Top Prospects
C Eduardo Tait – At age 17, Tait was one of the best players in the complex and even got 28 games with the Threshers to end the season. In that small sample of low-A, he swung and missed much more and will need to show more patience to not see his contact rate not also collapse. Tait has enormous raw power from a quick left handed swing, and he has a real knack for getting the ball in the air to the pull side. Behind the plate, he is showing improvement, but his actions, both throwing and receiving, need polish. He does have a strong arm and an improving feel for the position. If he can stick behind the plate, Tait has a chance to be a special offensive player for the position.
IF Aroon Escobar – After a breakout in progress was delayed by injuries last year, Escobar has emerged this spring to rave reviews. He has an explosive swing that can drive the ball, especially to his pull side. In the complex, he has shown an extremely advanced approach for his age as well. The problem has been health, and that his swing has led to some poor contact quality at times, especially popping the ball up. Defensively, Escobar can play second and third, with some debate as to which is better, but if he can make second work, it is likely the better fit. If he can stay healthy and replicate his 2024 over a long sample in full season ball, he won’t be a Thresher for long and he likely will be ranked well nationally.
OF Dante Nori – Nori was the Phillies first round pick in last year’s draft. In high school he was more of a slap hitter, but the Phillies think that he has the raw strength to translate some of those contact abilities into useable power in time. He has a good approach at the plate already, and even without adjustments he is likely to put up a good average and on base percentage. He is also a good defender in center field and has plus plus speed. It may not all translate into an elite prospect package, but Nori should be good at this level.
Under the Radar
RHP Marcus Morgan – Morgan is this year’s pitching project for the Phillies after being taken in the 9th round last year. He has touch the upper 90s, but has mostly sat in the lower 90s with a large array of offspeed pitches. His command and consistency has struggled throughout his career. He might be a player that improves as the year goes on, but might have some real ups and downs.
RHP Enrique Segura – Segura has been in prospect discussions for a number of years and is actually returning to Clearwater after a brief stint last season. He will sit in the low 90s, getting his fastballs up to 95. It is a sinker forward profile, but his fastball gets hit around which puts more weight on his secondary pitches. He has a curveball with two plane movement that is his primary bat misser and a changeup that will show good promise as well. He has really struggled with control over the years, which has really diminished his prospect outlook.
IF/OF Nolan Beltran – Beltran is a large money international signing from a couple of years ago who has gotten on base at every level he has played at. He has gradually added a bit more power each year as well. Defensively he has played all over the infield, and played a decent amount of left field last year as well. On team without many unknown players he is one who could suddenly be a real prospect.
Offensive Expectations
Nori, Tait, and Escobar are going to be the core of this offense. A return trip to Clearwater will probably help Kehden Hettiger, same with Avery Owusu-Asiedu who should also chip in great defense. Diego Gonzalez is a light bat, and probably a bit light as a shortstop for this team. Carter Mathison, Kodey Shojinaga, and Brady Day were all day 2 draft picks, with Mathison probably having the most upside. It is still likely going to be a thin lineup until they get some injury reinforcements.
Pitching Expectations
The real weakness of this team is probably going to be the pitching. Gabriel Barbosa is a minor league Rule 5 pick, Reese Dutton and Ryan Dromboski are non-drafted free agents, Cam Brown was awful last year, and Zack Tukis is another NDFA but might have a little more juice. There are probably some others that will make the starter/bulk reliever mix, but it isn’t many high profile guys. Out of the bullpen Saul Teran and Jose Pena Jr. have been solid arms for a few seasons for the Threshers. A.J. Wilson has some side arm funk and Erik Ritchie some other the top funk from the left side. Titan Hayes is probably the closer here with a mid to high 90s fastball and a solid slider. Jake Eddington has some potential after a terrible 2024. The wild card is probably Marty Gair, a monstrous RHP coming back from Tommy John surgery with good velocity. It is probably the worst and least exciting Threshers pitching staff in a long time, and is a real product of the Phillies not taking a pitcher until the 8th round last year (that pitcher Camron Hill is also hurt) and there being no high school arms in their last two drafts.
Looking Ahead and Overall Thoughts
It all starts with who is not here. Griffin Burkholder, TJayy Walton, Guillermo Rosario and John Spikerman are all hurt, and Nikau Pouaka-Grego is int eh complex for some reason. Burkholder in particular is a big loss as he might have emerged as the best prospect on the team. If some of them return early in the season it could be a big boost. There probably isn’t any pitching help coming early, but there are some interesting arms between Alexander De Los Santos, Danyony Pulido, Brad Pacheco, Angel Liranzo, Wilmer Blanco, Maxwell Hernandez, and Alexis De La Cruz that someone could give them a pitching boost.
With Burkholder you could probably argue that this is a good prospect team, bad actual results, but barring some surprise, there is a good chance that this is a team where you check to see how Tait, Nori, and Escobar did and ignore much of the results.