Top Prospects
OF Devin Saltiban – Saltiban moved back to center field after returning from injury last year. Things didn’t immediately pick up, but they did in the Australian Baseball League this winter. Saltiban shows good power and speed, but so far it has come with a susceptibility to spin and a lot of swing and miss. Hopefully a full healthy season, back at a position he isn’t trying to learn, will lead to positive outcomes.
LHP Mavis Graves – Graves returns to Jersey Shore after finishing 2025 there on a high note. His velocity was up a little bit this spring, sitting more 92-93 than 89-91, which should help since his fastballs get hit. He gets hitters to chase on a slider, cutter, and changeup, but he needs to throw enough strikes that they will expand the zone. If he can throw strikes, he will probably get bumped to reading when the pitching cavalry arrives from Florida.
Under the Radar
RHP Luke Gabrysh – Gabrysh’s velocity was up this spring, but everything else is still a work in progress. He needs to find some useable offspeed pitches to actually miss some bats. If he can put things together, maybe he is more in the prospects of note by middle of the season.
OF John Spikerman – Spikerman has an unfortunate combination of passivity at the plate, a lack of power, and bad in zone contact rates. The Phillies have touted improvements, which we will see if they manifest into on field changes. Otherwise, he is a good outfield defender who is often pushed to a corner based on other prospect’s needs. He has plus speed and a good throwing arm as well.
RHP Titan Kennedy-Hayes – Kennedy-Hayes can reach up to 100 with his fastball. With his four seamer comes from a low angle and his sinker getting good run. He just struggles to throw them for strikes, which leads to his plus slider not having as much success. He probably never has enough command for high leverage, but he could pitch in the 6th/7th inning for a major league team soon if he can throw enough strikes.
RHP Danyony Pulido – Pulido will sit anywhere from 92 to 98 with his fastball, but has gotten slightly better at sitting at the top of that range. Despite the fastball not having great shape, and his offspeed pitches being a work in progress, he has spent the last year missing a slot of bats. He needs to find more consistency and control to be a major league option.
RHP Aaron Combs – Combs has moved back to the bullpen full time, and has seen a modest increase in velocity with the move, but is still low 90s. His fastball gets good angle, and he also will mix in a sinker vs righties like most Phillies pitchers, but the fastball exists mostly to set up a mid 80s cutter/slider, and then a high 70s curveball with enormous two plane movement. The curveball is a very unique pitch and will be the centerpiece of his arsenal if he can make the rest work.
RHP Ryan Degges – Degges is a work in progress starter who mostly is just arm strength. He has a changeup, slider, and curveball, all of which he needs to throw more of this year. His changeup was particularly effective last year, but was rarely used. Like most inexperienced pitchers, he needs to be able to throw his pitches in the zone more.
LHP Juan Amarante – Amarante is a short lefty with feel to pitch and a changeup that works against low minors hitters. He was able to elicit chases with his offspeed pitches in the complex and FSL, but it is likely that more disciplined hitters will wait out the fastball in the zone. He throws in the low 90s with poor shape on his fastball, so the key will be to locate it well enough to keep hitters from crushing it.
Offensive Expectations
There are a lot of org players here, whether it is draftees that have lost their luster or free agents brought in from other organizations. There is a chance that some of these older players succeed against A-ball hitters and the offense’s stats are fine. However, outside of Saltiban it is going to be a skippable box score.
Pitching Expectations
The pitching side suffers from the same lack of brand recognition as the hitting side. The difference is that the depth is made up of interesting arms that could emerge into mlb prospects. There is some risk up and down the pitching staff, especially when it comes to throwing strikes. In addition to the control issues, many of the pitchers have struggled with consistency game to game. This is going to lead to games where the pitchers are dominant, others where it gets ugly early and often, and most likely a mix of these. This is going to put a cap on the upside of the team until reinforcements arrive.
Looking Ahead and Overall Thoughts
It is a common refrain among these previews that there are hitting holes and not much coming. That is the case here, with the most likely reinforcements being some of the late round and non-drafted hitters on the Threshers. The pitching side is a different story. The Phillies loaded up the Threshers with the 2025 draft class, and with college pitchers taken with 8 of their top 10 picks there are pitchers currently in low-A who are too good for low-A. Notably, it is likely before it is officially summer that Gage Wood is a BlueClaw. He will be joined by other arms of importance over the course of the season, and that should turn the pitching staff from a liability to at least an average unit.
Until Gage Wood and others arrive at the shore, the BlueClaws are going to be a bad baseball team and one uninteresting from a prospect watching side. It is the cost of below average talent acquisition and development coupled with trades for major league talent.