. Scott Kingery, 2B
This 2015 second-round pick spent 2016 mimicking the trajectory of his middle-infield counterpart at the University of Arizona, Kevin Newman. Kingery features a short-to-the-ball bat path and a reactive, all fields approach at the plate. There was more swing and miss at Double-A than the approach should allow for, but Kingery possesses the athleticism to adjust. That same athleticism is on display through his plus-plus speed and plus defense. This small-statured second baseman will see major-league time on the strength of that speed and defense, and could prove to be a solid starter if the bat comes along. – Adam Hayes
10. Dylan Cozens, RF
There's always been at least 70 raw power here, and it jumped forward into games this year. Cozens hit a minor-league leading 40 homers at Double-A Reading, turning the projectable into actual. He hits the ball really hard and far when he squares it up. He has a decent idea of what he wants to do at the plate, especially against righties. He's way more athletic and quick than you'd think given his size, having stolen at least 20 bases each year he's been in full-season ball, and he has a strong throwing arm. While Double-A pitching was no match for him, there's a chance he's not able to handle major-league velocity and premium breaking stuff.
And 29 of his 40 homers came in the Reading bandbox, so the power actualization, while still real, is less dramatic than it outwardly appears. He doesn't seem to be able to recognize spin against lefties, and they currently eat him alive. He's limited to the corner outfield spots already, and his size might ultimately push him to first base. Cozens could be one of those dudes who hits .220 and strikes out 200 times while still helping you, but managers often don't like to play them. – Jarrett Seidler
(They especially don't like to play them when they coldcock teammates in the locker room– JP)
10. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
In 2016, Hoskins tied the previous Reading franchise record for home runs (38) in a single season, yet he does not sit atop that franchise leaderboard as he was outpaced by his teammate Cozens. Hoskins' power spike—he hit 17 across two levels in 2015—was the product of feasting on Eastern League fastballs and playing half of his season in Reading's launchpad, so expectations for a repeat power performance should be tempered. His raw power is above average, but tapping into that power in the future will be heavily dependent on adjusting to off-speed offerings. His hit tool shares the same question of off-speed adjustments, though he has shown patience at the plate and an ability to get on base. It is a first base-only profile, given his slow foot speed and below average arm, and a fringy defensive ability at that. – Adam Hayes
10. Kevin Gowdy, RHP
Gowdy went two picks after Joey Wentz in the 2016 draft and has a similarly attractive mix of polish and projection in a prep arm. He sits 93-95 now, but you don't have to squint hard to see him ticking up even further as he fills out his lean, 6-foot-4 frame. His slider is a potential plus secondary offering that he can already spot or bury. He carries the usual caveats you'd expect in this profile. He's a long way from the majors, and as an elite prep arm, he hasn't needed to worry all that much about his changeup or command. But despite the lack of a professional track record, there is upside here not all that far off the arms in the top 10 proper.
Ben Carsley's Fantasy Take(s): Gowdy is boring as hell for our purposes. Kingery has enough speed that he's worth monitoring, but the rest of his prospect package is underwhelming enough to limit him to a flyer-type you can land for cheap. Hoskins' proximity and power make him interesting, but he's badly overhyped as a fantasy prospect at present thanks to his prodigious (and unsustainable) Double-A output. That leaves Cozens, who's got power and some speed, but who probably just swung and missed at something as I typed this. I'd bet that Triple-A and MLB arms arrest his development, making this another Cozens you Maeby want to stay away from. Wow that reference is old now.
Others of note:
Jeffrey's Guy
Arquimedes Gamboa, SS
Signed for $900,000 as part of the Phillies' 2014 J2 class, Gamboa comes straight out of central casting for teenage Venezuelan shortstop. He's an advanced defender with above-average physical tools for the 6 and has the ability to make the difficult play look routine, although he is prone to the occasional head-scratcher on the routine ones. He was overmatched at the plate as an 18-year-old in the Penn League, but there is bat speed from both sides, and enough foot speed to grab an extra base on a ball in the gap. Gamboa is a long ways from contributing to a major-league team, and playing at a low level, so all I am looking for is a glimpse or two of something that doesn't look out of place at higher levels or even in the majors. Gamboa gave me more than one or two, and I'll be keeping an eye on him in Lakewood next year.
Steve's Guy
Jhailyn Ortiz, RF
Signed for $4 million as part of their 2015 IFA spending class, Ortiz skipped the DSL and went straight to the GCL to start his professional career. Ortiz is a massive human being, listed at 6-foot-2, 260 pounds, and he could become bigger, in both a positive and negative light as he played the season as a 17-year-old. The calling card here is the power: he has massive amounts of it that is already starting to play in games, albeit at an unchallenging level. He has impressive bat speed to go along with it and shows a good idea for the strike zone, as well as consistency with his swing. Pitchers who have shown the ability to sequence have gotten him to chase and it remains to be seen how he adjusts going forward. Ortiz's arm is above average, but his lack of foot speed and currently poor defensive skills leaves one to wonder about where he ends up on the defensive spectrum. The profile isn't as desirable if he moves to first base, but right field is still in the realm of possibilities if it all goes swimmingly. – Steve Givarz
The guy you were going to ask about in the comments
Jose Pujols, RF
After droning on in my intro to these lists about "upside" you'd think I'd at least include Pujols in our ode to R.A. Montgomery. If you were designing a top prospect from scratch, you could do worse than making him look like Jose Pujols, but in field testing he is more of a Minimum Viable Product. The frame still oozes projection. He's tall, lean, and athletic, and when his swing mechanics are working in time, he can put on a show in batting practice. In games the swing is rarely as pretty, with his upper and lower halves often out of sync. And anytime he saw stuff better than your run-of-the-mill Sally League arm, he appeared overmatched. He is awkward in the outfield, and generally his athleticism doesn't play up in between the lines as much as you'd expect. You can forgive a bit of rawness in A-ball, more than a bit even, but I just don't see meaningful major-league upside in the package at present.
Top 10 Talents 25 And Under (born 4/1/91 or later)
Nick Williams
Mickey Moniak
You'll forgive me, as a Phillies fan, for being surprised and baffled at the embarrassment of 25-and-under riches I have to work with while writing this list. I only got five deep into Jeff's prospect list before I had to start making room for the major leaguers, and that's without promising first baseman (and now, after the release of Ryan Howard, presumptive starter) Tommy Joseph, as well as two just-over-the-hill breakout candidates in Jerad Eickhoff and Aaron Altherr. So to say this was painful is one part melodramatic and two parts accurate—you have to kill a lot of your babies to get to the 10 best.
So to get there, I tried to be a real Matt Klentak about this. The Phillies' second-year GM has made quite a few moves based on upside—drafting Moniak first overall, trading for Mark Appel (who also missed the top 10 here in his last year of eligibility)—and perhaps an equal number of moves based on floor—drafting Nola, trading for arms like Thompson and Eickhoff. The result is a fairly balanced farm system that, unlike the Phillies' farms that came from the drafts of 2007-2012, does not rely on lottery tickets reaching their 10th-percentile result, but on a balance of risk and reward. As a result, the Phillies of the future shouldn't be abysmally bad even in their worst years, and while that might not bring Cubsian excitement, it's not a bad strategy for contention either.
So with that in mind, balance: at the top of our list I took safety over upside. Understand, though, that Crawford and Odubel Herrera are basically 1A and 1B on this list. One is, as Jeff has noted, a potential All-Star shortstop, the commodity every team dreams of procuring, and the other is a speedy, high-OBP and low-power center fielder. Herrera—the latter, not the former—is yet another successful Phillies Rule 5 pick up the middle, joining Shane Victorino (who memorably stuck with the team) and Ender Inciarte (who memorably did not). He has decent patience, doubles power, speed, and strong defense (just ask Cole Hamels about how he maintained his 2015 no-hitter). He's been roughly a four-win player for two years now, and a late-season spell likely brought on by fatigue notwithstanding, he is likely to be a cog in the Phillies' lineup for years to come. He won't be a star, probably, but a four-win outfielder that you can bank? You want one of those.
