Reviewing the Philadelphia Phillies Farm System

The Phillies are on the rise, and despite the slow start to 2016 first overall pick Mickey Moniak's career, so is their farm system. It's a balanced system that features plenty of both power and contact hitters, and the system is especially deep in pitching as they have managed to successfully develop many of their highly regarded arms into legitimate prospects.

Affiliates: AAA Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, AA Reading Fightin Phils, High A Clearwater Threshers, Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, Short Season Williamsport Crosscutters, complex level GCL and DSL Phillies

The Headliner: RHP Sixto Sanchez
The first time I saw now-20 year old Sixto Sanchez pitch was in 2017 when his Class A Lakewood BlueClaws visited the Orioles' Delmarva Shorebirds. I don't remember the exact velocities, but the first at bat of the game, against the unfortunate Cole Billingsley, went something like this: 98 MPH for strike one, 99 for strike two, 100 just low for ball one, and lastly a disgusting curveball that Billingsley swung over top of for strike three. Sixto was just 18 at the time while Billingsley was 23, and Billingsley did not stand a chance. Sanchez was soon promoted to High A Clearwater, but he had to return there this season as he battled elbow inflammation, still posting a 2.51 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and a 45/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 46.2 innings. He's just six feet tall and won't even be able to drink legally until July, but he throws his fastball in the mid to upper 90's while adding a very good curveball and changeup, all three of which he can command very well. He can also manipulate his fastball to get movement on it down in the mid 90's range, and the overall package gives him true ace upside. Signed for just $35,000 as a 16 year old out of the Dominican Republic, he has developed  a very special right arm that could have made him the top pitching prospect in baseball had he been healthy this season, but he is nonetheless one of the top prospects in the game and should be joining Aaron Nola at the top of the Philadelphia rotation soon.

