The Phillies have struggled to develop unknown talent, they have struggled on international signings, and they have struggled to identify and develop high upside prospects. This group is not a solution to all of those problems, and in the case of some players it is a warning sign of how things don’t always work out how you want them to. However, here in the top 15 are signs of growth, and if you want to point to how the team can continue to grow this is where you would look.
All ages are as of opening day (March 28)
7. Eduardo Tait, C
Age: 17
Acquired: Signed as an International Free Agent by the Phillies on January 15, 2023
B/T: L/R
H/W: 6’0” 175lbs
2023 Stats:
| Team (LVL) | G | PA | HR | SB | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| PHI-W (DSL) | 35 | 134 | 3 | 3 | 6.7% | 17.9% | .331 | .396 | .554 |
| PHI-R (DSL) | 9 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 9.7% | 22.6% | .346 | .419 | .346 |
Role: First Division Regular
Risk: Extreme – Tait hit the ball very hard for a 16 year old in 2023, and he does look like he should stick behind the plate long term. However, he is physically mature for a teenager, but with many of the same hit tool concerns as a teenager, and while he should stick at catcher, he doesn’t currently project to be a plus defender.
Summary: Tait was not the biggest money signing of the Phillies 2023 class (just $90,000), but he was getting some buzz even before he signed. He was one of the youngest, if not the youngest, players in pro ball last year, beating the signing cut off by less than a week. He is definitely larger than his listed height and weight, and while fairly physical now, there look to be ways to shape his body positively as he grows up. The bat is the special thing for him. He hit the ball hard all year, and while he probably can get the ball in the air a bit more, he mostly hit laser line drives. His swing is fairly simple, with great bat speed and good bat control. His approach at the plate is inconsistent, and he will show some patience in one plate appearance and then hack a bit more in the next. He swung and missed a bit in the zone because of this as well. Given his age and experience level, the negatives are not fatal flaws, but they will be watch points, and gaining consistency at the plate will definitely be a focus for him. The lack of age and experience is evident on defense. He looks stiff and mechanical at times, particularly in how he receives and frames. He has a strong arm, and he controlled the running game. He should improve with repetition, but he doesn’t have a feel for the position that stands out for his level. There is a chance that his bat outpaces his glove and the Phillies have to leave him at certain levels for the glove to catch up. There is also a chance that his offense suffers as he shoulders more catching burden. Given his production at his age, Tait has that special look, and if he can repeat his 2023 in 2024 he may establish himself as one of the top catching prospects in the minors.
2024 Outlook: The Phillies will bring Tait stateside in 2024 and he should play in Extended Spring Training and then the Florida Coast League, where he will likely be the youngest in the league.
ETA: 2028
Previous Rank: N/A
8. William Bergolla, SS
Age: 19
Acquired: Signed as an International Free Agent by the Phillies on January 15, 2022
B/T: L/R
H/W: 5’11” 165lbs
2023 Stats:
| Team (LVL) | G | PA | HR | SB | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| CLW (A-) | 55 | 228 | 0 | 2 | 13.2% | 7.5% | .255 | .351 | .286 |
Role: Average Regular Infielder
Risk: High – Bergolla has elite swing decisions and contact abilities, and will stay up the middle of the infield as a defender. He also hit the ball with so little impact there is a real question about whether he will be able to hit higher level pitching.
Summary: Bergolla’s feel for the game stood out in his 24 games in the DSL last year, but it was still surprising to see the Phillies keep him in Extended Spring Training only to send him to full season ball instead of the complex for the second half. For an 18 year old in full season ball, Bergolla’s 30 walks to just 17 strikeouts is pretty incredible. The surface stats don’t tell the full story, Bergolla swung and missed 23 times or just 3% of the time on tracked pitches (Clearwater did play some games that were not in Statcast parks). While a very patient swinger, just a 39.9% swing rate, that only came to 7.6% of the pitches he swung at. We can see the selectivity further when breaking out his swing and swing and miss rates by pitch type. He only swung at 26.5% of curveballs he saw and 28.4% of the sliders, while swinging at 45.9% of 4-seam fastballs. We can see the difference in the in vs out of zone rate as well, as he is swinging at pitches in the zone, and in particular often the center of the zone.