Below Crawford, but ahead of the quixotic and risky Alfaro, I slotted two starting pitchers who—hyperbole here—will largely determine if the Phillies succeed in their rebuild or not. Velasquez is the riskier of the two, though also the pitcher with the higher ceiling: a double digit K/9 paired with an acceptable walk rate of around 3.0 per nine, Velasquez is exactly the kind of pitcher that, once it clicks for him, could be dominating the NL and in contention for a Cy Young. His stuff is that good. He could also get a shoulder injury or Tommy John and be relegated to a bullpen or fall out of the league entirely. I'd bet more on the former than the latter, but not a lot.
Nola follows Velasquez as his strange mirror image. Slightly lower K/9, slightly lower BB/9, significantly lower HR/9, Nola is the Maddux-arm you can dream on when you're not being realistic about his ceiling, but who is more likely to turn into Kyle Hendricks over the long haul. The thing is, Hendricks—a middling strikeout, elite command/control pitcher—is not just useful, but can be extraordinarily valuable. Nola seems destined to be part of the completely obnoxious "Is he a 1 or a 2?" conversation for his career, but let's just say right now: being a 1 or a 2 as a 24-year-old is a pretty darn good outcome.
Then, after Alfaro and Williams, who are, ultimately, all upside until they show that they can do it in the majors for alternate reasons that Jeff has covered above, we have Maikel Franco. Franco, if you remember, was supposed to hit .280/.350/.560 this year. That uh, didn't happen. Franco's low walk rate deflated his OBP, as did his lack of speed on the basepaths. And while he acquitted himself decently at third base, it's unclear if he really has the ability to stick there, particularly with the influx of middle and corner infield prospects the Phillies love to stockpile.
And suddenly, you're looking at a .255/.306/.427 first baseman and softly whispering "Ryan….?" But Franco isn't Howard, and if he can build on his 2015, he could make this low ranking look pretty foolish. How he builds on it, I'm not sure, as it involves outpacing his troubling BABIP and turning outs into hits. So his upside is murky, but it's still upside in the majors, as opposed to Moniak, who has all-world potential but a ton of obstacles to clear before he gets there.
And then, after Moniak we have Jake Thompson. Thompson is hard to figure out, but he has tantalizing ability, largely in the mold of the aforementioned Kyle Hendricks-like pitcher. He did not fare too well in his first taste of the big leagues, but had a pretty nice year in the minors, and 53.2 innings does not a career make. He could totally bottom out and become a mop-up guy or a swing starter, or he could make good on his potential and become a solid no. 3 starter. That ceiling, combined with major-league readiness make him worth putting above higher variance guys like Kilome, Medina, and Sanchez, however much pause it gives me.
Klentak has really overhauled this system, though many of the early moves that started him along this path were Ruben Amaro Jr. specials. Still, Amaro's due aside, Klentak's fingerprints are all over this team, and the balance between safety and risk in this exciting 10-under-25 is remarkable when you see it all in one place. Here's hoping there's more upside and less down for the Phillies and Klentak moving forward. —Trevor Strunk
Adonis Medina
Cornelius Randolph
Jorge Alfar
Kevin Gowdy
Sixto Sanchez
Tale of the Tape 2020: Rhys Hoskins vs. Trey Mancini $
by Tim McCullough	1/21
Fantasy Tiered Rankings 2020: First Base $
by Mike Gianella	1/21
Fantasy Players to Target 2020: First Base $
by BP Fantasy Staff	1/21
If Everything Goes to Plan: Players Don't Really Have Value Anyway $
by Matt Winkelman	12/17
2020 Prospects: Philadelphia Phillies Top 10 Prospects $
by Jarrett Seidler, Matt Winkelman, and BP Prospect Staff	12/06
View article on legacy site.
BP Prospect Staff
heterodude
Great list. I did a choose-your-own-adventure book for a book report in the third grade. It involved the Yeti. I managed to die within seven pages, and based my report solely on those seven pages. Could that story be construed as a metaphor for scouting a player based solely on batting practice? You be the judge.
Reply to heterodude
huztlers
Well done write-up! Much better than the Braves piece.
Reply to huztlers
sclem21
Her?
Reply to sclem21
dgalloway15fish
Bob Loblaw, corner OFs with no hit tool bore me.
Reply to dgalloway15fish
BenC22
Someone got it!
Reply to BenC22
Yeah, but when a pitcher throws him that dead dove down the middle of the plate, they will have to admit they made a huge mistake.
mattstupp
What happened to tool gradings for each player? Were they determined to be unreliable or too hard to gauge?
Reply to mattstupp
TheArtfulDodger
The tools for each prospect are represented within the writeups for The Good and The Bad, so in some sense the separate denotation for "Tools" was redundant. Beyond that, it is extremely easy to view only the tool grades and walk away from the list without viewing the writeup that explains how those tools function and why they might work. We wanted to focus on the more thorough explanation rather than the more reductive grades.
Reply to TheArtfulDodger
SansRig
This is not my experience at all. In the past I think that the tool grades have allowed me to better understand the specific player, and also the criteria that scouts look for when evaluating players. It is pretty simple to look at the scouting grades and then supplement that information by reading the anecdotal accounts that justify the grade. I am confused as to why you would call that reductive; I think that it would be a superior product, to be honest. I also don't understand why something being extremely easy would be a problem. I would think that you would want an efficient product. Your readers who want more can get it by parsing out the anecdote, as I have done for a few years at BP.
Reply to SansRig
Appreciate the feedback. It's reductive because it strips the report of nuance and reduces the player to a set of grades. If it is extremely easy to do, you should have no problem parsing the writeups for the relevant information.
You could literally write the same exact report and include number grades to supplement the write-up. I don't think anyone is advocating for a report that is just tool grades. I am advocating for something that would add nuance. I borrowed the words "extremely easy" from you because you seem to be implying that there is something valuable about a more esoteric text, which is mostly nonsense. I am telling you this because I think that it would make a stronger product, that is easier to digest and more entertaining for your readers. (And I think that your explanation for not including the grades is weak)
Believe it or not it was quite easy to understand what you said the first time around. We could do what you're saying, we chose not to because it put the emphasis where we didn't want it to be. Perhaps not for you, personally, but the lists are not written for individuals. I'm afraid you misunderstand the point of putting the emphasis on the text, which is not esoteric, but rather the meat of the evaluation. It's intended to be the opposite of esoteric, and instead provide exposition. Again, I appreciate your feedback. I do not think the product would benefit in any significant aspect.
smitty99
I think you are correct. I don't need tool grades. I prefer a narrative evaluation. Good job here.
bulls2327
Craig, I appreciate the response and honestly but i have to say, why are you trying to "control" what the viewer reads? I like the addition of the good and bad and i'm happy and excited you focused a lot on a new feature, but to completely disregard such a heavy viewed feature? i'll miss the tools portion. I use the tools for prospect drafts every year (12 teams 20 prospects each) and use that feature extensively. However; now I have to run and sign up for baseball america to get that feature? That's a bummer and I think you guys dropped the ball HUGE on that. You guys provide a service that people pay for. We're die hards. I don't think you should have underestimated your audience the way you just did with your response and actions above.
Reply to bulls2327
Well, I'm the editor of the content so it's my job to control what the viewer reads, and it's also based on what we feel best conveys the knowledge of the author and the team, without misleading the reader by providing the tools without context for what we're saying about the tools and the player. BA doesn't provide tool grades either, except for the top prospect in either system, so you're a bit out of luck there. Again, the tools are addressed within the Good and Bad sections, and we think this is a more truthful conveyance of the prospects involved. You're free to disagree and of course free to pursue your wants and needs elsewhere. My job as I see it is to provide the best information and part of that is providing context. It isn't strictly to serve the wants and needs of the readership. None of this is about underestimating the audience or presuming anything about the audience. It's about making the information as accurate as possible and given our field that often involves caveats and exposition. I appreciate your feedback and am happy to discuss it further if you'd like.
millenia54
I have read reviews by more than ten different talent evaluators on Mickey Moniak and every single one comment very favorably on his fielding, range, arm, and speed which allows him fantastic routes. He is considered an absolute lock to remain in CF. I am not sure who the writer saw in his review of Moniak, but apparently not the one the rest of the world has seen and reviewed.
Reply to millenia54
treyash9
Where does Jose Taveras belong?
Reply to treyash9
philtheez
Tough crowd. What did your mothers tell you about not having anything nice to say?
Reply to philtheez
delatopia
Carlos Tocci has been getting some love in winter ball. Anything to get excited about there?
Reply to delatopia


