Both Zach Eflin and Tom Windle were not eligible for the list because the Jimmy Rollins trade has not been officially finished. Also due to BA’s publishing deadlines neither will appear in the book on the Phillies list, and will be listed for the Padres and Dodgers respectively.
Today Baseball America released their Phillies Top 10 prospect list. I am not going to lie, I find the list a bit strange. But here is the list and I will follow with my thoughts. You can find Josh Norris’s write up here, and a link to his chat here.
- J.P. Crawford
- Aaron Nola
- Maikel Franco
- Roman Quinn
- Carlos Tocci
- Aaron Brown
- Matt Imhof
- Jesmuel Valentin
- Yoel Mecias
- Franklyn Kilome
Some thoughts (I will update with some thoughts from Josh’s chat as that comes out):
- The lack of Jesse Biddle is slightly alarming, I get the negatives, but this is not a system with enough strength to push a guy with his ability out of the rankings.
- We have been all over Franklyn Kilome this season, it is great to see him rank this prominently, he will be very high on my list as well
- Aaron Brown and Jesmuel Valentin are head scratchers for me, I think both are talented players, but having them on this list without Jesse Biddle, Deivi Grullon, or Kelly Dugan seems a bit off to me
- Ethan Stewart sneaking onto the top tools list (below) for slider is a nice thing to see, it can be an out pitch for him
The Extra Things:
Best Tools:
Hitter for Average: Crawford
Power Hitter: Franco
Strike-Zone Discipline: Crawford
Fastest Baserunner: Quinn
Athlete: Quinn
Fastball: Nefi Ogando
Curveball: Jesse Biddle
Slider: Ethan Stewart
Changeup: Nola
Control: Nola
Defensive Catcher: Deivi Grullon
Defensive Infielder: Crawford
Infield Arm: Franco
Defensive Outfielder: Aaron Altherr
Outfield Arm: Jose Pujols
2018 Lineup (can only use players in the org right now):
C – Grullon
1B – Franco
2B – Valentin
SS – Crawford
3B – Cody Asche
LF – Tocci
CF – Quinn
RF – Brown
SP1 – Cole Hamels
SP2 – Nola
SP3 – Jonathan Pettibone
SP4 – David Buchanan
SP5 – Imhof
CL – Ken Giles
Biddle has ended each of the last two seasons very badly. He did poorly in winter league and now is nursing a sore elbow. As with Morgan it is really hard to rank him. I’m guessing around 11-12 for Biddle and 28-30 for Morgan. Grullon’s absence is a little strange. He needs a lot more work on his bat, but then so does Tocci. Aaron Brown seems really high on the list. I think BA is saying after the top 4 it really falls off into a not all that different smear of questionable prospects going down all the way to 20.
A comment that stood out from the write-up — critical of the depth in the Phillies farm. So in their view the #5-20 guys about the same but nothing to get overly excited about.
Valentin seems solid if not great across the board — an improved Hernandez.
Zach Eflin and Tom Windle, form the JRoll trade, will eventually creep into the top ten I would think when they do their re-write.
I think the depth critique depends on what kind of players you’re talking about. There is a lack of depth in “B” prospects, but a lot of depth in “C” or “C+” prospects. At least, it seems that way to me. We need a few of these guys to break out next year into that higher tier and hopefully our strength in numbers allows that to happen.
I agree about Aaron Brown. I guess Norris must have liked him coming out of the draft but most of the immediate reaction seemed like surprise that the Phillies liked him as a hitter more than a pitcher. I can see where the tools would make him interesting but his approach needs a lot of work. He’d probably be around 20th for me and I’d take Dugan instead all day.
Does Odubel Herrera rank in the Phillies system?
His hit contact tool is plus, speed is plus and glove and arm are a 50 I assume…power is probably 30 at this point.
I guess there is a stigma against Rule 5 guys or maybe I am being too optimistic about him.
He is in the 20s on my most current list.
I see his reply now on Herrera:
Josh Norris: I mean, we don’t even know if he’ll be with the team out of spring training yet. If he does stick, I can imagine him as a utility guy a la Michael Martinez with a better bat.
Matt, How about Andrew knapp, if I remember I thought he has a pretty good year last year (batting around .300 if I remember correctly) after having a rough start to his career. He is a switch hitting catcher and a former 2nd round pick?? What is ur thoughts on him?
I like him. The ceiling isn’t high because the power is a bit limited and the defensive profile isn’t great (his arm wasn’t great after TJ surgery and he is still relatively new to catching overall). It is somewhere in that major league regular mold, which puts him in the 10-20 range on a Phillies list.