Baseball America puts out its Top 10 Phillies prospects

It’s that time of year, friends.

Baseball America put out its list of the Phillies’ top ten prospects today and there are some names on there. Here is the list:

1. Spencer Howard
2. Mick Abel
3. Bryson Stott
4. Francisco Morales
5. Rafael Marchan
6. Luis Garcia
7. Yhoswar Garcia
8. Simon Muzziotti
9. Johan Rojas
10. Nick Maton

Here is the link to the list, one that requires a subscription.

At first, it looks a little sparse, the lack of names that are on this list. But then you think about the team graduating Alec Bohm in 2020 and Adam Haseley in 2019 and you start to realize that they are begining to see fruits from their drafts. You’d always assume that a team would automatically send its top pick in any year to the major leagues, but hey - w how’s that Mickey Moniak pick working out?

Mick Abel being high is encouraging, as are the reports of his performance down in Florida right now. Stott may not be a shortstop long-term, but it looks like his arrival date in Philadelphia will coincide with the departure of Jean Segura. Francisco Morales feels like he has been there forever, but he’s still just a baby.

Johan Rojas might be my favorite name up there. Here is what BA had to say about him:

Rojas is an athletic, toolsy outfielder with impressive bat speed, but he will need to work on his pitch selection, especially against fastballs. He has at least an average hit tool, with a short, compact swing with minimal movement. The ball jumps off his bat, as evidenced by exit velocities over 110 mph in 2019. He is working to get more lift on the ball to cut down on his high groundball rate. With his added strength, Rojas projects for average power and has shown the ability to hit the ball to all fields in the minor leagues. The Phillies believe he can play all three outfield spots with above-average defensive ability, an average arm, plus speed and a high-energy approach.

<shivers>

Sign me up for the guy who can hit rockets in excess of 100 mph on a consistent basis that can also potentially play in centerfield.

Yhoswar Garcia might not be that familiar to many people, so here is what they had to say about him:

Nicknamed “The Drone,” Garcia shows outstanding speed and athleticism. He has good contact skills at the plate, where he works as a line-drive hitter from the right side with gap-to-gap power. Garcia is not expected to be a huge home run threat, but he should add more power to his 6-foot-1, 155-pound frame as he matures. That would give him at least average pop. Garcia is a plus runner, giving him the potential to be a threat at the top of the order. He is a standout defender in center field with the speed, instincts and range to stay at the position. He has the potential to develop a plus arm as he gets stronger.

155 pounds? Man, that’s what I get before I put the other foot on the scale. Hopefully this kid can grow some muscle before the inevitable Carlos Tocci comps roll in.

What really stands out is the overarching question of “What if...?’ that will follow their lost developmental time thanks to the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season. A few of these players really needed the time and reps in order to start to unlock that talent and it just never came. Seeing them get that season in 2021 is going to be so, so important to figure out how to move forward with their development process in the future.

While the system may not be as great as some of the other ones in the division, there are still a lot of interesting players here. Now it’ll just fall on the team’s developmental system to develop them.