We have been on our land for 10 months – not enough time to stabilise the vulnerable hillsides. Last weekend we had 140 mm of rain fall in 36 hours. From one spot I can see 9 slips – mostly on the neighbours land, but overall a humbling experience.
This is across the valley on the edge of our land.
This is the large slip on our land.
This is across the creek in a patch of native bush.
This minor slip was arrested by two large poplars.
Across the valley on the neighbours land.
We have hundreds of trees ready to plant on the slopes to hold the soil. This is the right time of year to be planting.
Anyone is invited to our place on Sunday 5th July 1-5 PM to plant trees on the steep slopes. BBQ and Texas Chili Cookoff to follow.
Presume that you arn't putting in poplars. From experience, when they grow taller, they catch the wind and the roots work the land that can cause slips.


Can how you leave a church affect your feelings about leaving or create baggage you take to your new congregation? Gain insight into termination styles and how they affect both you and your parishioners.
This short book gives pastors-in-training the keys not only to survive seminary, but also to keep their faith intact during a season that often leaves many feeling drained, disillusioned, and dissatisfied.
Welcome to Theological Field Education!
Do I Belong in Seminary?
This book serves as a great guide for anyone considering the vocational path.


"Amateur cooks, serious foodies, wine lovers and lifestyle enthusiasts are gearing up for the year's ultimate celebration of flavour, the famous Hunter Valley Wine and Food Month in June.
This year's flavour odyssey will feature festival favourites on the menu, as well as a series of new and exciting indulgences, during a month-long series of more than 60 decadent activities.
Wollombi will be taking part with their very own 'A Taste of Wollombi' event on Sunday 29 June.


Over 28 years of professional Property Management experience.
Master Property Manager Designation MPM. Less than 1% of Property Managers Nationwide have achieved the MPM Designation.
2010 Past President of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM).
Appointed as a Director of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) for 2006, Treasurer 2007, 2008 President Elect & 2009 President.
Member of the National Association of Realtors, Florida Association of Realtors, Greater Orlando Association of Realtors, National Association of Residential Property Managers.


Katherine Dempsey is a digital marketing specialist, writer, and editor. She has also worked as an intern at publications such as Men's Health and Runner's World and received her master's and bachelor's degrees in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School.
Learn about five popular plants that thrive indoors and how to take care of them, including pothos, dracaena, and Spathiphyllum.