Drafted Bats: OF Cornelius Randolph, OF Mickey Moniak, OF Adam Haseley, 3B Alec Bohm, OF Dylan Cozens, and OF Matt Vierling
The Phillies have had some high draft picks recently and have used their last four first round picks on bats with mixed results. I'll start in 2015, when they took now-21 year old Cornelius Randolph with their first pick (tenth overall) out of a Georgia high school, and he has been fairly disappointing so far. He was at his best by slashing .250/.338/.402 with 13 home runs at High A Clearwater in 2017, but he dropped to .241/.324/.322 with just five home runs and a 92/48 strikeout to walk ratio over 118 games at AA Reading this year. As a so-so defender in left field, his bat is his true calling card, so he'll have to reverse whatever happened in 2018 if he wants to stay relevant as a prospect. At his best, he shows a knack for hard contact, a patient approach, and an overall balanced skill set at the plate, but it hasn't clicked yet for any extended period of time at this point. In 2016, the Phillies selected another outfielder who is off to a slow start, first overall pick and now-20 year old Mickey Moniak. After a mediocre 2017 (5 HR, .236/.284/.341 at Class A Lakewood), he put up only slightly better numbers in 2018 by slashing .270/.304/.383 with five more home runs and a 100/22 strikeout to walk ratio over 114 games at Clearwater. Fortunately for Phillies fans, Moniak heated up in the second half after slashing .254/.272/.321 with a 56/5 strikeout to walk ratio in the first half, moving that up to a .286/.332/.442 line and a 44/17 ratio after the break. He's skinny at 6'2" but doesn't look like he has much room to add more weight, his speed being his best tool. At the plate, he's more of a line drive/gap hitter than a power hitter, and while it's increasingly unlikely that he develops more than average pop, I still think there is a chance he can be an above average hitter both when it comes to getting on base and hitting for power. Defensively he may be able to stick in center field, his work ethic and feel for the game helping him in that regard. Don't expect a future star out of Moniak at this point, but he could still be a productive big league regular if he gets back on track. Now-22 year old Adam Haseley was the Phillies' first round pick (eighth overall) in 2017, and unlike Randolph and Moniak, he has had plenty of success. In 2018, he slashed .305/.361/.433 with 11 home runs, seven stolen bases, and a 73/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 118 games at Clearwater and Reading with no loss of production after the promotion, even when accounting for league/ballpark differences (Reading is very hitter friendly; Clearwater and the Florida State League in general, not so much). He is a very balanced player who makes easy contact and rarely gets fooled at the plate, runs well, may be able to stick in center field defensively, and hits for just enough power to justify calling him an "impact bat." His walk rate is fairly low, but that is okay given his low strikeout rate and general knack for base hits. At this point, he has a high floor as a fourth outfielder because even if his development stagnates from here on out, he's good enough today to at least handle major league pitching. This past year, the Phillies took now-22 year old Alec Bohm out of Wichita State with the third overall pick, who then slashed a moderately disappointing .252/.335/.324 with a 23/12 strikeout to walk ratio and without a home run in 40 games between complex ball and short season Williamsport. Small sample slow start aside, Bohm is truly an impact bat who can hit for power while also getting on base at a high rate, giving him middle of the order upside. At 6'5", he can blast balls a long way, and his plate discipline has improved consistently enough that it's easy to envision him adding more power without adding too many strikeouts. Defensively, he has work to do if he wants to stick at third base, but the bat will play even if he is forced to move over to first base and despite the slow start; don't worry about 40 games in complex/short season ball. Moving off of first round picks, 24 year old Dylan Cozens was a second round pick way back in 2012 from high school near Phoenix, and though his trip through the minors has been slow, he's just about ready for the majors. The 6'6" outfielder was long considered a projectable bat who could add a ton of power, then after hitting 38 home runs over his first four pro seasons from 2012-2015, he crushed 40 with (hitter friendly) Reading in 2016 then followed that up with 27 at AAA Lehigh Valley in 2017. This past year, he slashed .246/.345/.529 with 21 home runs and a 124/46 strikeout to walk ratio over 88 games back at Lehigh Valley, then slashed .158/.273/.289 with one home run in a 26 game stint with the Phillies. His raw power is arguably the best in the system, possibly better than that of Bohm and Jhailyn Ortiz (more on Ortiz in the next section), but he strikes out far too much at this point and will have to make adjustments to survive at the major league level. I definitely don't see him as having an Aaron Judge-type breakout (Judge faced the same problems in the minors), but just a small improvement in his contact ability could make him a valuable pinch hitter or platoon bat and a big one (less likely) could make him an every day player down the road. Lastly, 22 year old Matt Vierling was a fifth round pick out of Notre Dame in 2018 who caught fire in the minors and slashed .321/.365/.496 with seven home runs, seven stolen bases, and a 40/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 62 games between Williamsport and Lakewood, handling the promotion to full season ball well and slashing .293/.342/.473 in his 50 games there. He has no standout tool but does a little bit of everything well, showing some power, on-base ability, and speed, as well as a strong arm from the outfield. He's likely a fourth outfielder down the road, but with his balanced skill set, lack of a glaring weakness, and hot start to his minor league career, more certainly is possible.

