Not all young players are prospects, and so looking just at prospect lists is not the holistic look at the young talent in an organization. The arbitrary cut off that is often used is players 25 and younger in the organization. The Phillies have 4 such players in their org who are noteworthy and making major league contributions, and including them tells a fuller story of where the organization is health wise.
- Andrew Painter, RHP
- Bryson Stott, SS
The Phillies pushed Stott quickly into a bad situation to open the year, playing 3B in a sort of platoon with Alec Bohm. Ultimately, it was his bat that was not ready for the majors and he was sent down to AAA. In AAA, and after his return to the majors, he made some changes to his approach and swing to clean up some of his weaknesses.
Stott has not fundamentally changed from where he was a year ago, but he has proved he belongs in the majors. He has a great feel for the game that really comes out strongly in two areas, his approach at the plate and baserunning. At the plate, Stott does not have premium bat speed and it leaves him vulnerable to high velocity, particularly up and out of the strike zone. Part of his improvement was shortening up his leg kick at the plate, to more of a 2 strike approach, to better get to these pitches, but really what it has meant is he is better able to lay off pitches out of the zone and foul off close pitches. At times in the past, Stott’s swing looked a bit stiff, but he has shown a great ability to get the bat on the ball, which has allowed him to really battle at the plate. The change in approach has reduced his power output a bit, but he should still be a mid-teens home run hitter. Defensively, Stott showed he can stand at shortstop, but his range and arm were below average, even if he was mostly fundamentally consistent. He will be moving to second base in the long term, and he showed he will be at least a plus defender there. Stott will likely never be an impact regular, but he maximizes what he has, picking up value in everything he does. His likely ceiling is 3-4 WAR a year player who is a solid part of a team with postseason aspirations.
- Mick Abel, RHP
- Brandon Marsh, OF
The Phillies sent out Logan O’Hoppe for Marsh with the goal of rehabilitating the former top prospect’s value. Marsh’s defensive metrics in center have not been favorable (though they are outstanding in LF), but he looks the part of a plus defensive center fielder, and a move there full time should help in the long term. The Phillies are looking to improve Marsh’s contact, as right now he has too much swing and miss against righties and has been mostly unplayable vs lefties. Much of this was due to expanding the zone too much. When he does hit the ball, he does a good job at turning it into hits thanks to a high line drive rate. Unless the Phillies can totally reinvent him, he profiles as a good defensive center fielder who hits in the bottom third of a good lineup and puts up above average regular value. If the Phillies can close some of his weaknesses, he can be a fringe All-Star caliber starting center fielder due to his defense and above average tools across the board.
- Griff McGarry, RHP
- Hao-Yu Lee, 2B
- Justin Crawford, OF
- Johan Rojas, OF
- Bailey Falter, LHP
Bailey Falter’s first trip through the rotation in 2021 flashed some promise, but he did not look like a future major league starter. In 2022 he added a slider, and the Phillies altered his pitch mix between his fastballs. He still lacks a putaway pitch, and he does worse against teams that have seen him multiple times. In the postseason he was definitely exposed against a good lineup. There are probably a few more improvements for Falter to make, but he is unlikely to ever be a pitcher that a team trusts to make a postseason start. He does, however, profile as a solid 5 and possibly low end 4, making him a valuable regular season contributor to a team given how many starting pitchers a team needs over the course of the year. The Phillies may break camp with him holding a spot for Painter in the rotation, but if he doesn’t start in the rotation he could go to the bullpen as a long man and spot starter. Falter should have solid value to a major league team for a good number of years.
- William Bergolla, SS
- Simon Muzziotti, OF
- Alex McFarlane, RHP
- Andrew Baker, RHP
- Carlos De La Cruz, OF
- Rafael Marchan, C
During the 2020 season, the Phillies jumped Rafael Marchan all the way to the majors when they suffered injuries. He once again saw time in 2021 when the Phillies needed a backup catcher. In 2022, Garrett Stubbs and J.T. Realmuto stayed healthy all year, so Marchan only was on the roster for the two games Stubbs started in Toronto while J.T. stayed stateside. This lack of visibility coupled with the rise of Logan O’Hoppe caused Marchan to fade from view. It also didn’t help that Marchan missed the first 2 months of the season due to a hamstring strain. Marchan, now almost 24, has added strength over the years, but still has poor game power. He also was able to correct the ground ball tendencies added by the previous regime, returning more to the 40% rate he had at previous levels. Marchan is still elite at getting bat on ball, but he is not going to have much impact until he gets more out of those balls in play. He is still a good defender behind the plate, and altogether it makes him a solid backup catcher in the long term.