Phillies 2025 Top Prospects – The Top 5

The different tiers of prospects unsurprisingly look like a pyramid, with a large number of interesting players in the organization narrowing to a very few elite prospects at the top. Even here in this group of five there are three distinct tiers. At the top, Painter is an elite prospect, talent wise one of the top in the sport, and only behind others due to his position and injuries. Miller stands alone as well, maybe not fitting into the second tier globally, but among the top 20-40 prospects in the sport and while not elite, he is a very good prospect. The next three are a clump that are probably in the top 80 to 120 prospects in baseball. The gap between 3 and 5 is much much smaller than the gap from Miller to the group. They may not have a much lower ceiling than Miller, but they all have their own quirks and flaws that are valued differently by different evaluators. They are in my preferred order, but they are very much a clump of players.

All Ages are as of Opening Day (3/27/25)

1. Andrew Painter, RHP

Age: 21 (4/10/03)
Acquired: Drafted in the 1st Round of the 2021 Draft by the Phillies
B/T: R/R
H/W: 6’7” 215lbs
2024 Stats:

Team (LVL)	G	GS	W-L	IP	ERA	H/9	HR/9	BB%	K%
Glendale (AFL)	6	6	2-0	15.2	2.30	5.7	0.6	6.7%	30.5%

Role: Front Line Starting Pitcher
Risk: High – There are two conversations about risk with Painter. The first is the most obvious, and it is workload and we just do not know. He threw 103.2 innings in 2022, none in 2023, and 15.2 in games in 2024, and until he does it there is a question mark next to whether he can hold up as a workhorse. The other is whether his stuff is elite or just merely very good. He has a remade arsenal that we have barely seen, and he also is a bit of an outlier when it comes to his fastball. Much of the risk conversation is not about whether he is good, but just how likely he is to be one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Summary: Tommy John surgery over the summer of 2023 meant Painter was expected to be out for all or most of 2024, so it was nice that we got a dominant 6 starts (albeit only 15.2 innings) from him in the Arizona Fall League. Overall, he looks like Andrew Painter of before, but there are some definite differences. The sweeper that was his primary breaking ball in 2022 has been replaced with a gyro slider that averaged 88 mph in the AFL. He should be able to work in the zone to lefties and righties with it, and fall batters whiffed on half of the ones they swung at. That leaves his curveball as his bigger breaking ball, and he is throwing it harder with less drop and more sweep, a place where it might have overlapped with his sweeper previously. He did not throw many changeups, but he throws them hard (averaged over 90 mph), and they have some separation from his fastball. He will need to refine the pitch more, but it is likely to be more velocity dependent than movement. His fastball is going to be his defining pitch though. He didn’t always hold his velocity in the AFL (not surprising given where he was in his return from injury), but he averaged 96.6 mph in tracked games and was up to 99 in those games (he hit 100 on radar guns in his first appearance), and that puts him about where he was before the injury. It will never be a flat pitch due to his size, but he gets good vertical break on it for his slot, and it has natural cut as well. He does all of this while repeating his delivery very well, not just for his size but overall. It is likely that early in his career Painter will be able to be good just on the back of his fastball, slider, and control, but he is cerebral enough that he could change and adapt over his time, adding and subtracting pitches. His ceiling is a perennial Cy Young contender even after the injury.
2025 Outlook: The Phillies are going to be cautious with Painter’s overall workload while also wanting him to pitch in the majors and be prepared for a full workload in 2026. Right now that plan is a delayed start to his season followed by some ramp up and adjustment time, likely in the minors before reaching the majors over the summer.
ETA: 2025
Previous Rank: 1

2. Aidan Miller, SS

Age: 20 (6/9/04)
Acquired: Drafted in the 1st Round of the 2023 Draft by the Phillies
B/T: R/R
H/W: 6’1” 205lbs
2024 Stats:

Team (LVL)	G	PA	HR	SB	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG
CLW (A-)	39	182	5	10	14.3%	21.4%	.275	.401	.483
JS (A+)	58	258	6	12	11.6%	22.1%	.258	.353	.444
REA (AA)	5	22	0	1	0.0%	18.2%	.190	.227	.190
Total	102	462	11	23	12.1%	21.6%	.261	.366	.446