International Bats: OF Jhailyn Ortiz, 2B Daniel Brito, SS Arquimedes Gamboa, and SS Luis Garcia
The Phillies aren't as deep in bats signed internationally as they are with those they drafted, especially with Jose Gomez's disappointing season in High A, but there are a few bright spots here. 20 year old Jhailyn Ortiz hasn't quite lived up to his $4 million signing bonus from back in 2015, but he's still a solid prospect who slashed .225/.297/.375 with 13 home runs and a 148/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 110 games at Class A Lakewood. He packs tremendous raw power into his 6'3" frame, though South Atlantic League pitching found holes in his swing and was able to exploit them in 2018. Defensively, he has worked hard to remain in the outfield, where his strong arm helps him out, but he will have to start getting to his power consistently if he wants to remain one of the Phillies more well-regarded prospects. High A will be a real test in 2019, but he won't turn 21 until after the season and he has a chance to really define himself as a prospect. A tough transition will mean that Phillies fans will have to be patient and play more wait-and-see and I-wonder-if, but a few tweaks in his approach and a good season could take him from projection bat to true impact prospect. 21 year olds Daniel Brito and Arquimedes Gamboa find themselves in similar positions to each other, both coming off seasons where they didn't hit quite as well as hoped in A ball. Brito has the slightly better bat and he slashed .252/.307/.342 with four home runs, 16 stolen bases, and an 83/33 strikeout to walk ratio over 119 games at Lakewood and High A Clearwater, while Gamboa, with the better glove, slashed just .214/.304/.279 with two home runs, six stolen bases, and a 111/53 strikeout to walk ratio over 114 games, all at Clearwater. Both lack much power and will have to rely on getting on base to move forward, and both have good enough approaches at the plate that they can realistically get by without power. Brito, a second baseman who has steadily improved his defense and should be above average there, has shown just a little more sock in his bat and probably has a better chance to hit at the major league level, while Gamboa is a good defender at shortstop who will need to do at least something offensively in order to keep moving up. At this point, both look like future utility infielders if they can't get the bats going, but both will also spend the whole season at 21 years old with plenty of A ball experience under their belt. Lastly, 18 year old Luis Garcia (not to be confused with ex-Phillies/now Angels reliever Luis Garcia or highly-regarded Nationals prospect Luis Garcia) was just signed for $2.5 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2017 and spent 2018 in complex ball, slashing .369/.433/.488 with one home run, 12 stolen bases, and a 21/15 strikeout to walk ratio over 43 games with the Phillies' Gulf Coast League affiliate. It was an exceptional debut for a 17 year old who skipped over the Dominican Summer League entirely as he sprayed line drives all over the park, showed great awareness of the strike zone, and played great defense at shortstop. Now, it's very important to take complex level (and even rookie/short season) stats with a grain of salt, as competition in the GCL varies from other Latin American teenagers, recent draftees, and higher-level players on rehab assignments, but you can't play much better than Garcia did and given the high expectations coming into the season, he's in a great spot. At 5'11", he's unlikely to develop much power, but his defense at shortstop will take the pressure off his bat and with his on-base ability, he could be one of the top prospects in the system a year from now.

High Minors Arms: LHP Cole Irvin, LHP Ranger Suarez, RHP Enyel De Los Santos, RHP Drew Anderson, LHP JoJo Romero, and RHP Connor Seabold
The Phillies have a good group of arms that are near-major league ready, and that's a very good thing considering the team is just beginning what it hopes will be a long stretch of contention. Interestingly, most of the pitchers in this group are about command over stuff, so they may end up with an abundance of back-end starters who can be used as trade bait. 24 year old Cole Irvin is the most complete pitcher up at the top, coming off a very strong year where he went 14-4 with a 2.57 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and a 131/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 161.1 innings at AAA Lehigh Valley. With his low 90's fastball and full arsenal of average pitches from the left side, he has no true out pitch but mixes and locates everything extremely well, making all of his pitches play up and giving him a very good shot at sticking in the majors as a back-end, innings eating starter. He's already in the mix for a back-end spot out of spring training, and if he doesn't get it then, his name should be called upon early in the season. He'll be competing with 23 year old Ranger Suarez, a 6'1" lefty who posted a 2.75 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and an 85/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 124.1 innings at AA Reading and Lehigh Valley, also adding 15 major league innings with a 5.40 ERA and an 11/6 strikeout to walk ratio. He's a fairly similar pitcher to Irvin who has moved through the minor leagues just as quickly, though his stuff is a hair better and his overall feel for pitching is just a hair behind. Unlike with Irvin, his changeup stands out among his other pitches and it, rather than an excellent feel for pitching like Irvin's, makes his other pitches play up. His command is just as good as Irvin's and it will be interesting to see who can hang on to that back-end spot, if not both. 23 year old Enyel De Los Santos, over from San Diego in the Freddy Galvis trade, is a different pitcher from both Irvin and Suarez and posted a 2.63 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and a 110/43 strikeout to walk ratio over 126.2 innings at Lehigh Valley as well as a 4.74 ERA and a 15/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 19 major league innings. He's a 6'3" righty whose fastball sits in the mid 90's and who adds a good changeup, but while Irvin and Suarez get by on their command, De Los Santos is closer to average in that regard. When he's hitting his spots, he can be a better pitcher than both, but of course the opposite is true when he isn't. He also comes with more reliever risk, but his stuff would play up in the bullpen and he could be very valuable in that regard. Watching the three of them battle for starts will be very interesting in 2019. 24 year old Drew Anderson is also in that mix, though I think he'll be the first of the four to end up in the bullpen after posting a 3.87 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and an 84/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 104.2 innings at Lehigh Valley this year. He has a low to mid 90's fastball plays up because of its movement, but he otherwise has fringe-average stuff that he controls pretty well. Despite the extra velocity, he's not quite on the same tier as Irvin and Suarez in terms of control types because his arsenal is not as deep and he hasn't been able to stay on the mound as consistently, but I think he could do well in the bullpen as soon as this season. Lastly, 22 year old JoJo Romero put himself firmly on the map with a huge 2017 in A ball (2.16 ERA, 128/36 K/BB) and followed that up with a solid run through AA in 2018, posting a 3.80 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and a 100/41 strikeout to walk ratio over 106.2 innings with Reading. He's listed closer to the end of this section because he probably won't be major league ready straight out of spring training, but it is plausible that he ends up with the best career in the group. While he has no single standout swing and miss pitch, he can throw pretty much any pitch in the book but a knuckleball, giving him plenty of weapons to use in any count and any situation, and unlike many young pitchers with such deep arsenals, he commands everything pretty well. The six foot lefty is crafty and has a very nice combination of ceiling and floor, and he has mid-rotation upside if he can stay healthy and maintain his ability to hit his spots with all of his pitches. 23 year old Connor Seabold is a control type who posted a 4.28 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a 132/33 strikeout to walk ratio over 130.1 innings at High A Clearwater and Reading, keeping runners off the bases but also falling victim to the home run ball when he missed his spots in AA. Though his ERA jumped from 3.77 in High A to 4.91 in AA, he continued to be effective and even upped his strikeout rate from 23.8% to 25.5%, a modest jump but impressive nonetheless considering he was just drafted out of Cal State Fullerton in the third round (83rd overall) in 2017. Like Irvin, none of his pitches stand out, but he hits his spots consistently enough that hitters don't get many mistakes to try to do something with. He has back-end potential.

