Philadelphia Phillies Hit The Jackpot With Game Involving Future Stars

Something important is going to happen on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium, home of the Reading (Pa.) Philadelphia Phillies’ affiliate, which goes by the name of the “Fightin’ Phils.” On that night, the current MLB team will square off against a team of the top 25 prospects in the farm system. It could be the highlight of what figures to be a long season for the Phillies fans lucky enough to make the trip, because the future is far more promising than the immediate present.

While the Phillies have a number of young players on the roster, like third baseman Maikel Franco and pitcher Aaron Nola, they really have a deeper pool of talent with upside at the Double-A and Triple-A levels and those will be the players the Phillies will be going against. Those players include shortstop J.P. Crawford, who currently ranks No. 5 among all MLB prospects and will be playing for the Future Stars team. Jake Thompson, a pitcher who came over in the trade for Cole Hamels a year ago, will be on that team as well, as will prospects the organization ranking Nos. 1-25.

The game was born out of trying to do something special to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of Reading’s Double-A affiliation with the parent club, which is the longest in baseball. Two days later, the same two teams will make the trip to Philadelphia to play at Citizens Bank Park. The idea is a terrific one, because the thought had been that the Phillies would merely play the Double-A club, but Reading management floated this idea and it immediate had more appeal.

It will be the first exhibition game in Reading featuring the Phillies in 16 years. The last one drew over 9,307 fans to see the Reading Phillies defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2, on May 8, 2000.  This crowd will likely top that one as the biggest ever to see baseball in Reading, and that’s more a testament to the future than the present.