When he is swinging in the zone, he is making contact as well (as we would expect given the overall contact number.
If we continue this out to breaking balls, here is his swing rate in the zone on breaking balls and his swing and miss on that same set of pitches.
He even got the ball in the air a good bit, running an average launch angle of 13 degrees, leading to a line drive rate of 23.4% and ground ball percent of only 41.7%. This all sort of dances around the major problem, which is that Bergolla had an average exit velocity of just 82.7 mph and a 90th percentile of 95.5mph, and his hardest hit ball was 99.8mph, making him the one player tracked with more than 10 ball in play and zero balls over 100mph. He had just 4 extra base hits as his fly balls died harmlessly in the outfield and he feasted on soft line drive singles. He definitely has more to unlock in terms of leveraging his body, and he is a teenager with more to grow, but for the most part this is a conversation about getting 0 power on the 20-80 scale to 20. He has a balanced swing and feel for getting the barrel to the ball, he just does not have the strength or explosiveness right now to make it count. He has solid speed, but he isn’t a good base runner or steal threat. In the field he can play shortstop, but as a regular I think he ends up as someone who plays more at second base. The lack of strength, and obvious pathway to it, is a glaring problem and one that could consign him to a fringe utility infielder upside. However, he is a 19 year old who does the hardest part of the game at an elite level and that is worth valuing, because if he ever can get the physical tools, he could be a special player.
2024 Outlook: Given that he played 2023 in Clearwater as an 18 year old, having Bergolla start 2024 back in Florida would not be a real setback. His approach is advanced enough that he could hold his own in Jersey Shore if the Phillies wanted to push him there.
ETA: 2027
Previous Rank: 7
9. Bryan Rincon, SS
Age: 20
Acquired: Drafted in the 14th Round of the 2022 Draft by the Phillies
B/T: S/R
H/W: 5’10” 185lbs
2023 Stats:
| Team (LVL) | G | PA | HR | SB | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| CLW (A-) | 81 | 348 | 8 | 23 | 17.0% | 18.1% | .228 | .369 | .370 |
| JS (A+) | 18 | 77 | 0 | 4 | 11.7% | 16.9% | .258 | .364 | .323 |
Role: Average Regular
Risk: High – Rincon has the glove and athleticism to be an above average to plus defender at shortstop, and while that gives him a high floor he is going to need to hit the ball harder to be an everyday player.
Summary: Rincon made the list last year on the back of 12 games in the FCL, and those flashes solidified into a good prospect in 2023. Rincon got off to a poor start in April, hitting just .175/.266/.246 with 7 walks (10.9%) and 17 strikeouts (26.6%). Even with a cold end in Jersey Shore, he hit .236/.376/.370 with 62 walks (16.6%) and 61 strikeouts (16.4%) over the rest of the season. He is a switch hitter who saw the ball slightly better vs LHPs with less swing and miss, but hit the ball harder from the left side vs RHPs. Regardless of the side of the plate, he showed an advanced approach, though possibly a bit passive. With Clearwater, his swing rate was just 38.0%, while showing a much higher swing rate against fastballs than breaking balls. The one concern is that when he did swing there was some amount of swing and miss (20.2%), particularly against sliders (34.0%), and it isn’t a glaring issue yet, but something to monitor. Not chasing pitches is a good start, but becoming too passive risks putting himself in situations where he is down in the count and having to swing at the breaking balls. The other concern is that he got decent power output statistically, but his exit velocity numbers were near the bottom of Phillies batters at an average of 85.9 mph and 90th percentile of 99.2mph. He does get the ball in the air, and he maximizes the power he can get to, but the lower overall impact numbers are concerning. Rincon does have the frame to mature and add strength, but he also isn’t particularly lanky or projectable. Rincon played exclusively shortstop with the Phillies and he will stick there and be an above average to plus defender. There is some risk he is a below average hitter, but a good defender, and ends up more in a bench role. He does do enough of the positive things right at the plate and on defense that there is a definite path to being a starter for a playoff caliber team who hits in the bottom third of a lineup.
