MLB team reports:
Stocked with top prospects, where do the Phillies and White Sox stand heading into 2018?
The Phillies struggled to a 66-96 record in 2017, the fifth consecutive season the team has finished well below .500 and the third time in four years it has finished in last place in the National League East. Another down year cost manager Pete Mackanin his job. Philadelphia replaced him with Los Angeles Dodgers player development director and 12-year major league veteran Gabe Kapler. Kapler, in his first season as a major league manager, will be tasked with developing a wave of top prospects from Baseball America’s No. 3 farm system that appears ready to hit the big leagues in 2018 and 2019. USA TODAY’s Dylan Sinn takes an inside look at the team. *Prospect.
Catcher
Cameron Rupp and Andrew Knapp split time behind the plate in the first half of the season, though neither was anything special with the bat or defensively. Once the Phillies called up top catching prospect Jorge Alfaro in early August, Alfaro quickly became the team’s everyday backstop. Alfaro is an undisciplined hitter, striking out a ton and almost never walking, but he has tremendous raw power and his arm is one of the strongest in the league. The 24-year-old likely will enter next season as the unquestioned starter, but if the strikeouts catch up to him in 2018, Rupp and Knapp will see plenty of playing time.
Depth chart: Alfaro, Rupp, Knapp
First base
The Phillies treaded water at first base in 2017 until Rhys Hoskins was recalled. He played in left field his first weeks after his Aug. 10 major league debut but moved to first base more or less full time in late August. Hoskins had 14 home runs and 32 RBI in his first 30 days with the Phillies. He cooled off in September, but the 6-4 slugger hit home runs at every level of the minor leagues — 38 at Class AA in 2016 and 29 at Class AAA in 2017. He seems poised to be a fixture at first base and in the middle of the Philadelphia lineup for years. Depth chart: Hoskins, Tommy Joseph, Alfaro
Second base
Cesar Hernandez improved his onbase percentage for the fourth consecutive season — from .290 in 2014 to .373 in 2017— and is now a firmly above-average hitter. Hernandez is 27 and doesn’t hit free agency until 2021, meaning the Phillies have an affordable starter at second base locked in well into what they hope will be contending seasons. The Venezuela native’s defense took a step back from its previous elite level in 2017, but he was still good in that regard and some of the drops might have been caused by an injury to his side that caused him to miss six weeks. If Hernandez falters or gets hurt again, Scott Kingery, MLB .com’s No. 1 second-base prospect, is waiting in the wings.
Depth chart: Hernandez, *Kingery, Andres Blanco, *Eliezer Alvarez
Third base
J.P. Crawford split time at third base and shortstop after his September callup. A full-time move to third would get both Crawford’s bat and Freddy Galvis’ glove into the starting lineup. Crawford would also be a big improvement defensively over 2017 starter Maikel Franco, who committed a career-high 15 errors at third base. Franco has hit 49 home runs over the last two seasons but has provided little else of value for Philadelphia after a breakout season in 2015. The 25-year-old’s .281 on-base percentage ranked last among third basemen with at least 500 plate appearances last season. The Phillies might not be ready to give up on the former top prospect yet, but his job is far from assured heading into next season. Depth chart: Franco, *Crawford, Blanco
Shortstop
Crawford has been one of baseball’s top prospects for the last three years, although his production in the minor leagues hasn’t always matched his lofty reputation. Prospect analysts believe he has a chance to be a good defensive shortstop with a plus bat and a little power. Crawford might not be ready to play shortstop every day in the big leagues. The left-handed hitter could split time with incumbent starter and switch-hit- ter Freddy Galvis. Galvis has power, but he’s a below-average hitter. His value comes from his elite defensive ability, which Crawford is unlikely to match.
Depth chart: Galvis, *Crawford, Blanco
Center field
Odubel Herrera won the center-field job before the 2015 season as a Rule 5 pick. Since then, he has become entrenched at the position, providing value at the plate, in the field and on the bases. The Venezuelan, 25, signed a five-year, $30.5 million contract before the 2017 season, making him one of the franchise cornerstones. He made good on that contract in its first year, setting a career high with 59 extra-base hits, although his walk rate dropped by almost half. His stolen base totals also dropped from 25 in 2016 to eight.
Depth chart: Herrera, Cam Perkins, *Roman Quinn, Aaron Altherr, Nick Williams
Left field
If Hoskins stays at first base, most of the playing time in left likely will go to Altherr, 26, as it did when Hoskins moved to first base at the end of 2017. After a promising 2015, Altherr was a disaster in 2016, hitting .202 with four home runs in nearly half a season of plate appearances. He rebounded nicely in 2017, cutting down his strikeout rate and slugging .516. The corner outfield spots are crowded in Philadelphia, and Altherr will compete for playing time with a bevy of talented players in their mid-20s, including Williams, Dylan Cozens and Quinn.
Depth chart: Altherr, Williams, *Cozens, *Quinn
Right field
Williams was the primary right fielder late in 2017, but the most likely scenario is Williams, Cozens and Altherr end up splitting time between the corner spots. Williams is another young free swinger with power. The 24-year-old lefty hit 27 homers between Class AAA and the major leagues but struck out more than 28% of the time. Cozens hasn’t made his major league debut yet, but he fits Williams’ profile. The 23-year-old hit a minor leauge-high 40 homers in Class AA in 2016 and added 27 in Class AAA in 2017, but he swung and missed too much at Lehigh — a 35% strikeout rate—and that delayed his promotion. Quinn is a speedster without much power, and an elbow injury ended his season in May.
Depth chart: Williams, Altherr, *Cozens, *Quinn
Rotation
Aaron Nola’s emerged as a top-tier starter, but the rest of the rotation is in flux. Jerad Eickhoff looked like a serviceable starter in 2016 and for most of 2017, but a hand injury kept him out all of September. Vince Velasquez has ace-level ability, but mediocre command caused him to run up huge pitch counts in too many starts in 2017, and a variety of injuries limited him to 72 innings. A move to the bullpen could be imminent for Velasquez. The back end of the rotation is a huge question mark. Philadelphia boasts three top pitching prospects in Franklyn Kilome, Sixto Sanchez and Adonis Medina, but they seem to be at least a year or more away from helping the big-league club. The Phillies might need to seek help through free agency or trades.
Depth chart: RHP Nola, RHP Eickhoff, RHP Velasquez, RHP Ben Lively, RHP Mark Leiter, RHP Nick Pivetta, RHP Zach Eflin
Bullpen
The Phillies bullpen ranked 17th in the league with a 4.18 ERA. The midseason trades of veterans Pat Neshek and Joaquin Benoit to the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively, opened opportunities for younger arms. Righthander Hector Neris led the way with 74 appearances and a 3.01 ERA in his first season as the team’s closer. Fellow righthander Luis Garcia had his best season. With Velasquez potentially moving to the bullpen, the Phillies could be tough to beat with a lead in the late innings.
Depth chart: RHP Neris, RHP Garcia, RHP Edubray Ramos, LHP Adam Morgan, RHP Velasquez, LHP Hoby Milner, RHP Ricardo Pinto, RHP Jake Thompson