Bohm, Howard form foundation for Phillies
Each offseason, MiLB.com goes position by position across each system and honors the players -- regardless of age or prospect status -- who had the best seasons in their organization. Click here to locate your favorite club.The magnifying glass over the Phillies' farm system focuses on its top two prospects. Top-ranked Alec Bohm ,
Each offseason, MiLB.com goes position by position across each system and honors the players -- regardless of age or prospect status -- who had the best seasons in their organization. Click here to locate your favorite club.
The magnifying glass over the Phillies' farm system focuses on its top two prospects. Top-ranked
Zoom out, however, and the system showed its value down the ranks. Former first-round pick
Phillies Organization All-Stars
Catcher --
First baseman --
Fightins hitting coach Tyler Henson said the discrepancy in Listi's production had to do with his efforts to learn third base at Double-A. The promotion to Triple-A moved him back to first base and the comfort in the field translated at the plate.
"Once he moved up to Lehigh, he did a heck of a job with drawing walks, and I think we saw the guy that had such a good year in 2018," Henson said.
Second baseman --
Third baseman -- Alec Bohm, Lakewood (22 games), Clearwater (40 games), Reading (63 games): The third overall pick of the 2018 Draft lived up to expectations. MLB.com's No. 34 overall prospect put up a 367/.441/.595 slash line for a month in the South Atlantic League, then dominated the Florida State League over the next seven weeks with an OPS north of .900. Upon arriving in the Eastern League on June 21, Bohm led the circuit in homers (14), RBIs (42) and total bases (119) through the end of the year. Altogether, his 160 wRC+ topped all Phillies Minor Leaguers. Of that group, none who totaled at least 250 plate appearances had a lower strikeout rate than Bohm, who Henson said can hit any pitch in any count.
"The most impressive thing to me … was just the presence he brings in a clubhouse, the presence he brings in a lineup, how much better the whole team gets when he's in the lineup. You don't see that that often," the hitting coach said. "He's going to be a special player, and I think that over time we're all going to witness that."
Shortstop --
Maton, Henson said, is an aggressive hitter who will have to learn to avoid chasing as he climbs the system. But ...
"Nick, he's got some of the best hands I think I've ever seen out of a hitter," Henson said. "They're fast. They're strong. He can snatch a ball and hit it out pull-side with ease. And he plays really good defense. I'm anxious to see this next year and watch his growth."
Outfielders
"He handles the fastball better than probably 90 percent of people in baseball," Henson said. "He doesn't swing and miss. He doesn't foul them off. His percentage of putting the ball in play and put it in play at a pretty good exit velo on the fastball stood out."
The result was the best offensive year yet for the 2016 11th-round pick. Stephen's .483 slugging percentage ranked third among non-complex hitters in the system, while his 47 extra-base hits were fourth. He added nearly 200 points to his OPS from the year before, finishing with an .826 mark to go with a 140 wRC+ -- fifth-best among Phillies Minor Leaguers.
Adam Haseley, Reading (44 games), Lehigh Valley (18 games), Philadelphia (67 games): A lot was asked this season of Haseley, the eighth overall pick in the 2017 Draft. His first 41 games came at Double-A, where he hit .268 with an .827 OPS and 21 walks against 30 strikeouts. Just six games into Haseley's first taste of Triple-A, Andrew McCutchen tore his ACL and brought him to the big leagues earlier than expected. The 23-year-old traded in his prospect status for 1.7 bWAR and a spot in the conversation for Opening Day center fielder in 2020.
Were there signs that Haseley had it in him?
"Yeah," Henson said. "His game-planning is unbelievable. He's by far way more advanced than anybody else we had In Double-A, with having an idea of how guys were going to pitch to him and get him out. He is one of the only guys I've ever had that studied the pitcher as much as he does."
"For him, it's learning how to manage at-bats, learning how to control the strike zone," Henson said. " ... Early, you got to see Mickey get himself out a lot -- early in counts, on soft pitches and just trying to force the envelope, trying to make everything happen. As the year progressed, he got way better at it. And, obviously, then his power numbers started to climb."
Utility --
"Darick Hall did have a good year," Henson said. "I think there's way more in his tank than what he obviously showed. The last month, he kind of scuffled. I think he's a guy who hits 30 [homers] and drives in 80-100 a year."
Right-handed starting pitcher -- Spencer Howard, GCL Phillies East (one game), GCL Phillies West (one game), Clearwater (seven games), Reading (six games): Shoulder soreness limited Howard to 71 innings on the season, but that was enough to slide up to MLB.com's No. 88 overall prospect. He fanned 38.4 percent of batters he faced in the Florida State League, posting a 1.29 ERA and 1.54 FIP for the Threshers. Those numbers ticked only a tad higher in his first taste of Double-A, where the 23-year-old whiffed 31.2 percent of batters, compiling a 2.35 ERA and 2.62 FIP.
"He's got four plus pitches," Threshers pitching coach
Left-handed starting pitcher --
"He's a special pitcher," Phillies director of player development Josh Bonifay told The Inquirer. "He attacks the zone. He mixes all pitches in the zone. He limits hard contact. That's hard to do at a young age. He's able to spin the fastball where it gets above the barrels. He's able to put hitters away with his off-speed pitches."
Relief pitcher --
Joe Bloss is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @jtbloss. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.