Phillies going all in with shortstops

In December the Phillies moved on from their all-time hit leader,Jimmy Rollins, by dealing the shortstop with the Dodgers, creating a void to be filled at his position.

The Phillies have seem to have done just that…. and then some.

With Freddy Galvis, their current shortstop playing solid ball in the majors andRollins’ air-apparent J.P. Crawford tearing things up in the minors, the Phils shocked many by using two of their top three draft picks Monday and Tuesday on a position of strength.

Galvis was the obvious choice to slide into the vacancy at shortto begin the season and the 25 year-old has been one of the most consistent hitters on the team, especially in the months of April and May.Galvis’ future, however, could possibly be diminished with a move to his more familiar position of second base when Chase Utley retires, is traded or moved to first base.

Back in 2013, the front office knew that Rollins best years were behind him and that a future long-term replacement was needed.With the 16^thpick in that same year’s draft, the Phillies selected shortstop J.P. Crawford out of Lakewood High School in California. Crawford busted onto the Minor League scene, moving his way up to Double-A at the young age of 20.

Crawford is emerging as the shortstop of the future with a defensive game and speed like Rollins and batting .333 through nine games so far with the Fightin Phils.

Monday night’s first round showed the Phillies front office pulling a baffling move to most fans of the rebuilding squadselectinga shortstop at No. 10, high schoolerCornelius Randolph.

Luckily for the puzzledfan base, scouting director Johnny Almarez said the18-year-old out of Griffin High School in Georgiawould most likely playin left field.

Randolph was drafted for his well-rounded skill set, especially for his offensive game during his senior season when he battedover .500, had 20-plus steals and seven home runs.

These attributes can help to clear the minds of fans and players alike, however the next two rounds saw middle-infielders come off the board again for the Phillies with second-basemen out of Arizona Scott Kingery and another shortstop in Lucas Williams from Dana Hills High School.

The plethora of young infielders shows a bit of a possible plan in place. Although they are still young and could possibly be moved to the outfield, many may wonder if they are future trade bait.

And Freddy Galvis wonders if he is in the front offices long-term plans.