2024 Outlook: Rincon ended the season in Jersey Shore, and he will likely start and spend most or all of the season there. The park there is likely to treat his power poorly, and it would not be surprising to see what looks like a down year statistically.
ETA: 2027
Previous Rank: 46
10. Christian McGowan, RHP
Age: 24
Acquired: Drafted in the 7th Round of the 2021 Draft by the Phillies
B/T: R/R
H/W: 6’0” 205lbs
2023 Stats:
| Team (LVL) | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | H/9 | HR/9 | BB% | K% |
| PHI (FCL) | 2 | 2 | 0-0 | 5.0 | 3.60 | 3.6 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 33.3% |
| CLW (A-) | 1 | 1 | 0-1 | 2.0 | 18.00 | 22.5 | 4.5 | 15.4% | 15.4% |
| JS (A+) | 5 | 5 | 0-0 | 16.0 | 2.81 | 8.4 | 0.0 | 7.7% | 26.2% |
| LHV (AAA) | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | 2.2 | 0.00 | 6.8 | 0.0 | 25.0% | 25.0% |
| SCO (AFL) | 4 | 4 | 1-1 | 17.0 | 3.71 | 11.1 | 1.6 | 9.1% | 15.6% |
Role: #4 Starter/7th Inning RP
Risk: Medium – McGowan is just a few months back into throwing in games post surgery. He had reliever risk before the surgery, and there are still worrying signs about his complete arsenal and durability post surgery.
Summary: The Phillies went overslot to select McGowan in the 7th round of the 2021 draft, and he had an intriguing debut that year, but 2 games into his 2022 season he suffered an arm injury leading to Tommy John surgery. McGowan returned to games in mid-July of 2023 and slowly moved his way up the levels before sticking with the BlueClaws through the postseason and then making a final start with the IronPigs. He then finished his season off in the AFL giving him 42.2 innings in his return to the mound. McGowan largely looked good in his comeback. He threw his sinker in the 91 to 96 mph range for the most part, and reached back for a bit more in his playoff start. He can manipulate his slider throughout the mid high 80s from more of a sweeper to a cutter. He has a high 80s changeup that he throws fairly infrequently, but has about the same run as his sinker with more drop as he dramatically kills the spin on it. For a pitcher just back from surgery, McGowan showed solid command, but he will need to tighten it up as he had a tendency to miss out of the zone on non-competitive pitches. His fastball-slider combination gives him a solid reliever fall back, especially since he has flashed higher end velocity. However, since he looked solid in his return and the Phillies lack any sort of starting pitching depth, it would be in their best interest to see if he can build on his 2023 season. Unless his changeup steps forward and he can really start to locate, he is probably more of a solid #4 starter, but there is a little more upside than that if he has another gear after a healthy offseason.
2024 Outlook: McGowan made his final start of the regular season in Lehigh Valley, but the Phillies are likely to use the IronPigs for immediate MLB contributors. McGowan likely is in the Reading rotation to start, but given he is Rule 5 eligible after the year, he could work himself into a spot start or bullpen appearance with the big league club late.
ETA: 2024
Previous Rank: 20
11. Carlos De La Cruz, 1B/OF
Age: 24
Acquired: Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Phillies in 2017
B/T: R/R
H/W: 6’8” 210lbs
2023 Stats:
| Team (LVL) | G | PA | HR | SB | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| REA (AA) | 128 | 582 | 24 | 3 | 9.3% | 27.5% | .259 | .344 | .454 |
Role: Second Division Regular
Risk: Medium – There is such a wide range of outcomes for De La Cruz because he is such a unique player. He is probably trending towards more of a bench role, but he still has the upside to be an impact hitter. He keeps slowly cutting down on his swing and miss, but there is only so much that a 6’8” hitter can do.
