Phillies land five prospects on Baseball America’s Top 100

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RHP Sixto Sanchez posted a 3.03 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP between Lakewood and Clearwater in 2017

 

By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the most improved farm systems according to MLB.com and on Monday, the organization landed five prospects on Baseball America's annual Top-100 prospects rankings. This is one more than the Phillies had prior to last season, but still not as many as you'd think. Here are the five who made the list this season:

16 – J.P. Crawford

25 – Sixto Sanchez

31 – Scott Kingery

84 – Adonis Medina

100 – Adam Haseley

Mickey Moniak dropped off the list after being ranked in the top-20 last season. Jorge Alfaro is also no longer in the top-100 since he is not considered a prospect anymore with his big league service time. 

With Freddy Galvis no longer in the picture after being dealt to the Padres, J.P. Crawford will take over full-time shortstop duties for 2018. Crawford has been highly-touted in the Phillies system for quite some time now and after a brief stint in the majors last season, the 23-year-old will have every opportunity to develop on the big stage. Crawford had an uptick in power numbers in Triple-A last season, launching a career-high 15 home runs. Offense is where the former first round pick will need improvement though. He hit just .243 with Lehigh Valley and .214 in his first 70 Major League at-bats. Despite the low averages though, Crawford has continued to display impressive plate discipline, posting and OBP of .405 in Triple-A last season. He walked 16 times in his first 70 at-bats with the Phillies. It's evident that J.P. still has a ways to go before becoming a full fledged contributor to the Phillies, but after a long wait, we'll get to see the 2013 first round pick on the field as an every day player for the Phils.

Sixto Sanchez is one of two Phillies pitching prospects on the top-100 list and he's the guy with the most talent in the minors for the organization when it comes to pitching. At just 19 years old, Sanchez split the 2017 season between Class 'A' Lakewood and Advanced 'A' Clearwater, posting a combined 3.03 ERA to go along with 84 strikeouts and 18 walks. He had a tough time getting settled in Clearwater, so expect Sanchez to begin the 2018 season with the Threshers with the opportunity to advance to Double-A Reading as the season progresses.

Ranked as the best second base prospect in baseball by MLB.com, Scott Kingery comes in at No. 31 on Baseball America's rankings. He hit .304 with 29 doubles, eight triples, 26 home runs, 65 RBIs, 29 stolen bases and an .889 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A last season, but at the moment he's blocked at the Major League level by Cesar Hernandez, who had a break-out season in 2017. If Kingery and Hernandez both continue to hit well at their levels and a guy like Maikel Franco struggles, there could be a scenario where Crawford could shift to third, Hernandez to short and Kingery to second. Having depth like this is certainly not a bad thing. Fans will have the opportunity to see Kingery in big league camp as a non-roster invitee. 

Right-hander Adonis Medina has only appeared in 56 minor league games with the Phillies organization, but he's been consistent at each stop that he's been to. The 21-year-old native of the Dominican Republic posted a 3.01 ERA in 22 starts last season with Class 'A' Lakewood, striking out 133 and walking just 39. He gave up just seven homers in 119.2 innings of work for the Blue Claws. After the impressive showing with Lakewood in 2017, expect Medina to join Sixto Sanchez in Clearwater to begin the 2018 campaign.

Phillies 2017 first-round pick Adam Haseley rounds out the top-100 rankings. The former University of Virginia product slashed .284/.357/.405 last season between the Gulf Coast League, Williamsport and Lakewood in 2017. He's shown good plate discipline in his first professional season in the Phillies organization and is ranked as the 88th best prospect on MLB Pipeline's top-100 preseason list. 

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