Not every interesting player makes the list, and I have notes and thoughts on many more players than will be represented in this additional list. I have grouped this by type of player, starting with the new international signees that I don’t rank as part of the major list. This is also not the “honorable mention” or next 40-50 ranked prospects, and is more of sampling of interesting players, former top prospects, future breakouts, those that just missed the list, and players I just find neat.
2026 International Signees
I don’t rank new signings because of both the information gap and a misguided goal of having the full list published before the January 15 signing date. Both Renteria and Parra would have made the top 30 of the list and are already slotted into the post spring training rough draft I am working on.
OF Francisco Renteria – Renteria will slot somewhere into the top 10 prospects in the org when the first in season list comes out. His blend of athleticism and offensive impact is tops in the system. The Phillies have been poor at identifying hit tool holes for international hitters, and that is the biggest risk for Renteria just due to his age. He has some physical projection remaining , but is already ahead of many of his peers in that area. There is a chance he needs to move to an outfield corner long term, but he has plenty of bat to make that work. Renteria has the raw tools to be one of the best prospects in baseball, but his age and the Phillies poor track record with identifying and developing this type of player make him a risk to achieve those heights.
SS Juan Parra – It is not often that a Phillies signing is on all of the lists of breakout players heading into the signing deadline, the last was probably Eduardo Tait. Parra lacks the high end tools of Renteria, but he profiles as a shortstop with the potential for only his power to be a below average tool. However, even that appears to be below average, and not non-existent like Starlyn Caba or William Bergolla. He joins and interesting group of teenage shortstop prospects with Romeli Espinosa, Matthew Ferrara, and Logan Dawson that arm somewhere in the 20s of the rankings.
RHP Justin Burgos – Many teams have more success signing older international pitchers or spreading the money around to a bunch of lottery tickets. The Phillies will often throw a mid range bonus at a young interesting arm as part of that. Last year they had success with Geremy Viloria (who was traded for Harrison Bader), and in Burgos they have an interesting project to work with. Burgos is big, with some present velocity, and feel to pitch. The breakout for pitchers is not always immediate, and the increased workload for a 17 year old can often mean that the first season isn’t the immediate breakout.
Future Relievers
RHP Aaron Combs – Combs was acquired in a trade last offseason for Tyler Gilbert. The Phillies moved him to the rotation to open the year, where he struggled to miss bats and throw strikes. He missed about 3 months to injury before coming back in a bullpen role. He throws in the low 90s with a good approach angle, and ok ride. He shows a good slider/cutter and a big mid 70s curveball. He has seen a slight uptick in velocity this spring, and profiles as a middle reliever.
RHP Jaydenn Estanista – Estanista still struggles to consistently throw strikes, but that didn’t cause a problem until he reached AA. His fastball sits 94-97 with decent traits. His cutter has improved, and he has started toying with a splitter.
RHP Daniel Harper – Harper popped early in 2025, consistently touching 97 with his fastball with some 98s and 99s in spring training. He was 94-96 later in the season, and was inconsistent all year with the pitch shape. He throws a high 80s slider that performs well in the zone, but rarely elicits chases. His changeup did emerge as a weapon, particularly in suppressing contact quality.
RHP Michael Mercado – Mercado has never been the guy he looked like in spring 2024, and has struggled with control and health. He did see his velocity increase a bit later in the 2025 season. His fastball has been hit hard, and he does not throw his secondary pitches in the zone enough.
RHP Luis Avila – After a great 2024 season, Avila struggled greatly with Jersey Shore to start 2025 and then did not really have success until August. His velocity is below where it has been in the past and he struggled to put the ball in the strike zone.
RHP Jack Dallas – Dallas had another solid regular season, but then went to the AFL and saw a sharp spike in walks and strikeouts. He can really spin the ball with a diverse arsenal, but with his velocity on his four seamer being more 92-95 he profiles more as a fringe up and down bulk reliever.
RHP Chuck King – King moved from the bullpen to the rotation in 2025, with solid results. He is already 28 and has never really missed bats. His sinker sits 92-95 with sweeper and splitter. He was sitting 95-97 in short bursts in Spring Training which makes him intriguing if he returns to the bullpen, and very interesting if he can hold it over multiple innings.
RHP Andrew Baker – Baker cut his walk rate dramatically in 2025, but hitters made more contact off of him. He has added a cutter to his power breaking ball, but his velocity has decreased from his peak down to more 95-97.
RHP Braydon Tucker – Tucker has excelled as a swing starter the last two years. He has a good sweeper and feel for the game, but his lack of velocity limits the bats he misses. He is probably more of a valuable org arm.