Summary: It has been a slow burn for De La Cruz who has had his downs over the years, but he broke out in 2022 and had a solid consolidation year in 2023. With Rhys Hoskins’ future in doubt heading into the year, De La Cruz also picked up the ability to play first base this season, and while fine there, it is likely to be more of a flexibility than a path to the majors now that Bryce Harper is installed there. He will run around in center field, but it is probably not something that should be done often. He moves well enough that he is a good defender in both outfield corners, and he has a strong arm as well. De La Cruz has an enormous strike zone and is susceptible to pitches on the inside, which has led to him running reverse platoon splits as lefties can just pound him inside. His size also leaves him struggling at times with fastballs, just because his arms are so long making his swing on the long side. His length does mean he excels at just reaching down and golfing breaking balls out. Like many long armed hitters, he also looks to and excels at hitting balls on the outer half of the zone. De La Cruz did hit a number of his home runs at home, but he has plus plus raw power and his home runs would easily clear any ballpark. The real key will be the contact and if he can make enough of it in the zone. The Phillies have worked on getting him better vs fastballs, and he has been walking more and bringing his strikeouts down at every level. His season is also harmed by a real cold end, as he was hitting .287/.359/.488 through the end of July before struggling down the stretch hitting .182/.304/.352 over the last month and a half. Even if he makes the majors in the next few years, De La Cruz could be someone that does not fully hit his ceiling until his late 20s.
2024 Outlook: De La Cruz has 167 games in AA, and the Phillies current right handed hitting outfielders in front of him are Weston Wilson and Matt Kroon, so there is a spot and path for him in AAA. De La Cruz will be a minor league free agent after the season, so the Phillies will need to add him to the 40 man roster or trade him right after the end of the season if they don’t want to lose him for nothing.
ETA: 2024
Previous Rank: 11
12. Gabriel Rincones Jr., OF
Age: 23
Acquired: Drafted in the 3rd Round of the 2021 Draft by the Phillies
B/T: L/R
H/W: 6’3” 225lbs
2023 Stats:
| Team (LVL) | G | PA | HR | SB | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| CLW (A-) | 48 | 214 | 5 | 24 | 13.1% | 25.7% | .264 | .388 | .444 |
| JS (A+) | 72 | 319 | 10 | 8 | 10.3% | 24.8% | .238 | .326 | .416 |
| SCO (AFL) | 22 | 101 | 2 | 15 | 16.8% | 27.7% | .293 | .426 | .463 |
Role: Average Regular
Risk: High – Rincones is going to need to put up plus offensive numbers to have value, and he still isn’t turning his plus raw power into extra base hits at a high rate. He is never going to have a plus hit tool, and while patient, he swung and missed at a high rate against all pitch types.
Summary: Rincones didn’t make his pro debut until 2023, after an injury ended his 2022 season early. The Phillies quickly promoted him to Jersey Shore, where he struggled for much of his first month, before getting his feet under him. Rincones played both corner outfield positions pretty evenly and he is fine, but not great in either. He stole 47 bases in 142 games at pretty good efficiency (just 8 caught stealing), but he isn’t a particularly fast runner, just an opportunistic runner with good reads. All of that means that his value is going to come from his offense. Rincones hits the ball hard. He was only in the FSL for a month and a half, but his average exit velocity was 89.4mph, which is solid, but not MLB standout, however he led the Phillies minor league statcast hitters in 90th percentile exit velocity in that time at 107.2 mph with a max exit velocity of 113.3mph. He struggled to consistently get the ball out of the ballpark, as he ran a high ground ball rate in Clearwater and a high popup rate at both levels. Rincones is a patient hitter, and he will need to draw walks because his swing has a lot of miss in it. He is a bit stiff and he does not always engage his lower half to get loft. He does have a bunch of strength in his wrists, and he can drive the ball with only his upper half. Rincones did come from a small school and did not make his pro debut until 2023, so it is fair to think that he has a bit more improvement potential than your average college hitter. Something to watch is that Rincones really struggled vs LHPs, and there is a chance he trends more towards a platoon bat, but as a left handed hitter, there is a real major league role for that.
2024 Outlook: Rincones logged 72 games and 319 plate appearances for the BlueClaws before going to the Arizona Fall League. Unless he has a poor camp, he has a chance to break camp with Reading.
