Baseball Prospectus released their new top ten list for the Philadelphia Phillies something close to a week ago and I honestly can’t stop staring at it. The list just has so many exciting names on it, I can’t help myself. One glimpse and I can feel my pants get tighter.
This must be what it feels like to have a good farm system.
The thing that excites me the most is the fact most of these players are due up in the majors by 2017. We’re only two or three seasons away from seeing a major return on all of the team’s recent trades. If everything goes as planned, this team could look completely different within a year.
It’s easy to get swept up in all the excitement and forget about the lineup thats actually going to be trotting out there everyday. But rather than think about them and cause ourselves anymore necessary pain, lets continue to look on into the future and take a peak at what the starting line up and starting rotation may look like in a few years:
- Roman Quinn CF
- J.P. Crawford SS
- Nick Williams RF
- Maikel Franco 3B
- Jorge Alfaro 1B
- Odubel Herrera LF
- Andrew Knapp C
- Cesar Hernandez 2B
1. Aaron Nola RHP 2. Vincent Velasquez RHP 3. Jerad Eickhoff RHP 4. Jake Thompson RHP 5. Mark Appel RHP
Boy oh boy, that’s a lot of new names. Of the eight names listed in the Phillies’ projected lineup, five currently sit in their top ten prospects (Quinn, Crawford, Williams, Alfaro, Knapp). Two of the arms from the projected five man rotation are also current top ten prospects (Thompson, Appel).
Some interesting things to note note from the line up: I figured Roman would push Odubel to one of the corner outfield spots, his speed is better suited for centerfield. I was tempted to not even include Odubel in the lineup due to Cornelius Rudolph, but I think 2018 may be a little too early for him. I moved Jorge Alfaro out from behind home plate, my thinking is injuries will eventually move him to first base, it all depends if his bat will keep him there. I penciled in Cesar at 2B mostly because there isn’t much alternative to him. The free agent pool is pretty shallow at 2B in the coming seasons and Scott Kingery hasn’t shown enough for me to think he’ll be ready to replace Chase Utley by 2018.
As for the pitching, Aaron Nola is the unquestioned number one going forward, but as for everything that follows, that’s kind of up in the air. I threw Velasquez in the two slot because he has more upside than everyone else who’s seen MLB. Eickhoff in the three hole may be expecting a lot, but the kid ended the year strong so im optimistic. Jake Thompson is a projected number 2 and is in the four slot, that says a lot about what the Phillies’ pitching could be. Mark Appel is the most interesting name, he’s got the stuff of an ace, but has shown absolutely no production. He he’s a former number one pick and has a lot of upside, but his velocity is already starting to drop. Appel is the only person who could actually supplant Nola, but that’s a big if. You could argue that Appel could be penciled in any rotation slot, including the bull pen. Velasquez is another player who may ultimately wind up in the bull pen.
One of the biggest issues with this projected lineup is that the rotation is a little bit righty heavy, but there is a very simple solution to this. The year 2018 is interesting not only for prospects sake, but it is also a gold mine of MVP and Cy Young free agents. Players like Clayton Kershaw, Jose Fernandez, Dallas Kuechel, Matt Harvey, David Price, Bryce Harper, Manny Mochado, and the list goes on, you can read more about the free agency class here. The Phillies have a good deal of cap room now and that cap should only get roomier as time goes on. They just need to focus on grooming their young guys, while players like Ryan Howard wither their way through their bad contract. It won’t be long until the Phillies are big players in free agency again.
The Phillies are young, rich, and have ALOT of upside. It may not be the best time to be a Phillies fan, but at least you’ll have something nice to think about during all of those long Summer loses.
Snowballs & Batteries 