Philadelphia Phillies 20 Under 20

Jordan Viars, Philadelphia Phillies, Florida Complex League, June 11, 2022. Photo credit Tom Hagerty/MiLB.com, lakelandlocal on Flickr

The National League champion, Philadelphia Phillies, have quietly been stockpiling a lot of young talent in their lower levels. The organization has improved its scouting, especially overseas and have quite a few players to keep an eye on in deeper dynasty leagues. Most of the players have only appeared in DSL and FCL leagues. For those owners looking to get a jump on some players to target now before their ownership increase, this column is for you. The players are grouped by pitchers, corner infielders, middle infielders, outfielders and catchers. The number next to the players are their current age. Did I miss anyone?  Are any of these players favorites of yours? Let me know on Twitter @tonybps1.


Pitchers

Edwar Chirinos (17) 25.1 IP, 33 K, 2.49 ERA, 1.30 WHIP
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, January 2022
Solid left-hander who appeared in relief 12 out of his 13 games has some command issues in his small sample size.

Enrique Segura (17) 42.2 IP, 39 K, 2.32 ERA, 1.35 WHIP
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, January 2022
The right-hander can throw in the mid-90’s and induces a lot of ground balls with his sinking fastball. As he matures, he’s expected to gain even more velocity on his pitches.

Jose Pena (18) 6.2 IP, 9 K, 9.45 ERA, 2.25 WHIP
How Acquired: 2021 Draft, Round 6
Pena has some major command issues but also strikes batters out at a high clip. He’s not one to rush out and grab immediately but monitor him this upcoming season to see if he has improved his strike-throwing ability.

Javier Fuenmayor (19) 37.2 IP, 27 K, 3.82 ERA, 1.32 WHIP
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, August 2019
The right-hander has only given up 2 home runs in his career spanning 87 innings. He doesn’t strike many batters out and has to work on his command somewhat but keeps the ball in the park.

Maxwel Hernandez (19) 49.2 IP, 51 K, 0.72 ERA, 0.80 WHIP
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, October 2021
One of my favorite pitching prospects in the system, he had a very solid year for the DSL Phillies leading the circuit in ERA at a sparkling 0.72.

Corner Infielders

Jordan Viars (18) .236/.324/.315, HR 5 SB
How Acquired: 2021 Draft, Round 3
If you look only at the stats, there’s nothing special here but Viars has had trouble staying healthy since being drafted. He’s only had 274 at-bats over the two seasons but scouting reports say he has a great eye, good bat speed and a lot of power. He’s one to grab now if available before he finds consistent playing time next season now that he’s healthy.

Middle Infielders

Nikau Pouaka-Grego (17) .301/.424/.466, 3 HR, 2 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, January 2022
One of my favorite hitting prospects in the system, Pouaka-Grego has looked impressive since the Phillies signed him out of New Zealand. He has good power and a great hit-tool and makeup and is moving up the system rankings quickly.

Juan Villavicencio (17) .266/.358/.392, 2 HR, 13 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, January 2022
Quick shortstop with good eye at the plate. Was among the DSL team leaders in runs, walks and steals.

Leny Carela (17) .260/.376/.292, 10 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, January 2022
High OBP, fast leadoff type hitter with minimal power.

William Bergolla (17) .380/.470/.423, 2 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, January 2022
Bergolla is a 2nd generation ballplayer who was signed with much fanfare during the January period. He didn’t disappoint in his first season in the organization. He showed a great eye, some speed and great defense in the field.

Nolan Beltran (17) .226/.372/.274, 5 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, January 2022
Limited power but good speed and good eye at the plate.

Aroon Escobar (17) .238/.389/.343. 3 HR, 11 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, January 2022
Ronald Acuna’s cousin has some good speed and eye at the plate. He had almost as many walks as he had strikeouts which is impressive for a kid his age.

Marco Soto (18) .299/.371/.373, 9 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, February 2021
Soto improved greatly during his 2nd season in the DSL. After struggling to hit in 2021, he put up better numbers this season.

Hao Yu Lee (19) .284/.386/.438, 9 HR, 14 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, July 2021
Lee has hit since the day he signed with the team and is quickly gaining traction as a top 10 (if not top 5) prospect in the organization. He has power, speed, a great eye and an impressive feel for hitting. He also plays with enthusiasm and is eager to learn, two traits that won’t fill up the box score but can help him move quicker to the major leagues. If he’s not already owned in your leagues, he’s one to scoop up quickly.

Outfielders

Manolfi Jimenez (17) .246/.297/.347, 2 HR, 3 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, January 2022
Jimenez has a solid blend of speed and power but struggles against off-speed stuff and hitting, in general. It was his first season in the organization, like many of these guys, so it’ll be interesting to watch as he, and the others, grow and develop.

Yemal Flores (18) .160/.259/.290, 3 HR, 3 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, February 2021
Flores struggles at the plate but shows immense power when he gets a hold of a ball. With more at-bats, let’s see how he does as he climbs up the ladder.

Justin Crawford (18) .241/.333/.276, 10 SB
How Acquired: 2022 Draft, Round 1
The son of former major league player, Carl Crawford, he has his father’s speed and approach at the plate. While father-son comparisons are often easy to use, Justin may have less power than his father when all is said and done. Either way, we could be looking at a future leadoff center-fielder for the Phillies in a few years.

Emaarion Boyd (18) .361/.477/.389, 8 SB
How Acquired: 2022 Draft, Round 11
Boyd played very well in both Rookie league and in A ball this season. He has a good eye at the plate and potentially game-changing speed. He tried to sell out for more power during his college years which caused him to struggle so it was good to see he went back to his strengths with the Phillies. If this improved approach continues, we could be looking at a solid leadoff hitter for the big league team in a few years. With stolen bases on the decline, Boyd is worth the gamble to stash in deeper leagues.

Lou Helmig (19) .195/.324/.253, 4 SB
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, January 2022
A third generation ballplayer from Germany, Helmig’s father, uncle and grandfather are all in the German Baseball Hall of Fame. He played decently during his first season. He was known overseas to have a good approach at the plate so let’s keep an eye on him during next year to see if he improves before investing too much in him.

Catcher

Rickardo Perez (18) .349/.387/.398, HR
How Acquired: International Free Agent Signing, February 2021
It’s tough to determine how good a catcher will be once he hits the majors. Not only do they have to worry about their offense but they have to work on defense, in addition to handling many pitchers and calling a good game. It’s very rare to see a catcher come up to the majors and succeed right away. For those reasons, I don’t usually target catchers in dynasty leagues but they are a necessary evil. That being said, Perez is a great, inexpensive player I am scooping up in my leagues. He already has a good hit tool and is expected to develop power as he matures. He may end up being a backup and learning from one of the best in the business, JT Realmuto. He’s definitely a few years away but is a good pick to stash in your minors.

Tony Bps Spina is a lifelong baseball fan hailing from the City of Brotherly Love - Philadelphia! Tony has loved baseball since 1980 and has followed the Phillies through good and bad times. Tony is married with 3 kids and works for a financial institution but has enough free time to play in 20 fantasy baseball leagues with 75% of them being Dynasty Leagues. He lives a few blocks away from Citizens Bank Park and attends many Phillies games per year in addition to their minor league teams in Lehigh Valley and Reading. He can be reached on Twitter at @TonyBps1.




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