Baseball Prospectus’ Top 50 List Reinforces that System is Still Good

Things are not going well in the major leagues for the Phillies. This has meant that the state of the Phillies’ rebuild has been cast into doubt. The problem with this assumption is that in the minors that the Phillies rebuild in the minors is going fine (even if it is not going at the pace some fans want). Now that mid season lists are coming out we can see how the farm is doing from an outside perspective. Baseball Prospectus is the first to release their list, but I expect that we will see other sites release their lists soon.

Baseball Prospectus’ list had four players on it.

18. Sixto Sanchez, RHP
20. J.P. Crawford, SS
34. Jorge Alfaro
50. Scott Kingery

This list is missing Adam Haseley who was just drafted and was not eligible for the list. Also Nick Williams was made recently ineligible for the list because of his promotion to the majors, but would have placed near the back end of this list per conversations with BP writers. I don’t think there needs to be an introduction to the four names that made the list. However, what is noticeable is the names that did not make the list that were in the Top 100 discussion. Here are some names that are very likely to be on Top 100s by the end of the year (if they don’t graduate).

Mickey Moniak: Moniak has not had a great season this year. He isn’t a bust, but he also isn’t lighting the world on fire. He is an easy Top 100 prospect because of his combination of hit tool, speed, and defense. The Phillies will tell you that he is young and he will get stronger and that his baseball feel is good enough that he will take off. I worry about him vs LHPs (2 BB to 25 K) and vs offspeed pitches, but he is talented enough that he gets plenty of time.

Adonis Medina: Medina has been overshadowed stuff wise by Sixto Sanchez and results wise by Ranger Suarez, JoJo Romero, and others this season, but he has the stuff to be a top prospect in his own right. His fastball has been 91-96 and he continues to flash good changeup feel. The difference this year has been that he has shelved his curveball for a slider with plus potential. He isn’t an ace, but there is good #5 starter potential here.

Franklyn Kilome: Speaking of adding sliders, the big 6’6″ righty has flown under the radar this year. Kilome still has a mid 90s fastball and bouts of problems with command, but is still sporting a 2.61 ERA this season in high-A. He has paired his hammer curve this year with a reintroduction of a slider (a pitch he had in the GCL in 2014), and it gives him another dimension to his arsenal as he still lacks a good changeup. Kilome has more upside than Medina because of his frame, but Medina might be the safer bet to put together a starter’s arsenal. Which means Kilome still has #2/#3 upside, but significant reliever risk.

Rhys Hoskins: I like Rhys Hoskins and I think he could he be a very good first baseman, but is he on the level of Votto, Goldschmidt, Rizzo, or Freeman? Not really. It is hard to be an impact first baseman and there is a lot of room to be just kind of ok. This is how you end up with Hoskins being one of the best pure first base prospects in the minors and in a Top 100, but not Top 50.

Daniel Brito: Daniel Brito is only hitting .252/.315/.337 in what has been a difficult assignment to Lakewood at 19. Like his double play partner, Arquimedes Gamboa, Brito needs to add strength to hold up to the riggers of a full season, but the tools are all there. He can flat out hit, has solid power, and is a good defender at second base. He has the chance to be quite good long term.

That is 11 guys if you include Williams and Haseley who are probably top 100 level prospects. That is a good amount of high end talent in the minors. That is not including players like Jhailyn Ortiz, Jonathan Guzman, Francisco Morales, Brayan Gonzalez, and Arquimedes Gamboa who may be a year away from a Brito like breakout. There is also a chance that Roman Quinn comes back healthy and doesn’t graduate or Dylan Cozens figures out how not to strikeout on everything. I do want to leave this discussion with one name who could be back soon from injury and is deserving of Top 100 consideration when they do and that is…

Seranthony Dominguez: Dominguez last pitched in a game on May 13. In that game he suffered a shoulder injury and is just starting to reach the point of his recovery where he might see a rehab game in the GCL. Dominguez is another short Dominican pitcher along the lines of Sanchez and Medina. Before his injury, Dominguez was touching 99 and was leading the organization in strikeouts. He has changeup feel, but needs some consistency, but his slider is a real weapon. If he can get healthy and back to where he was to start the year, he has the stuff to match everyone but Sanchez.