The Philadelphia Phillies didn’t make many noteworthy additions to the roster before MLB’s lockout began on December 2, 2021, but their overhaul of the player development side of the organization was on an Extreme Makeover level.
First, they hired Preston Mattingly (son of Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly) away from the San Diego Padres as Farm Director. Then, they enticed Anirudh Kilambi to leave the Tampa Bay Rays R&D sector to be an Assistant GM.
On Wednesday, Mattingly had high praise for top infield prospect Bryson Stott, who is currently at minor-league minicamp, trying to prove he’s ready for the big leagues:
"“I got to see him in the fall, got to spend some time with him — really good baseball player. That’s kind of my impression. A gamer. This guy loves to play, always has a smile on his face. One thing that stands out to me is this guy gets along with everybody.”"
Where does the Phillies farm system rank among all 30 MLB clubs?
The farm system has held the Phillies down for many years, but the tables are slowly beginning to turn. Earlier this month, Baseball America (subscription required) released their pre-season organizational rankings, and the Phillies improved for the first time since 2017.
In 2017, the Phillies ranked 6th; by 2021, they’d fallen to 27th. For many clubs, this would simply be cyclical, as teams require bountiful farm systems in order to build competitive teams, be it through trades or the development of homegrown talent. The Boston Red Sox, for example, depleted their farm system in the late 2010s. In 2017, they ranked 14th; by 2019, they ranked dead-last. However, the players they acquired by emptying the farm led them to a franchise-record 108 regular-season wins and championship in the 2018 World Series.
The Phillies have not had such luck. In 2021, they cemented a full decade without clinching a postseason berth. Their flourishing farm of 2017 (6th) and 2018 (7th) got them nowhere, and only got progressively worse. Ideally, an organization’s farm will grow and flourish, be used for big-league success, then need replenishing, and the cycle will repeat. In a top farm system, like the Padres’ and Rays’, it’s never truly empty; hence, the Phillies hiring top talents away from those very organizations.
Heading into 2022, the Phillies farm improved to 23rd from 27th last year. But short term, Stott is one of their only big-league-ready talents. However, he’s proven to be so talented that he will almost certainly debut this season, less than three years after being their first-round pick in 2019.