"Player development and scouting has always been the backbone of every organization," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said three weeks ago. "It's been the backbone of ours for many years. We've had many players playing right now, our core guys, putting us in a position of success every year. They're all homegrown guys. We've got to get back to bringing that caliber of player back to our system. That's our goal."