I think we need to revisit how well we think our last 3 #1 draft picks have been performing.
To do that, I think you need to look at all of the Phillies who have come up through the system in the last 15 years and see how they've performed at Lakewood and Clearwater, then compare to Randolph. My point is that we've had very few prospects put up video game numbers in Lakewood and Clearwater because those are tough leagues to hit in. In fact, most guys who are truly prospects don't really start putting up the video game numbers until they hit Reading
Cornelius Randolph turned 20 on the 2nd of June and he's shown definite improvement as the year has progressed, he's increased his walk rate and cut down on strikeouts. He ahs also yet to face a pitcher who is younger than he is.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=randol000cor&type=bgl&year=2017
For comparison, Chase Utley was 22 in Clearwater and put up a 257/324/422 line, not exactly a predictor of things to come
Aaron Altherr was 21 in Lakewood and 22 in Clearwater where he put up a 275/337/455 line, struggled in Reading as a 23 year old and then broke out the following year. he's now the best hitter on the team
Maikel Franco on the other hand put up video game numbers as a 20 yr old in Clearwater with a 299/349/576 line. We're ready to run him out of town right now and he's posting a negative WAR
Jimmy Rollins was 19 and put up a 244/306/354 line in Clearwater and is probably a good comparison to what Mickey Moniak is doing right now.
Ryan Howard's performance at Lakewood and Clearwater didn't scream MVP, he finally broke out in a big way when he hit Reading.
The point I'm making is that you can't judge what Mickey Moniak is doing, you can't look at what C Randolph is doing and call them busts. The most important thing to me is that they're young and playing every day. I really like the improvement Randolph is showing in strike zone mastery and would predict that he puts up really good numbers in Reading next year provided he stays healthy.