GM Matt Klentak: More than one way to build a winner. https://t.co/sAajqK6w9M pic.twitter.com/qp5p8Z8nla
— Phillies (@Phillies) November 11, 2015
By Chris DiFrancesco
Despite what Phillies new general manager Matt Klentak states, the World Series Champion Kansas City Royals have a model a lot of rebuilding baseball teams could glance over and copy.
Klentak, who is known by his former boss Jerry DiPoto to be a "ferocious negotiator," understands what's ahead of him as he heads into his first offseason as the head guy in town. The Phillies are only five years removed from a 102-win season and obviously the last four years have been dreadful where the Phils have a combined win record 290-358.
Nonetheless, Klentak is a firm believer that through the Phils already plentiful farm system, free agency, and the international market, his team should be back in World Series contention quicker than most fans initially believed.
In a Todd Zolecki piece on MLB.com, Klentak shared his thoughts:
"What I've learned from the Royals is there's no one way to do it. The way that they won the last couple years has been unique, relative to how teams have built over the last … decade or so. And that's encouraging, right? That works for them. The Mets' style worked for them this year. The Cubs' style is working, the Astros' [style] — again, a very different style that's working for them. That's very positive.
In Zolecki's piece Klentak said that the Phillies could find success soon…if they do it right:
"It can turn on a dime if you're disciplined, if you're organized. If players are developing and you're accurate in the projections of when those guys are going to reach their ceilings or start to achieve at the big league level, it can turn quickly. But you have to be disciplined. You have to be prepared for when that day comes."
As mentioned earlier, the international market will be a huge utility for Klentak and the Phillies future. Since the Phils had the worst record in MLB in 2015 they will have the biggest international signing-bonus pool next summer.
There's a plethora of talent in places like Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, just ask the Chicago Cubs. Oh, by the way, Maikel Franco was a Dominican diamond the Phils signed for a $100,000 signing bonus back in 2010. Steal.
Klentak will not commit to any absolutes:
"As I've said before, I don't like to operate in absolutes," Klentak said. "But it is paramount that we take advantage of situations like that to bring talent into our system.
“Understanding that when you're talking about kids at that age, from the Dominican Republic, from Venezuela, it's going to take a long time for a lot of those players to get there. But we still have to do that.
We have to create waves of players that will feed this team three, four, five, six, 10 years down the line, because we don't know where we'll be three, four, five, six, 10 years down the line. We need to make sure we've got steady waves of players coming, and that's true of the Draft. It's really true of the few areas that are still available to us to bring in players."
Analytics are now top priority for an organization who were for the longest time considered dinosaurs in terms of how they scouted and reviewed statistics and analytics.
Fans can call it ‘Moneyball’ all they want but this is the atmosphere for Major League Baseball now. The new normal. For the Phillies, it’s about playing catch-up as fast as they can and Klentak is seemingly the right man to expedite the process.
Klentak and manager Pete Mackanin have plenty of top prospects at their disposal. J.P. Crawford, Jake Thompson, Nick Williams, Andrew Knapp, and Jorge Alfaro just to name a few.
For those who pay attention to Baseball America (it’s my baseball Bible), they ranked Crawford, Williams, and Thompson as the Phils top three prospects heading into the 2016 season. All three players shined bright in Double A last season and will surely get invites to Spring Training in Clearwater, FL.
Speaking of Spring Training, there’s no doubt that the biggest storylines will be who of the big name prospects will make the final 40-man roster in April. Crawford, Williams, and Thompson should see significant playing time for the Phillies in 2016, as they should.
Crawford, 20, is the big one. The shortstop hit .265 with five homers, 34 RBIs and a .354 on-base percentage in 86 games at Double A Reading in 2015. He had 49 walks and struck out just 45 times. He then went on to hit .379 (11 for 29) with seven walks in eight games in the Eastern League playoffs. He was knocked out of the Arizona Fall League after five games by a thumb injury but is said to be ready to go for Spring Training.
Freddy Galvis is slated to be the starting shortstop heading into the 2016 season, however, it be smart of the Phillies to give Crawford a serious look at camp. Crawford will take over the shortstop position full-time in 2017 if all goes well, but 2016 might just be a ‘look and see’ trial.
Mackanin has yet to inform Klentak which prospects he’s like to see invited to camp. The Phillies, for the first time in almost a decade, have their pick of the litter in terms of who to shoot up to the main club come Opening Day.
For argument sake, even if all three of the mentioned studs don’t make the Phils final roster, one could certainly assume all three will see some time in a Phils uniform by June or July, at the latest.
The Phillies could also extend an invite to their other top catching prospect, Andrew Knapp. Knapp won the Paul Owens Award as the organization’s top minor-league player in 2015. That speaks volumes.
This franchise and fan base is on the verge of being invigorated with great baseball again. The only problem with it all is it’s all based on PROSPECTS. Which we all know in pro sports are no guarantees.
Add Aaron Nola, Franco, Cesar Hernandex, and Odubel Herrera to this mix and the Phillies could see themselves right back in the contender mix within the next 2-3 years. The next half decade could provide some of the most exciting baseball in Philadelphia we’ve ever seen. All we’ll need now is another parade.
Read Todd Zolecki's full piece on MLB.com.
