Some movers and shakers
Baseball America, one of the industry’s leading experts in prospect evaluation, has updated their top thirty prospects for each team in the game, including those in the Phillies’ system. Here is their new list:
Obviously Andrew Painter is still at the top. He’ll remain there until he is in the major leagues and has accumulated enough innings to no longer be called a prospect.
One of the bigger risers has been Aroon Escobar. Read any site that does some kind of scouting on minor leaguers and Escobar’s name will likely show up. He’s had something of a breakout season this year, something we saw flashes of in spring training. He looks like he’s going to make an impact at the major league level whenever the team deems his development sufficient enough to test out major league pitching.
BA has also shown us some of the risers and fallers from their last list. Here are those players:
Aroon Escobar
Finally healthy, Escobar is racking up hits in bushels so far in the Low-A Florida State League. A bigger, stronger Escobar has learned to elevate the ball better this year, rarely chases and misses in the zone even less frequently. His under-the-radar data is compelling and he has surged onto the Top 100 as a result. Now, he needs to become a more consistent defender.
Otto Kemp
Kemp is one of the best performers not only in the Phillies’ system but throughout the entire minor leagues. He has hit the ball hard and often at Triple-A and is one of just five players in the minors to reach double-digits in home runs and stolen bases. His debut should come this summer.
As far as the fallers, they have Guillermo Rosario, a single A catcher that has not played well, Michael Mercado, who we all know about, and Leandro Pineda all falling down their list. Rosario and Pineda are now off of the top 30 list while Mercado hangs by a thread.
The list is still a little lean, but looks much better than it has in the past. Once Painter graduates, the list may drop a bit further down overall rankings unless some players take a step forward. Some are doing so (DeMartini, Kemp) while others seem to be stagnating. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.