Low and Mid Minors Arms: RHP Kyle Dohy, RHP Adonis Medina, LHP David Parkinson, LHP Will Stewart, LHP Kyle Young, and RHP Francisco Morales
While most of the upper-minors pitchers are advanced control-types who get by more on instincts than stuff, there's more variation in the guys who aren't quite as close to the major leagues. In this group, Sixto Sanchez aside, 22 year old Kyle Dohy is the closest to the majors in this group, and he put up a crazy season statistically with a 2.54 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and a 111/42 strikeout to walk ratio over just 67.1 innings at Class A Lakewood, High A Clearwater, and AA Reading. He's a 6'2" left handed reliever with a great fastball/slider combination that misses bats in bunches and helped him strike out 40.7% of those he faced in 2018 (including 47.7% over 33.2 innings at Lakewood). However, his stuff also misses the strike zone as often as it misses bats, and he walked 15.4% of his opponents this year including 21.8% over his 22.2 innings at Reading. If he gets his command closer to average, he could be in the major leagues as soon as 2019, and in the long run he could be a very useful bullpen arm in Philadelphia. However, if he can't start at least getting close to hitting his spots, his stuff isn't quite electric enough to keep him from getting shelled in the major leagues. 22 year old Adonis Medina made it up to Clearwater in 2018 and posted a 4.12 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and a 123/36 strikeout to walk ratio over 111.1 innings, which was not quite the breakout season the Phillies were hoping for out of their young righty but still solid. He throws his fastball in the low to mid 90's and adds solid secondary stuff in a slider and a changeup, and they along with his command have been sharp enough for him to post very good component ratios in A ball over the past two seasons. As it stands, he looks like a guy with mid-rotation upside and a larger possibility of ending up in the back-end of the rotation, but the Phillies are high on him and think he has a very good shot of reaching his ceiling. 2019 and his transition to AA should be enlightening. 23 year old David Parkinson absolutely dominated A ball in 2018, going 11-1 with a 1.45 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and a 141/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 124.1 innings at Lakewood and Clearwater, though most of the season was spent facing younger competition down in Lakewood. The 2017 12th round pick out of Ole Miss made his average stuff play up in his first full pro season, and he has a much better chance to stick as a back-end starter than he did a year ago. The strong stint with Clearwater (1.24 ERA, 26/9 K/BB in 29 IP) was probably better news than the equally strong 95.1 innings in Lakewood considering his age relative to his competition, but it will be important to see if his stuff holds up over a longer run through High A and in AA this coming season to really feel confident about his future as a starter. 21 year old Will Stewart also had a dominating run through Lakewood, going 8-1 with a 2.06 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and a 90/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 113.2 innings. He's more of a sleeper prospect as a lefty without a ton of velocity, a high draft pedigree (20th round out of high school in Alabama in 2015), or a quick rise through the minors. Still, he makes his good command of a low 90's fastball and a very good changeup work for him, and because he was young for his class when he was drafted, he's not behind age-wise even though he didn't reach full season ball until his fourth pro season. The Phillies do very well with these types of guys (see Cole Irvin, Ranger Suarez, Connor Seabold up higher in the system) and while he looks more like a back-end starter right now, he could be a more well-known name come next season with success in High A. 21 year old Kyle Young posted a 2.73 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and a 50/9 strikeout to walk ratio over 59.1 innings mostly with Lakewood, and he's particularly interesting because he's just so darn tall. Standing 6'10" and coming at hitters from the left side, he throws fastballs that look like they're getting released right in front of your face and commands everything well for someone of his stature. While he doesn't throw as hard as a certain other 6'10" lefty (see Johnson, Randy), that command gives him a leg up and could make him a similar pitcher to right hander Chris Young (no relation). Injury risk is present though as he missed time in 2018 with elbow trouble, and personally there are quite a few other pitchers in this system that I see as better prospects. Lastly, 19 year old Francisco Morales doesn't quite have the numbers yet, but he's a high upside guy down in the low minors. The 6'4" righty posted a 5.27 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP, and a 68/33 strikeout to walk ratio over 56.1 innings with short season Williamsport in 2018, showing a low to mid 90's fastball and emerging secondary stuff. There is a lot he needs to work on, but the Phillies are high on him and with a big, durable frame, they see more velocity coming, with further improving his command and secondaries being the next lines on the to-do list. Think of him as a wild card for now, but he'll be interesting to track as a teenager in Class A next season.

