- Draft Prep Tiers: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP
- Heath's Sleepers | Breakouts | Busts
- Scott's Top 100 prospects | Sleepers | Breakouts | Busts | Dynasty Top 100
While the rebuilding Phillies haven't amassed quite the same bounty of prospects as, say, the Braves or the White Sox, they appear to be closer to turning the corner, having "hit" on some critical call-ups already.
On the pitching side, Aaron Nola looks like an ace in the making, and Vince Velasquez and Jerad Eickhoff have both flashed potential on and off. Rhys Hoskins' historic run in the second half last year cements him as a middle-of-the-order force, and J.P. Crawford and Jorge Alfaro will step in at two premium defensive positions this year.
In response, the Phillies were willing to bolster their roster with a couple big-ticket free agents this offseason, signing Carlos Santana even though he's an awkward fit positionally and Jake Arrieta even though he showed some signs of decline last season.
But while I don't think they're ready to compete just yet, their transition back to contention should make for great observation and speculation, especially given their glut of toolsy outfielders.
Phillies in Scott's top 300
| Player | Roto Rank | H2H Rank | Roto Pos Rank | H2H PoS rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhys Hoskins
PHI LF
| #41 | #42 | #11 (as OF) | #10 (as OF) |
Jake Arrieta
CHC SP
| #77 | #54 | #19 | #19 |
Aaron Nola
PHI SP
| #91 | #64 | #23 | #23 |
Carlos Santana
PHI 1B
| #142 | #65 | #19 | #11 |
Hector Neris
PHI RP
| #168 | #174 | #19 | #20 |
Odubel Herrera
PHI CF
| #190 | #219 | #48 | #47 |
Cesar Hernandez
PHI 2B
| #218 | #252 | #23 | #24 |
Maikel Franco
PHI 3B
| #254 | #261 | #24 | #23 |
Aaron Altherr
PHI LF
| #273 | #286 | #68 | #67 |
Jorge Alfaro
PHI C
| #274 | NR | #23 | #23 |
J.P. Crawford
PHI 3B
| #277 | #267 | #25 | #25 |
Nick Williams
PHI RF
| #289 | #288 | #71 | #69 |
Vince Velasquez
PHI SP
| NR | #275 | #86 | #90 |
Players in Scott's Top 100 Prospects
Phillies prospects
| 19 | J.P. Crawford |
| Crawford's top prospect standing survived a couple of miserable stints at Triple-A -- his athleticism, plate discipline and strike-zone judgment seeing him through. It paid off over the final two months of 2017 when a mechanical tweak allowed him to hit .285 with 13 homers and a .929 OPS (with a sustainable .313 BABIP) in 61 games. Scott's 2018 Fantasy impact: pencil him in (at SS) | |
| 23 | Scott Kingery |
| The biggest riser of 2017 went from being a table-setter who earned some attaboys in spring training for his hard-nosed play to a middle-of-the-order slugger, and while much of it came at the notoriously hitter-friendly Double-A Reading, he hit nearly as many homers on the road. Too bad Cesar Hernandez is making a name for himself at the big-league level. Scott's 2018 Fantasy impact: midseason hopeful | |
| 29 | Sixto Sanchez |
| Sanchez's strikeout rate belies his stuff. He throws an effortless 100, is consistently in the strike zone and was one of the most buzzed-about prospects in the prospecting world last year, with comparisons ranging from Luis Severino to Jose Fernandez to Pedro Martinez. He's still sorting out his secondary arsenal, but the Ks will come. Scott's 2018 Fantasy impact: don't count on it | |
| 83 | Jorge Alfaro |
| Alfaro's top prospect standing has never made a lot of sense to me, but he's a catcher with power that he may not make enough contact to tap into. His brief stint in the majors last year offered reason for optimism (and the inside track on a starting job), but that strikeout-to-walk ratio suggests a bumpy road ahead. Scott's 2018 Fantasy impact: pencil him in | |
Things to Know
- The Phillies delayed promoting Hoskins until August last year because they didn't want to have to use him in the outfield, but with the Santana signing, they've committed to playing him there for the foreseeable future. Making it doubly curious is that Nick Williams and Aaron Altherr both showed their own offensive potential, which could have made them sleepers in Fantasy, but now they'll have to share right field barring a trade or injury.
- Cesar Hernandez has hit .294 with a .372 on-base percentage over the past two years, so he clearly deserves to be some team's starting second baseman. How long he'll last as the Phillies' is fair to wonder with the emergence of 20-20 man Scott Kingery in the minors last year, who would appear to have more upside and would appear to be close to major league-ready. Could be a bird-in-the-hand thing.
- Vince Velasquez is in danger of moving to the bullpen after an injury-plagued year in which his lack of a reliable third pitch appeared to catch up to him. For a reminder of his upside, though, you need only think back to his three-hit, 16-strikeout gem against the Padres early in 2016.
- This year may be Maikel Franco's last to establish himself as a regular with the Phillies poised for a spending spree next offseason, right when Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson are hitting the market. After taking the Fantasy Baseball world by storm in 2016, he has since struggled to turn his high contact rates into respectable batting averages.
Lineup & Rotation
| Batting order | ||
| 1 | Cesar Hernandez | 2B |
| 2 | Odubel Herrera | CF |
| 3 | Carlos Santana | 1B |
| 4 | Rhys Hoskins | LF |
| 5 | Nick Williams | RF |
| 6 | Maikel Franco | 3B |
| 7 | J.P. Crawford | SS |
| 8 | Jorge Alfaro | C |
| Pitchers | ||
| SP | Aaron Nola | |
| SP | Jake Arrieta | |
| SP | Jerad Eickhoff | |
| SP | Vince Velasquez | |
| SP | Nick Pivetta | |
| CL | Hector Neris | |
| RP | Tommy Hunter | |
| RP | Pat Neshek | |