Both parents must decide on the custody of any minor children under the age of 18. Physical custody relates to living with and supervising the children. Legal custody refers to decisions relating to health, education, welfare and other significant decisions affecting the children. Both physical and legal custody can be sole or joint. See the section on "Custody of Minor Children in a Divorce" for more information.


text:
A cottage on Fraser Avenue in Santa Monica.
The surviving beach shacks of Los Angeles
In the era of multimillion-dollar mansions, the early days of beachfront housing sound too good to be true
By Hadley Meares Oct 16, 2019, 10:10am PDT
Photography by Christopher Fowler
In 1974, a young teacher named Stephen Anaya and his family moved into an early-20th-century shingle-style bungalow on the historic beachside street of Fraser Avenue in Santa Monica. Five years later, they bought it. "It was our dream to live on the street," he says. "It was our philosophy to buy the worst house on the street and fix it up. That's the only way that we could really do it."
The wood-frame cottage, measuring 25 by 95 feet, had been through many lives. For decades it was owned by a carpenter named Max Demme, a refugee from the Austro-Hungarian empire. During the depression, Demme had kept the aging cottage together the best he could, using an overabundance of nails. Throughout the 1980s, the Anayas would lovingly bring their seaside home up to code, thus preserving one of best examples of Southern California's humble beachside architecture, far removed from the elaborate multi-floored mansions that dot the coast today.
In the era of multimillion-dollar beach homes—out of reach to all but the wealthiest of Angelenos—the early days of beachfront housing sound too good to be true.
All across the shores of the Southland, early beach homes were fashioned from telephone poles and the wood from old piers. Architect Thomas Harper, who built the first cottage in Laguna in 1883, used wood from defunct boats, according to The Cottages and Castles of Laguna.
Vacationers began to set up simple tents on the north and south beaches of Santa Monica in the 1870s and '80s, according to Nina Fresco, Santa Monica Conservancy board member. While the owners of North Beach dealt harshly with commercial squatters, they were generally tolerant of "tenters," who would set up from the shore to the bluffs of Palisades Park.
Today, the average home in Santa Monica is 2,993 square feet.
"The tents in those days were like platforms with a frame and canvas walls," Fresco says. "Some people would even build small, really cheap, simple wooden shacks, which were really one step up from the tents."
The powers that be quickly learned that tenters were actually good for business. "People didn't care that much because they weren't competing with bath houses—they were just hanging out, and they would come and rent bathing suits from the bath houses," Fresco says. "The hardware stores would advertise in the beginning of the summer season that they had a whole new stock of tents that people could buy."
When the grand Hotel Arcadia opened in 1887, investors quickly pounced on this newly fashionable beachfront area. Small lots next to the hotel were subdivided, and investors built "slightly more commodious shacks" that were rented to vacationers, many from the East and Midwest. On the bluffs around Strand Street, wealthy lawyers and politicians constructed large vacation cottages.
In the Ocean Park area, longtime land battles that had held up construction finally ended around 1900. Real estate agent Alexander Fraser, who was advising the developer George Hart (owner of the Rosslyn Hotel in Downtown LA), decided to bring some order to beachside development.
"He's like, okay, we're getting all the shacks out of here, and we're going to put deed restrictions and people have to build houses that cost a certain amount of money, and they had development standards," Fresco says. "They had to be set back, they had to have porches. And all of a sudden those houses sold like gangbusters."
After 1900, beach homes started selling "like gangbusters."
This new seaside neighborhood, developed between 1902 and 1905, boasted a grid system with streets named after both Fraser and Hart. The homes were small, and built with the goal of keeping a view of the nearby ocean.
"They're basically all stock beach cottages, but there's a variety of different styles," Fresco says. "Some of them are more Craftsman looking, some of them are more Queen Anne… and you know they would have shingles and Victorian house parts that were factory made and decorated."
Today, Fraser Avenue—one of the four remaining streets with intact original homes from the development—has the most concentrated grouping of historic beach cottages in Santa Monica. During World War II, however, the cottages and neighborhood were dramatically altered.
"We bought our house, which is a single-family dwelling," Anaya says. "But it had been made into multiple units, as most of the houses were, for the World War II aircraft workers at Douglas. So, some of the houses had been raised. Some of the rooms had been bisected. There were shared bathrooms. That was throughout the neighborhood—to facilitate the workers for the war effort."
The original homes on Fraser Avenue were small, and built with the goal of keeping a view of the ocean.
In the 1950s, half of the neighborhood was demolished to build high-rise condos. By the time the Anayas moved in, Fraser Avenue was a rundown, bohemian enclave, dominated by folks who worked in the music industry.
"It was pretty funky during the '70s," Anaya says. It could also be dangerous, and the nearby Ocean Park Pier was constantly being vandalized and burned. Slowly but surely the Anayas lovingly fixed up their home, correcting previous owner Demme's makeshift handiwork and the alterations of the war years. "We had to really work hard in the '80s to bring it up to code," he says.
The shotgun nature of early-20th-century beach cottages and their often-slapdash upkeep is evident across the Southland.
"We have a member who once told me they purchased one of these houses in the '40s with their husband as newlyweds, and as she went to hang up their wedding photo, the nail went right through the wall to the outside," says Jamie Erickson, museum director at Hermosa Beach Historical Society.
Original oceanfront homes weren't much more than ice shacks.
Not all early beach dwellings were even constructed with the sea in mind. In Hermosa Beach, vacationers would hunker down in "skid homes," tiny wood-frame dwellings built by the oil companies to house employees.
"A lot of people bought them, and they brought them down here to the beach, and they would tow them by mule right to the seashore in the summertime, and in the wintertime tow them back," says longtime resident and contractor Rick Koenig. "They're pretty much not much more than an ice-fishing shack."
Koenig has spent his life restoring and retrofitting historic beach cottages in and around Hermosa Beach. Strengthening foundations, unclogging and replacing cast-iron water pipes, redoing wooden floors and molding, undoing the damage of kids with skateboards—it's all in a day's work for Koenig, whose family arrived in Hermosa in 1897. He has also done work on his own home, a gingerbread-style three-story beach cottage at Manhattan Avenue and 18th Street, designed by his grandfather on a lot that cost only $400.
"In 1917 they didn't have many of the things that we take for granted today, like insulation, weather stripping, and building codes. There was no building department when this place was built," he says. "I must say that my grandfather was a big proponent of dancing with nature. When there's an earthquake, you kind of move with it. As with all these old places, they have their creaks and cracks. But that's part of the romance."
By the 1920s, landowners and developers fully caught on to the beach cottage craze. In Ventura, developers opened Hollywood Beach, offering 520 cottage-ready lots for as low as $200. On Balboa Island, small, kitschy beach cottages featuring distinctive double doors rose up, while in Laguna, a small compound of cottages was commissioned by the film producer Harry Greene. Even the insular Rindge family got in the act, opening up a small portion of their vast Malibu holdings to create what would become the famed "movie colony." This seasonal resort of 100 temporary beach shacks would be inhabited by stars like Bing Crosby and Constance Bennett.
No doubt the best-preserved example of these 1920s beach shack communities is Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County, right off Pacific Coast Highway. There, more than 30 restored, brightly colored wooden beach shacks still hug the shore, instantly putting any guest in a laid-back mood. These ramshackle structures are the product of decades of work, often by the same families who started out as squatters, in the early 20th century, on beachfront land owned by the Irvine Company.
In 1927, the schooner Ester Buhne wrecked off the coast, proving a boon for these amateur builders, who used the lumber that washed ashore to fashion simple beach shacks. Over the years, "coveites" would come back to their second homes year after year, adding on to their uninsulated shacks until they became rambling, large-scale homes.
Homes on Fraser Avenue now sell for more than $4 million.
But an influx of money and architectural advances during the 1920s and '30s would also signal the eventual death knell for the simple wood-frame beach cottage. As Elizabeth McMillian notes in Beach House: From Malibu to Laguna, the rich and famous began to throw their money around, transforming the concept of the beach retreat. Such big-name architects as Stiles O. Clements, Green and Green, and Rudolph Schindler "designed houses inspired by images of the Mediterranean, Spain, Greece, Italy, France and of American bungalows, adobes and pueblos, and New England cottages."
This change is best exemplified by the Gold Coast of Santa Monica. During the 1920s, early movie stars and moguls built large, revival-style mansions on the northern shore of Santa Monica, commissioning estates focused more on status than the enjoyment of simple pleasures. The vacation home became increasingly out of reach to middle-class Southern Californians as the wealthy gobbled up the plots along the shore, and beach shacks were bulldozed over in the name of progress and prestige.
Today, the average home in Santa Monica is 2,993 square feet and costs more than $1.6 million. But for those lucky enough to live in the remaining beach cottages of the Southland, life is still simple and sweet.
"It's a wonderful place to live," Anaya says of his cottage on Fraser Avenue in Santa Monica, where homes now sell for upward of $4 million.
"We have a nice balance of young and old," he says. "We've had an annual July Fourth and Independence Day parade, and it's been going on since 1971. That's where everybody dresses up, and the street is closed, and banners are put up. And sometimes there's not enough people to view it. So they take turns. One group goes down the street and the others are the spectators, and vice versa."
For Koenig, Hermosa is his "Mayberry by the sea." His historic house, now worth well more than $1 million, is a connection to his family—past, present, and future. "Some people believe in ghosts, some people don't, but I do feel like there's six generations that have been in this house, counting my grandkids, and I can feel my grandparents, my great-grandfather, and stuff here," he says. "It's a very comforting, kind of a Westernized feng shui."
But asked his favorite thing about his home, Anaya is emphatic: "I have a view of the ocean."
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We protect land using a variety of tools.
Our direct land acquisition and easement work creates parks and preserves, adds to public lands, protects farmland and historic viewsheds, and enables long-term conservation management.
Through our grants and loans we partner with local land trusts in targeted geographies to safeguard habitat and water; protect resilient landscapes in response to climate change; and support community forests.
And our parks program raises private dollars to make parks more welcoming, inspiring and enjoyable to the public.
As a national leader in the land conservation community, we ably tackle complicated land deals; support and lead partners to achieve complex acquisitions; foster the growth of grass-roots engagement on a host of environmental issues; and through our climate research, provide lands trusts the tools they need to target terrains that are most likely to offer ecological havens in the future.


