Fo' Real? Why the Best is Yet to Come for the Phillies

You almost have to pinch yourself to make sure it's real- the Phillies are 22-15, and one game out of first in second place. Last year, this team went 63-99, and to match that, they'd have to go 41-84 from here on out. How this team has managed to remain relevant into mid-May is kind of surprising, but also should give you hope for the future.

First off, let's recognize that the only guaranteed two future starters in the majors that are in this line-up are Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera. Beyond that, most of the highest rated prospects aren't playing in Philadelphia yet. J.P. Crawford is still in Reading and probably won't arrive until later this Summer. Nick Williams is playing decently well in AAA, but will likely also spend most of the Summer in the Lehigh Valley. Dylan Cozens and Roman Quinn are in Reading. Jason Knapp and Jorge Alfaro are both unlikely to catch many baseball games for the 2016 Phillies. Tommy Joseph's recent arrival can give some hope at first base, but he's hardly even the only first base possibility for the future. In other words, most of the best is still to come, which is very good for a team who is not winning for their offense.

The Phillies win by limiting offense, which is great for a team who has three of their young, promising arms already in the rotation. If there is one area where the Phillies are very close to having their team of the future, it is their rotation. Nola, Velasquez, and Eickhoff are all here already, while Appel, Eflin, and Thompson are in AAA, closing in on the major leagues. The Phillies have an over-abundance of young, MLB caliber pitching talent, and much of it is in the league now, or we'll see them this year. In other words, the early success might just be what the future looks like.

Of course, I have to mention the early success of this bullpen, and how Jeanmar Gomez is bidding to be the third closer the Phillies trade for prospects in a one year period of time with his MLB leading start. The Phillies could choose to build around their bullpen's successes, or liquidate the group for even more young assets. Neither option would be bad.

It is likely that by the end of the Summer, the Phillies have much of their future line-up and rotation in town, and even more prospects sitting around in the system to build with. While there is a faint hope that this group can continue to win at this pace, the payoffs of last year's moves to rebuild are already starting to come to fruition. If we happen to be talking about playoffs too, that's an added bonus.