We have reached the point of the offseason where prospect lists abound. We continue our top 10 prospects for every team with the Philadelphia Phillies!
Our team top 10 prospect lists at Call to the Pen are spearheaded by Benjamin Chase. Today, he gives us the top ten prospects for the Philadelphia Phillies.
This season, we will be going through teams by division, in order of 2017 record. The AL East will be first, followed by the AL Central and AL West. Then the focus will shift to the National League in the same order.
The format will be as it was last season for the same lists, with a system review, which will include last season’s list. The top 10 will follow in reverse order, two players per page in order to give adequate space to each player. Major trades or international signings will lead to an updated top 10!
Finally, don’t go away after #1 is revealed as each list will also contain a player either signed in the 2017 international free agent class or drafted in 2017 that isn’t part of the top 10 and should be tracked. Last season’s mentions in that area made over half of the top 10s this season, so this is a great way to get to know a player who could be making a big splash in the organization.
System overview
After one of the better home-grown runs from 2007-2011, which took them to three NLCS, two World Series, and one championship win, the Phillies attempted to hold steady with that group and found they grew old in a hurry, leading to a tear down and rebuild.
The Phillies are at the end of their rebuild phase, with competitiveness in the very near future. In fact, this offseason, the team signed some pieces in Jake Arrieta and Carlos Santana that should figure into the leadership of the next winning Phillies ballclub.
While the Phillies system seemed to have a middling year as a whole, some of the guys really stepped up to separate themselves from the pack of a fairly deep group of viable prospects within the system.
Let’s take a look at that system….
Next: #9 and #10