When the Philadelphia Phillies won five straight division titles from 2007-2011, one of the biggest reasons they were so successful was because of the amount of outfield talent that passed through Citizens Bank Park.
2007: Michael Bourn, Chris Roberson, Jayson Werth, Aaron Rowand, Shane Victorino, Pat Burrell (14 total WAR)
2008: Pat Burrell, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, Geoff Jenkins, T.J. Bohn, Greg Golson, So Taguchi, Matt Stairs (11.2 total WAR)
2009: Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, Matt Stairs, John Mayberry, Raul Ibanez, Ben Francisco (11.8 total WAR)
2010: Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, John Mayberry, Raul Ibanez, Ben Francisco, Domonic Brown (9.3 total WAR)
2011: Shane Victorino, John Mayberry, Raul Ibanez, Hunter Pence, Brandon Moss, John Bowker, Ben Francisco, Domonic Brown (5.6 total WAR)
Based off of those stats, it's clear that the Phillies had a very good outfield from 2007-2009, and that outfield trended in a downward direction as the team started to lose players like Werth and saw the decline of others. For example, in 2011, a year in which the Phillies set a franchise record for wins, their outfield's total WAR was 5.6. That's bad in its own right, but it becomes even worse when you consider that Shane Victorino himself had a 5.7 WAR, meaning the rest of the outfield (which featured a longer list of names than in previous years) weighed that number down with some negative WAR's.
It's safe to say that the Phillies' brass, both recent past and present, are aware of this decline, which actually got even worse after 2011 when you factor in how much of a drop-off the team's fielding took when some new faces were brought in. So as they have rebuilt the farm system and continue to do so, they seem to have made building up the same type of outfield depth that they had during that period a priority.
That plan is already beginning to take form.
After being selected in the 2014 Rule-5 Draft, Odubel Herrera had an impressive rookie season for the Phillies in 2015, batting .297 with eight home runs and 16 stolen bases, while posting a 3.9 WAR. Herrera's biggest issue entering 2015 was his lack of a position, though as the season progressed he settled nicely into center-field. He may end up being a corner outfielder, but the Phillies seem to have found a long-term starter in Herrera.
Aaron Altherr is a year older than Herrera at 25, but after batting .294 in 111 combined games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015, Altherr got a rather extended look at the big league level late in the season. While batting .241 in 137 at-bats doesn't jump off the page, Altherr did hit five home runs and provides the Phillies with some flexibility in the outfield. It's unclear whether he'll be a permanent starter for the team in either the short or the long-term, but he's going to enter Spring Training with a chance to earn that opportunity.
The Phillies will also hope that at the major-league level they will see a similar pay-off with this year's Rule-5 pick, Tyler Goeddel, who is 22. Goeddel batted .279 and hit 12 home runs while driving in 72 RBI's for the Tampa Bay Rays' Double-A affiliate in 2015.
On top of what the Phillies will have at the major league level to open up the 2016 season, last Friday's MLB Pipeline countdown of the top 100 prospects was very kind to what they have on the farm.
Roman Quinn, who had a tear in his hip-flexor last season, checked in at 99. When he was healthy last season (58 games), he hit over .300 for Double-A Reading and stole 29 bases. As our Frank Klose said yesterday on 97.3 ESPN, the biggest concern for Quinn moving forward, especially given how electric he could be on the base paths, will be his ability to stay healthy.
Cornelius Randolph, who was the 10th overall pick in the 2015 draft, was moved to left-field after being drafted as a shortstop. It's probably way too early to gauge whether he will work in the outfield at the major league level, but he was ranked as the 84th best prospect in the league. If he continues to hit the way he did in the Gulf Coast League last year — .302 batting average, 24 RBI's in 53 games — he has a chance to shoot up this list in the next few years. He's only 18, so he'll probably be the last person on this list to get a crack at the major league level.
Nick Williams, one of the key pieces acquired in the Cole Hamels trade last summer, was the highest ranked Phillies' outfielder on the list, coming in at number 55. He batted .303 and drove in 55 RBI's between the Phillies' and Rangers' Double-A affiliates in 2015.
All of this potential depth is without considering how much money the Phillies will have available in 2018, in what may be the greatest free-agent class in the history of the sport. Both Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen will be free-agents, with secondary options like Jason Heyward (yes, secondary) also scheduled to have the option to become a free-agent.
The point is, the Phillies are beginning to develop some outfield depth, and if they can have one or two breaks like what produced Werth and Victorino, their outfield could start to be one of the best in the league at the end of this decade.
Phillies nuggets
- It's unclear how much longer Larry Bowa, who is 70, will coach for the Phillies, but it's pretty amazing how much influence he has had in the position of shortstop in Philadelphia. He was a great player in his own right, managed a young Jimmy Rollins, coached an older Rollins and isn't far from getting a chance to coach J.P. Crawford.
- Covering Philadelphia sports hasn't been the easiest thing to do over the past few seasons, but last Friday night, when the Phillies had a league-high seven prospects in MLB Pipeline's top 100, offered a glimpse into the positive future of the city's sports scene. That isn't just limited to the Phillies, either. The Sixers and Flyers have, and will continue to draft a ton of young talent. It's hard to figure exactly where the Eagles fit into this picture.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
