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.

Respected evaluators place four Phillies minor leaguers on top prospect lists

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Adonis Medina is becoming one of baseball's top pitching prospects

With just three more weeks to go before pitchers and catchers begin to report for Phillies 2019 spring training in Clearwater, Florida and still no resolution to the Bryce Harper or Manny Machado free agency situations, baseball is moving on – for now.

It is around this time each year that some of the most respected resources begin to release their top prospect lists for the upcoming season. Baseball Prospectus has now joined MLB Pipeline and Baseball America in releasing their lists here at the start of 2019.

The Philadelphia Phillies organization placed four prospects across the three lists Top 100 Prospects rankings (101 in BP’s case), but only one of those was unanimous in appearing on all three lists.

Last August we released our own Phillies Top 20 Prospects list here at Phillies Nation. Finishing at the top of that list was pitcher Sixto Sanchez. Nearly six months later the 20-year-old Dominican right-hander remains the crown jewel of the minor league system.

Sanchez was ranked as baseball’s #13 overall prospect by Baseball America, #21 at MLB Pipeline, and is sitting at #23 on the Baseball Prospectus list.

Two different players, pitcher Adonis Medina and third baseman Alec Bohm, each make an appearance on two of the three lists. Bohm placed second and Medina fourth in our PN rankings last summer. I wrote just last week of Bohm’s upcoming campaign to prove that he is the Phillies third baseman of the future.

Medina is ranked at #57 overall in baseball by Baseball Prospectus and #64 by MLB Pipeline, but does not appear on the Baseball America rankings. Bohm comes in at #50 for MLB Pipeline and #65 with Baseball America but is unranked by Baseball Prospectus.

The final Phillies prospect to show up on one of the major ranking lists is shortstop Luis Garcia, who Baseball America placed as the #88 prospect in all of baseball in their rankings. We had the 18-year-old from the Dominican Republic at #14 in the organization as of last August. Back in October, Baseball America named Garcia the top prospect in the Gulf Coast League.

Frankly, not much happens in a Major League Baseball off-season that would impact genuine change to prospect rankings. The few exceptions would be for trades, career-threatening injuries, or tremendous breakouts in the Arizona Fall League or Caribbean winter leagues.

Here at Phillies Nation, we don’t want to be publishing lists just for their own sake. So, you’ll see our updated rankings towards the end of the upcoming 2019 minor league season in August. Thus, the most recent full on-field performances are factored in with the 2019 MLB Draft results and in-season trades.

Originally published at Phillies Nation as "Four Phillies prospects land on respected 2019 Top 100 lists"

Phillies have 10 remaining arbitration-eligible players

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Franco is one arbitration-eligible who should return in 2019

With the announcement this weekend that Pedro Florimon was outrighted from the 40-man roster, cleared waivers, and opted to become a free agent the Philadelphia Phillies have 10 arbitration-eligible players remaining.

Five of the seven are pitchers: right-handers Aaron Nola, Vince Velasquez, Jerad Eickhoff, and Hector Neris and lefty Adam Morgan. The two position players who I believe should return are third baseman Maikel Franco and outfielder Aaron Altherr.

Seven of those 10 players should be back with the team next season, especially considering the value they are likely to return on the contracts that each is likely to receive.

Three players who are eligible for arbitration should be moving on: second baseman Cesar Hernandez, first baseman Justin Bour, and pitcher Luis Garcia.

The pitchers should all be no-brainers. Nola is the current staff ace, a legitimate Cy Young Award contender. Velasquez, despite his continued command and control issues, has a valuable arm that could help the club at the back end of either the rotation or the bullpen.

Neris also still has a big-time arm. As Corey Seidman for NBC Sports Philadelphia pointed out in his own look at the arb-eligibles a few weeks back, Neris had the second-highest strikeout rate in the National League this past season behind only Josh Hader.

While Eickhoff and Morgan might seem like interesting choices, neither is likely to be expensive. Matt Swartz of MLB Trade Rumors estimates Eickhoff at $1.7 million and Morgan at $1.1 million for 2019. Those are relatively inexpensive salaries.

