Philly Front Office

The Minor League season is over with no playoffs for anyone on the horizon. Let’s take a look at how the seasons went for our top prospects. To make it easy, let’s use the MLB Pipeline rankings:

Gone But Not Forgotten

This prospects were traded during the season. To fully experience this section, play In the Arms of an Angel by Sarah McLachlan

• Eduardo Tait (52)- Traded for Jhoan Duran. If Tait can stick behind the plate, this might end up being a big blow to the system, if he can’t then it was a very good use of resources.
• Mick Abel – Traded for Jhoan Duran. Abel was the most likely to be traded in the system due to the surplus of starting pitching and his unexpected breakout. Thanks buddy.
• Hendry Mendez – Traded for Harrison Bader. Mendez had a solid .800+ OPS season but was likely going to be the victim of a roster crunch this winter in the Rule 5 draft
• Geremy Villoria – Traded for Harrison Bader. He is an incredibly young prospect recently signed out of Venezuela.

Phillies Draft Class Signings

Top 20

1. Andrew Painter (10): Painter had a rough go in 2025. After originally thought to debut “July-ish”, Painter floundered in AAA instead with a 5.40 ERA. I’m here to give you the Aaron Rodgers RELAX speech. Painter is now 2 full years from Tommy John surgery. While his velocity and “stuff” are back it is the command that has suffered. Did anyone see post-TJ Sandy Alcantara this season? He was still at 99mph, but would get blown up sometimes out of nowhere. Painter (and Sandy) will be much better next season. A side-goal for this year was for Painter to simply log innings, which he did. His previous high was 103, but he saw 118 this season. That sets him up for around 150 next year. No, 2025 did not go as optimistically planned, but the luster has not worn off his golden arm. Remember, he will just be turning 23 at the start of next season.
2. Aidan Miller (47): For the notoriously slow adjuster Miller, 2025 was a tale of two seasons. Before the trade deadline, he struggled to adapt to AA pitching. It should be noted that he walked a ton, stole all the bases, and convinced people that he could remain at shortstop, but the hitting wasn’t there. His average was .222 through July. Then, I guess when he realized he would not be traded, it all clicked. Over the last two months, which included a promotion to AAA, Miller hit .356 without sacrificing any walks for hits. This wasn’t some torrid hot streak where every ball fell in, he had 31 walks to 29 strikeouts and a .457 OBP. That’s PROFESSIONAL hitting. I had previously ruled out Miller for making the 2026 Phillies out of the Spring, but the team may seriously consider moving Bohm to bring up Miller. Fair warning though, it will take him a little while to adjust to ML pitching. It has happened at every level. To help with this transition and to keep his hot streak going, the Phillies are sending him to the Arizona Fall League.
3. Justin Crawford (64): Crawford killed it this year. No caveats, he hit .334/.411/.452 with 58 stolen bases as a 21-year-old in AAA. Any other team in the majors would have brought him up this year; it’s unclear why the Phillies didn’t (he was concussed by the end, but it was pretty clear they weren’t bringing him up by that point). The knock on Crawford is that he hits the ball on the ground at an absurd rate, and most scouts feel that so many of his hits will be gobbled up by Major League fielding. I get it, and it is not realistic for him to hit .334 in the majors, but he also went 58:94 in BB/SO. He simply has a great eye at the plate. Let him get stronger and figure the rest out in the majors next year.
4. Gage Wood: Wood was drafted for his electric fastball that generated 19 Ks during his CWS no hitter. His other pitches need work though. He pitched 37 innings for Arkansas this season and the Phillies had him go once for Clearwater. After some injury plagued seasons, expect the Phillies to take next year decently slow with the prospect to help him build his durability. He will be 22 in December, so there is no rush here. Even if he’s crushing it, I bet his promotion will be to the bullpen to keep the innings around 100.
5. Aroon Escobar: Escobar is a 20-year-old from Venezuela rocketed up 3 levels this season, finishing in AA Reading. He crushed Low A through May but slumped in June, but then began hitting again after being promoted to Lakewood. He is a righty hitting infielder who has a solid knowledge of the strike zone despite being so young. He finished the year with a solid .270 average, but a very good .360 OBP. He will probably start the year in Reading. If he starts solid, expect him to be the big Phillies trade piece next deadline.
6. Dante Nori: Nori was the Phillies first round pick last year and had a solid but star-crossed season across 3 levels. The good is that he is only 20, finished the year in AA, stole 50 bags, and walked just about as much as he struck out. The bad is that he is a 5’9″ outfielder with a .372 slugging percentage. The speed and knowledge of the strike zone make him a good leadoff candidate in the majors, but if the contact part leaves him, he could top out as a 4th outfielder defensive replacement. He obviously has plenty of time though and will go to the AFL with Miller.
7. Cade Obermueller: The Phillies never seem to have weird pitchers right? Some throw hard, some throw soft, but no one is weird. Cade Obermueller is weird. The Phillies 2nd round pick is a 6′ lefty side-armer that can touch 98. He struck out 117 in 83 innings last year while giving up only 5 HRs. He didn’t debut this year, but will probably start in AA next year as a 22-year-old. Expect him to get to around 120 innings as a starter but will be in the bullpen conversation down the stretch in 2026 with a good showing.
