Philadelphia Phillies: 25 Prospects Closest to Making an Impact in MLB
December 1, 2011 by Greg Pinto
Filed under Fan News
Truth be told, the Major League roster of the Philadelphia Phillies is getting old quickly, and reinforcements aren’t exactly on their way.
Believe it or not, there is a price for being an annual contender, and it runs much deeper than large payrolls and All-Star talent. Nine out of ten times, that price is paid by the farm system, be it in terms of forfeiting top draft selections to sign certain free agents or more appropriately as far as the Phillies are concerned, to acquire top talent from other teams.
Beginning with the 2009 trade deadline and right up through the 2011 season, the Phillies have moved some of the best prospects in baseball around the league to bring players like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Hunter Pence to Philadelphia, and while those players have exponentially helped the Phillies, they certainly did not come cheap.
For example, just take a look at the Houston Astros‘ top ten prospects, as told by Baseball America. For those of you who believe the Phillies did any “fleecing” of the Astros’ organization, time to wake up and see the talent sent to Houston. Jonathan Singleton (1), Jarred Cosart (2), and Domingo Santana (6) were all a part of the trade that sent Pence to Philly. Jonathan Villar (4) was a part of the Roy Oswalt deal.
Don’t be so foolish as to think that Houston is the only team that has cashed in on the Phillies’ farm system. Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, and Jason Donald have all made the MLB with the Cleveland Indians. Kyle Drabek has donned a Toronto Blue Jays‘ uniform, and Anthony Gose (swapped with Houston) and Travis D’Arnaud are both top prospects.
That’s just to name a few.
However, that isn’t to say that the Phillies’ farm system is barren, but more so that its top talent simply isn’t very close to the Major League. There are a few interesting players that could impact the big league club in the near future, but the best prospects are still years away.
So as we list the 25 Phillies’ prospect quickest to have an impact on the MLB, it is important to remember two things: These prospects are not listed in order of talent or projection and just because they’re on this list does not mean that we’ll be seeing them in Philadelphia any time soon.