ETA: 2026
Previous Rank: 12
13. Samuel Aldegheri, LHP
Age: 22
Acquired: Signed as an International Free Agent by the Phillies on July 2, 2019
B/T: L/L
H/W: 6’1” 180lbs
2023 Stats:
| Team (LVL) | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | H/9 | HR/9 | BB% | K% |
| CLW (A-) | 16 | 15 | 3-1 | 67.2 | 3.86 | 7.8 | 1.1 | 10.3% | 27.1% |
| JS (A+) | 4 | 4 | 1-0 | 16.0 | 5.63 | 10.7 | 0.6 | 6.9% | 27.8% |
Role: #4 Starting Pitcher
Risk: Medium – For a pitcher who has not pitched above A-Ball, Aldegheri has a mature arsenal that looks like a back end starting pitcher now. The worry is that he will be more of a #5 or #6 if his arsenal slips or he is unable to execute his pitches at the higher levels.
Summary: Aldegheri signed back in 2019, and did not debut until 2021 and then barely pitched his first two years. Aldegheri was back healthy in 2023 and pitched pretty much the full year. He has a 5 pitch mix with his 4-seamer and sinker averaging about 92 and peaking at 94-95. He comes from a fairly high delivery and he gets good movement on the 4-seamer and can miss bats up in the air. His best secondary pitch is a mid 80s slider with two plane movement that he had a 42% whiff rate on with Clearwater. He will mix in a changeup that averaged 83 mph that is more average and keeps hitters off balance. His curveball in the high 70s is more big and loopy, and it is more of a show pitch that he used for called strikes. None of his pitches are plus, and his success is very reliant on keeping hitters off balance and not on overpowering them. He had a couple of starts where he struggled with walks, but for the most part he throws strikes and can locate his pitch to the parts of the zone where his pitches will have success. Aldegheri has a chance to move through the lower minors fairly quickly, and the real test will be in the upper minors and if hitters are able to square up his stuff in the zone.
2024 Outlook: Aldegheri made it to Jersey Shore last season and logged a career high number of innings. He likely starts there in 2024, and given that he will be Rule 5 eligible again this offseason, he likely gets pushed to Reading at some point.
ETA: 2026
Previous Rank: UR
14. Wen Hui Pan, RHP
Age: 21
Acquired: Signed as an International Free Agent by the Phillies on January 15, 2023
B/T: R/R
H/W: 6’3” 220lbs
2023 Stats:
| Team (LVL) | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | H/9 | HR/9 | BB% | K% |
| CLW (A-) | 27 | 1 | 4-1 | 57.2 | 2.81 | 4..8 | 0.3 | 8.5% | 36.2% |
| JS (A+) | 6 | 0 | 0-0 | 6.0 | 15.00 | 19.5 | 1.5 | 13.9% | 19.4% |
Role: Mid Rotation Starter/Late Inning Reliever
Risk: Extreme – Pan had one appearance in 2023 that could be classified as a start, but this is the role he will reportedly be in for the 2024 season. His fastball is his only really fully formed pitch, and while you can see the outline of his secondary pitches, they aren’t there yet.
Summary: Pan was the Phillies second biggest signing of the 2023 signing period behind Starlyn Caba. He was not the usual international signing, as he was already 20 with an international track record and experience in his native Taiwan. He does not have a projectable frame, but there is still some maturation and strength to be gained. The good news is that he does not really need to grow into more velocity. He would fade in his “starts” and deep into pitch counts, but Pan routinely averaged over 96 in his appearances and was up to 100. He releases from a fairly over the top, but still high, delivery so he doesn’t get ideal plane on his fastball, but he will get large (20”+) IVB when he is consistently on top of it, and he managed a 31% whiff rate on the fastball with Clearwater, while also throwing it in the zone a lot. His secondary pitches are a bit murkier. He arrived with a whole bevy of pitches, and he threw a bunch of different versions of things over the course of the year. Right now the Phillies are working on narrowing him down to a splitter and a slider to go with the fastball. He gets very low spin on his splitter (just 600 RPM on average) and it actually moves more glove side than his fastball, almost like a cutter. He struggled to command it, with hitters swinging and missing, but he also struggled to throw it for a strike. His slider sat in the low 80s and is more vertically oriented, and he got even more swings and misses on it than the splitter, but he struggled to throw it for strikes just as much. It was a bit of a weird year for Pan, as he signed with the org in January and had a bunch of habits and training from his time in Taiwan that made it difficult to just throw him out as a starter in 2023. He faded down the stretch and was used as a closer late in the year. There is a case he should just be a reliever, and he could move quickly in that role. His fastball will play in any role, and if he can harness both offspeed pitches, he could be an effective starting pitcher. The Phillies will also need to increase some of his strength and durability, so he can hold his stuff deeper into his starts.
