A Critical Look at the Phillies Organization and Minor League Baseball
Matt Winkelman This year MLB is doing a new thing called the Spring Breakout where a team of prospects from one team will play a team of prospects from another. They are 7 inning games (though teams can agree to make them 9 if they would like)- EDIT: Phillies vs Tigers has been changed to a 9 … Read more
Whit Merrifield used to be a really solid baseball player. He came to the major late as a 9th round pick out of college who spent a bunch of time in the minors. At his peak he was a second baseman who had above average offense due to great contact rates, and great speed (which … Read more
The Major League Baseball offseason has been insanely slow. The Phillies entered the offseason with one big goal and then some modest ones. They needed to bring back Aaron Nola or replace him. They opted to strike early and bring back Nola. They targeted Yoshinobu Yamamoto as a rare young pitcher who could be part … Read more
This week both Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus put out there season standings predictions, and both came out fairly similarly on the Phillies predicting 85 and 84 wins respectively. It is dangerously close to the Mets and a large distance behind the Braves. For a team that won 90 games, changed pretty much nothing, and has … Read more
The Phillies have made two major league signings this offseason. The first was bringing back Aaron Nola, the second was signing Kolby Allard to go to AAA as starting pitching depth. This plan and lack of action has caused Phillies fans to do something between go insane with boredom and totally forget who is still … Read more
It is once again list season, a time and activity that brings me excitement and stress. Ultimately the list allows me to consolidate thoughts on a one year check in on the players in the system. The actual numbers help in identifying value and justifying that value. I don’t do OFPs or Future Values, but … Read more
The top of the Phillies system is populated by the usual suspects, the last 4 first round picks (all high schoolers), their best international signing in recent seasons, and their breakout prospect who reached the majors in 2023. While the 1st round picks are not perfect, and all suffer from their own injury or weakness … Read more
The Phillies have struggled to develop unknown talent, they have struggled on international signings, and they have struggled to identify and develop high upside prospects. This group is not a solution to all of those problems, and in the case of some players it is a warning sign of how things don’t always work out … Read more
The Phillies concentrated the 2022 draft class and their international pitching in Clearwater to open the year. The result was one of the best performing teams in the minors. After injuries and promotions, Jean Cabrera and Estibenzon Jimenez formed the core of the rotation into the postseason. This section involves those arms, their opening day … Read more
The Phillies system is not particularly deep or great. This part of the list would ideally be 5-10 spots deeper, but it isn’t. What it is, is some upper minors players right on the cusp of contributing, but not good enough to knock down the door. The rest is sort of the reality of young … Read more