Probably for the final time, J.P. Crawford is the highest ranked Phillies prospect. (Frank Klose/SportsTalkPhilly)
By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
After a brutal first half of the 2017 season, Baseball America's John Manuel said that J.P. Crawford was no longer viewed as "an impact player." Crawford roared back in the second-half of the 2017, even making his major league debut, allowing him to check in as the highest ranked Philadelphia Phillies prospect on Keith Law of ESPN's top 100 prospects list.
Crawford, who is expected to be the Phillies starting shortstop in 2018, slashed .287/.385/.513 with 30 walks, nine home runs and 29 RBIs in 195 at-bats at Triple-A after the All-Star Game. Still just 23, the 2013 first round pick posted an other-worldly 18.4 percent walk percentage in his first 70 at-bats at the major league level. Law says that if the power that Crawford displayed after the All-Star Break stays, he has a chance to be one of the league's best shortstops for some time to come:
Only three MLB shortstops qualified for the batting title in 2017 and posted an OBP above .350, so even if Crawford is just a 10-12 homer guy in the majors, he's still a well-above-average regular because of how much he projects to get on base. And if the newfound power sticks around, he'll be a player worth 5-6 wins for a long time.
Phillies legendary shortstop Jimmy Rollins was a very different offensive player than Crawford projects to be, but by comparison, though he hovered around being a five-win player a few other times in his career, Rollins only posted a bWAR higher than five twice in his career – his National League MVP season of 2007 and the Phillies World Series title season of 2008. So it's nothing short of amazing that just over six months after many talent evaluators seemed ready to give up on Crawford, Law still sees this high of a ceiling for Crawford.
The two other Phillies in Law's top 50 are RHP Sixto Sanchez and second baseman Scott Kingery. Roch Kubatko of MASN, in a piece discussing the Phillies interest in Baltimore Orioles superstar Manny Machado, noted that the Orioles "covet" Sanchez. Kubtako also noted that the Orioles think highly of Kingery.
Sanchez, who Law ranked as the No. 23 prospect in the sport, is only 19 years old, but he's quickly becoming one of the sport's most coveted prospects. Though he didn't have as much success in his first experience in High-A ball with the Clearwater Threshers, Sanchez struck out 64 batters and posted a 2.54 ERA in 67.1 innings across 13 starts for the Lakewood BlueClaws in 2017. One scout went as far as comparing him to Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.
Kingery, who is likely to spend the bulk of the 2018 season with the Phillies, had an excellent Spring Training stint with the team last year that he carried back to Double-A Reading. In 69 games for Reading, Kingery had a power explosion, hitting 18 home runs and driving in 44 RBIs, while also stealing 19 bags and batting .313. Kingery was promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley late in June, and didn't skip a beat. In 286 plate-appearances for the IronPigs, the former second round selection slashed .294/.337/.449, with eight home runs and 10 stolen bases. A scout compared him to former American League MVP Dustin Pedroia.
Trending: Rhys Hoskins Is Fine With Batting Second – Or Wherever Gabe Kapler Slots Him
In the back-half of Law's countdown, three other Phillies checked in; LHP JoJo Romero at No. 59, OF Jhailyn Ortiz at No. 83 and catcher Jorge Alfaro at No. 98.
Law seemed to project Romero as a middle-of-the-rotation arm on a contender, which would be very valuable to the Phillies, who figure to have Aaron Nola and the aforementioned Sanchez at the top of their rotation by the end of this decade.
Only 19, Ortiz, who was signed as a first baseman, might have as much power potential as any outfielder in the Phillies system not named Dylan Cozens, and he's probably a better overall hitter than Cozens. Law, who admitted that Ortiz isn't close to the majors, says he believes Oritz will be capable of hitting north of 30 home runs per season at the major league level.
Alfaro, who is likely to be the Phillies starting catcher in 2018, remains one of the harder players to evaluate in the sport. Former manager Pete Mackanin said last spring that he believes that Alfaro has the best arm of any catcher he's ever seen, but it's still unclear what Alfaro is behind the plate beyond his throwing arm. His value would be greatly reduced at another position. He did slash .318/.360/.514 with five home runs in 107 at-bats at the major league level in 2017, but he only walked 19 times in 431 at-bats between Triple-A and the major leagues. Alfaro remains very raw, and how (or if) he develops as a major leaguer, will go a long way in evaluating the 2015 Cole Hamels trade.
A few other things are worth noting from Law's countdown. The first is that Alfaro and Crawford are the only Phillies prospects that return to Law's countdown from a season ago. That means that the Phillies have four prospects in Law's top 100 that weren't on it a year ago, two of which are in the top 35. The second thing worth pointing out is that players like Rhys Hoskins and Nick Williams, both of whom had strong stints at the major league level a year ago, weren't eligible for the countdown. Finally, it's fair to wonder what other prospects will be on Law's midseason list; Adam Haseley, Mickey Moniak, Adonis Medina, Franklyn Kilome and Ranger Suarez are among the possibilities.