LHP Cristhian Tortosa – The Phillies signed Tortosa to a two year minor league free agent deal last summer. He has control problems, but they improved as the year went on. He has a mid 90s sinker, but will touch higher, and has a plus slider that led him to dominate LHP (.154/.225/.154 in 71 PAs). He has struggled against righties, but he has a chance to be a major league reliever.
New Draftees
OF Jack Barker – Barker was a second year JuCo player who had a tremendous season, and mediocre pro debut after being drafted in the 13th round, albeit in a very small sample size.
OF Nathan Humphreys – Humphreys was a 4 year starter at Dallas Baptist who alternated good years and poor years. He is a good defensive center fielder, who is also capable in the corners. He struggled with fastballs in his debut, especially in the zone. He has a 4th outfielder ceiling, which is pretty good for a non-drafted signing.
OF Jonathan Hogart – Hogart was a core part of the Murray State team the last two years before signing as an NDFA. He is a corner outfielder with solid power, who had good swing decisions but contact holes with Clearwater.
C Will Vierling – The Phillies selected Vierling in the 11th round after he broke out after transferring to Murray State from Louisville. He is a left handed hitting catcher with strong swing decisions, but had contact issues in pro ball. He profiles as an offensive oriented backup catcher.
IF Robert Phelps – The Phillies took Phelps out of NAIA college Reinhardt where he put up a great season. In his pro debut he showed an advanced approach in 12 games with low chase rates, positive aggression in the zone, and good contact. He did not hit the ball hard, which will be something to watch as the sample size grows. He played short and second in Clearwater.
LHP Jonathan Gonzalez – Gonzalez is an undersized lefty with two years of strong track record at Stetson and collegiate summer league. He throws strikes at a high level and missed bats in college, thanks to a good changeup. He probably will start in a rotation, but is more of a bulk reliever/AAAA starter with a chance at a bit more.
Low Minors Pitching
RHP Luke Gabrysh – Gabrysh was a workhorse for the Threshers before making a cameo with the BlueClaws late in the year. He struggled to miss bats but his slider, sinker, and changeup were able to keep contact quality down. He averaged around 94 on his fastballs, touching up to 97. This spring his velocity is reportedly up about 2 mph, which will be something to monitor when it comes to the quality of his secondary pitches and if he slots into a bullpen or starting role.
LHP Juan Amarante – Amarante is a short left handed starter with a 5 pitch mix (4-seam, sinker, slider, curveball, and changeup), with his fastballs sitting about 91 mph. He has been able to elicit chases in the low minors, but none of his pitches rate out particularly well and have struggled to miss bats in the strike zone. He will need to see his stuff tick up a bit more to take advantage of his feel for his pitches.
RHP Alexander De Los Santos – De Los Santos was supposed to be one of the youngest pitchers on the FCL Phillies last year, but got hurt early in the season and only pitched in two games. Before his injury, he had touched up to 96 mph and was showing slightly improved velocity overall. He is back healthy this spring.
RHP Anderson Navas – Navas was hyped when signed as a large projectable catcher. His approach at the plate has held him back, and his size has made it difficult for him to frame and block pitches. He has taken his big arm to the mound this spring where he is already reportedly throwing in the high 90s while showing feel for a slider.
RHP Ryan Degges – Degges is a bit of a project, as he is just transitioning to being a starting pitcher. He is throwing his fastball more than he probably should, but after a dead arm period in the middle of the season he saw an increase in velocity. His slider shows promise, and his changeup was very good against low minors hitters. His control needs work as well, but he is someone to watch to see if he takes a jump forward in 2026.
RHP Marty Gair – Gair is a massive RHP who comes over the top with a riding, cutting fastball that averages 96, but can touch up to 99. He throws the fastball 80% of the time and has been working on a slider, curveball, and changeup. He misses a large number of bats both in and out of the zone. However, he rarely found the strike zone walking 34 batters in 27 innings.
RHP Orlando Gonzalez – Gonzalez moved to the bullpen in 2025 and was closing games for the Threshers for much of August, until a series of late meltdowns. His velocity has ticked up to averaging 94, touching 96, with his sinker eliciting a high chase rate, but getting hammered in the zone. His slider was a dominant pitch and his changeup had great outcomes as well. If he can shift to using his secondary pitches more while mixing his two fastballs enough to keep hitters off balance, he could be an interesting reliever.