If Eickhoff returns from his injury-lost campaign and returns to his 2016 level of performance, the price is a steal. Even just as a back-end rotation option or experienced arm at Triple-A waiting to help in the event of injuries, it’s not an outrageous sum.

Morgan is a favored whipping boy for some Phillies fans. However, turning 29-years-old at the start of spring training and with 301.2 innings over four big-league seasons he offers an experienced left-handed arm in the bullpen.

This isn’t just a “lefties are hard to come by” vote for Morgan. For a second straight season, Morgan struck out more batters and allowed fewer hits than innings pitched. After the all-star break, the 101 batters who Morgan faced hit just .242 with one homer off the southpaw.

At the price of just over $1 million for one season and considering that the Phillies hope to actually contend next year, I would bring Morgan back and hope that he continues to grow. He could prove to be a bargain.

In his arbitration breakdown, Seidman write this on Franco:

“Signing Franco and then trading him seems like the best route. Franco is coming off of his best full season in the majors but there are only so many starting jobs in the infield. If Rhys Hoskins moves back to first base, it will likely mean Carlos Santana plays third. Franco will be easier to move and could fetch more in a trade than Santana.”

Here is my problem with this line of thinking. Yes, there are only so many starting jobs in the infield. But one of those jobs, the third base job, is Franco’s. It has been for most of the last four years, and as Seidman said, last year was his best.

At age 26, Franco is just now entering his prime years. He cannot become a free agent for three more years. The Dominican native has legitimate 30-homer, 100-RBI potential.

Shortstop Luis Garcia named top prospect in Gulf Coast League

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Luis Garcia, an 18-year-old shortstop signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in July 2017 out of the Dominican Republic, was named by Baseball America as the top prospect in the Gulf Coast League.

In their latest issue, displaying Shohei Ohtani on the cover, the respected baseball bi-weekly publication ranked the top 10 prospects in each of the six short-season and rookie minor leagues.

Garcia was awarded the top spot in the GCL following his first season playing in the United States. Garcia slashed .369/.433/.488 over 187 plate appearances across 43 games while playing for the “Phillies West” squad. He also knocked in 32 runs, scored 33 times, and swiped a dozen bags.

In writing up the GCL rankings, Ben Badler of Baseball America described Garcia as follows:

“…a smooth, graceful defender at shortstop with quick feet, great hands and a plus arm. He has the ability to make the flashy barehanded play, though unlike a lot of young shortstops, Garcia also makes smart decisions in the field and plays under control. While there was a split camp among scouts on Garcia’s hitting ability as an amateur, he showed a mature hitting approach from both sides in the GCL.”

In the issue, BA also included two more Phillies prospects in their rankings. The club’s 2018 top draft pick, Williamsport Crosscutters third baseman Alec Bohm, was rated the #8 prospect in the New York-Penn League. Williamsport catcher Rafael Marchan was ranked #12.

Garcia was ranked #14 in our Phillies Nation Top 20 Phillies Prospects list released back in early August. We rated Bohm as the second-best prospect in the entire farm system behind only pitcher Sixto Sanchez.

MLB.com also currently ranks the 22-year-old Bohm as second with Garcia at #14 among their Phillies top prospects. On Garcia, the MLB scouting report states:

“One of the bigger things that stood out was Garcia’s glove at shortstop. He has plus range, excellent hands and good footwork, with a plus arm that really stands out. Given that he’s just 17 for all of the 2018 season, there are obvious strength gains that will need to occur, but there’s confidence that will come as he starts to mature.”

Garcia is just beginning his minor league development, but he is off to a fantastic start. If he continues to develop as hoped, Phillies fans are still not likely to see him at Citizens Bank Park much before the 2022 season.

Originally published at Phillies Nation as "Baseball America names Phillies Luis Garcia as top prospect in Gulf Coast League"

Phillies bullpen bolstered by rookie Austin Davis

Davis proving a reliable bullpen option (Photo: Zimbio)

The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen was much maligned during the first few months of the 2018 MLB season, and for good reason.

