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Phillies land 7 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects

More proof the Phils' minor league system is better than it's been in a long, long time.

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

A few days ago, Baseball Prospectus released their Top 101 prospects for 2016, and six Phillies were present on that list.

That's pretty damn impressive. I mean, it was just last year the Phils were lucky to have three guys in most teams top 100s.

Of course, these lists are primarily just for our amusement, but these rankings of prospects are what the public sees, and so they go a long way in influencing public perception.

On Friday night, MLB.com Pipeline released their Top 100 for 2016, and wouldn't you know, the Phillies did even better.

You know most of the names by now, but just for the sake of fun, here is the rundown.

#5 - J.P. Crawford (SS)

#55 - Jake Thompson (SP)

#64 - Nick Williams (OF)

#70 - Mark Appel (SP)

#84 - Cornelius Randolph (OF)

#96 - Jorge Alfaro (C)

#99 - Roman Quinn (OF)

Three of these prospects, Thompson, Williams and Alfaro, came to the Phillies in the Cole Hamels trade, while one of the others, former No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel, came over in the trade of Ken Giles.

The Phils' top prospect, Crawford, was the team's first pick (16th overall) in the 2013 draft. He's expected to be on the big league club at some point later this year.

Perhaps the most surprising player on the list is center fielder Roman Quinn. He had a terrific season for Reading last year, batting .305/.356/.435 with a .791 OPS. He had six doubles, six triples and 29 stolen bases in just 58 games before missing the rest of the season with a torn left hip flexor.

Missing from this list is pitching prospect Franklin Kilome, who was featured in Baseball Prospectus' Top 101. Quinn was not on the BP list, nor was Cornelius Randolph. And MLB is also lower on many of the Phils' prospects than BP was.

Player BP Rank MLB Rank
J.P. Crawford 4 5
Nick Williams 25 64
Jake Thompson 34 55
Mark Appel 64 70
Cornelius Randolph N/A 84
Jorge Alfaro 70 96
Franklin Kilome 95 N/A
Roman Quinn N/A 99

Here are some thoughts from Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline on their rankings of Phils players.

Totally agree. Williams really shouldn't be up much before September, in my opinion. Crawford, maybe August.

On Kilome...

On Mark Appel's ceiling... can he be an ace?

On whether J.P. Crawford can be a potential MVP?

And why the low ranking for Alfaro and Williams?

In short, Mayo and the folks at MLB pipeline are taking a wait and see approach with guys like Alfaro and Kilome, and for some reason, they are not as optimistic on Williams as most other folks seem to be.

We will still get to see Baseball America's and ESPN Keith Law's Top 100s at some point in the next few weeks, which will give everyone a better sense where the Phils' prospects stand across the industry.

But know this. This farm system is a Top-5 system in Major League Baseball, which is exactly what you want when you're rebuilding.

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