RHP Rene Yrish – For the second year in a row Yrish struggled mightily to throw strikes. Over the summer his fastball touched 100 with a low 90s slider. He has flashed a changeup, but his future role is probably in the bullpen. He ramped down his velocity to try and find any control, but the results have not been that improved.
LHP Camron Hill – Hill missed much of the year due to injury, and made up for some of this innings in Australia. He struggles to throw strikes, but he keeps hitters over balance with a host of off speed pitches. His fastball averaged under 90 mph and got killed when he threw it for strikes. He might fit better as a reliever, and probably needs to have two distinct fastballs and could use a cutter to work as a starting pitcher.
RHP Zack Tukis – Tukis bounced between reliever and bulk arm, and struggled to throw strikes in both roles. He had got chases on his sweeper and cutter, but was held back by his fastball command. His 4-seamer and sinker have weird shape and worked well in the zone, but given his control issues, opposing hitters mostly did not swing at them. He has good arm strength, so maybe another full year will pull more positives out.
RHP Wilmer Blanco – Blanco missed the whole regular season due to injury, but pitched in April and September. He throws in the low 90s (up to 96 this year) with a changeup and a pair of breaking balls. In a small look he moved his curveball to more of a sweeper to go with a more generic slider. He is on the fringes of the roster and likely fighting for a roster spot and low minors starting spot.
RHP Marcus Morgan – Morgan had an earned reputation for not throwing strikes in college, which is why he fell to the 9th round of the 2024 draft. He did have athleticism and arm strength, which made him an intriguing project. His first pro year was a disaster with him appearing in 8 games, 4 starts, and walking 24 batters in just 13.1 innings before injuries shortened his year. His fastballs averaged around 92, touching 95 with sinker shape. He threw a slider and a changeup, but his sinker was the only pitch he threw in the zone at least 30% of the time.
RHP Jose De La Cruz – The Phillies signed De La Cruz in the middle of the summer and he is a stocky right handed reliever. He was throwing a bit harder in Instructs, up to 94, with a slider. He is a reliever who struggled with his control, but his improvement over time is worth a look.
RHP Micah Ottenbreit – Ottenbreit had a poor year back from Tommy John in 2024, but 2025 got off to a better start. In the Spring Breakout he showed a new cutter that allowed his arsenal to make more sense as a back end starter. However, he hurt his elbow again and had a non-Tommy John surgery to repair his UCL. He is back throwing this spring, and given what he showed last year, he should get a chance to try and stay healthy as a starting pitcher, because without a big velocity jump he doesn’t profile as a reliever.
Lower Minors Hitters
OF TJayy Walton – Since being drafted in the 4th round of the 2023 draft, Walton has been neither healthy nor good. His contact rates were abysmal in 2025, and his raw power numbers were not great for his position. He isn’t quite out of time, but at age 21 he is running low.
SS Jose Familia – Familia is a lanky shortstop who got pushed to the FCL complex before he was ready. His defense was poor, and he struggled to make contact. All that said, he won’t turn 19 until August, so he does actually have time to make some improvements.
SS Nieves Izaguirre – Izaguirre was the Phillies highest money signing in 2025, but was not a particularly high one for the sport. He struggled to stay on the field and did not stand out when he played. He lacks a plus tool, with his patience, bordering on passivity, putting him in more negative situations than positive ones.
C Rey Cruz – Cruz signed in May, and immediately looked interesting. He lacks game power, but takes a good at bat and doesn’t look overmatched on defense. If he can drive the ball more, he could be one of the more interesting bats on the DSL teams.
SS Juan Villavicencio – Villavicencio missed a bunch of time to injury and his surface numbers weren’t great. However, his underlying numbers are interesting enough to keep any eye on him if he can stay on the field.
OF Victor Cardoza – After a promising 2024 DSL campaign, Cardoza flopped in the FCL in 2025. His strikeout rate spiked, and he did not consistently hit for power.
1B/OF Jaeden Calderon – Calderon missed most of the 2025 season after an interesting 2024 season. When healthy, he shows a blend of patience and power, but maybe not enough for a corner outfielder/first baseman.
OF Elian Adames – Adames has good size and looks intriguing on the field. He swings and misses too much, and did not drive the ball in the air last year. He will likely repeat the DSL this year.
OF Eduardo Guillen – Guillen, a corner outfielder, will occasionally drive a ball that gets your attention. His swing and miss tendencies at the DSL level is concerning.
SS Jonathan Alcantara – Alcantara was with the DSL Phillies in Spring Training, but didn’t sign until June. His season was unspectacular, but the Phillies batted him near the top of the lineup which says they see something.