Pair of Phillies in New Top 100 Prospect Rankings

The Phillies had two prospects in Keith Law's latest top 100 prospect list over at The Athletic.

The two Phillies' on the list were middle infielder Bryson Stott and pitcher Mick Abel.

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Here is what Law had to say about Stott, who came in at No. 66 on the list.

Stott was the Phillies’ first-rounder in 2019 out of UNLV and signed quickly enough to play 48 games that summer, but 2021 was his full-season debut, and it went so well he finished the year in Triple A. Stott hit .299/.390/.486 with solid defense at shortstop, hitting for a higher average with less power than I would have projected, especially since he played the bulk of his season in homer-friendly Reading. He’s cleaned up his since he was drafted, syncing up his hands and his hips and shortening his path from when he loads his hands to contact, which might cost him a little power but almost certainly explains his results last year. He held his contact rate steady as he moved up the ladder and had better results on balls in play, even as he faced better pitching. He’s a 55 defender at short who has good range in both directions and enough arm to throw from the hole. I’ve heard some concerns that pitchers in Triple A or the majors might be able to pitch away from his bat path more effectively, but he could lose some of his offensive production and still be an everyday guy. He looks like he might be more of a .280-290, 15+ homer, strong OBP guy, and that at shortstop is a very valuable player.

Of the two, Stott has a shot ot make the Phillies roster if he has a solid Spring Training, but its more likely that he starts the season in the minors and if Didi Gregorius struggles they being Stott up to the big leagues.

Gregorius hit 209 with 13 home runs and 54 RBI across 103 games in 2021 and Phillies president Dave Dombrowksi has already made it clear that he won't be guaranteed everyday playing time at the shortstop position in 2022.

As for Abel, Law had him ranked at No. 91 on this years list.

Abel was the Phillies’ first-round pick in 2020, the first time in a decade they’d taken a high school pitcher in the first round (since Jesse Biddle), and he was clearly the best prep arm in that class, with a big fastball and curveball along with size and a strong delivery. He made his pro debut last year in Low-A Clearwater and saw improvement in his stuff with some trouble with command and control. He’s a four-pitch guy now, working 92-95 regularly as a starter, although he’s been up to 97-98 in shorter stints, with the changeup becoming a real weapon for him last year, even ahead of the curve and slider. All of his offspeed pitches show you enough now to project them as future plus pitches, with the changeup already there or very close to it. He has good carry on the fastball and occasionally gets a little cut to it, so it also plays up against left-handed batters. He walked 14 percent of batters he faced last year, but that was skewed by his last few starts, where he walked 13 men in 14 innings. His season ended after that due to a sore shoulder, although he’s healthy and expected to be ready to go for minor-league spring training. There’s top of the rotation upside here as long as he stays healthy and returns to the kind of command and control he showed as a high school underclassman.

Abel is just 20-years old, so he is still likely still a few years away from helping the big league club. He as selected 15th overall in the 2020 MLB Draft out of Jesuit High School in Oregon.

With just two prospects in the Top 100, Dave Dombrowski and his team have plenty of work to do in rebuilding the Phillies farm system.