Phillies Nation places Alec Bohm at top of latest Phillies Top 20 Prospects rankings

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Alec Bohm ascends to the top of the Phillies prospect rankings

The Phillies Nation official Top 20 Philadelphia Phillies prospect ranking is being updated here based on a survey of select members of our current staff taken as Spring Training wound down back in late March.

Taking part in the survey were Editorial Director Tim Kelly, lead writer Matthew Veasey (yours truly) and staff writers Alec Whitaker and Drew Rhoades.

We each presented individual Phillies top 20 prospect lists. These were subsequently compiled into what you find presented below as our official ranking.

As always, the staff here at Phillies Nation follow the organization on a regular basis, from the lowest levels of the minor leagues on up through the big league club. We regularly read evaluations from industry experts and those who closely follow the team.

In forming our opinions we incorporate those of the scouts and industry experts from various sources including MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, Fangraphs and a variety of other respected outside resources. We also attend games in person at a number of levels and watch televised broadcasts of the big club and minor league affiliates. As often as possible, we work to see players and prospects actually perform on the field with our own eyes as well.

This latest Phillies Nation version of the current Phillies Top 20 Prospects is meant to present fans of the team with a clearer picture of the very best youngsters now moving through the organization’s minor league system.

Our usual standards applied: in order for players to be considered, they must have not used up their rookie qualifications of 130 big-league at-bats or 50 innings pitched with Major League Baseball.

To come up with each player’s ranking, I simply took each of our staffer’s lists and assigned a numeric point value based on those lists. A first place ranking from our staffer got you one point, a fifth place spot five, a 12th place spot got you 12 points and so on.

A dozen prospects found themselves on all four of our lists. You will find them as the No. 1-12 ranked prospects below. The next five from 13-17 were named on three of our four lists. The final three players at 18-20 were on two lists. Two other players were also named on two lists but ranked lower overall.

Full write-ups on the top 10 are supplied with 11-20 simply ranked. And once again as a bonus, players who were mentioned by at least one of our staffers but who did not make the overall top 20 are presented as well.

Phillies Top 20 Prospects Summer 2018

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Pitcher Sixto Sanchez is the consensus top Phillies prospect

The Phillies Nation official Top 20 Philadelphia Phillies prospect ranking has been compiled from a survey of select members of our current staff.

Taking part in the survey were myself, Editorial Director Tim Kelly and staff writer Alec Whitaker, who produces our “Minor League Mash-up” series and regularly covers the Phillies minor league system here at Phillies Nation.

Each of these staffers presented their own individual Phillies Top 20 Prospect lists, which were then compiled into what you find presented below as our official ranking.

The staff here at Phillies Nation all follow the organization on a regular basis, from the lowest levels of the minor leagues on up through the big league club. We regularly read over the evaluations of both industry experts and others who closely follow the team.

We also attend games at a number of levels, watch TV broadcasts of the big club and minor league affiliates, and get to see players and prospects actually perform on the field.

These types of lists are always going to be subjective in nature. However, we incorporate the opinions of industry experts from places such as MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and a variety of other respected outside resources in helping to form our individual opinions.

This Phillies Nation version of the current Phillies Top 20 Prospects reflects those influences. It presents fans with a realistic picture of the very best youngsters now moving through the organization’s minor league system.

As for qualifications, we operated with the standard that to be considered, players must have not used up their MLB rookie qualifications of 130 big league at-bats or 50 innings pitched.

To come up with each player’s ranking, I simply took each of our three staffer’s lists and assigned a numeric point value based on those lists. A first place ranking from our staffer got you one point, a fifth place spot five, a 12th place spot got you 12 points. Add up the points for a total with the lowest being the best, and that’s how the final PN rankings were established. There were 15 prospects who received votes from all three of us.

You will find full write-ups on the top 10, and then 11-20 simply ranked. As a bonus, players who were mentioned by one of our staffers but who didn’t make the official rankings will be noted as well.

PHILLIES NATION: PHILLIES TOP 20 PROSPECTS

Sanchez was rated in the top spot by all three Phillies Nation evaluators.

1. Sixto Sanchez, RHP: The consensus top Phillies prospect at this time, not only on our PN list, but also per every reputable industry resource. Sanchez just left his teenage years behind a little over a week ago, and has spent the past couple of months on the minor league disabled list after suffering inflammation in his right (pitching) elbow. Signed by the Phillies as a 16-year-old international free agent out of his native Dominican Republic back in 2015, Sanchez has been advancing incrementally through the club’s farm system ever since. Over eight starts at High A Clearwater this season, he’s gone 4-3 with a 2.51 ERA and 1.071 WHIP, allowing 39 hits over 46.2 innings with a 45/11 K:BB ratio. Whitaker commented that “no one in the Phillies system has as much upside as the 20-year-old flamethrower.” MLB.com backs up that description with their scouting report: “It’s hard not to get excited about Sanchez’s combination of pure stuff and feel for pitching. While he is just six feet tall, he’s strong and athletic with a repeatable delivery that points to a future in a rotation. He can hit triple digits with his four-seam fastball and also features a two-seamer with a ton of sinking action. His fastball is better than its pure velocity because of its movement as well as his ability to command it extremely well. His secondary stuff continues to improve, with a breaking ball he adds and subtracts from and a changeup he shows a good feel for at times. Both will flash above-average to plus, and given his overall feel for pitching, there is confidence both will get there consistently in time.” The Phillies are being understandably conservative in handling his rehabilitation. It is hoped that he will return to pitching this month. Assuming he is recovered and progresses physically, it would not be unreasonable to expect Sanchez to reach Double-A Reading next season, and possibly get a taste of Triple-A Lehigh Valley as well. By spring of 2020, when he will still be just 21 years of age, Sanchez should be pushing for a role in the Phillies starting rotation.

Phillies Fall 2016 Top Ten Prospects: Near Misses

Over the past week, I have been releasing a countdown of the Philadelphia Phillies Top Ten Prospects as of Fall 2016.

That Phillies top prospect list shows that this vastly improved organization has a tremendous mix of talented youngsters coming at a variety of positions.

The current top ten includes three pitchers, a catcher, a second baseman, a shortstop, and four outfielders. At least three of these prospects appear ready to impact the team in the 2017 season.

But there were others who didn’t make the cut, but who were close. Players who are legitimate big league prospects. 

Certainly a few of them would have made the top ten list in the estimations of other talent evaluators. Let’s examine a few of the prospects who just missed my list.