Prospect Lists - Phillies and Overall - 2022-2026

[Austinfan]

There's a difference between tweaking a swing, get Nori to step into a pitch to generate power, get Crawford to shift the angle of contact so it's more level, and trying to make everyone into the 22 degree angle power hitter.

There are mechanical changes some players need, a long swing that works in the low minors will be exposed in AA with a steady diet of 95+ FBs. Some players need mental anchors to get them to use their hips, etc. Schwarber is a good example of a hitter who refined his approach, working with the pitching machine to get comfortable with LH breaking stuff.

But if you don't have eye to hand coordination, if you can't pick up the ball, or just lack the strength to develop average exit velocities, not sure any change will help.

[Philsmania]

Keith Law ranks the Phillies farm system at #15, dead in the middle.

Ranking all 30 MLB farm systems, from the Brewers to the Padres

"[T]he Phillies have three top-50 prospects, all three of whom could be stars (but only one of whom is really on that path right now), and another on the top 100, but there’s a big dropoff after that. Would you rather have a system that gives you a dozen or more future big leaguers, where none will be more than a decent regular, or one that gives you a couple of stars and a couple of strong regulars, but not much else? I could argue either side, and it might depend on your ownership’s willingness to spend and what you already have on your big-league roster."

[ahb]

That’s my point of view.

I think Crawford can be a quite solid regular as is. If he can start getting the ball in the air, I think he can be a star.

And I think it’s worth taking the time (and risk) to try to get there.

[phillychuck]

If we hope that Crawford continues to reduce his GB rate via swing changes, are we hoping to make a big change now and ask Crawford to adapt to it in the major leagues, or for him to make incremental changes as he advances?

To be transparent, I’m for the incremental approach.

[andyb]

We could be a bottom 5 system next year if we graduate all 3 top prospects.

[zambonir]

I'm sure incremental is the plan, or he wouldn't be starting in the majors. He's got enough on his plate (becoming a better CF, handling major league pitchers) without doing a major mechanical overhaul in spring training. As some have previously said, he might have to fail first before he realizes it needs doing. But you could say the same about established players.

If his defensive ability catches up to his raw skills and his floor is just, left-handed Harrison Bader, nothing wrong with that either. But not what we're dreaming on. (We not only want an All-Star in the future, but a PPI bonus this year).

Hopefully he does well enough that he doesn't get sent down.Truth is that happened at least briefly to every successful Phillies prospect of this era (Bohm, Stott, Crawford, Rojas) as well as the less successful ones (Moniak, Halseley, Kingery).

[andyb]

ESPN ranks the system 17th.

2026 MLB farm system rankings: Prospect insights, analysis

[VoteForKalas]

Top 5 Systems according to that article:

1. Dodgers
2. White Sox
3. Tigers
4. Red Sox
5. Rays

[VoteForKalas]

The Athletic's Top Systems (they group teams by tier)

Tier 1: Brewers, Dodgers, Mariners

Tier 2: Pirates, Guardians, Nats

Tier 3: Tigers, White Sox, Red Sox, O's, Cardinals

Phillies in Tier 4, #15 overall

Rays in Tier 5

[andyb]

TJ Stats list. Miller 9, Painter 38, no Crawford

2026 Top 100 Prospects

[allentown]

Apart from Dodgers almost no agreement between these two lists.

[VoteForKalas]

It is true, kind of funny

[andyb]

Busy week in lists. Prospects 1500 top 50:

Philadelphia Phillies Top 50 Prospects (2026)

[andyb]

Deeper look at Crawford here:

A Deeper Look at Justin Crawford

Keith Law list due later this week.

[Austinfan]

The thing with Crawford is to temper initial expectations.
By 25, he should have his swing flaws fixed and add 10+ lbs of muscle.
At 22, I'd be happy with average CF defense and a .700 OPS.
Fix one thing at a time, accept he'll need time to get his LD rate up.

[fish]

Justin Crawford seems to bunt much more than the average player- it doesn’t seem that bunt hits/attempts is tracked for minor leaguers but I’d wager to guess it’s at least 5% of his ground ball percentage. That doesn’t make the underlying issue with too many groundballs go away, but it does help to inflate it.

Last year he had 10 singles that didn’t get past the pitcher- if you assume that’s close to his bunt success rate, and figure maybe another 10 unsuccessful attempts, it’s not nothing. Interesting though there weren’t any towards third.

[andyb]

Keith Law Top 20.

Philadelphia Phillies 2026 top 20 prospects: Aidan Miller, Andrew Painter lead...

[Matt_Winkelman]

It is hard to have a unified measurement of what is a bunt, but savant based metrics use their definition of “not a bunt” to only look at not bunts, other metrics are reliant on how someone scores it in the box score. So there are definitely bunts in the measurement, but not all of them. They are also largely removed from anything around exit velocity.

[zambonir]

Keith Law Top 20.

On Miller.

> there’s a good chance that by July 1 he'll be the best choice for shortstop at Citizens Bank Park.

[andyb]

I think any Miller decision for SS would be made in the offseason. For this year Miller needs to perform well in the first half and be ready to play any of the 3 infield positions with probably a little extra emphasis on 3B.

If Turner duplicates last year defensively he'll probably stay at SS because he and Miller would be close in defensive ability. But if Miller improves and Turner does not it will be an interesting question next Spring.