Top 2018 Minor League Pitchers

With the 2018 minor league season coming to a close, I have gathered the top hitting and pitching performers across the minor leagues. The selections for these awards were made regardless of prospect status or minor league level(s), though park and league environments were considered. Below are the pitcher awards.

Minor League Pitcher of the Year

Winner: RHP Michael King (New York Yankees)
11-5, 1.79 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 152/29 K/BB in 161.1 IP at High A, AA, and AAA
While predicting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to win the position player award pre-2018 may not have been all that far fetched, Michael King's season here comes as a complete surprise. He was solid last year at Class A Greensboro (11-9, 3.14 ERA, 1.09 WHIP), but he was also a 22 year old facing younger competition. The Rhode Island native and former 12th round pick out of Boston College in 2016 was traded to who I presume is his arch nemesis, the New York Yankees, before the 2018 season and he began the year with High A Tampa. In seven starts, King went 1-3 but with a 1.79 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, striking out 45 and walking 10 in 40.1 innings. Quickly promoted to AA Trenton just before his 23rd birthday, he kept on rolling by going 6-2 with a 2.09 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP over 12 games (11 starts), striking out 76 and walking just 13 in 82 innings. The Yankees gave him another promotion on up to AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre, where he put up six of his best starts of the season: 4-0, 1.15 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 31/6 K/BB in 39 innings. Together, that's a 1.79 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, and 152 strikeouts to just 29 walks over 161.1 innings, and an elevation in prospect status from "possible fifth starter" to likely 2019 MLB contributor. Throughout the season, he allowed more than three earned runs in just one of his 25 games (24 starts), and just three times all year did he allow more than two earned runs. Perhaps his best start of the season came on June 30th in AA, when he tossed a complete game, three hit, no walk shutout against strong New Hampshire (Blue Jays AA) while striking out eleven Fisher Cats. He also came an out away from a complete game shutout against Daytona Beach (Reds High A) back on May 9th and threw six perfect innings against Syracuse (Nationals AAA) on August 29th. The only knock on his big season may be the high number of unearned runs (eleven), which put his RA9 at a more human 2.40.