text:
Q: How to copy formula cell with relative reference in Apache POI All:
I am pretty new to Apache POI, currently when I try to copy formula cell, it can not automatically change relative cell reference, for example:
cell A1 has formula SUM(A3, B3).
In Excel: if I copy that cell to B2, it can automatically be changed to SUM(B4, C4).
In POI: If I copy that formula, it will just copy that formula, without auto change the reference relatively( the cell B2 is still SUM(A3, B3) )
I wonder if there is a simple way to do the auto change in POI? Thank.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
At a glance: Press & media
At a Glance: monuments
Current:Monastery
Residential Palace
Palace and Garden
Baroque Palace
Favorite Palace
New Palace
Monastery and Palace
All Palaces
There is so much to explore.
All Gardens
Fortress Ruins
Hochburg
Old Castle
All Castles
All Monasteries
The Sepulchral Chapel on
Württemberg Hill
Roman Bath Ruins
Prince's Little House
The Sepulchral Chapel of the
Grand Duchy
The "new Jerusalem" in the kocher valley
Grosscomburg Monastery
Press releasesPress imagesMedia contact
Grosscomburg Monastery (Kloster Großcomburg) – one of Europe's gems – stands strong and majestic, high above the Kocher valley. It is known for its two precious treasures: its gold-plated antependium and its Romanesque wheel chandelier.
Grosscomburg was founded as a Benedictine monastery in 1078 on the site of a castle. In the 12th century it experienced its first golden age, under Abbot Hartwig. The entire complex, complete with fortified curtain wall, forms an exceptionally harmonious ensemble.
BREATH-TAKING VIEWS – OVER KLEINCOMBURG CONVENT AND MORE
The Stiftskirche St. Nikolaus (Collegiate Church of St Nicholas) was built in the Romanesque period – reflected, for example, in its three tall towers. The nave, flooded with natural light, was modified between 1706 and 1715 during the Baroque era, by the Würzburg architect Joseph Greising. The 500-metre-long curtain wall with its covered chemin-de-ronde offers exceptional views; and its towers and turrets bear witness to the military importance of the structure in years gone by.
From in front of the Stiftskirche St. Nikolaus, and from the cheminderonde, visitors can look across to Kleincomburg Convent, on the crest of the hill. Founded in 1108, it served as a priory for Grosscomburg Monastery. The Romanesque basilica is extremely well preserved; it is one of Baden-Württemberg's most spectacular sacred buildings. In 1882, careful additions were made to fragments of wall decorations dating back to the Romanesque period, giving visitors a vivid impression of the original artwork.
SOME OF EUROPE'S FINEST ART TREASURES
An exquisite building, with a bright but august atmosphere – that's what strikes you when you first enter the Baroque hall church of St Nicholas. Its crossing accommodates two exceptional works of art. The richly decorated, gold-plated antependium that adorns the altar table, and the Romanesque wheel chandelier: two outstanding pieces produced by European goldsmiths. The Romanesque antependium is one of a kind; it depicts Jesus in the centre, flanked by the apostles. And the wheel chandelier is one of only three surviving Romanesque examples in the world. Its intricately designed wheel with 12 gate towers symbolises the "New Jerusalem".
Dating back 900 years, this altar frontal is a unique witness to the Middle Ages. The precious Romanesque wheel chandelier with one of the gateways to the "New Jerusalem".
A ROMANTIC STROLL – THROUGH THE AGES
As soon as you set foot in the monastery complex, you begin a journey through time: from the Zwingertor (gate), modified during the Baroque period, to the Romanesque gateway and Michaelskapelle (St Michael's Chapel), to the Baroque deanery and the hexagonal Romanesque Erhardskapelle (St Erhard's Chapel). Taking a left after the chapel, visitors arrive at the collegiate church. In 1488, the Benedictine monastery became a canon's chapter. Under Dean Erasmus Neustettet, Grosscomburg then underwent extensive modifications in the second half of the 16th century. During this time, the curtain wall was built, with its covered chemin-de-ronde that remains fully preserved to the present day. Guests can walk the full length of the chemin-du-ronde – and it is well worth a visit any time of year. Following secularisation in 1802, Grosscomburg Monastery became the headquarters of the Royal Württemberg Honorary Corps of Invalids. And since 1947, it has been used as a centre for further training for teachers and other staff from schools in Baden-Württemberg.
Grosscomburg Monastery takes visitors on an exhilarating journey through the ages: from the Romanesque St. Erhard's Chapel to the Baroque Deanery.
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9.19 PM Saturday, 16 January 2021
Was missing Malaysian plane hijacked for 9/11-type attack on India?
A woman leaves a message for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (AP)
Passengers have their belongings screened by airport security at the departure hall of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 16, 2014. Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Saturday that the investigation would refocus on the crew and passengers of Flight MH370, after confirming that someone aboard appeared to have shut off the plane's communication systems before turning it away from its scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (REUTERS)
A Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency pilot studies the map onboard a Japan Coast Guard Gulfstream V Jet aircraft, customized for search and rescue operations, as they search for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 plane over the waters of the South China Sea March 15, 2014. Investigators believe someone aboard a missing Malaysian airliner deliberately shut off its communications and tracking systems, turned the plane around and flew for nearly seven hours after it vanished, Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Saturday. (REUTERS)
Published Sunday, March 16, 2014
With the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines plane MH370 entering its ninth day today, sabotage and conspiracy theories abound, with former US deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott now tweeting that the plane could have been hijacked to execute a 9/11-type attack on an Indian city.
"Malaysian plane mystery: Direction, fuel load & range now lead some to suspect hijackers planned a 9/11-type attack on an Indian city," Talbott tweeted on Saturday.
"Malaysian#370 as hijack: 1 of many theories. Speculation: hijackers headed toward India but crashed like UA#93 on 9/11," he further said on the social media site.
Flight MH 370, the Malaysian Airlines plane, has been missing since March 8 with 239 passengers and crew onboard, and a massive manhunt for its hasn't yet resulted in any concrete clues on its whereabouts.
India on Sunday suspended its search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 around the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in the Bay of Bengal and are awaiting fresh instructions from Malaysia, a defence official said.
Talbott, a well-known foreign policy analyst, has added fuel to the 'hijack' theory speculation but stopped short of mentioning any suspects behind the possibility of such an attack on India. Talbott is currently President, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, a non-profit public policy organisation.
Its stated mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research. According to its website, Talbott is responsible for formulating and setting policies, recommending projects, approving publications and selecting staff. Talbott, whose career spans journalism, government service and academe, is an expert on US foreign policy, with specialties on Europe, Russia, South Asia and nuclear arms control.
As deputy secretary of state in the Clinton administration, Talbott was deeply involved in both the conduct of US policy abroad and the management of executive branch relations with Congress.
Further to the statement by the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday into the ongoing search for Flight MH370, Malaysia Airlines issued a statement maintaining it had shared all available information with the relevant authorities since the moment it learned that the aircraft had disappeared, in the early hours of Saturday March 8.
"This includes the very first indications that MH370 may have remained airborne for several hours after contact was lost, which the Prime Minister referred to," the airline said in a statement.
"This is truly an unprecedented situation, for Malaysia Airlines and for the entire aviation industry. There has never been a case in which information gleaned from satellite signals alone could potentially be used to identify the location of a missing commercial airliner. Given the nature of the situation and its extreme sensitivity, it was critical that the raw satellite signals were verified and analysed by the relevant authorities so that their significance could be properly understood. This naturally took some time, during which we were unable to publicly confirm their existence," the airline said.
Meanwhile, families and friends of those onboard the missing aircraft remain clueless about the fate of their loved ones. "We were well aware of the ongoing media speculation during this period, and its effect on the families of those on board. Their anguish and distress increases with each passing day, with each fresh rumour, and with each false or misleading media report. Our absolute priority at all times has been to support the authorities leading the multinational search for MH370, so that we can finally provide the answers which the families and the wider community are waiting for," the airline notes.


