Top Prospects
RHP Gage Wood – Wood was the Phillies top draft pick in 2025. There have been a lot of attempts to portray him as a fast mover through the system, the Phillies have generally been more conservative with their timelines for him. His fastball, which will sit 95-98, is going to overwhelm low minors hitters. As will his cutter and curveball, but he needs to improve the feel and command of those pitches in order to succeed at higher levels. It remains to be seen how much he will start working in a changeup, but it is a pitch he will need. The Phillies want him to be a starting pitcher, but he threw only 39.2 innings last year, so they will need to build him carefully. He probably won’t be in Clearwater very long.
LHP Cade Obermueller – Obermueller returned to college in 2025 and finally threw enough strikes to have a breakout season. He will sit mostly low 90s from a low sweeping angle, but he has touched the upper 90s as well. He is working on a cutter, but his big pitch will be a plus sweeper. He needs to improve his changeup and command to stick in a rotation, but if he can improve his velocity he could be a good starting pitcher.
RHP Cody Bowker – Bwoker only throws in the low 90s, but he has a funky delivery that lets him throw a sinker from a very flat angle. His changeup is his best secondary pitch, and he will need to improve his two breaking balls (slider and sweeper) this year to really emerge as a top prospect in the system. A little velocity growth, could also go a long way for him.
RHP Sean Youngerman – Youngerman had a disastrous spring breakout, but that one partial inning shouldn’t define his season. He is a strike thrower with solid fastball characteristics, and will need to find useable secondary pitches to stick in a rotation. He has more development needed than some of the other pitchers the Phillies drafted last year.
C Alirio Ferrebus – Ferrebus has now spent multiple seasons stuck behind other better catching prospects, and then having his year derailed by injuries. He is now unblocked by Eduardo Tait and should get a decent amount of playing time to prove that he can hit and that he can stick behind the plate. He does not always make the best quality of contact, but he can really drive the ball at times. He is on the cusp of doing enough to be an everyday catcher.
OF Griffin Burkholder – It isn’t entirely true to say that Burkholder has been bad, because he doesn’t have enough time on the field to make that be entirely true. He really hasn’t been healthy, and he needs to stay on the field before any more judgements really can occur. He has power, speed, and athleticism in a way that could make him a top prospect. He also has struggled to make contact in the limited time that he has been healthy.
RHP Brad Pacheco – Pacheco is on the shortlist of early breakouts. Last year he touched 97 a few times, but was mostly 92-95. This spring he has been more 95-98 and was up to 99 in the Spring Breakout. His curveball is a bit harder now, but he has a new slider/cutter that looks like it will be his primary offspeed pitch. He has shown feel for a changeup as well. If he can hold this velocity he is a very interesting starting pitching prospect, and if he can’t then there is a clear relief role.
Under the Radar
SS Matthew Ferrara – The Phillies took Ferrara in the 9th round of the 2025 draft, and at just 18 years old he will be one of the younger members of the Threshers. He will probably move around the infield some, but is listed at shortstop. He struggled at times last year with swing and miss and contact quality.
RHP Brian Walters – Walters was a reliever in college, and has a prototypical reliever arsenal with a mid to upper 90s fastball and a sweeper. He is working on a cutter and a change, to go with a possible move to the rotation.
LHP Zuher Yousuf – Yousuf is a short lefty, who pitched well for the Threshers last year after blitzing through multiple levels of the system. He is throwing a touch higher this spring, but is mostly low 90s with a good feel for pitching. His slider is a below average pitch, but god some swings and misses on it, and he has confidence in his changeup as well.
RHP Marty Gair – Gair is a massive reliever with an over the top delivery that produces a cutting fastball that can hit 100. He has attempted a bunch of different secondary pitches, with moderate success. What he hasn’t succeeded at is throwing strikes, but if he does his fastball might be enough to carry him through the minors.
RHP Tyler Bowen – Bowen, the Phillies 12th round pick in 2025, received some buzz this spring as an interesting looking relief pitcher. He has been mostly 95-97 (though he topped out at 98.6 in the Spring Breakout) with his fastball, and pairs that with a mid 80s gyro slider.
OF Manolfi Jimenez – Jimnez is re-attempting Clearwater after having a poor month there after a good season in the FCL. He has good raw power, but struggles with chase and swing and miss. He probably will have some problems with left handed pitchers in the long run.
LHP Camron Hill – Hill was throwing more 88-91 last year with some slow breaking balls. He went to Australia in the offseason, and had good underlying numbers (3.4 BB/9 and 11.4 K/9), but got hit around a bit. Against the FCL this week we was more 93-95 in a relief role, and if he can maintain that his secondary pitches should play up in the short bursts.
Hitting Expectations
It isn’t a good group of hitters from a prospect side. There are certainly interesting players to watch, as in addition to those mentioned above there are some interesting 2025 draftees led by 11th round pick Will Vierling. It is a repeated refrain at most levels of the Phillies system, but there is a lack of high end, dynamic hitting prospects here. A lot of that is because of how pitching heavy the Phillies were in the 2025 draft. There is a lack of high end international prospects here as well. If Burkholder and Ferrebus can stay on the field, they may be able to lead to a solid hitting team, but likely not more.
Pitching Expectations
Pitching will be the strength of the team. Not all of the pitchers will be present all of the year, but there is more coming (and more on that later). To open the year, it should be dominant college pitchers with Wood, Obermueller, Bowker, and others. There are some interesting young pitchers as well sprinkled into the rotation, with more arriving later. The bullpen has interesting arms too with college arms bringing a blend of high octane fastballs and college performance. There is always a risk that new pro arms will have control issues, and that will be something to watch, but this should be a really good pitching unit.
Looking Ahead and Overall Thoughts
The hitting side does not have a ton of reinforcements until after the FCL season in late summer, but there are interesting shortstops on that level. TJayy Walton has not been assigned, but his upside is solid contributor.
The pitching side is completely different. The Phillies loaded the Threshers with the 2025 draft class, even if that is conservative for initial assignments. That means some of these pitchers will push to Jersey Shore at some point. Waiting on the FCL roster is top HS pick Matthew Fisher, as well as 2025 breakout prospect Ramon Marquez. There are other interesting starting pitching arms in Angel Liranzo and Wilmer Blanco. There are relief arms in 6th round pick James Tallon, as well Orlando Gonzalez, Matthew Potok, and Tegan Cain. Converted catcher Anderson Navas has been a breakout in spring training, and if it clicks he may arrive quickly.
Offense is going to be a struggle, but the Threshers will get most of their innings from interesting pitchers and that will be worth watching. If the pitching is dominant all year, that could once again carry the Threshers to a good record like it has in the first half of most seasons since the Phillies sent the bulk of their draftees to the Threshers.