A few "findings" before I go into this. There are a number of players the Phillies have obtained since last July that are borderline on whether or not they are "prospects." Jerad Eickhoff, for instance, pitched about two months for the Phillies last season, and appears to be a lock for the 2016 rotation. Eickhoff joins Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco, Aaron Altherr and Aaron Nola out of consideration as prospects for me. Alec Asher on the other hand pitched the final month of last season in the majors, and is unlikely to start there in 2016. Him and Darnell Sweeney are in, because they aren't locks to make the 2016 roster. Borderline cases like Brett Oberholtzer, Adam Morgan, and David Buchanan are out, due to pitching most of last season or 2014 in the majors. I'm going to keep Vincent Velasquez out, though I'd rank him top five if he were in, mostly because he did pitch much of last season in the majors. I don't know if I expect him to make it though. When I rank the whole organization in January, they'll be considered there.
And so, with that....
- J.P. Crawford-SS- I expect he'll exit this list in 2016 and make it to the big leagues. It might be later, but that's fine when dealing with his talent.
- Mark Appel-P- I'm slotting him high based on a high pedigree. Hopefully the Phillies player development folks can get him to grow into the ace he projects as.
- Nick Williams-OF- Hopefully the Phillies stick him in AAA early this season, and we get to see him play some baseball in Philadelphia. He's dynamic.
- Jake Thompson-P- He's could see Philadelphia this season. He was really good down the stretch for Reading.
- Jorge Alfaro-C/1B- I'm guessing he plays the full season in Reading, and the Phillies try to figure out which position is his future. You want to see the big time power develop.
- Roman Quinn-CF- He's healthy, and should be in Lehigh Valley to start the season. He could make a push for Philadelphia this season.
- Franklyn Kilome-P- It will be interesting to see if they push him to Clearwater right away, or start him in Lakewood. He could be a fast riser.
- Cornelius Randolph-OF- I rate him a little lower than most, and it's not because I don't think highly of him. I just see GCL ball as so far from the majors that it's hard to project out. Let's see where he starts 2016 at, and how he does.
- Zach Eflin-P- I think he's done enough to make AAA to start the season. I like his chances of pitching in Philadelphia by the end of the season.
- Ricardo Pinto-P- He was really dominant in the A ball level last year. He needs to start out in Reading. He could really grow from there.
- Darnell Sweeney-2B/OF- I'd like to see him play every day in Lehigh Valley for most of this season.
- Andrew Knapp-C/1B- He'll probably start the season in AAA. It will be interesting to see if he can replicate his AA success.
- Alec Asher-P- I see him getting some starts in AAA and the majors this season, but I do wonder if they try to convert him to a reliever.
- Thomas Eshelman-P- Picked up in the Giles trade, he safely projects as a back-end starter.
- Ben Lively-P- I'm guessing he'll be in Reading to start. I'm interested to see how he responds.
- Nick Pivetta-P- He'll be in Reading this season. You'd like to see him catch up to that level after being good in A ball.
- Alberto Tirado-RP- He's a potential closer of the future.
- Carlos Tocci-OF- He'll be back in Clearwater to start. You hope his offensive numbers from 2015 Lakewood finally follow him there.
- Jimmy Cordero-RP- I'd like to see his triple-digit arm appear in AAA during 2016, if not Philadelphia.
- Scott Kingery-2B- I'm a bit skeptical, but he could really break out in 2016.
- Tom Windle-RP- He could be pitching in the late innings sooner than later.
- Jesse Biddle-P- It doesn't help his standing that he's missing the season.
- Tyler Goeddel-OF- I expect he'll make the team and exit this list. Can he ever live up to his high pick?
- Edubray Ramos-RP- I think we'll see him excel in a late-inning role in the upper minors.
- Matt Imhof-P- This is a critical year for him.
- Rhys Hoskins-1B- I was excited by his 2015. He'll have to repeat it in 2016 to be the first baseman of the future.
- Dylan Cozens-OF- I can see him taking off in Reading this season. He seemed to get better as last year went on.
- Malquin Canelo-SS- I'd still try him at second base, if it was me.
- Jose Pujols-OF- Hopefully he'll finally put it all together in Lakewood.
- Brandon Leibrandt-P- He's consistently solid through A ball. Reading will be interesting for him.
- John Richy-P-
- Cord Sandberg-OF- I'm more down on him than a lot of others. He did finish strong in 2015, so maybe he's turning the corner.
- Herlis Rodriguez-OF-
- Victor Arano-P-
- Harold Arauz-P- Picked up for Giles, it'll be interesting to see if he matches his 2014.
- Daniel Stumpf-RP-
- Deivi Grullon-C-
- Elniery Garcia-P-
- Kyle Martin-1B-
- Aaron Brown-OF-
- Adonis Medina-P- He's far, far away, but he could start to shoot up this board fast when he grows into himself.
- Gabriel Lino-C-
- Jose Tobias-2B/3B-
- Jhailyn Ortiz-1B-
- Zachary Coppola-OF-
- Brock Stassi-1B- He needs a big spring to win the first base job in AAA and remain on this list, despite winning the Eastern League MVP.
- Willians Astudillo-C-
- Joely Rodriguez-P-
- Tyler Viza-P- Just a name to watch here- he was deceptively good for Lakewood.
- Rafael Marchan-C-
- Honorable Mention- Mark Leiter Jr.-P, Cam Perkins-OF, Andrew Pullin-OF, Lucas Williams-SS, Brian Pointer-OF, Luis Encarnacion-1B, Joey DeNato-RP, Matt Hockenberry-RP, Jesmuel Valentin-2B, Tommy Joseph-1B
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