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Best of UC
TNR Awards
Cincinnati, OH (45221)
Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 92F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..
Mostly clear. Low 76F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
A fraternity house.
Opinion | How Greek life is destroying itself
Maggy McDonel | Opinion Editor
Maggy McDonel
For as long as I have been in Greek life, the hypocrisy of the system has been difficult to ignore. I could go on and on about the prevalent groupthink or the excessive formalities, but what stands out to me most is how differently sororities and fraternities are treated.
Every other week, it seems, another frat makes the morning news facing hazing investigations, sexual assault allegations or deaths due to alcohol poisoning. Despite these trends, frats are not the ones that must adhere to massively strict rules.
Most sororities cannot hold parties in the houses, cannot have men in certain parts of the houses and cannot keep any alcohol in the houses. Some are electing to follow in the footsteps of schools like Miami University by eliminating sorority housing altogether.
Yet where are these assaults happening? Where are these hazing incidents happening? Frat houses — practically every time. Despite this, sororities are the ones forced to adhere to strict guidelines.
The rules for both sorority and fraternity organizations are relatively similar, but fraternities blatantly disregard these rules and exist in a system that perpetuates their behavior. I have seen sororities lose their minds over minor offenses. Meanwhile, fraternities are allowed to throw massive parties whenever they feel like it.
In February 2017 at a Pennsylvania State University fraternity party, Tim Piazza, a 19-year-old sophomore engineering student, died due to injuries sustained during a hazing incident that involved excessive drinking. Those involved in his death were recently sentenced and are spending between one and six months on house arrest, according to Time Magazine.
To me, this resolution is a microcosm of how fraternities are treated on the whole. These men let someone die, but the authorities don't want to ruin their futures.
Many fraternities are choosing to go dry, which I very much disagree with. Not allowing drinking at frat houses just moves the drinking to off-campus houses, most of which are even less regulated. The choice to create a dry house is simply a Band-Aid for a pervasive problem, allowing fraternities and universities to avoid taking responsibility for excessive drinking when it doesn't happen on fraternity property.
In that same vein, I believe parties and drinking should be allowed at sorority houses. Let's cast aside the misguided idea that college students aren't going to drink. Restricting women's ability to do so freely only pushes them to drink outside of their environment, which could put them in incredibly dangerous situations.
If and when these college women get too drunk, wouldn't it be safer to have them in a house full of other women who are there to protect them, rather than a frat house? The current system lacks logic — it operates on the belief that women are "pure" and must be treated as such.
The Greek system continues to disappoint me in the way it handles its faults. Rather than disciplining instances of binge drinking, sexual violence, hazing and more, offenders get a slap on the wrist. I love Greek life, but if it fails to address the root of these problems, it will fall apart.
Fraternties
Maggy McDonel was with The News Record from October 2017-May 2019 as staff reporter and opinion editor. She was also the blog editor for Title Magazine and an editorial intern at Cincinnati Magazine.
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Send your message and photos to wgecho@wgmail.org.
Over 500 community members ran or walked the Jim Schoemehl 5K and 10Ks on May 7, 2016, at 8 a.m.
Area athletes will gather at the high school at 7:30 a.m. on May 4, to participate in the 18th annual Jim Schoemehl Run.
Marketing students have raised over $300,000 in the last 17 years to support the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association and sponsored families affected by the disease.
Senior Evelyn Trampe will be the commencement speaker at this year's graduation ceremony on May 17.
Senior Evelyn Trampe was selected to be the Class of 2019 commencement speaker by fellow seniors.
Seniors Nicolaus Braun and Zoe Schultz were selected to be name readers at graduation, which will take place May 17, at 6:30 p.m.
Seniors Nakailah Shields-Robinson, Barrett Light and Ray McIntyre were selected as emcees for Senior Award Night, which will take place May 2, at 7 p.m.
Interact Club will sell Ted Drewes concretes for $4 as an April fundraiser during the week of March 17. The concretes will be available for both both first and second lunches.
The club will have four flavors: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and cookie dough.
This annual fundraiser earns roughly $300 each year, which goes towards future service projects and about 25-50 percent of it ends up getting donated.
Last year the charity Interact Club chose to donate to was Operation Gratitude, whose mission is to show gratitude to the military and first responders through service projects.
"This year we plan to contribute to Operation Gratitude again," Greg Heard, physics teacher and Interact Club sponsor, said.
Read technology columnist Sean Mullins' views at Electric Retrospective.
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*Former entertainment editor Abby Botan interned with the St. Louis Post Dispatch during the summer of 2016. Here are a few of her published works.
--"Top 10 Instagram Accounts to follow"
*Former sports editor/columnist Bennett Durando writes for the The Columbian.
*Former ECHO editor Kate Grumke is a documentaries producer for Newsy.
*Former sports editor Roy Harris is the author of Pulitzer's Gold.
*Class of 2015 former ECHO editor Aerin Johnson is working with Truman University's TMN TV.
*Class of 2017 former ECHO editor Andy Kimball is a reporter for the Maneater. *Class of 1978 ECHO staffer Russ Mitchell is an anchor for WKYC in Cleveland.


