2026 Jersey Shore BlueClaws Season Recap

Season Recap

Record: 47-83

It was not a good season for the BlueClaws, in fact the team spent most of the season mostly talentless and struggling through games. Some of that is the Phillies drafting and developing, coupled with some aggressive promotions that left the initial team highly lacking. Then it got skipped over by Gage Wood, had Cody Bowker promoted quickly through, and then over the year had Ramon Marquez, Marty Gair, John Spikerman, Luke Gabrysh, Ryan Degges, and Jose Colmenares traded away from it. Even when it came time for promotions from Clearwater various players struggled or were immediately injured (in addition to the trades) leaving a second half surge gone before it started. The team also had to backfill with minor league free agents from Independent Ball to fill in the roster at various points of the season, further degrading the prospect quality of the team.

Given how it was treated this year by the Phillies it is fair to wonder how much the Phillies value Jersey Shore and how much they worry about the run environment there. Home run rates are up, but offense is still suppressed in the ballpark. This also might have been an outcome of drafts and trades that left a gap in the farm system.

Top Prospects

(Prospects will only be featured once with the highest level team they played for)

SS Juan Villavicencio – Overshadowed by other players, Villavicencio might have had one of the larger breakouts in the system this season. After missing much of the previous two seasons to injury, he played 103 games across two levels and set career highs in every metric. He has solid power and good zone contact rates. He showed some weakness to velocity and chase, and these were an issue in his first week or two with Jersey Shore. He was worse against same side left handed pitching, but not enough to be bucketed as a platoon bat already. His glove is fine for now at shortstop, but it might get fringier with time, but he has plenty of arm for the position or a move over to third. He profiles more as a low end regular or bench bat, but there might be still more to be untapped as he stays on the field more.

OF Griffin Burkholder – There was a moment this season where it looked like everything was coming together for Burkholder between health and onfield performance, but then the bottom dropped out. He doesn’t chase at the plate, while not being passive, but his contact rates were horrendous. He struggles against velocity, but was undone by spin all year. This showed up in both elevated strikeout and ground ball rates. It is a pity because he was healthy and there are physical tools include plus raw power. It would be easier to write off the weaknesses as rust if they weren’t the ones he had prior to the draft.

LHP Cade Obermueller – The Phillies selected Obermueller in the 2nd round of the 2025 draft and then he missed the start of the year with illness. His season started off positively before being pushed to Jersey Shore, where things fell apart. He throws in the low 90s, but has often been at the bottom of that range, only occasionally reaching back for mid 90s. It has good plane thanks to a low release point, but not outlier ride or run. He throws a sweeper that has good horizontal movement that in Clearwater he threw in the zone and for chases. His changeup is still a work in progress, and he struggles to make it even a competitive location. In Jersey Shore, hitters just stopped swinging against him and his walk rate ballooned. That was likely a combination of him not throwing strikes and his pitches not generating chases. He needs to throw better strikes, but he desperately needs a bridge cutter to give him a second pitch to throw in the zone to set up the rest of his arsenal.

OF Nathan Humphreys – Humphreys had praise immediately after signing with the Phillies as a UDFA after the 2025 draft. He had a great run in Clearwater, but his numbers struggled after the promotion to Jersey Shore. With Clearwater, he featured plus raw power with great zone contact, and good contact against velocity and breaking balls, with limited chase rates. He has swung and whiffed more with Jersey Shore, and that will need to get those back down to closer to the Clearwater numbers. He is playable in center field, but should be good in a corner. This coupled with a weakness against LHPs makes him more of a platoon or 4th outfielder.

Others to Know

IF Robert Phelps – Phelps was the Phillies 19th round pick in 2025 and had a good start to the year in with Clearwater. He has a decent, if passive, approach at the plate with solid contact numbers. He lacks raw power despite the surface power numbers. He is a stretch at shortstop, but could be an interesting bench infielder if things turn out well.

OF Devin Saltiban – It is not really a big comfort that Saltiban improved on his 2025 season with Jersey Shore given how his top line numbers still struggled. His contact rates improved, but they are still below sustainable and come with concerning other approach numbers. He is now an outfielder, and probably a corner one, which puts much more pressure on his bat to perform. He made some improvements as the year went on, so maybe it is coming around, but he has slipped quite a bit.

OF TJayy Walton – It was a small sample size in Jersey Shore, but Walton showed the most signs of life he has in a while. Repeated injuries have robbed him of his time on the field, and definitely sapped his game power this year. He still can hit the ball hard, and doesn’t chase at a high rate. With Clearwater he was beat by velocity and his zone contact rate suffered, but with Jersey Shore his contact rate was improved. He is still a shadow of the player that the Phillies drafted, but it was the most encouraging he has looked in a bit.

LHP Juan Amarante – Amarante has been a swing reliever/starter who moved into the rotation late in the year. He is a low 90s lefty with some feel for control and a breaking ball, and can flip in a changeup. He has some back end starter or bulk reliever upside.

Stat Leaders

Pitching