Phillies Post-2016 Top 30 Prospect Rankings: No. 1-No. 5

No. 2: Catcher Jorge Alfaro

Jorge Alfaro joined the Phillies along with Nick Williams and Jake Thompson in the Cole Hamels trade. While Alfaro was the most raw of the three, he also has the highest upside. Alfaro made his pro debut already, but he still needs more time to develop in the minor-leagues before he can be a full-time big-leaguer.

When Alfaro was traded to the Phillies, Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs said Alfaro was an “ultra-toolsy catcher has had little feel for the game but made progress with it this year before an ankle injury ended his season.” In 2015, Alfaro put up a mediocre .253/.314/.432 line while striking out nearly 30% of the time with the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate.

This season, Alfaro saw significant improvement behind and at the plate. In 97 games with Double-A Reading this year, Alfaro hit 15 home runs with a .783 OPS. His walk rate was still poor, but he cut back on his strikeouts a good deal. His wRC+ from 2015 to 2016 bumped up from 107 to 115.

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Where Alfaro made his biggest steps was on defense. In every season of his minor-league career, Alfaro was a below-average framer behind the plate according to Baseball Prospectus. However, he saw radical improvement in his pitch framing this year, producing 14.3 framing runs this season.

Alfaro also used his arm more effectively this season, nabbing 33 of 75 potential base-stealers, a career high 44% of runners. BP said Alfaro was worth 2.1 throwing runs above-average. Almost every evaluator considers Alfaro’s arm to be his best tool, and seeing him use it in-game makes him dangerous behind the plate.

Alfaro is starting to polish off his game on defense, but he still needs to hone in his offense. While Alfaro’s bat speed gives him the potential for an average hit tool, he still struggles with the mental aspect of hitting. Dan Farnsworth of Fangraphs says Alfaro has “below-average pitch tracking and contact ability.” The question is whether Alfaro’s physical abilities at the plate can overcome his lacking abilities on the mental side.

When it comes to raw power, Alfaro has plenty of it. His strong, powerful build allows him to crush balls in batting practice. In-game, Alfaro has an overall flat swing path limits his ability to implement his raw power. Adam Hayes of Baseball Prospectus said Alfaro has “more raw [power] in the tank but home-run power plays down due to swing plane.”

Alfaro saw very limited action in the major-leagues this season, but he will likely need more time in the minors to fully hone in his hitting. The presence of Cameron Rupp and Andrew Knapp gives Alfaro time to develop.

Alfaro, as a catcher, obviously takes longer to develop than most other players. His offensive upside is huge while his floor is rather high considering the major defensive strides he made this season.