The Phillies farm system has come a long way since the beginning of last season and the team has made strides to pack the minor leagues with top young talent that can become the new core of the Phils future. One of the biggest focuses of the Phillies front office, even when Ruben Amaro Jr. was calling the shots, is starting pitching. The Phillies unloaded Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels and Ken Giles and received some pitchers who could become a part of the teams' future rotation. Some, like Jerad Eickhoff, have already made an impact on the big league team.
Jake Thompson leads the way prospect-wise when it comes to pitchers, followed by the likes of Zach Eflin, Mark Appel, Franklyn Kilome and Ricardo Pinto. The Phillies minor league system has some home grown pitching weapons deeper in the farm as well, most notably Kilome, who went 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA in 11 starts with Williamsport last season, and Pinto, who went a combined 15-4 with a 2.97 ERA between Lakewood and Clearwater.
Here's what Minor League Baseball had to say about the Phillies revamped system, which ranks 10th when it comes to pitchers.
Unlike that of their NL East counterparts, the Phillies' system is built more on depth than top-heavy talent. They picked up their top pitching prospect, Jake Thompson, from the Rangers in the deal for Cole Hamels and added another top 100 arm, Mark Appel, in the Ken Giles trade. Thompson is typically the higher ranked of the two and, with his 6-foot-4 and 235-pound frame, gets the term "workhorse" thrown around a lot. Appel's struggles have been well-documented, but he has a chance to show results to back up his impressive stuff during the Phillies' rebuild. Beyond them, there's hope for a future consensus top 100 prospect in Franklyn Kilome, who brings a plus fastball to full-season ball as a 20/21-year-old. Back to the depth, Zach Eflin, Ben Lively and Alec Asher — all acquired since 2014 — have shown varying degrees of success at Double-A or higher, while 2015 second-rounder Thomas Eshelman boasts some of the best control of any pitcher drafted in recent history.
There's no doubting that the pitching depth within the Phillies system has the potential to create some impressive top of the rotation starters along with some relief pitching as well. Not all starters in the minors end up in the rotation in the big leagues. Ben Lively and Tom Windle are two pitchers in the Phillies system that may end up fitting better in the bullpen than in the rotation, if their skills indeed bring them to the big leagues. If all goes well though, the Phillies future rotation could include Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin, Jake Thompson, Mark Appel
Topping the Farm System Rankings for pitching are the Braves, Dodgers and Rays. The Phillies NL East opponents are sprinkled throughout the list with the Nationals in 5th, Mets in 11th and Marlins all the way down in 27th. Rounding out the bottom of the list are the Padres, Mariners and Angels. Last year's World Series Champions, the Royals, come in at 22nd.
Brandon Apter is a contributor to Philliedelphia.com
