Phillies should be open-minded about playing kids

Washington Nationals outfielder and 2015 Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper played in 130 minor league games before being called up to the big leagues early in the 2012 season.

Except for a few rehabilitation games, the 23-year-old has not returned to the minors.

Mike Trout had brief call ups by the Los Angeles Angels in 2011. Still, the 2014 American League MVP only needed 286 minor league games to become a full-time major-leaguer.

Phillies shortstop prospect J.P. Crawford will have 283 minor league games under his belt when he comes to spring training as a non-roster invitee.

This organization's history says that no matter how well the 21-year-old Crawford performs during the Grapefruit League he will have almost no chance of coming up to Philadelphia for Opening Day.

Bringing up a player drafted just two years ago is not the way the Phillies typically do things. For various reasons, the organization takes a more patient approach – no matter how highly-rated the prospect.

Ryan Howard played nearly 500 minor league games and hit over 100 home runs before the Phillies finally called him up for good midway through the 2005 season.

Chase Utley played almost 500 games in the minors and Jimmy Rollins more than 500 before the Phillies deemed them ready.

Had the 2015 Phillies not been busy posting the worst record in the majors, it is doubtful whether third baseman Maikel Franco and then pitcher Aaron Nola would have been called up last season after just 29 minor league starts.

With nothing but hope to sell, former general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. did so with hesitance – even though Franco had played more than 500 games in the minors and Nola was tagged as major league ready when he was drafted seventh overall out of Louisiana State University in 2014.

Franco's and Nola's promising performances were the highlights of 2015.

Coming off a 99-loss season, hope for the future is all the Phillies have to sell for 2016.

They conceded they are rebuilding and did not dip deeply into the free agent market. The likes of Freddie Galvis, Darin Ruf and Odubel Herrera are not going to get a cascade of fans to file into Citizens Bank Park.

A good look at the future, however, would be worth a few nights at the ballpark in South Philadelphia.

I have never bought the argument that bringing up a prospect too soon could ruin his career. If a player is so mentally weak that he cannot overcome some early struggles, odds are he would never make it as an impact player no matter how much minor league seasoning he received.

Dominic Brown did not fail because the Phillies rushed him. He was 26 and had played over 500 games in the minors and 147 in the majors before getting his full-time shot in 2013.

Brown failed because he did not have enough talent to adjust to major league pitching.

In addition to Crawford, the Phillies' non-roster invitees include top prospects like pitchers Jake Thompson and Zach Eflin, catcher Andrew Knapp and outfielder Nick Williams.

I am not saying the Phillies should automatically bring any of them with them from Clearwater – especially if the only motivation would be to sell tickets.That would be counter-productive.

Management, however, should keep an open mind to the fact that one or more of them could earn their way to a spot on the major league roster through their performance during spring training.

If that happens, the Phillies should not instinctively send them to the minors.

Just imagine if the Nationals had thought that way concerning Harper or the Angels with Trout.

You never know how a player will perform in the big leagues until he gets the chance.