As I touched on when I wrote up the left handed pitchers in the system last week, not every interesting prospect makes the top 50. Infielders are no exception. Even with 12 of them making the top 50, there is room for a lot to miss. Only 1 of the 12 was not a second baseman or shortstop, leaving a lot of corner infielders still out there. The Phillies have been kind of crap at developing third baseman, with a bunch of failed 3rd round picks to their name (3 are on this list and another is on the outfield list which is still to come). When it comes to first baseman, the offensive bar is really high, prospects must hit for power, walk, and not strike out at an enormous rate, and they have to prove they can do that against good pitching. It is a high bar to clear, especially when a player is facing poor competition for their age. When it comes to middle infielders, if you can play shortstop you have a chance to stick around long enough to make your bat at least poor. A prospect with a poor bat and good infield glove, always has a chance to get a cup of coffee as a utility infielder on a bench. If you are looking for breakouts and bounce backs, second baseman Nicolas Torres and third baseman Cole Stobbe are who you are looking for.
Top 50 Supplements: LHPs | IF
Top 50:
#1 J.P. Crawford
#3 Scott Kingery
#7 Arquimedes Gamboa
#11 Daniel Brito
#21 Luis Garcia
#22 Jonathan Guzman
#28 Brayan Gonzalez
#32 Jesmuel Valentin
#36 Jose Gomez
#38 Eliezer Alvarez
#39 Jake Scheiner
#45 Jake Holmes
#49 Dalton Guthrie
First Basemen:
Darick Hall, Age 22, 6’4″ 236lbs, 14th rd 2016 draft
Hall was the best pick in the South Atlantic League last season, leading the league in home runs and breaking Jose Pujols’ Lakewood home run record from 2016. There is no denying Hall’s raw power, but he gets to it from a fairly stiff and leveraged swing. Evaluators I talked to were universal in their skepticism in his ability to handle offspeed pitches and lefties. Additionally, 29 walks in 503 PAs was not encouraging for a college junior in A ball. This was his first year as a full time hitter, but he has all of Dylan Cozens’ flaws without any positional upside.
Greg Pickett, Age 21, 6’4″ 215lbs, 8th rd 2015 draft
Pickett missed the 2016 season due to injury. He is now a first baseman, not a left fielder, and despite his raw power, his swing is probably too long and stiff to allow him to tap into it.
Kyle Martin, Age 25, 6’2″ 240lbs, 4th rd 2015 draft
Martin has power and a history of not hitting lefties. He stopped hitting righties in 2017, and at 25 there is not a lot of reason to hope for improvement going forward.
Second Basemen:
Drew Stankiewicz, Age 24, 5’9″ 160lbs, 11th rd 2014 draft
The Phillies took Stankiewicz with their 11th round pick in the 2014 draft. Since then he has been a slow mover through the system, mostly playing where the team needed a backup middle infielder. His 2017 season represented a large bounceback from a disastrous 2016 as Stankiewicz found his power stroke, hitting 9 home runs across two levels, topping his career high of 1. Stankiewicz is primarily a second baseman but can handle SS and 3B in a utility role. If he can build on his time in Reading, he might be able to eventually force a major league or AAAA role.
Nicolas Torres, Age 18, 5’10” 155lbs, International FA July 2016
The Phillies gave a lot of money to Latin American shortstops in 2016, with everyone but Brayan Gonzalez starting in the DSL. Torres was the only one of the bunch to have a good year. He is now a second baseman because of his arm, but he brings good speed and a high contact rate at the plate. He will play the year at 18 years old, likely with one of the two GCL clubs.
Shortstop:
Nick Maton, Age 21, 6’2″ 165lbs, 7th rd 2017 draft
Maton was the Phillies 7th round pick last year out of junior college, so he is fairly young at just 21 entering the 2018 season, and it shows in his physique, which still needs to fill out. Maton does not have good power, but he has room in his body and swing to drive the ball better as he ages. For now he can handle shortstop, but if he adds a lot of strength he probably ends up at third or second. Given his lack of standout tools, he is probably a utility infielder long term.
Raul Rivas, Age 21, 5’10” 160lbs, International FA February 2015
Rivas is a glove first infielder with solid speed and not a lot to contribute offensively. He hit .282 in Lakewood last year thanks to a ground ball driven .349 BABIP. He is 21 and only 5’10” 160, so there probably is not a lot of power coming. If he can field well enough, he will stick around the top of an organization, but at some point he will need to show some impact in his bat.
Grenny Cumana, Age 22, 5’5″ 145lbs, International FA March 2013
Cumana can play second and short and has the plus arm to play short long term. He is also extremely tiny, and despite a career high (2) in home runs, he is devoid of power. He is a plus plus runner and extremely fun to root for.
Malquin Canelo, Age 23, 5’10” 156lbs, International FA May 2012
After a year and a half in Clearwater, Canelo got his first taste of AA in 2017. His contact abilities continue to trend in the wrong direction, and his defense has not yet gotten to a level where it transcends his offensive abilities, despite great underlying talent. Given that he is only 23, Canelo likely gets one more season to try and put it all together.
Third Basemen:
Cole Stobbe, Age 20, 6’1″ 200lbs, 3rd rd 2016 draft
The Phillies gave Stobbe an overslot bonus in the 3rd round of the 2016 draft. He was supposed to be a polished high school shortstop who was going to need to move to third base, but had enough bat to make the move. This season, Stobbe showed the power needed to stick at third base, but it came at the price of his approach and pitch recognition. Stobbe was overly aggressive at the plate, and his swing got long and stiff. All of this contributed to a 30.7% strikeout rate for Williamsport. He is still young enough to rebound and be a solid regular at the hot corner, but his 2017 season put up major red flags.
Luke Williams, Age 21, 6’1″ 180lbs, 3rd rd 2015 draft
Luke Williams was a weird player when the Phillies took him in the 3rd round of the 2015 draft. He was a high school shortstop with at least plus speed and a slight build, which didn’t make him a clear candidate from the outside to move to third. He stole bases at a high rate while not striking out much, but put up power at a rate reminiscent of 17 year old Carlos Tocci. Williams needs to fill out, but he will never have the power for 3rd base. He started playing some outfield in winter ball.
Zach Green, Age 24, 6’3″ 210lbs, 3rd rd 2012 draft
It has been over 5 years since the Phillies took Zach Green in the 3rd round of the 2012 draft (spotting a trend of sorts here). Since then, he has had one healthy season and a bunch of missed time to injury. Green has plus raw power, but he rarely walks and strikes out a ton. He might also be a first baseman long term. Green is entering camp healthy and will have to show what he can do quickly, or he could find himself out of the organization.
Mitch Walding, Age 25, 6’3″ 190lbs, 5th rd 2011 draft
After having a bit of a career renaissance in 2016, Walding had a breakout year of sorts in Reading. A new swing and favorable park led to 25 home runs and a new contract from the Phillies after the year. Walding still has contact issues, even if he does have a solid approach, and a .236 batting average in Reading is a glaring deficiency. He is a good defender at third, but his path to major league role probably requires him to play 1B, 3B, RF, and LF in a bench role.
Damek Tomscha, Age 26, 6’2″ 200lbs, 17th rd 2014 draft
Tomscha is the prototypical college hitter who is old for every level, but just keeps hitting. Tomscha doesn’t strike out much, walks a decent bit, plays a bunch of different positions, and will occasionally add some pop. He is already 26, so it is likely he just stalls in AA and AAA, but maybe he gets a cup of coffee as a 4 corners bench guy because of the contact ability.
Picture by Baseball Betsy
Phillies haven’t hit on a lot of draft picks in the Klentak era.