Role: First Division Regular on the Left Side of the Infield
Risk: Medium – Miller’s defense is less of worry than it was a year ago, as he can at least play shortstop now, and a move to third probably ends up with him plus defensively at the hot corner. Miller has plus raw power and a good approach, but he didn’t always fully tap into it. There is a chance that he ends up as just a good player.
Summary: Aidan Miller’s pro debut in 2023 proved to just be the start of a breakout. Miller hit his way out of the Florida State League in just over two months, and had a rough start to his time at Jersey Shore, but eventually seemed to solve that level before ending the year in AA. In the FSL he showed plus game power with a 90th percentile exit velocity of 106.3 mph. He was selective, posting low chase rates and above average zone contact rates while limiting his susceptibility to off speed pitches. The BlueClaws park did him no favors when it came to power, but his quality of contact can suffer at times. He will need to get the ball a bit more in the air to be an impactful hitter. One of the big areas of growth for Miller this year was on defense, where he went from looking out of place at shortstop to competent. He is unlikely to win a gold glove or really be a plus at the position, but he projects as someone who can play it early in his career. If Miller can continue to grow into maximizing his skill set while providing defensive value either as a shortstop or good third baseman, he could be an impactful player for a top team. There is a chance the sum of the parts is just a good player, but not great.
2025 Outlook: Miller should start in Reading, and with Alec Bohm and Trea Turner in the majors there is not a path to the majors right now for Miller without an injury. He should end the year in AAA and force some decisions next offseason.
ETA: 2026
Previous Rank: 3

3. Moises Chace, RHP

Age: 21 (6/9/03)
Acquired: Signed as an International Free Agent by the Orioles in 2019. Traded to the Phillies with Seth Johnson for Gregory Soto in July 2024
B/T: R/R
H/W: 6’1” 213lbs
2024 Stats:

Team (LVL)	G	GS	W-L	IP	ERA	H/9	HR/9	BB%	K%
ABD (A+)	17	9	2-2	52.0	3.46	6.4	0.9	13.5%	34.2%
JS (A+)	2	2	1-1	8.2	4.15	6.2	0.0	8.6%	37.1%
REA (AA)	4	4	2-1	19.2	3.66	6.4	1.4	9.1%	45.5%
Total	23	15	5-4	80.1	3.59	6.4	0.9	12.0%	37.1%

Role: Mid Rotation Starter
Risk: High – Chace has pitched 6 innings once, 5 innings 3 times, and thrown 80 pitches in a game 5 times. All of those events occurred after he was traded to the Phillies. He has command and pitchability things to work on still, but the raw stuff is ready now.
Summary: At the time of his trade to the Phillies, Chace was an interesting prospect, but certainly not an elite one. The Orioles had used him as a piggy back starter and mostly on the relief side. Even in his start against the BlueClaws the week of the trade he looked like a max effort thrower and not a pitcher. I don’t know what the Phillies told him, but it only took a few starts for him to look like a starting pitcher. Chace’s stuff certainly plays as a starting pitcher. His fastball is his best pitch, sitting 93-96 and touching up to 98, but the velocity is just an enhancement on the shape of the pitch, as Chace gets low and flat with good extension as well as plus rise. He can miss bats in the zone and for chases up above it too. He has a pair of breaking balls in a sweeper in the low 80s and a gyro slider in the mid 80s. The sweeper does not have huge movement, but it gives him a horizontal pitch to work with on the outside of the zone to righties, and it should be an above average to plus pitch. His more vertical slider gives him another weapon against lefties and a pitch that he can throw in the zone while working his fastball up. He will throw some great changeups and some that could use some work. Without full minor league data it is hard to tell, but he might also have a sinker in the mix. He threw more strikes with the Phillies, but he still gets some chases in the minors that he won’t in the majors, and he will need to dial his command in a bit more, especially since the fastball and slider should be throwable in the zone. Beyond the strike throwing, there is a decent fear of the unknown with Chace, as he just has a very short track record as a starting pitcher and holding up to deeper pitch counts and a consistent innings workload. While on the shorter side, Chace is thick enough he should hold up to a starter’s workload in the long term. Chace is on the 40 man roster now, but his 80.1 innings in 2024 represent a career high. With the Phillies pitching depth, they should have the opportunity to get him stretched out and ready for as early as next season.
2025 Outlook: Chace will return to Reading, and the biggest thing might just be to get him on a normal starting pitcher workload and cadence. There will probably be temptation to make him a reliever to help the major league team, but the Phillies have resisted that call in the past.
ETA: 2026
Previous Rank: N/A

4. Justin Crawford, OF

Age: 21 (1/13/04)
Acquired: Drafted in the 1st Round of the 2022 Draft by the Phillies
B/T: L/R
H/W: 6’2” 188lbs
2024 Stats:

Team (LVL)	G	PA	HR	SB	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG
JS (A+)	70	317	6	27	6.6%	20.2%	.301	.349	.438
REA (AA)	40	180	3	15	6.1%	16.1%	.333	.380	.455
Total	110	497	9	42	6.4%	18.7%	.313	.360	.444

