The Phillies need arms, but Carlos Carrasco is coming quickly.

The Phillies finally got over that hurdle. For so many seasons, they were a great second place team. It was second place to the Braves for a while, and then it was second place to the Mets. Now, they are runner-ups to no one, having finally won the NL East. Now, the trick is to do it again.

The team will have to do it without much help from the farm system, as the best prospects here are not exactly right around the corner – heck, they are not even within a few blocks, let alone around the corner.

1. Carlos Carrasco, Starting Pitcher

Carrasco spent the 2006 in the South Atlantic League and he was simply brilliant, going 12-6 with a 2.26 ERA, striking out 159 and walking only 65 in 159 1/3 innings. Having just barely turned 20, Carrasco opened the 2007 season in the Florida State League, where he continued to roll off spectacular numbers, with 53 strikeouts and 22 walks in 69 2/3 innings. Opposing batters hit just .199 against Carrasco. Pleased with his progress, the Phillies promoted Carrasco to Double-A, and his results there showed that the move came too soon. In 14 appearances, 13 as a starter, Carrasco was 6-4 with a 4.86 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 46 walks in 70 1/3 innings. Carrasco needs to get those control numbers back in line before the Phillies move him again, so look for him to return to Double-A in 2008, where he will still be quite young for the league at just 21.

2. Adrian Cardenas, Second Base

Cardenas spent the 2007 in the South Atlantic League where he put up some nice numbers for a 19-year-old middle infielder. Over 127 games, Cardenas hit .295 with 9 home runs, 20 stolen bases, 79 RBI, and 70 runs scored in 499 at-bats. The Phillies should be cautious here due to Cardenas’ age, and their obvious lack of need up the middle, but he should move up to Double-A to open 2008.

3. Joe Savery, Starting Pitcher

A first round selection out of Rice, Savery spent the end of the 2007 season in the New York/Penn League, where he posted a record of 2-3 with a 2.73 ERA over seven games, with 22 strikeouts and 13 walks in 26 1/3 innings. Sent out to the Arizona Fall League to pick up more innings, Savery was 1-1 with a 0.64 ERA, and he limited hitters to a .091 batting average. The batting average is impressive, but it was partially because hitters had no idea where the ball was going to be, nor did Savery himself, as he also allowed 11 walks, and struck out just five, in 14 innings. Despite the control issues, though, the Phillies are likely to promote Savery aggressively, especially with their perpetual need for pitching, so look for him to start out at Double-A at least, if not Triple-A.

4. Dominic Brown, Outfield

A 20th round selection out of high school in 2006, Brown spent the 2007 season in the NY/Penn League after a disappointing 2006 performance in the Gulf Coast League. His results in the NY/Penn League would be much more promising, however, as he would hit .295 with three home runs, 32 RBI, 43 runs, 11 doubles, and 14 stolen bases in 285 at-bats over 74 games. All that was as a 19-year-old too. At the very least, Brown should move up to Low-A for the beginning of this season.

5. Josh Outman, Starting Pitcher

Things were going beautifully for Outman while he was in Clearwater in the FSL, as he was 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA, striking out 117 and walking only 54 in 117 1/3 innings in 20 games. He hit a speed bump in Double-A, however, as he was 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA there, with a 34:23 K/BB ratio in 42 innings in seven starts. His ratio improved in his short time in the AFL, but he was also quite hittable there too. As such, Outman is likely to open the 2008 season in Double-A, but he is not going to stick there long provided he shows more of what he did in High-A than what he was doing in Double-A last year.

6. Greg Golson, Outfield

Golson followed the same pattern Outman did to his season, going from Clearwater to Reading and then out to the desert. Golson put up solid numbers at Clearwater, hitting .285 with 12 home runs, 52 RBI, 66 runs scored, and 25 stolen bases in 418 at-bats over 99 games, but he struggled when he hit Double-A, as his average dropped over 40 points and he popped just three homers in 153 at-bats. He would rebound somewhat in the AFL, but not much, as he hit .266 with two homers, sixteen RBI, eight steals, and seventeen runs scored in 109 at-bats. Like Outman, more time is needed for Golson in Double-A.

7. Jason Donald, Shortstop

Middle infield is not a need at all in this system, but here with go with another stud up the middle. Donald started out in the Sally League, but he would move up from there after 51 games and hitting .310 with four home runs, 30 RBI, 41 runs scored, 9 doubles, and 2 stolen bases. Moving up to the FSL, Donald continued to hit, with a .300 batting average, 8 home runs, 41 RBI, 48 runs scored, 22 doubles, and 3 stolen bases. The homers should come with time, with some of those doubles leaving the park as he continues to develop.

8. Lou Marson, Catcher

A catcher that can hit – they could have used one of those in the bigs in 2007. Marson did quite well for himself at the plate in 2007, hitting .288 with seven home runs, 63 RBI, 68 runs, 24 doubles, and 3 steals in 393 at-bats. Those doubles come from his power, not his great catcher’s speed, so look for those to start turning in to homers as he continues to mature.

9. Kyle Drabek, Starting Pitcher

Drabek had stud potential and a significant pedigree (father Doug Drabek), but he is also out of action now thanks to Tommy John surgery, and he will be out until 2009. His numbers were good, not great, in Lakeland before the surgery, and we really have no idea how good he will be when he finally returns. If he is 100% when he does return, he moves way up this list, but consider us skeptical, and we hedge out bets accordingly.

10. Andrew Carpenter, Starting Pitcher

The ace for Clearwater this season, Carpenter was 17-6 with a 3.20 ERA in 27 appearances (24 as a starter), with 116 strikeouts and 53 walks in 163 innings. Nice, solid numbers, but he does not look, at least right now, like front of the rotation material. Of course, a rotation is more than No. 1 and No. 2 starters, so Carpenter will have his uses, just not as a stud.