Runner-Up: LHP David Parkinson (Philadelphia Phillies)
11-1, 1.45 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 141/35 K/BB in 124.1 IP at Class A and High A
The Phillies took Parkinson in the 12th round of the 2017 draft out of Ole Miss (though they did go over slot by signing him for $250,000, roughly that of a sixth round pick), and they assigned him to Class A Lakewood to begin the season. It was a rather conservative assignment and he proved it by just dominating the league in his 17 starts, going 8-1 with a 1.51 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and a 115/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 95.1 innings. When they finally promoted him up to the more age-appropriate High A Clearwater Threshers, he somehow got even better, 3-0 with a 1.24 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and a 26/9 strikeout to walk ratio in 29 innings. He never allowed more than four earned runs in any single start and allowed more than two in just three of his 22 games (21 starts), giving his teams the chance to win every time he was out there. From May 14th to June 25th, while back in Class A, he tossed 35.2 consecutive scoreless innings (though he allowed three unearned runs on May 28th), including possibly his best performance of the season when he shut down Hagerstown (Nationals Class A) one just one hit and no walks over seven shutout innings, picking up nine strikeouts. Like King, he did allow eleven unearned runs, though seven of them came in one appearance on April 23rd. With the unearned runs, his RA9 is 2.24, but he falls below King because King threw 37 more innings, had a much lower WHIP (0.91 to 1.01), and because Parkinson pitched his entire season in pitcher-friendly parks.

Honorable Mention: RHP Parker Dunshee (Oakland Athletics)
13-6, 2.33 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 163/31 K/BB in 150.2 IP at High A and AA
Dunshee has been absolutely un-hittable since he was drafted in the seventh round in 2017 out of Wake Forest as a senior. After getting roughed up a little bit in his first pro game (consider it a warm-up), he tossed 38.1 shutout innings in Short Season ball on just 15 hits, eight walks, and 45 strikeouts (0.60 WHIP). However, this write up is about 2018, not 2017. To begin this season, he was assigned to Stockton in the High A California League, a notorious hitters' league where nearly every park is a hitters' park. Apparently nobody told Dunshee, as he went 6-2 with a 2.70 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and an 82/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 70 innings, earning a promotion up to AA Midland in the slightly pitcher-friendly Texas League. His numbers got even better, as he went 7-4 with a 2.01 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and an 81/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 80.2 innings. Perhaps what was most remarkable about his season was his consistency, as even during his run through the California League, he never allowed more than three earned runs in any of his 12 games (10 starts), even when he had to pitch in Lancaster, arguably the top hitters' park in the minors. In AA, he was tagged for four runs on July 7th (albeit in eight innings), but he closed out the season on a remarkable run that saw him go 6-1 with a 0.94 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP over his final seven starts, striking out 45 and walking 11 in 48 innings. Arguable his best start of the season came in his second to last, when he tossed 7.1 shutout, no-hit innings against Corpus Christi (Astros AA) while walking two and striking out seven. Now, if you take out that first pro appearance (we'll call it a warm-up), Dunshee's career minor league numbers are as follows: 14-6, 1.86 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 208/39 K/BB in 191 innings, 70 of which came in the very tough California League.

Others

RHP Chris Paddack (Padres, 7-3, 2.10 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 120/8 K/BB in 90 IP at High A and AA)
Paddack falls to fourth on this list because he only threw 90 innings, but his return from missing 2017 with Tommy John surgery has been pitch-for-pitch as good as anybody's. He also had to navigate the High A California League and handled it exceptionally well (4-1, 2.24 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 83/4 K/BB), then was even better in AA (3-2, 1.91 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 37/4 K/BB). The season also began with 24.2 consecutive shutout innings. At this point, the Austin, Texas native's career numbers rival Dunshee's: 13-6, 1.82 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 230/20 K/BB in 177.2 innings.

