The Phillies landed four prospects on Baseball America’s Top 100 list that was released Friday, but only one of them is returning from last year.
Prospect ranking season continued Friday as Baseball America released their 2017 Top 100 prospect list. Four Phillies made the list this year while five were on the list last year.
The four Phils came in the following order:
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"12. J.P. Crawford ssHit: 60. Power: 45. Speed: 50. Fielding: 60. Arm: 60. ETA: 201717. Mickey Moniak ofHit: 60. Power: 50. Speed: 55. Fielding: 60. Arm: 55. ETA: 202041. Jorge Alfaro cHit: 45. Power: 60. Speed: 45. Fielding: 50. Arm: 70. ETA: 201780. Sixto Sanchez rhpFastball: 70. Curveball: 55. Slider: 45. Changeup: 55. Control: 50. ETA: 2020"
Falling off the list from last year were outfielder Nick Williams, pitcher Jake Thompson, and catcher Andrew Knapp. Thompson exceeded his rookie limits in 2016, but Knapp and Williams did not live up to expectations in Triple-A.
Crawford is the lone player remaining from the 2016 list, but he fell six spots compared to last year going from No. 6 to No. 12. Crawford has fallen out of favor since posting a .244/.328/318 slash line in Triple-A this year. It was not the season anyone expected from the team’s best prospect and it has shown in his ranking.
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BA put several players from the 2016 draft class on the list, none ranking higher than Philadelphia’s No. 1 overall pick Moniak. They gave him above-average rankings on all of his tools besides his power, which was average. Obviously it will take Moniak some time to get the majors, but with all those assets, he should be quite a productive player once he arrives.
Alfaro went from not even appearing on the list last year to ranking as one of the top 50 prospects in all of baseball. He took major strides defensively behind the plate along with hitting for a .783 OPS with 15 home runs in Double-A.
He also made his MLB debut in September, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. Alfaro will return to Triple-A in 2017, but if he continues to develop as he has been, it shouldn’t be too long before he returns to the majors.
The last newcomer to this year’s list is Sixto Sanchez, who made a mercurial rise up the prospect rankings after his stateside debut in the Gulf Coast League. In 11 starts, Sanchez allowed just four runs – three earned – along with striking out 7.33 batters per nine innings while walking 1.33 per nine.
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While Philadelphia lost one prospect on Baseball America’s Top 100 list compared to last year, there is still plenty to like about the system.