Role: Solid Regular Short of a Breakout
Risk: High – Crawford has yet to really develop a solid floor while his ceiling continues to stay out of reach. Despite his speed, he has not been an impact defender in center field, and while he has improved, he continues to hit the ball on the ground at an alarming rate.
Summary: In many ways Crawford gets credit for things that won’t work at the next level while hiding skills more impactful than often talked about. His swing is still a mess, though it is an improving mess. He too often will have a flat, arms only path through the zone, and while his coordination is good enough to get the bat on the ball, it has been a recipe for poor contact. His pitch recognition and approach have also not been great, which has led to some of the ill advised swings. His ground ball rate (60.9% on the season) was among the highest in the minors, and while he has at minimum 70 grade speed, he just is not going to provide sufficient offensive value hitting the ball on the ground. Major league defenders are going to be much more likely to make outs, and the potential for using his speed to leg out doubles is greatly reduced if he is not getting the ball in the air. He also could benefit from getting the ball in the air because he is not without power. While many of them have been balls hit directly into the dirt, his 90th percentile EV of 104.6 mph was average among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects. He doesn’t need to become a three true outcome, lift and pull hitter, he should be getting the ball in the air enough to be a 15-20 home run a year hitter who gets a large number of doubles and triples due to line drives and speed. Part of it will be finding better connectedness in his swing, and some will be working on his approach to actually look to square up the ball more in favorable counts and let his contact abilities and speed work as a secondary skill. Crawford was once again good on the bases thanks to his speed, and if he can get on base he is going to pick up extra value with his legs. His speed is hiding a scary deficiency on defense. His routes and jumps have been subpar, and he is not as aggressive a defender as his speed should allow him to be. Right now, he projects as an ok defender in center, and he should be at least plus. That leaves him with a very volatile set of skills, because there is a path where he is a plus defender, who is a terror on the bases, while putting up above average offensive numbers. That is probably an all-star level ceiling with the current state of centerfield, but you can’t say he does any of those things particularly well. The other side of the spectrum is Johan Rojas with a bit more thump and two to three grades worse defense, and that is a player type the Phillies have pushed aside. Crawford just turned 21, and while there is a real call in the fanbase for him to come up and try and solve the center field position, it might make more sense for the Phillies to really take their time to develop him as a more complete player rather than rush him.
2025 Outlook: Crawford should start the year with Reading and could see AAA by the summer. Unless he suddenly puts it all together, another year of high minor seasoning is probably good for him.
ETA: 2026
Previous Rank: 5

5. Eduardo Tait, C

Age: 18 (8/27/06)
Acquired: Signed as an International Free Agent by the Phillies in 2022
B/T: L/R
H/W: 6’0” 175lbs
2024 Stats:

Team (LVL)	G	PA	HR	SB	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG
PHI (FCL)	51	212	6	5	6.1%	14.6%	.321	.377	.500
CLW (A-)	28	114	5	0	7.0%	28.9%	.269	.316	.462
Total	79	326	11	5	6.4%	19.6%	.302	.356	.486

Role: Bat First Catcher With Plenty of Bat
Risk: High – Tait is a teenage catcher with approach and defensive issues, making him part of one of the riskiest prospect demographics.
Summary: Tait followed his breakout 2023 with a romp through the Florida Complex League and a mixed appearance in the Florida State League. His bat, and in particular his power, will always be his calling card, and he showed plus plus raw power and a natural knack for getting the ball in the air to his pull side. Early in the season and once he reached the FSL, he swung a bit too hard and often, and in the complex that translated to poor contact quality and in full season ball his strikeouts spiked. In the middle, he showed a more disciplined approach and that he has enough feel for contact and raw strength that he does not have to sell out for power to get to it. It is one of the areas where it is important to remember that he turned 18 years old in August, and while physically mature, he may still have feel for the game improvements to make. The same can be echoed behind the plate, where he made consistent improvements over the course of the season but still does not look like a lock to stay behind the plate. His receiving has been the area of biggest growth, but he still needs to improve at blocking and being more natural. The footwork and natural movement plays into his throwing as well, where he has a strong arm, but his transfer and movements reduce his pop times. Collectively, there is not a reason he cannot stick behind the plate, but it will take work and improvement, and even then it is unlikely to be a strength of his game. There is a chance for Tait to be special, and given his age, physicality, and statistical output it can look like that could happen quickly, but there might be some painful time ahead as parts of his game need to catch up.
2025 Outlook: Tait should be the primary catcher for the Threshers to start the year. If he can once again get his approach under control, the Phillies might have a real conflict between the speed his bat wants to move vs his defensive development.
ETA: 2028
Previous Rank: 7