Through June, closer Hector Neris had blown three Save opportunities. He also had fashioned a horrendous 6.90 ERA and had allowed three earned runs or more on four separate occasions.

Veteran left-hander Adam Morgan had a bloated 5.24 ERA and had blown five Save chances. Luis Garcia had a 4.74 ERA before going on the disabled list in mid-June.

The two free agents signed by the club in the off-season in order to improve the pen were not contributing. Tommy Hunter had a 5.04 ERA through June and had blown his lone Save opportunity. Pat Neshek spent the first three months on the DL and wouldn’t make his first appearance until July 1.

The poor performances and injuries led the Phillies brain trust to take a look into the minor league system for some help. There they found a 25-year-old southpaw on the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs pitching staff who was having some success.

Born and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, Austin Davis had been the Phillies selection in the 12th round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of California State University in Bakersfield, California.

At the time of his selection, “The Baseball Draft Report” commented that Davis was “looking like scout pick for sure, as ’14 numbers (only season of D1 experience) weren’t pretty; really impressive stuff: 88-92 FB, 94-95 peak, 78-82 SL with upside, good 78-82 CU, low- to mid-70s CB; pro body (6-5, 240 pounds)…”

Once signed, Davis quickly began demonstrating that “really impressive stuff” during a minor league career that saw him rise incrementally through the system with sustained success. Over parts of five seasons, the lefty would surrender 228 hits over 265.1 innings across 135 games with a 270/92 K:BB ratio.

His 3.1 BB/9 and 9.2 K/9 marks along with a 1.206 WHIP were nothing special. But Davis had a knack for avoiding serious trouble, which is an extremely valuable quality to a baseball manager.

This past December, “Baseball Ross” provided the following commentary on Davis while taking a look at Phillies prospects who had been passed over by other clubs in the Rule 5 Draft:

“A big 6’4 power lefty out of the pen.  Watched him pitch in the low to mid 90’s at Clearwater last year where he went 2-0 striking out better than a batter an inning.  At Reading he gave up only one earned run to left-handed hitters to pitch to a 0.61 ERA against them.  The 24-year-old would make a great LOOGY out of a major league pen…”

Promoted from AA Reading to AAA Lehigh Valley early this spring, Davis was enjoying a stellar season out of the IronPigs bullpen. He had a 2.43 ERA while yielding just 19 hits over 29.2 innings with an outstanding 38/8 K:BB over 22 games.

Davis has now been with the Phillies for a full month. Seven of his 11 outings have been scoreless, and he has a 17/5 K:BB while allowing 12 hits over 13 innings.

Phillies manager Gabe Kapler is wrong on use of Seranthony Dominguez

Seranthony Dominguez should be the Phillies closer

The Philadelphia Phillies have six relief pitchers who have recorded a Save at this point in the 2018 season.

But right now the Phillies don't have a closer, and their manager seems to believe that they don't need one.

None of those six relievers with a Save has more than nine, which is the total achieved by Hector Neris, the man who was once considered the team's closer.

That ranks Neris at 25th in Major League Baseball. As a team, the relief corps is in a six-way tie for 17th, or 22nd if you want to be a pessimist.

The bullpen as a whole has been, how shall we say, not good. Luis Garcia (24.2), Neris (24.1), Drew Hutchison (21.1), Tommy Hunter (17.2), and Yacksel Rios (17) have all been given significant opportunities. All have largely failed. Each carries an ERA above the 4.00 level of mediocrity, with four of them over or approaching the 5.00 mark.

A little more than a month ago the team promoted a lights-out reliever from the minor leagues to help right the ship. Seranthony Dominguez was dominant in stints at AA and AAA over the first six weeks. He had allowed just eight hits over 16.2 innings with a 21/3 K:BB ratio.

Dominguez quickly proved to be the Phillies best reliever. Opponents were unable to score on the 23-year old right-hander over his first dozen appearances.

To this point over his first 15 appearances, Dominguez has produced a 1.42 ERA and a 0.421 WHIP. He has surrendered just seven hits over 19 innings with a 22/1 K:BB ratio in the big leagues.

