By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The soon-to-be released 2017 Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame ballot is starting to take shape.
Phillies president Andy MacPhail confirmed to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that Pete Rose will be on the ballot. In addition, Zolecki noted four other names expected to appear on the ballot:
Fans will vote online for five finalists from a 10-man group that also includes Steve Bedrosian, Scott Rolen, Placido Polanco and Manny Trillo.
Polanco spent parts of seven seasons, over two stints, with the Phillies. Though he won one Gold Glove with the team and made an All-Star team in 2011, he's probably most remembered for his time with the Detroit Tigers, including jumping up and down running around the bases after Magglio Ordonez hit the ALCS clinching walk-off home run in 2006. Polanco did retire as a Phillie and probably had his most overall production with the team, but it seems hard to imagine him being voted into the Wall of Fame.
Polanco initially came to the Phillies in the 2002 trade that sent Scott Rolen to the St. Louis Cardinals. Rolen won the 1997 Rookie of the Year and was both a great fielder and the team's best hitter during his tenure. Unfortunately for him, his merits will likely never land him on the Wall of Fame because he had a messy exit from Philadelphia.
Trillo returns to the ballot for a second straight year, after playing with the team from 1979 to 1982. During that time, he won three Gold Glove Awards, two silver sluggers, made two All-Star appearances, won the 1980 NLCS MVP and of course was a part of the 1980 Phillies World Series team, the first title in franchise history.
Bedrosian played in parts of four seasons for the Phillies from 1986 to 1989, but spent the bulk of his career with the division rival Atlanta Braves. He did win the 1987 National League Cy Young, but he falls into the "ballot filler" category. This is his second consecutive year on the ballot.
Both Trillo and Bedrosian were beneficiaries of the rule change that the organization made a year ago that allowed players who spent four years in the organization to become eligible for the Wall of Fame. Previously, you had to spend five years in the organization to be eligible.
The guess here is that historical candidates like Fred Luderus, who deserves to be in the Wall of Fame, will also help to fill out the other five names on the ballot. Still, the ballot seems rather thin this year, which would suggest that the team is clearing the ballot to assure that Rose gets inducted.
After Jim Thome's induction last summer, I wrote that Roy Halladay and Brad Lidge could end up battling for election this year. The two are eligible for the ballot, both in terms of service time and time out of the league, and would at the very least give Rose a run for his money in terms of fan voting. It remains to be seen if either will be put on the ballot this year, but both will probably eventually end up being elected.
The Phillies will honor their 2017 inductee to the Wall of Fame on Saturday Aug. 12, when they host the New York Mets.
