Biggest Need Clear for Philadelphia Phillies Farm System

The biggest need for the Philadelphia Phillies farm system has become clear.

Feb 25, 2024; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mick Abel (74) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning at BayCare Ballpark. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have an interesting farm system with a lot of talent, but one spot is starting to show some cracks.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report put together a list of the best prospects at each level for each team's farm system.

For the Phillies, his assessment was as follows:

Triple-A: RHP Mick Abel
Double-A: OF Justin Crawford
High-A: SS Bryan Rincon
Single-A: SS Starlyn Caba
Rookie: 2B/3B Aroon Escobar

Just one of those are pitchers, while the rest are mostly speed hitters. The best pitcher at Triple-A is also one that has been one that has struggled mightily.

The biggest take here was that Crawford was the best prospect at the Double-A level for Philadelphia instead of Aidan Miller, who holds the top spot for the team in the official MLB pipeline rankings.

This opinion is not birthed from Miller has not lived up to expectations or anything, just rather that Crawford has just looked much better than anticipated.

The 20-year-old outfielder has put up an impressive .340/.383/.463 slash line at the Double-A level. That type of production translating so quickly is a great sign.

It's a positive competition for the Phillies to have brewing. The last couple of their first round selections have looked good quickly.

Abel was the first round selection back in the 2020 draft. While he has not progressed as quickly as Philadelphia may have hoped, there are still some things to like about his game.

He's dropped from the second-ranked player in the farm system ranking over the past few years to the sixth this time around.

The 22-year-old has thrown a 5.84 ERA at the Triple-A level over the past two seasons. His control still needs a lot of work.

Rincon is another Top-10 prospect for the Phillies as a middle infielder. He has risen fast from a 14th round selection out of high school in 2022. His biggest draw is his elite promise in the field, but there is some hope that his bat can rise to at least serviceable in the MLB play.

Caba is yet another Top-10 prospect at shortstop, giving Philadelphia an overload of talent coming down the pipelines.

The speed that was promised has developed, as he has 50 stolen bases in just 78 games. His bat is very far away from where it needs to be, but it's still progressing.

Another infielder, Escobar, has exploded this season in rookie ball.

The 19-year-old has posted a .338/.495/.481 slash line with three home runs and nine stolen bases in 24 games.

Along with the elite roster that the Phillies currently have, they have some intriguing talent coming down the pipeline.

They should probably look into some more pitchers, though.