8. Moises Chace: The Phillies got Chace for basically nothing (Gregory Soto) last year from the Orioles. He got into 6 games this season and 6 last season for the Phillies striking out 67 in 45 innings. Unfortunately, he underwent Tommy John surgery in May. Next year will be all about recovery and getting innings rather than performance for the 22 year old. His previous high was 80 innings. Getting him to 100 might be out of reach next year, but with the AFL, that will probably be the goal.
9. Gabriel Rincones Jr.: The almost 25-year-old Rincones is what he is at this point. A strong side platoon corner outfielder who is unplayable against lefties. In 65 at bats against southpaws this season he slashed .107/.215/.107. Geez that’s bad. Against righties though, he has incredible power and a great knowledge of the strike zone (76 walks to 97 Ks). I don’t really see how he fits this team next year but could join the ML outfield mix with someone like Otto Kemp if necessary.
10. Matthew Fisher – Fisher was the big overslot signing for the Phillies this year. He is a great pitcher’s build at 6’3″ and 200 pounds at only 19. He throws 4 pitches (FB, CB, SL, CH) and gets the FB up to the mid 90s. The team has very high hopes for him.
11. Jean Cabrera: Cabrera is almost 24 and pitched in Reading for the full year. Somehow he gets his fastball into the mid 90s despite being 6′ and only 150 pounds! He faded down the stretch a bit, but he also topped his previous innings threshold by about 30. Expect him to be in the AAA rotation next year and could be in the mix for spot starts if the need arises.
12. Griffin Burkholder: GB was drafted a round after Dante Nori last year and fits a similar profile but taller. He is a fast outfielder who really needs to make contact to be considered a major leaguer someday. Unfortunately, most of his career so far has been spent doing 2 things: being hurt and not hitting. Still, he only just turned 20 so there is plenty of time to get healthy and get his reps in. He was actually demoted earlier in the year before being lost for the season to injury in mid-July. Yikes.
13. Carson DeMartini: DeMartini will be a 23-year-old for AA next year. After crushing High A, he came back down to Earth in Reading. He looks to be another platoon type but in the infield. His numbers against lefties were putrid, hitting well below .200 with a sub .600 OPS. He got everyone excited at the beginning of last year, but I don’t see it. He has apparently become a good fielder at 3rd at least.
14. Devin Saltiban: The Hawaiian spent most of the season in high A and did not hit very much. His calling card is speed, but he simply wasn’t on base enough to use it. He is only 20 though, so expect another year to catch up in Lakewood with a promotion to AA hopefully late in the year if he can make more contact.
15. Keaton Anthony: The Keaton Anthony story is worth knowing. Before the draft, his entire Iowa team was implicated in a gambling scandal. Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing, Anthony went undrafted despite a 2nd round projection. That stinks for his bonus, but was great for the Phillies who picked up a VERY solid hitter. He is a little older at 24, but in 82 games between AA and AAA this year, Anthony hit .323/.378/.484 while playing first base and right field and batting from the right side. There is not an impossible shot for Anthony to debut next year and stick if the team parts ways with Nick Castellanos. That would be especially appropriate because like Nick, Anthony is a doubles guy, hitting 31 last season (in 84 games). When new rankings come out next year, expect Anthony to be in the Top-10.
16. Wen-Hui Pan: Pan was a big signing out of Taiwan in 2023. His upper 90s heat and nasty splitter makes him a high-end reliever in the future. Unfortunately, after a great debut in 2024 (29 innings, 35 Ks, 2.15 ERA) Pan missed the entire 2025 season with TJ surgery (November). He should be ready for spring training and will hopefully recover his velocity to the point that he might be a late season option for the big club. He is probably the most exciting bullpen arm in the system since Orion Kerkering.
17. Bryan Rincon: The slick fielding 21 year old spent the season in High A and tanked at the plate hitting only .181. He did have a solid 50 walks and .304 OBP on the year which allowed hm to rack up 40 steals, but there is very little ability to handle velocity here. He needs to get much stronger.
18. Sean Youngerman: Youngerman may sound like an unreleased Pearl Jam song, but he can pitch too. He was drafted in the 4th round this year as a late riser. In his lone season at Oklahoma State, he had a 2.08 ERA in 52 innings. The peripherals were on point too: 59 Ks, 8 walks, 3 HRs given up, and a fantastic pitcher’s body at 6’3″ and 230 pounds. He started 6 games and came out of the pen for 14 more. The Phillies will probably give him the chance to start with that frame.
19. TJayy Walton: The extra Y to for extra yoked. Walton is a 6′ and 225 pound outfielder who is fast and strong. Unfortunately, he was all kinds of injured this year and slumped his way to a .200 average over 40 games. It was a lost season, but with a solid hit tool and some consistency at bats, Walton can hopefully break out next year.
20. Alex McFarlane: McFarlane is a big pitcher with a big fastball. TJ surgery saw him add muscle that now has his fastball up and over 100 mph. Despite being 24 and probably destined for the bullpen as soon as next year, the Phillies still threw him into 18 starts last year to get his innings up post-surgery. His overall numbers on the season are rough (4.84 ERA), but over his final 12 appearances at High A he had 39 Ks in 33 innings with a 1.89 ERA and .439 OPS against. Hopefully they move him to the pen full time next year in AA.

