Phillies' Hot Prospects Pull Up System Ranking

The Philadelphia Phillies have high-caliber prospects waiting in the wings, but the system’s overall rankings weren’t that high in a recent release of system rankings by Baseball America and ESPN.

The Phillies were ranked No. 23 by ESPN and No. 21 by Baseball America, but evaluators had three or four Phillies prospects among their Top 100 players entering the season.

The Phillies were the No. 19 system overall as ranked by Baseball America at this time last year. But the system’s ranking has fluctuated, from No. 23 in 2022 to No. 12 in 2019.

The Phillies are coming off a 90-win season in which it reached the National League Championship Series before losing in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In order to sustain recent success, the Phillies need its farm system to continue to bear fruit, as it did last season with outfielder Johan Rojas and relief pitcher Orion Kerkering.

Fortunately, both evaluators believe the organization has great talent on the way.

Baseball America ranks three of the Phillies prospects among its Top 100 — right-handed pitcher Andrew Painter (No. 12), outfielder Justin Crawford (No. 63) and right-handed pitcher Mick Abel.

Painter and Abel were among the Top 100 prospects on ESPN’s list.

Painter will miss the entire season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Abel, meanwhile, could start the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and have an outside shot at joining the Phillies at some point in 2024. Crawford ended last season at High-A and likely needs at least one more season in the minors to be ready.

Crawford is the son of former Major League outfielder Carl Crawford.

Baseball America Farm System Rankings (as of February 2024)

1. Baltimore Orioles

2. Milwaukee Brewers

3. Texas Rangers

4. Chicago Cubs

5. Detroit Tigers

6. San Diego Padres

7. Tampa Bay Rays

8. New York Mets

9. New York Yankees

10. Los Angeles Dodgers

11. Cincinnati Reds

12. Pittsburgh Pirates

13. Boston Red Sox

14. Minnesota Twins

15. Washington Nationals

16. Seattle Mariners

17. Arizona Diamondbacks

18. Chicago White Sox

19. Cleveland Guardians

20. St. Louis Cardinals

21. Philadelphia Phillies

22. San Francisco Giants

23. Colorado Rockies

24. Toronto Blue Jays

25. Oakland Athletics

26. Atlanta Braves

27. Miami Marlins

28. Los Angeles Angels

29. Houston Astros

30. Kansas City Royals

ESPN Farm System Rankings (as of February 2024)

(Note: systems are ranked by empirical surplus dollar values for each future value tier of prospect, based on a formula developed by FanGraphs)

1. Baltimore Orioles ($371 million)

2. Chicago Cubs ($328 million)

3. Detroit Tigers ($318 million)

4. San Diego Padres ($284 million)

5. Milwaukee Brewers ($276 million)

6. New York Yankees ($252 million)

7. Tampa Bay Rays ($249 million)

8. Los Angeles Dodgers ($247 million)

9. Minnesota Twins ($241 million)

10. Cincinnati Reds ($237 million)

11. New York Mets ($235 million)

12. Texas Rangers ($228 million)

13. Boston Red Sox ($223 million)

14. Pittsburgh Pirates ($222 million)

15. San Francisco Giants ($207 million)

16. Washington Nationals ($203 million)

17. Seattle Mariners ($200 million)

18. St. Louis Cardinals ($193 million)

19. Cleveland Guardians ($187 million)

20. Chicago White Sox ($172 million)

21. Arizona Diamondbacks ($168 million)

22. Colorado Rockies ($161 million)

23. Philadelphia Phillies ($158 million)

24. Toronto Blue Jays ($126 million)

25. Oakland Athletics ($112 million)

26. Kansas City Royals ($89 million)

27. Houston Astros ($88 million)

28. Atlanta Braves ($87 million)

29. Miami Marlins ($82 million)

30. Los Angeles Angels ($66 million)