That Balls Outta Here
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5 Phillies prospects the farm system may have ruined forever

By Gabrielle Starr

Scott Kingery of the Philadelphia Phillies (Mary Holt/USA TODAY Sports)
Scott Kingery of the Philadelphia Phillies (Mary Holt/USA TODAY Sports) /
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Phillies, Alec Bohm
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images /

Did the Phillies ruin Alec Bohm and Mickey Moniak?

Between Alec Bohm, Scott Kingery, and Mickey Moniak, this season has been an embarrassing one for the Phillies farm.

Bohm was the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2020 but experienced a terrible sophomore slump this season. Eventually, Joe Girardi benched him, and the Phillies sent him back down to Triple-A.

The Phillies selected Bohm third overall in 2018, and despite injuries, he rose quickly through the farm system, even winning organizational honors in 2019 as the top position player prospect. He made his MLB debut in mid-August 2020, and hit .338/.400/.481 with a .881 OPS in 44 games.

However, this season, Bohm struggled both offensively and defensively, making 16 errors in 108 games. By the end of August, after Ronald Torreyes had all but become the everyday third baseman and Bohm had caused a team COVID outbreak, the Phillies sent the struggling young player back to Triple-A, where he hit .271/.353/.407 with a .760 OPS in 15 games.

Meanwhile, Moniak was the first overall pick in the 2016 draft, but the 22-year-old has struggled to be more than mediocre in the farm system.

The grandson of a Red Sox minor-leaguer made his MLB debut on September 16, 2020, and went 3-for-14 in eight games at the big-league level with four walks and six strikeouts. In 21 games with the Phillies throughout this season, he’s hitting .091/.167/.182 with a .348 OPS. He’s managed as many hits this season as he did last year, but in three times as many games, though he did hit his first big-league home run.

The former Gatorade California Baseball Player of the Year is the prime example of a player who probably should have played college ball before entering the draft. He hit over .460 as a sophomore and junior in high school, but that’s small ball compared to where he is now. Players from his draft class such as Nick Senzel and Bo Bichette have already experienced immense success at the big-league level, while Moniak continues to be shuffled around the farm.

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