The farm system in Major League baseball is what keeps big league clubs rostered with continuous young talent. For any club, that talent could be the franchise's next cornerstone piece. The Philadelphia Phillies understand this better than anyone after their playoff drought failed to produce much in the way of All-Star talent. Since president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski stepped in 2021, the approach to drafting and player development has changed.
The Phillies have beefed up their scouting department and taken a more aggressive approach to the free agent market. Per FanGraphs, the front office has racked up a top-two payroll in baseball and has expanded their process in the Minor Leagues.
Bleacher Report is just one of the outlets that ranks these MLB farm systems. After a respectful No. 17 ranking during the final week of the 2024 regular season, the Phillies dropped to No. 23 in the most recent update to close out 2024.
Phillies' absurd spot in Bleacher Report's latest farm system rankings makes no sense
The Phillies haven't gutted their farm system in that short span of time. The only significant change to the minors was the dealing of shortstop Starlyn Caba in a packaged deal that sent him to the Miami Marlins for starter Jesús Luzardo. That haul at the time was deemed a fair price without giving up too much capital. Apparently, Bleacher Report sees the deal as a bigger hit to the Phillies.
Caba was put into the "Tier 1" category, per Bleacher Report. The drop of six spots now puts them below the Los Angeles Angels. The Phillies have worked hard to retain their draft picks, with Dombrowski even being hesitant to deal the team's top prospects, so sending one player doesn't seem just in the updated ranking.
Per MLB Pipeline's Phillies prospect rankings, the Phillies have exciting young ballplayers with rising shortstop Aidan Miller, outfield sensation Justin Crawford and pitching phenom Andrew Painter, who is still returning from Tommy John surgery. Preston Mattingly was the brains of the operation and before being promoted to general manager, was the director of player development and then assistant general manager.
Losing just one top prospect shouldn't be enough to plummet their rankings for best farm systems in the majors. The Phillies have also added promising minor leaguers in trades. The depth is continuing to grow, and as their draft picks continue to climb the ranks, the talent will be on full display. Hopefully, the talent can prove strong and get the Phillies back to a more respectful ranking for 2025.