While the Phillies farm system isn’t as strong as it was a few years ago, when it was a Top 10 farm system, that doesn’t mean the young players haven’t been making contributions.

In 2020, it was top prospect Alec Bohm who stepped up in a big way during the pandemic-shortened season, playing well enough to finish second in National League Rookie of the Year voting. Current No. 1 prospect Spencer Howard also made his big league debut and his electric stuff should be ready to make a long-term impact in the rotation. Those are the high-end prospects, but others will be called upon, like they were in 2020, to help the Phillies in 2021.

Beyond that top rung, there’s some exciting talent pooling at the lower levels. The Phillies have been very active on the international market, with a large amount, 12 to be exact, of international signees on the new Top 30. That bodes well for the new braintrust, general manager Sam Fuld and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, as they try to climb back to the top of the NL East.

Here's a look at the Phillies top prospects:
1. Spencer Howard, RHP (MLB No. 42)
2. Mick Abel, RHP (MLB No. 76)
3. Bryson Stott, SS
4. Francisco Morales, RHP
5. Rafael Marchan, C
Complete Top 30 list » 

Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2020 preseason list to the 2021 preseason list.

Jump: Yhoswar Garcia, OF (2020: 23 | 2021: 13)/Kendall Simmons, 2B (2020: 26 | 2021: 16)/Jamari Baylor, SS (2020: 27 | 2021: 17) -- All three of these jumpers have some thing in common: All three have big upsides and are fairly far away. They’re ready to make the next step and could help the Phillies’ system jump up.

Fall: Enyel De Los Santos (2020: 8 | 2021: NR) -- The right-hander touched the big leagues in 2018 and 2019, but didn’t make it back in 2020. The Phillies designated him for assignment and 29 other teams passed on claiming him.

Top 30s:
ALW: HOU | LAA | OAK | SEA | TEX
ALC: CLE | CWS | DET | KC | MIN
ALE: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
NLW: ARI | COL | LAD | SD | SF
NLC: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NLE: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH

Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 55 -- Bryson Stott (Simon Muzziotti, Yhoswar Garcia)
Power: 55 -- Jhailyn Ortiz (Casey Martin, Kendall Simmons)
Run: 75 -- Casey Martin
Arm: 60 -- Jhailyn Ortiz (Rafael Marchan, Luis Garcia, Rodolfo Duran)
Defense: 60 -- Rafael Marchan (Simon Muzziotti)
Fastball: 65 -- Spencer Howard
Curveball: 60 -- Damon Jones
Slider: 65 -- Francisco Morales
Changeup: 60 -- Spencer Howard
Control: 60 -- Ethan Lindow

How they were built
Draft: 15 | International: 12 | Trade: 2 | Free agent: 1

Breakdown by ETA
2021: 11 | 2022: 8 | 2023: 5 | 2024: 5 | 2025: 1

Breakdown by position
C: 4 | 2B: 1 | SS: 5 | OF: 5 | RHP: 8 | LHP: 7