Much has been said this summer about the state of the Philadelphia Phillies' farm system, most of which hasn't exactly been glowing.
Aidan Miller, the consensus top prospect once Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter graduated, hasn't played at all this year and recently underwent surgery on his back. That renders starting pitcher Gage Wood, the only other top-100 type in the system, as perhaps Dave Dombrowski's lone bargaining chip worth anything ahead of the trade deadline.
There are some fast-rising names, like right-hander Ramon Marquez, but the list of true top prospects grows perilously thin after Miller and Wood. Or, at least it did, prior to the emergence of Francisco Renteria.
As Matt Gelb recently wrote, “[Francisco] Renteria, 17, is probably the closest thing to an untouchable prospect in the entire system. The center fielder signed for $4 million as a teenager in Venezuela. He hit .366/.455/.603 in his first 35 games of pro ball in the Dominican Summer League.”
Francisco Renteria's scintillating DSL debut can change Phillies' tune around prospects at the trade deadline
Betting on teenagers, even ones as prodigously gifted as Renteria, is always a risky proposition. There's just so much that can go wrong between the bottom rungs of affiliated ball and the majors, not to mention how difficult the transitition to the United States can be for an international prospect as young as the 17-year-old.
And yet ... how can you not think this kid is going to be a superstar? He owns a 1.058 OPS and 160 wRC+ through 35 games in the Dominican Summer League, winning the Phillies' Minor League Player of the Month award in June. He's walking nearly as often as he's striking out, pairing elite on-base skills with blazing speed (17 steals) and a good dose of power (15 extra-base hits).
He did command a $4 million signing bonus in international free agency, so promising early results were to be expected. But when a player with no pro ball experience begins earning comparisons to Konnor Griffin and Julio Rodriguez, it's only right to be a little skeptical. That's elitist territory for a prospect.
Suffice it to say, Renteria is earning his place alongside that company. Calling him the "closest thing to an untouchable prospect" in the farm system might even be underselling his potential impact -- this is the kind of player who can completely alter the perception about an organization's future.
Again, we don't want to get too indulgent on hypotheticals right now. There's still a long road separating Renteria from Philadelphia. But his mere presence makes the idea of trading a prospect like Wood or Miller easier to swallow, since they no longer represent the ace up Dombrowski's proverbial sleeve.
Perhaps it's still more advisable to hold onto Wood and Miller for the sake of the future (Wood, specifically, could help the bullpen down the stretch), but the Phillies need the kind of upgrades that require top prospects to acquire. If they're ready to bet on Renteria's upside, it could free up some key resources for the deadline.
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