2024 Outlook: Even with the potential move to the rotation in 2024, Pan likely goes to Jersey Shore to open the season. Despite signing last year, he is already 21 years old and the Phillies are unlikely to baby him along.
ETA: 2026
Previous Rank: N/A
15. Griff McGarry, RHP
Age: 24
Acquired: Drafted in the 7th Round of the 2021 Draft by the Phillies
B/T: R/R
H/W: 6’2” 190lbs
2023 Stats:
| Team (LVL) | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | H/9 | HR/9 | BB% | K% |
| CLW (A-) | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | 1.0 | 9.00 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.0% | 50.0% |
| REA (AA) | 13 | 13 | 1-1 | 54.2 | 3.13 | 5.1 | 0.7 | 15.6% | 32.0% |
| LHV (AAA) | 3 | 3 | 0-2 | 4.1 | 41.54 | 16.6 | 0.0 | 40.0% | 14.3% |
Role: #3 Starter/Late Inning Reliever
Risk: Extreme – McGarry has never consistently thrown strikes, but it is now two years in a row where he has reached AAA, and that has become an extreme problem for him. He still has impact upside, but he is now entering his 4th pro season and is having to have his delivery reworked.
Summary: When Griff McGarry’s 2022 season ended with him unable to throw strikes in AAA, it was concerning, but not disqualifying. McGarry has always struggled to repeat his delivery, and that has led to poor control and a high walk rate. His stuff has always tantalized enough that even with that deficit, there was a role for him in a bullpen or as an inefficient 5 inning starter. In 2023, he once again started the year late due to an oblique injury. He struggled in May and June to find consistency in Reading, having some dominant appearances next to ones where he walked the world. It looked like in July he was starting to put it together, and he was promoted to AAA after his first start of August. Up to this point, McGarry has largely shown the same arsenal he has before, a fastball that sat more in the 94-97 range, but would get up to 99, a sweepy slider, a harder cutter, a curveball, and a changeup. In his three appearances in AAA, not only did his control evaporate (14 walks in 4.1 innings), but his stuff also did. He was 91-94, getting up to 95 with all of his other pitches seeing similar drops. His delivery was all over the place, and the Phillies shut him down for the season to rework and simplify his delivery. It is a massive worry that he doesn’t even really have a fallback in a bullpen if he just cannot throw the ball over the plate. The reason to hold off on giving up on McGarry for at least another year is the stuff. The breaking balls all show at least plus potential, and while the changeup is inconsistent, it shows usability. It is a starter’s arsenal of pitches, capable of putting up big strikeout rates. It is all topped by the fastball, which has an elite profile. McGarry gets big extension and comes in low and flat giving it a good trajectory, but then on top of that he has good ride on the pitch too, making it an elite bat misser at the top of the zone. He obviously does not have the control or pedigree of these pitchers, but there are real arsenal and fastball similarities to a Jacob deGrom and Spencer Strider, and it also does not help that McGarry has a delivery that looks like a deGrom knock-off. All of that doesn’t matter if he doesn’t throw strikes.
There is a large contingent of the industry that thinks he is a reliever, I tend to see his problems as ones that are going to be fatal flaws regardless of his pitching role, and putting him in a bullpen is only really damage control, not optimization. The Phillies have talked McGarry up as a starting pitcher still, and that feels like the role that makes sense in a 5 inning capacity with a walk rate that isn’t great, a big strikeout rate, and solid run prevention. It is sort of a modern starting pitcher and one that many teams are developing, and given the Phillies emphasis on innings in their other starting pitchers, they can afford an arm in the rotation with high per inning effectiveness, even at a low inning count.
2024 Outlook: The Phillies say that McGarry is still a starter, and as of right now they don’t have enough starting pitchers in AAA, so it is possible they just send him there to sink or swim. Really the biggest thing to watch is whether the changes they made will help his command without sacrificing his high end stuff.
ETA: 2025
Previous Rank: 3