Futures Game Offered a Lineup Teeming With Players Passed Over by Phillies

MIAMI -- From a Phillies perspective, Team USA's starting lineup in the Futures Game on Sunday was an interesting look at what might have been.

And we're not talking about first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who batted cleanup. No, he's still a Phillie and on his way (see story).

We're talking about the guys that batted around Hoskins, guys who the Phillies passed on acquiring in recent years.

Centerfielder Lewis Brinson, a Milwaukee Brewers prospect, batted second.

Leftfielder Derek Fisher, a Houston Astros prospect, batted third.

And third baseman Nick Senzel, a Cincinnati Reds prospect, batted fifth.

All of them could have been Phillies.

"I was close," Brinson said with a laugh before the game.

"Yeah, I might have been a Phillie," added Fisher.

Two summers ago, the Phillies sent Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman to the Texas Rangers for five prospects, pitchers Jerad Eickhoff, Alec Asher and Jake Thompson, catcher Jorge Alfaro and outfielder Nick Williams.

As former general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. disclosed to CSNPhilly.com in March, the Phils had their choice of Brinson or Williams in the deal. They liked both players but chose Williams because they thought he was closer to the majors.

Five months later, in December 2015, with Matt Klentak as general manager, the Phillies pulled off a big trade and sent closer Ken Giles and minor-league shortstop Jonathan Arauz to the Houston Astros for a package that included pitchers Vince Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer, Thomas Eshelman and Mark Appel.

Fisher was initially part of the trade, but the deal was reworked to include more pitching after the Phils had concerns about Velasquez' arm health. Appel was in, Fisher was out.

Fisher hails from the Hershey area. His cell phone blew up when it looked like he was headed to the Phillies.

"I was at home and Comcast SportsNet is everywhere so the second somebody hears that, knowing I'm a local guy, I'm going to hear it," he said. "But baseball is baseball and nothing was official and I'm still in Houston and I'm happy about it."

Fisher, 23, is a University of Virginia product with a pretty left-handed swing. He is hitting .306 with 19 homers, 56 RBIs and a .945 OPS in 74 games for the Astros' Triple A Fresno club this season. He spent five games in the majors and had five hits, including two homers, when Josh Reddick was the on the disabled list. He had a two-run single in Team USA's 7-6 win over the World squad Sunday.

Who knows, Fisher might be in the Phillies' outfield now if the trade had gone down as originally constructed. Time will tell if the Phillies made the right call.

"It's something where everything happens for a reason," Fisher said. "And I think this past year I've become a lot better baseball player with the organization I'm with and with the development that I've been given. Hindsight is 20-20. I don't know where I'd be (if he was traded), but I know where I am now and I'm happy to be an Astro."

Brinson, 23, was a first-round pick of the Rangers in 2012. He heard his name connected to the Phillies at the trade deadline in 2015.

"I was kind of nervous about it," he said.

Eventually, Brinson was traded - to Milwaukee in the Jonathan Lucroy deal last summer. Brinson had a cup of coffee in the majors this season but is now at Triple A Colorado Springs, where he's hitting .339 with 10 homers and 42 RBIs in 58 games.

He's not nervous about trades now.

"This has been a good opportunity and I'm glad it happened," he said. "I'm sure Nick is glad it happened to him and I'm glad to be where I'm at it. Kind of growing up with him in pro ball, I was very happy for him. I texted him after he got called up. You never know what your plan is in life. That was his plan. This is my plan."

As for Senzel, he was a consideration by the Phillies back in June 2016 when they had the top pick in the draft. Senzel, a University of Tennessee third baseman, was considered the top college hitter in the draft. The Phillies ended up taking outfielder Mickey Moniak first overall and Senzel went one pick later to Cincinnati.

The Phillies made their choices and the players they opted not to choose were right there in the same lineup Sunday afternoon.

Did the Phils make the right choices?

Time will tell.