Klentak pleased with Phillies’ progress

PHILADELPHIA — With 35 games in the rearview mirror, the Phillies are quickly approaching baseball’s quarter mark. And, at 20-15, they’re doing so with force.

Game by game, first-year general manager Matt Klentak continues to get more material to evaluate. As the sample size grows, so does the accuracy with which he’s able to judge his young team.

And so far, the verdict has been pretty good.

“A lot of really good baseball people will talk about ‘the quarter pole,’ somewhere in the 40-game neighborhood,” Klentak said prior to Friday’s game against the Reds. “We’re able to see some things that have taken place in the first six weeks that are positive. And some things that are not. But I think we have a pretty good sense in the way this team is shaping up.”

This is a roster built on the foundation of young talent, with a mix of veterans, non-roster invites and waiver claims.

On one corner of the infield is a 23-year-old budding star in Maikel Franco. On the other is a player in the final year of a 5-year, $125 million contract, Ryan Howard, who has come to terms with a platoon role. And on most nights, they bat third and fourth in the Phillies’ lineup.

As the season progresses, names like J.P. Crawford and Nick Williams — the Phillies’ No. 1 and No. 3 prospects, respectively — are expected to begin taking the place of those …

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