Backyard herbs in the summer.
By all accounts, I am a lazy gardener, but I relish the time for scheming that winter provides.
Gardening offers such rich mental pleasures. It opens a private world for planning and discovery. The plot itself becomes a little space for experimentation and redemption, yielding up the freedom to fail and fail grandly. I am already eager for spring, and my mind is filling up with inchoate plans for the front yard. My campaign to kill the lawn continues, if tediously, and I have grand designs for the plants to move and add to continue to colonize the grass.
Gardening has made me more comfortable with failure. We have failed, in many respects, this season. We didn't clean up the monstrous overreach of our blackberries. We didn't plant garlic in time, long a staple crop of our backyard. We didn't support the enormous elderberry bushes very well, and we have no idea what to do with our three sickly apple trees. The yard is also a mess right now. After a busy summer and fall, the backyard looks more shabby than usual. But I feel uncharacteristically calm. Spring brings new life, unfilled time, the chance to start again.
Because this is the comfort of gardening: Gardening is never done. You're never finished tending. There is no end in sight. And that is a deep, renewing joy.
Every fall, I forget about the tremendous joy I experience when I switch our bed from a quilt to our down comforter. The warmth and weight of the thing makes me feel a little less rage at the frigidity of the season.


text:
Q: Ordenação acentuada com javascript Eu tenho a seguinte função para ordenar, mas, não ordena corretamente as palavras acentuadas
ordenaNomeCompleto: function(a,b){
    var ans = 0;
    if(a.nome_completo < b.nome_completo) ans = -1
    if(a.nome_completo > b.nome_completo) ans = 1
   return ans;
    },

Procurando na Internet eu encontrei este método:
ans  = a.localeCompare(b)

mas, tem a seguinte mensagem no console
a.localeCompare is not a function

Alugém tem uma dica para resolver este problema com javascript puro?

