The Phillies lost a couple of young players this offseason, meaning their top-30 prospect list got a big facelift
Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline has unveiled the Phillies top-30 prospect list for the 2019 season with several newcomers fans should get acquainted with, as well as a new number one prospect.
Last year’s first-round pick Alec Bohm has risen to the top of the Phillies list, replacing the highly-touted pitcher Sixto Sanchez, who went to the Miami Marlins in the J.T. Realmuto trade.
Bohm figures to be the third baseman of the future in Philadelphia with Maikel Franco not living up to his own high expectations and the Phillies not being able to sign free agent Manny Machado.
Here’s the entire top-30 noted with how many spots they rose or dropped from the 2018 MLB Pipeline rankings released six months ago.
Alec Bohm, 3B (+1)
Adonis Medina, RHP (+1)
Adam Haseley, OF (+1)
Luis Garcia, SS (+11)
Spencer Howard, RHP (+16)
Enyel De Los Santos, RHP (+3)
JoJo Romero, LHP (-2)
Philadelphia Phillies
Francisco Morales, RHP (+6)
Mickey Moniak, OF (-3)
Ranger Suarez, LHP (-2)
Jhailyan Ortiz, OF (-4)
Simon Muzziotti, OF (NR)
Arquimedes Gamboa, SS (-1)
Rafael Marchan, C (NR)
Mauricio Llovera, RHP (NR)
Cole Irvin, LHP (-5)
Kyle Young, LHP (+2)
Nick Maton, SS (NR)
Rodolfo Duran, C (NR)
Daniel Brito, 2B (-7)
David Parkinson, LHP (0)
Kyle Dohy, LHP (+1)
Dominic Pipkin, RHP (+3)
Kevin Gowdy, RHP (+3)
Cornelius Randolph, OF (-1)
Jhordany Mezquita, LHP (+2)
Starlyn Castillo, RHP (NR)
Edgar Garcia, RHP (NR)
Connor Seabold, RHP (-4)
Manuel Silva, LHP (NR)
Players Who Graduated From the List: Roman Quinn, Dylan Cozens, Drew Anderson
Players Who Fell Off the List: Jose Gomez, Thomas Eshelman, Colton Eastman
The biggest riser is shortstop Luis Garcia, who many project to be the organization’s best prospect by the end of the 2019 season. He hit .369 in the Rookie league last year, so he still has a long way to go before he contributes to the Phillies.
Mayo projects Garcia to reach the big leagues around 2022, so don’t worry if you bought a Jean Segura shirsey.
The biggest fallers were pitchers Cole Irvin, Connor Seabold, and Thomas Eshelman, who fell off the list. Irvin had a fantastic season in 2018 and could contribute to the Phillies starting rotation this year.
Seabold reached Double-A Reading in 2018 but had a 4.28 ERA in 23 minor league starts. He’s been a borderline top-30 prospect since the Phillies drafted him 83rd overall in 2017.
Eshelman took a major hit last year after many projected him to be a September call-up. A key piece in the Ken Giles trade that also netted Vince Velasquez, Eshelman had a career-worst 5.84 ERA for Lehigh Valley in 27 games.
It’s also worth noting recent first round picks and where they stand with the organization. Frankly, I’m surprised 2015’s first round pick Cornelius Randolph was still ranked after several poor to mediocre seasons at the bottom of the minor leagues.
Meanwhile, former number one overall pick Mickey Moniak continues to slide after being ranked number one overall in the organization coming out of the draft. Moniak did see a resurgence late last season and could be in for a big year.
A name towards the bottom of the list to watch out for is Edgar Garcia, a right-handed pitcher some project to contribute to the Phillies in 2019 out of the bullpen.
MLB Network analyst and guest spring training instructor Dan Plesac gave fans a look at one of Garcia’s bullpen sessions.
More re-enforcements on the way for @Phillies . Great two pitch slider / fastball sequence by Edgar Garcia. Don’t be surprised if he shows up at “The Bank” sometime in 2019. Lots of depth & live arms in the minor league system. pic.twitter.com/jcWS2mC7cy
— Dan Plesac (@Plesac19) February 16, 2019
Adam Haseley, Philadelphia’s first round pick from 2017, could be a late-season call-up coming off a strong year in Reading. The 22-year-old lefty hit .300 for the Fightin’s last year and had 11 home runs between two levels.
A sneaky name to watch in the middle of the list is Kyle Young, a massive lefty who worked his way up to Lakewood last year. I got to see a couple of his starts two years ago with Williamsport, and the 6’10 starter dominated with high-strikeout outings. He averaged less than four strikeouts per start last year, but the stuff is there.