Phillies Arizona Fall League, Awards, and Other Notes and Thoughts

The minor league season is over, but there was some news and notes over the last week plus.

Arizona Fall League

The Phillies are sending 9 players to the Arizona Fall League this year. None of them are Andrew Painter, which is disappointing to some, but is not unsurprising given where he is in his rehab (throwing live BP to hitters). For the most part, the AFL is being used for players who missed time this year, and then has some facing Rule 5 protection decision.

• LHP Tristan Garnett – Garnett was a non-drafted free agent back in 2021, and so fits into both groups as being Rule 5 eligible and having missed nearly two months of the season. He is sort of a weird left handed reliever, releasing the ball from a very high slot, throwing both a changeup and slider in addition to his fastball. His fastball has ticked all the way up to touching 95, but his changeup is his out pitch. This was his first year with control issues, but his upside is an up and down reliever.
• RHP Griff McGarry – McGarry full time to the bullpen in 2024, and it largely was not successful. He missed nearly 2 months due to injury and his control still showed major flaws. His fastball sat 93-96 touching 97, but it is now longer a dominant pitch. He has mostly used his cutter as his primary secondary pitch and is has been a dominant pitch when he can locate it. He still has a sweeper/curve as well, but it was mostly shelved. He is Rule 5 eligible, but barring a massive breakout this fall is unlikely to be taken.
• RHP Christian McGowan – McGowan came back from Tommy John last year, but his 2024 season was still injury plagued, leading to only 40.1 innings. He is still in a starting role, relying on two fastballs, a slider that he can throw from a cutter to more of a sweeping shape, and then a rarely used changeup. His velocity is back, and he is sitting primarily 94-97, and his command has come in gone, but was better down the stretch. He looks more like a reliever, but for now has not made that change. He is also Rule 5 eligible.
• LHP Wesley Moore – Moore was signed after the 2022 season so his eligibility is far in the future, but he only logged 27.2 innings this year due to injury. His delivery is deceptive, which is important because his fastball sits about 90 and his changeup is almost more of a curveball given it comes in big and loopy in the mid 70s. He will mix in an actual curveball as well.
• RHP Wen-Hui Pan – Pan’s season didn’t start until late June due to broken bones in his hand, and so he pitched as a reliever for much of the year. He has simplified his arsenal, but it is still a starter’s arsenal if the Phillies want to go back that way. His fastball will sit 94-98, touching 99 with middling shape this year. His slider is a gyro shape that he will need to continue to throw in the upper 80s to be good. His splitter is his best pitch, and is probably a pitch that sees more usage as he climbs. If they try to make him a starter again, then he will take more time, but he might be faster moving in a pure relief role.
• C Jordan Dissin – Dissin is a solid defensive catcher with some offensive tools, but has struggled to be consistent at the plate. He was actually much better after the first two months (.240/.371/.353 after June), but is still a project.
• IF Otto Kemp – Kemp looked like a potential breakout due to his lower level batted ball data, and then came through in a big way in 2024. He hits the ball hard and has shown a good approach at times, though he swung and missed too much vs upper minors pitching. He is on the older side, and while he can play multiple positions, he isn’t great at them. He could be a Weston Wilson/Kody Clemens style bench player and could contribute in 2025.
• SS Bryan Rincon – Rincon is the highest upside prospect the Phillies are sending to fall league. He only player 35 games on the season due to injuries, and that included a dreadful April. He doesn’t hit the ball all that hard, but has tendency to get enough out of what power he has. His approach can be too passive at times, but is advanced for his age and experience. He is a good glove shortstop, though the Phillies infield depth might mean he gains some versatility soon. Rincon has everyday regular upside, but there is a decent chance he ends up as a good bench player.
• OF Gabriel Rincones Jr. – If he didn’t injure his thumb in April and miss two months, Rincones might be on the Phillies postseason roster. He has plus plus raw power (though it took nearly a month to return after the injury) and a good approach at the plate. He is going to swing and miss at a high rate, and has been exposed against left handed pitchers so far. He profiles somewhere on the three true outcome spectrum as a strong side outfield platoon bat. He probably won’t factor into the Opening Day 2025 roster, but he needs these AFL at bats to be ready for being a factor at some point in 2025.

Crawford and Castellano Win Paul Owens Award

Last week the Phillies announced and honored OF Justin Crawford and RHP Eiberson Castellano as the winners of the Paul Owens Award and the top hitter and pitcher in the Phillies system this season. Neither award was clear cut, but as you can see in your voting below, they were probably the most likely to win.

Crawford played at two different levels and led the org in hits, while being second among full season players in both batting average and stolen bases. He is one of the best hitting prospects in the organization which is a nice added bonus. The Phillies are very high on Crawford, and while there are nationally some worries about his future, they continue to view him as one of the centerpieces of the future.

Castellano was a bit more of an unknown coming into the season, having spent the last two years being an ok pitcher with Clearwater and flirting with the back of longer prospect lists. This year his stuff took a minor step forward while his command, consistency, and feel made a larger improvement. He led the org in strikeouts, was second among starting pitchers in K/9, and prior to his last two starts, as he wore down, he was one of the org leaders in ERA. He does not have as high a prospect ceiling as Crawford, but should get a 40 man spot this offseason and factor into the pitching depth of the 2025 Phillies.

Your Award Winners

I put out a questionnaire for ranking your top hitter and pitcher, and thank you to 25 of you who responded.

The results are not particularly surprising as you all came to the same results as the Phillies, and prioritized prospect pedigree over stats.

A big thank you to everyone who left feedback, this offseason I am looking to do some community prospect rankings that involves making ranked choice voting on smaller groups of players and then compiling them into a larger list, similar to how I start my initial ranking process.