A: O problema é que a, no seu código, é um objeto, e o localeCompare é um método da classe string. Na verdade, você deveria comparar o atributo nome_completo dos objetos a e b. Portanto, seu código ficaria assim:
ordenaNomeCompleto: function(a,b){
    var ans = a.nome_completo.localeCompare(b.nome_completo);
    return ans;
}


Look no further than Jackie's Floral Center for thank you gifts! We have all types of thank you flowers to choose from; modern arrangement, roses, or even a plant. Jackie's Floral Center can create and deliver your bouquet to Hartley, IA or nationwide!


Do Christ and God the Father have compassion for sufferers?
"And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick" (Matthew 14:14 Matthew 14:14And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
"But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd" (Matthew 9:36 Matthew 9:36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
"If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11 Matthew 7:11If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Why doesn't God relieve the suffering of mankind now?
"Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief" (Mark 6:5-6 Mark 6:5-6 5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands on a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those that are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37 Matthew 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!
The unwillingness of mankind as a whole to believe and obey God is the real reason for a suffering world. Only when mankind genuinely repents, after Christ's second coming, will all people come to understand the relationship between faith and mercy. God is eager to show mercy and shower compassion and kindness on them. But their repentance and cooperation are prerequisites.
Sadly, for most people that will have to wait until Christ changes the attitudes and behavior of the whole world. In our age people simply are not willing to submit themselves to God's will. As Jesus explained: "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me" (Matthew 15:8 Matthew 15:8This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
American King James Version×). Mankind suffers as a result.
What has Jesus Christ already done to relieve suffering?
"He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses" (Matthew 8:17 Matthew 8:17That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses.
American King James Version×). So why do people continue to suffer? Although Jesus took on Himself the death penalty we earn because of our sins (Romans 6:23 Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
American King James Version×), that does not mean that all the immediate consequences of sin are removed. Sin brings enormous suffering of body and mind. Indeed, the two are closely related. A negative mental or emotional state can cause certain types of physical illness.
One of the reasons Christ came into the world was to deal with our physical and emotional afflictions. His personal suffering makes our physical and spiritual healing possible. Before His death by crucifixion, He was cruelly beaten almost beyond recognition as a human being. He took on Himself even the physical consequences of our sins so we, through Him, can be healed (1 Peter 2:24 1 Peter 2:24Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live to righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.
American King James Version×). Also, because of His sacrifice, the time will come when all suffering can be abolished forever (Revelation 21:4 Revelation 21:4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
How did Christ define His mission at the beginning of His ministry?
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD" (Luke 4:18-19 Luke 4:18-19 18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
The Father sent Jesus to fulfill this Scripture (Luke 4:20-21 Luke 4:20-21 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say to them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
American King James Version×), written hundreds of years before by the prophet Isaiah. This was in addition to His primary mission of giving His life for the sins of humanity. The four Gospel accounts all attest to Christ's exemplary life in relieving the sufferings of His fellow human beings.
How did Jesus fulfill this Scriptural mission?
"And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them" (Matthew 4:23-24 Matthew 4:23-24 23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought to him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Did Jesus empower His disciples to heal others?
"Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:1-2 Luke 9:1-2 1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. 2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
American King James Version×; compare Mark 6:13 Mark 6:13And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
American King James Version×; Luke 10:1-9 Luke 10:1-9 1 After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, where he himself would come. 2 Therefore said he to them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. 4 Carry neither purse, nor money, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. 5 And into whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this house. 6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest on it: if not, it shall turn to you again. 7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. 8 And into whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: 9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say to them, The kingdom of God is come near to you.
American King James Version×). We are then told that "the prayer of faith shall save the sick" (James 5:15 James 5:15And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
American King James Version×). The oil used for the anointing is symbolic of the healing power of God's Spirit.
When an elder is not always available in a specific geographical area—because the Church has always been a scattered body—God has provided a scriptural way for us to deal with this situation. Specially anointed cloths can be sent to the sick on request (see Acts 19:11-12 Acts 19:11-12 11 And God worked special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 So that from his body were brought to the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
Also, both Christ and Paul instruct Christians to celebrate the New Testament Passover service and to partake of its symbols (Luke 22:19-20 Luke 22:19-20 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
American King James Version×; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do you, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
American King James Version×). The wine we use in this service represents Christ's blood shed for our sins, and the bread represents Christ's body, which was broken for us. Jesus Christ took our physical, mental and emotional sufferings on Himself. He is the prophesied "servant" of Isaiah 52 and 53 who suffered for us. Carefully read these chapters to understand the suffering Christ went through for us. Then compare them with the eyewitness account of His suffering in Matthew 26-28.
What other special assistance does Christ's suffering make available to us?
"Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted" (Hebrews 2:17-18 Hebrews 2:17-18 17 Why in all things it behooved him to be made like to his brothers, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.
American King James Version×). He remained close to the Father and prayed earnestly in time of need (Mark 1:35 Mark 1:35And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
American King James Version×; John 11:41-42 John 11:41-42 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 And I knew that you hear me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that you have sent me.
American King James Version×). When we approach our heavenly Father in prayer for the help we need, we can know that Jesus Christ, our Intercessor, understands the struggles we have with our physical, human weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15 Hebrews 4:15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Since sin plagues us all, we must have help in overcoming it. As Paul explained, "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find" (Romans 7:18 Romans 7:18For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Paul knew from whom he could receive the help he needed to fight sin: "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25 Romans 7:24-25 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Over and over again in the Gospel accounts we find Jesus of Nazareth meeting human suffering head on—taking action to relieve it in others. He was full of compassion and set for us a perfect example. Our Savior knows firsthand what it is like to resist the pull of the flesh and to successfully conquer it. He knows exactly when and how to help us combat sin. He wants us to come boldly to Him for relief-for strength to resist-whenever we need it (Hebrews 4:14-16 Hebrews 4:14-16 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
In what other important way did Jesus relieve suffering?
"And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34 Mark 6:34And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
The world sorely needs proper education in biblical principles to learn how to live. As the Hebrew prophet Hosea lamented, people's lives are "destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6 Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall be no priest to me: seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
The principle of cause and effect has never ceased to operate. Suffering is the effect that is so often caused by ignorance and sin. To confront suffering effectively, we must live in harmony with biblical laws and principles. Otherwise we will bring needless suffering on ourselves.