Dusty Wathan to manage Phillies' prospect-laden Triple A club in 2017

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Change has been the overriding theme of all things Phillies over the last year couple of years.
 
Changes have stretched from the executive level to the dugout to the playing field and the amateur scouting staff.
 
Now it has come to the player-development staff.
 
Dusty Wathan, who managed at Double A Reading the last five seasons, will manage the Triple A Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 2017. He will replace Dave Brundage, whose contract was not renewed after four seasons on the job (see story).
 
Phillies general manager Matt Klentak made an impromptu announcement of Wathan’s promotion as he spoke with reporters in the dugout before Thursday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
 
Wathan’s promotion is well deserved. The 43-year-old son of former Kansas City Royals catcher and skipper John Wathan was the Eastern League’s manager of the year the last two seasons. His most recent clubs were stocked with prospects. His 2016 team finished with the second-best record in all of minor-league baseball. He will oversee another prospect-laden club at Triple A in 2017.
 
“I’m very thankful and excited for the opportunity,” said Wathan, who has joined the Phillies' coaching staff for the remainder of the big-league season.
 
“It’s all about the players, ultimately. I don’t like to take a lot of credit for a lot of things because if you have good players, you end up being a good manager. It’s satisfying to be able to be recognized by the organization and that they have enough confidence in me to go to the next level and help mold some of these guys and get them ready to be here.”
 
Next year’s Triple A club will feature prospects such as shortstop J.P. Crawford, first baseman Rhys Hoskins and outfielders Nick Williams and Dylan Cozens, among others. Crawford and Williams will be holdovers who could make the jump to the majors at some point in 2017. It’s possible that outfielder Roman Quinn and catcher Jorge Alfaro, both currently in the majors for a September look, could be at Lehigh Valley, as well, at the start of next season.
 
Klentak said managing at Triple A was the toughest job in player development because the blend of older veterans and young prospects requires some deft balancing from the skipper.
 
Wathan is ready for the challenge. The former catcher played just three games in the majors (with Kansas City in 2002) during a professional career that lasted 14 seasons. He played eight seasons in Triple A, including two with the Phillies.
 
“I think it will be a unique situation next year just because we’ll have so many guys that came through the system, so many guys that have already played for me,” Wathan said. “It won’t be like a lot of ‘typical Triple A teams’ where we’re going to have a lot of free-agent guys that aren’t happy with the situation. We’re going to have a bunch of guys that have come through the system and are excited to try and get here. In that sense it will be unique to most Triple A teams.
 
“I don’t take this move lightly. It’s an important step, the place to finish these guys and get them ready for Philadelphia. It might be the most important step. The first day they walk on the field as a professional is a real important step, those first couple months, to establish a routine for them and to let them figure out what’s going on. But then also at the very end, to polish them at the end and make sure that they’re ready when they come here and they walk into Pete Mackanin’s office and they’re ready to go help win a ballgame.”
 
There could be more organizational changes in the coming weeks. Recently, the Phillies have fired three scouts, including the No. 2 man, from the amateur scouting staff (see story). Klentak came on board 11 months ago, preceded by new club president Andy MacPhail. It’s not uncommon for a new administration to make changes as it becomes more familiar with an organization.

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