Sanchez, Bohm lead Phillies in Baseball America midseason prospect update

RHP Sixto Sanchez is one of the most highly-touted prospects that the Phillies have ever had. (Baseball Betsy)

Just a couple of days ago, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported that the the Philadelphia Phillies were willing to include their No. 2 overall prospect, Adonis Medina, in a trade for Baltimore Orioles superstar Manny Machado. What a difference a couple days can make in July.

Though nothing has been formally announced, it appears that the Orioles will trade Machado, who appeared in his fourth All-Star Game Wednesday, to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Medina also isn’t the Phillies No. 2 prospect anymore – at least according to one midseason update.

Baseball America’s Ben Badler released his midseason top 10 Phillies prospects update Wednesday and to the surprise of no one, RHP Sixto Sanchez, seemingly off-the-table in discussions for Machado, came in as the Phillies No. 1 prospect. Sanchez, 19, has missed over a month with elbow inflammation, but Badler says that Sanchez is expected to begin throwing again in the coming weeks. While the the comparison to Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez has been thrown out rather frequently, Badler used the comp of New York Yankees RHP Luis Severino. Either one will work for the Phillies.

Medina was technically the No. 4 overall prospect in Baseball America’s preseason rankings, but that’s only because J.P. Crawford (No. 1) and Scott Kingery (No. 4) were still on the list. Neither have played in the minors this year, meaning they are no longer prospects. Medina had been No. 4 on the preseason countdown, but No. 2 overall among those still in the minor leagues. He’s moved up a spot to No. 3 in this countdown, but has been leapfrogged by 2018 first-round pick Alec Bohm.

After a 12 at-bat stint with the GCL Phillies, the former Wichita State Shocker was promoted to short-season Williamsport, where he was hitting just .192 in 52 at-bats. He’s currently on the disabled list with a shin contusion.

Due to a combination of promotions and underperformances, the Phillies top-10 prospects lists looks fairly different from what it did just prior to the season. Below is a comparison of the two lists:

Preseason Top 10