Time to Get Real Phillie Fans

The Phillies are a deplorable baseball team.

But you don't need another stupid blog to tell you that. Here's the kicker: settle in, because it's not getting better anytime soon.

David Murphy did a good job the other day explaining why the Phillies are not the latest turnaround story to follow the Astros, Cubs and the like.

To recap, the organizational depth was so bad, just building a prospect baseline was going to take at least three years. That part is essentially done.

Need a No. 4 starter prospect? Phils got ya covered.

I bought into the hype as much as anybody. As the likes of Zach Eflin, Ben Lively, Jake Thompson, Jerad Eickhoff, Nick Pivetta and others rolled in, it felt like National Signing Day and we were all Nick Saban.

A closer look revealed that "______ projects as a No. 4 or 5 starter." I shook it off. After all, we need No. 4 and 5 starters, and surely one or two from the group will surprise, right?

At this point, it looks like it might be going the other way. Maybe a couple of those guys will stick as Kyle Kendrick-type fringe ML starters. Some others will succumb to injury, or just never escape AAA.

To be blunt -- the Phils lack top-end talent. There's no Sandy Koufax, let alone a Don Drysdale. There's no 6, no 11 and certainly no 26.

Aaron Nola is the best of the bunch on the hill. On June 5, 2016, he authored six shutout innings vs. the Milwaukee Brewers to lower his ERA to 2.65. In 14 starts since then, Nola is 3-8 with a 7.45 ERA.

Nola seems like an earnest kid with a serene maturity about him. I think his career will closer mirror Roy Halladay than David Clyde. But right now, it's not good.

Then there's Maikel Franco. He's hitting .219. At least that's better than JP Crawford, who checks in from Lehigh Valley at .196.

It might be time to consider the idea that these are not the future cornerstones to turn the franchise around.

So the next time a junior Phillie is mashing at LV or Reading, I will remind myself that it's a very different stage at Citizen's Bank Park. For that reason, I'm not mentioning the LV first baseman or the Reading second baseman.

The Phillies need stars. They need some luck. Mickey Moniak also seems like a nice kid and might have a nice career, but they need to draft No. 1 in a year featuring a Bryce Manny Bryant prospect at the top of the class.

Maybe the 2018 draft. And maybe they sniff .500 in 2019.

Until then, let's console ourselves with the best thing the 2017 Phillies have going: Howie Kendrick is hitting .345.

If he keeps this up, he'll surely net us a No. 4 or 5 starter prospect at the deadline.