RHP Denyi Reyes (Red Sox, 12-5, 1.97 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 145/19 K/BB in 155.2 IP at Class A and High A
Reyes mostly earns this spot with his amazing performance in Class A Greenville: 10-3, 1.89 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 122/13 K/BB in 123.2 innings. Promoted to High A Salem, he maintained some dominance, going 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP over six starts, striking out 23 and walking six in 32 innings. Overall, few minor leaguers were better at keeping runners off the bases as well as keeping them from scoring, though he did allow twelve unearned runs to bring his RA9 up to 2.66. At no point in the season did he allow more than three earned runs in any of his 27 games (24 starts). Like Dunshee and Paddack, his career numbers also have the wow factor: 32-7, 2.12 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 286/33 K/BB in 327.1 innings.

LHP Patrick Sandoval (Angels, 11-1, 2.06 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 145/29 K/BB, 122.1 IP at Class A, High A, and AA)
Sandoval was a breakout prospect this year who pitched for four different minor league teams at three different levels, doing exceptionally at all four. He saw success at Class A Quad Cities (7-1, 2.49 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 71/11 K/BB), High A Buies Creek (2-0, 2.74, 0.70, 26/4), High A Inland Empire (1-0, 0.00, 0.82, 21/6) and AA Mobile (1-0, 1.37, 1.02, 27/8). Together, that gave him a 2.06 ERA and 0.96 WHIP as he struck out over 30% of his opponents along the way.

LHP Zac Lowther (Orioles, 8-4, 2.14 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 151/35 K/BB in 123.2 IP at Class A and High A)
The Orioles struggle to develop pitching prospects, but Lowther has been a success story so far. Drafted last year in the Competitive Balance Round B out of Xavier, he put up a 1.66 ERA at Short Season Aberdeen last year before beginning 2018 at Class A Delmarva. There, he made a mockery of the league by going 3-1 with a 1.16 ERA, a 0.68 WHIP, and a 51/9 K/BB over 31 innings before a promotion to High A Frederick. He kept on rolling there, going 5-3 with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP while striking out 100 and walking 26 in 92.2 innings. That brings his career minor league ERA and WHIP to 2.02 and 0.94, respectively.

RHP Rico Garcia (Rockies, 13-9, 2.96 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 162/42 K/BB in 167 IP at High A and AA)
Garcia's numbers are better than they look on the surface. He started at High A Lancaster, which is the most extreme hitters' park in the most extreme hitters' league in the minors, yet he still went a respectable 7-7 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP over 16 games (15 starts), striking out 101 and walking 22 in 100 innings. It showed in his splits, with a 6.11 ERA at home and a 1.95 ERA on the road despite pitching in mostly hitters' parks even on the road. Up at AA Hartford in a more neutral environment, his numbers looked much better, as he went 6-2 with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP over 67 innings, striking out 61 to 20 walks. His ability to post a sub-3.00 ERA for the season despite pitching nearly two thirds of it as a member of the Lancaster JetHawks is pretty notable.

Bonus Reliever

Austen Williams (Nationals, 3-3, 1.19 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 89/17 K/BB in 68 IP at AA and AAA)
I wanted to put a spot in here for a reliever, as starters (rightly) get all the glory in awards like this, but Nationals' prospect Austen Williams had a year to remember from the bullpen. He had a huge year as a starter in 2015 (2.58 ERA, 1.10 WHIP across three levels), but he stalled in 2016 (5.45 ERA) and 2017 (5.52) before transitioning to the bullpen for 2018. He has taken off in that role, beginning with an exceptional run through the AA Eastern League (1.39 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 69/13 K/BB in 51.2 innings) before a promotion to AAA Syracuse. He was even better there, posting a 0.55 ERA, a 0.61 WHIP, and a 20/4 strikeout to walk ratio in 16.1 innings. He went multiple innings in most of his relief appearances and had some pretty great games. His best run of the year came sandwiched around his promotion from AA to AAA, as from July 24th to August 13th, he tossed 11.2 shutout innings on no hits, one walk, and 15 strikeouts. You read that correctly: just one baserunner, a walk, in 11.2 innings.