Dominguez is clearly the Phillies best option to close. But manager Gabe Kapler, a big "new age" baseball thinker, doesn't see it that way. Kapler revealed his thought process during an interview on Sportsradio WIP on Wednesday morning.

Gabe Kapler on Seranthony Dominguez: "I just don't think an elite reliever is best deployed in any specific inning...the most important moment of a game may be bases loaded with 2 outs in the 7th inning." #Phillies

— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) June 13, 2018

The problem with Kapler's line of thinking is simple when you think about it. Sure, there are going to be times when a critical point is reached in the 6th, 7th, or 8th innings. No arguing there.

However, you can say the exact same thing about the 3rd or 4th inning. The game is a high-scoring 6-6 affair in the 4th and your starter is getting knocked around. The opposition has the bases loaded and one out. Do you bring in your best reliever then to get out of the jam?

The fact is that you need your very best reliever available as the "closer", that hammer to nail the door shut on a game once the rest of your team has battled through eight tough innings to earn a lead.

Once you burn a Seranthony Dominguez in the earlier innings, now what do you do when the 9th rolls around and you need someone to close it out? Ahh, I know, you trust another one of your "lesser" relief pitchers who you weren't willing to trust earlier. Brilliant!

Part of the Phillies dilemma, as I see it: they don't want to trust the kids who are actually getting the job done over veterans who are getting paid more money and have more experience.

Kapler should be using 25-year old Edubray Ramos and 23-year old Victor Arano in the 7th and 8th innings to set up the 23-year old Dominguez for the 9th inning.

Ramos has a ridiculous 0.75 ERA mark and a low 1.167 WHIP. He has allowed just 18 hits over 24 innings with a 27/10 K:BB ratio. Arano has fashioned a 2.11 ERA and 1.031 WHIP mark, allowing just 17 hits over his 21.1 innings. He has a fine 23/5 K:BB ratio thus far.

Let the team battle through the first half-dozen innings as a whole. Use the veteran relievers to get through any tough situations that might pop up when the starters falter or tire. Then turn to the lights-out kids to hold down any leads you take into the late innings.

Despite what some try to say, baseball does not need to be reinvented constantly. What a baseball team that really wants to win needs is for the people running the ship to believe what their eyes are seeing. It request them to understand the formula that has been proven effective over decades of experience.

Seranthony Dominguez should be the Philadelphia Phillies closer right now, and hopefully for years to come. It is then up to the manager and the rest of club management to find the pieces and place them properly to get through tough innings that come up prior to the 9th rolling around.

Phillies 2016 Closer Options

With the trade of Ken Giles to Houston, the Philadelphia Phillies have a few options for the 2016 closer role.

Giles was always considered the heir apparent to Jonathan Papelbon, took over that role when the veteran was dealt to the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline this past season, and succeeded as most evaluators believed he would.

In fact, Giles was so impressive as both a setup man and in the closer role that he became easily the team’s most valuable remaining trade piece following the deals involving Papelbon and ace Cole Hamels.

Now that he is gone, the closer role would appear to be wide open. While that is likely to remain the case when the club reports to Clearwater for spring training, there is a clear frontrunner to fill the role.

Yesterday, on the same day that Giles talks were heating up and the deal being finalized, the Phils announced the signing of free agent David Hernandez to a one-year contract. 

That contract reportedly included incentives based on games finished. So it would appear that GM Matt Klentak was already thinking contingency plans with the Hernandez signing.

Final Phillies 2015 Opening Day Roster Fights

Weather permitting, at 3:05pm on Monday, April 6th, the Philadelphia Phillies will take the field to open the 2015 MLB regular season with an Interleague game against the Boston Red Sox.

The spring training process of workouts and Grapefruit League games is beginning to sort out the players as the coaching staff and management will cut down to a final 25-man roster for the Opening Day ball club.

Over the past week, the Phils shipped out a number of players to minor league camp, allowing those players to get in more regular playing appearances and more focused instruction from the minor league coaching staff as they continue to develop.

The reassignment of those players has begun the focus at the major league level on the final makeup of that 25-man roster. 

A number of the roster places are, health-permitting, already determined. But a handful remain up for grabs as the team enters it's final two weeks in Clearwater.

