Here's an interesting article about the phillies farm system. phuturephillies.com does an interview with Keith Law of espn.com on his opinion of the phils system.
http://phuturephillies.com/2007/10/1...ith-keith-law/
This is what he says about costanzo and golson (our first round pick from a few years ago).
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9. Who will have the better career in the majors, Greg Golson or Mike Costanzo? Golson is still young and has shown flashes, but seems to have strikezone issues, while Costanzo has been inconsistent and struggles against lefties. Thoughts on the future for both guys?
I don’t see either as much of a big leaguer; Costanzo probably makes it but doesn’t stick, while Golson in all likelihood doesn’t make it at all. Costanzo’s a classic minor league slugger – big, complex swing, lousy weight transfer, just looking for fastballs and hanging breaking pitches he can crush. He’s pretty rough at third base as well – doesn’t look like he could play there in the majors, although defense is one thing that can really improve through instruction – and you’re looking at Klesko/Giambi defense if you put him in left.
Golson’s got great tools, but has no baseball instincts at all. There’s no physical reason why he shouldn’t be a good player, but he doesn’t do anything well – his swing is very long, his hands are a mess, he can’t adjust to breaking balls at all, and he gets bad reads in the outfield. The things that a ballplayer does on ability, like running and throwing, he does well, and he does have quick wrists, which is something you see in a lot of great hitters (Gary Sheffield being the obvious example). But until at the very least he learns to tell a fastball from an offspeed pitch, he’s not going to hit.
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Also, on espn.com in an article I believe he says that the phils really made out with this trade. Interesting to hear the take from a real baseball guy. Sounds encouraging.