The good news: your Philadelphia Phillies have two Top 100 prospects according to Baseball America’s 21st annual rankings. The bad news: The Fightins traded away four guys on the list in the last seven months.

Before anyone gets all riled up upon learning the identities of those on the list, just keep in mind these are rankings of prospects. Some will pan out and many others will not. In fact, a year ago players by the name of Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson made the list. This year, none of them are in the top 100.

Here are the Phillies who made the list: Dominic Brown (15) and Phillippe Aumont (93).

Dominic Brown is the top ranked Phillies prospect according to Baseball America.

Brown is up from being listed as the 48th best a year ago. Aumont, who came over in the Cliff Lee deal was no. 93 on the list in 2009 as well.

In listing the former Phillies farmhands who are on the list, let’s start with the man we gave up to get Lee — Jason Knapp, who comes in at no. 64. In essence, you could argue the Phils traded Knapp and the above former Top 100 prospects for Aumont and two other guys who have yet to crack the rankings.

The other former Phillies all were part of the Roy Halladay package: Travis d’Arnaud (81), Michael Taylor (29), and Kyle Drabek (25).

On paper, it looks like the Phillies have given up a lot to get Halladay. They did, but keep in mind two things.

First, Halladay is worth every player given up as he increases the Phillies chances of holding another parade this fall. The Phillies window is now, not three years from now.

Second, prospects are just that — prospects. Check back in a year to see if these guys are still climbing the rankings, or if they’ve fallen off the way Carrasco, Donald and Marson did.

Last year, that move was Raul Ibanez. What does this offseason have in store for the Phils? What do they need to do to stay on top of the NL and close the gap between them and the Yankees?

Following are a few thoughts, some obvious and others may shock you.

Could Shane Victorino be moved this offseason?

• Beef up the bullpen. Sign a guy as a set-up man who you can move to closer if needed. Brett Myers may be that guy. Also, resign Chan Ho Park and make get a lefty reliever in case JC Romero isn’t ready to go.

• Overhaul the starting rotation. Cliff Lee is here, and so is Cole Hamels. JA Happ figures to be the third guy. After that, are you comfortable with Joe Blanton and his increased wages due to arbitration? The Phils need to find legit guys to fill the back end of the rotation.
• Do not resign the Pedros. Martinez was a great guy for the role he filled. However, he can not be counted on to last a whole season and be effective. Resign him, and you are basically filling the 5th spot with Jamie Moyer. Again. Feliz is a vacuum at third, but he didn’t hit as well this year and is 34 years old. Adrian Beltre is four years younger and a decent defensive player. Maybe take a look at hime.
• Spend the money to get a legit infielder/bench guy. You need someone to take the pressure off of Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins. They are over 30 and need breaks during the season. One name thrown around in the media is Marco Scutaro from the Blue Jays. He just enjoyed a cfine season hitting .282 with 12 homers. He will cost more than Bruntlett, but can fill the role.
• Trade Jayson Werth or Shane Victorino for a starting pitcher. This is a huge gamble that many fans will question. However, this is exactly the type of move that Gillick was talking about, and it will help the payroll. The Phillies will not spend a lot more money, yet they have players who will see major bumps in arbitration this offseason. The fact is, after next year, you won’t keep both of these outfielders anyway. The values of those two players will never be higher and now is the time to bring up Michael Taylor. Platoon him with Ben Francisco in right to start the year. Taylor is a legit top-10 prospect with power. It’s only a matter of time until he is ready to play everyday. And, you still have Dominic Brown coming up through the ranks to take Ibanez’s spot in 2011 or 2012. The Phillies are set at outfield for the foreseeable future.
• If you are able to trade one of the outfielders, make a run for Joe Mauer at catcher. We all love Chooch, but he is what he is. Mauer is a legit weapon at the plate, and could ultimately make a move to first when he gets older and Ryan Howard leaves via free agency. Craig Biggio made a similar move to second midway through his career. (EDITED: Mauer is not a free agent until December 2010. The Phillies will not pursue him in a trade.)

The Phillies do have some tweaking to do, and will likely make a big move if Ruben Amaro stays with the Gillick formula. When that shoe drops, questions will be asked and heads will shake. However, how can you argue with a formula that has brought us two the doorstep of back-to-back world championships?