Just One More

Gabe Craig: He isn’t ranked in the system, but Craig should be on everyone’s radar next year, possibly even out of Spring Training. Why? Take a look at these stats from college this season:

ERA	ER	Walks	SO	HR/A	IP	SO:W	WHIP
.56	2	3	51	0	32	17	.500

Good lord! He is a 6’5″ righty with an absurd slider that MLB has graded at 70 (20-80 scale) which means it’s as awesome as Gage Wood’s fastball. Phillies Assistant GM Brian Barber said that the slider was the best pitch in college baseball this year. He made it up for 3 innings in Clearwater striking out 5 and walking 1. At only 23, he will be a WEAPON.

I Lied, Last One

Griff McGarry: Of course, not all destined weapons get to be deployed when they are expected. McGarry is now a post-hype prospect at 26 and not on the Phillies Top-30 anymore. However, he did just win the Paul Owens award as our best minor league pitcher (probably because Mick Abel isn’t here anymore). How did that happen? Because he might FIANLLY be putting it all together. McGarry has always had the best raw stuff in the system, but deals with absurdly bad losses of control that would make Rick Vaughn blush. This year, there were significantly less blow ups. Over his last 8 start between AA and AAA, McGarry went 38 innings, striking out 66 (!) and walking 19. That’s still a lot of walks, but it’s also 15.5 Ks per 9 innings. The Phillies should never quit Griff because if he ever really figures it out, he is going to be lights out.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference. Prospect list courtesy of mlb.com.

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