The 15 players who have roster spots sewn up include 7 position players and 8 pitchers: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Freddy Galvis, Cody Asche, Carlos Ruiz, Ben Revere, Grady Sizemore, Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang, Jerome Williams, David Buchanan, Jonathan Papelbon, Ken Giles, Jake Diekman, and Justin De Fratus.

Feb 27, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA; Oliver (52) pitches during spring training workouts following photo day at Bright House Field. (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)

In addition to those, the following four (4) players would appear to have the team made, barring some unforeseen developments: Cesar Hernandez, Cameron Rupp, and Rule 5 picks Odubel Herrera and Andy Oliver.

That would leave a half-dozen spots up for grabs over these last two weeks. 

Some of those spots will be determined by injuries. In fact, some of the roster decisions being assumed here already include injuries built into them.

For instance, everyone knows that Cliff Lee is done, and that Chad Billingsley will not be ready and will begin on the DL. 

Also, outfielder Domonic Brown is injured, and this evaluation assumes he will begin the season on the DL. With those situations factored into the roster equation, here is how I see the final battles shaping up.

PITCHING

The Phillies are likely to keep 2-3 more arms at the majors level to start the season. If there is another starter needed due to injury, or if the Phils simply decide to keep him as a long or alternate option, then veteran righty Kevin Slowey has a good shot. The other possibility for that role would be Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.

Feb 27, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA; Aumont (48) throws a pitch during spring training workouts following photo day at Bright House Field. (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)

Frankly, Slowey has outpitched MAG, and deserves the spot on merit. Merit doesn't always win out, as the Phils have a larger financial investment in the Cuban. 

Unless there are a couple of rotation injuries before the opener, only one of these two may make the cut.

A trio of pitchers may be battling for a shot in the major league bullpen: Jeanmar Gomez, Luis Garcia and Phillippe Aumont. 

The 28-year old Garcia has done nothing to lose a spot. He has pitched seven innings across seven games, has three Saves, and has allowed just three hits, with a 7/1 K:BB ratio.

The 27-year old Gomez is the most experienced of the group, with parts of the last five seasons spent in the big leagues with Cleveland and Pittsburgh, including 46 starts and 74 relief appearances. He has a 1.35 ERA this spring, but has allowed eight hits across six innings.

Aumont is out of minor league options, meaning that he would have to clear waivers in order to be sent to the minor leagues. He carries a hefty 4.50 ERA, but has pitched well in general. In six innings across five games, Aumont has allowed eight hits with a 7/1 K:BB ratio. His problem? Three longballs given up.

If the nine pitchers identified as having Opening Day roster spots hold up as healthy, and assuming no trades (Hamels/Papelbon), then it's likely just two of the five from among Gonzalez, Slowey, Gomez, Aumont, and Garcia make the team.

POSITION PLAYERS

With Hernandez out of minor league options and a good fielder, he would appear to have a spot sewn up. Still, the Phils are going to need another backup infielder, preferably one that can play several positions if needed. 

Soon-to-be 31-year old Andres Blanco has received a lot of playing time this spring, but he has not produced the most.

Mar 14, 2015; Lakeland, FL, USA; Bogusevic (17) hits a long fly ball during the sixth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)

To this point, the Phils have gotten more out of 28-year old Cord Phelps, who has played in parts of the last four MLB seasons with Cleveland and Baltimore. 

Phelps has been excellent this spring, hitting .345 with a .472 on-base percentage. Phelps has played 2nd, 3rd and shortstop in the majors.

In the outfield, assuming Brown starts on the DL, and assuming the Phils do keep Rule 5 pick Herrera, a no-brainer at this point, we could see 3 of the 4 players from among Darin Ruf, Jeff Francoeur, Brian Bogusevic, and Jordan Danks make the team.

If all the players mentioned here do hold up as healthy, and none are traded, a final actual decision may come down to whether or not to keep one of the outfielders or one of the pitchers.

Do the Phillies go with 14 position players and 11 arms, or 13 and 12, to open the season? Just one of many questions that will be answered in less than two weeks.