Phillies Minor League Recap (Week 16 7/8-7/14)

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This Week’s Schedule

*All full season teams playing 3 game series

Hitter Spotlight

3B Francisco Loreto

4 G 6-13 1 2B 2 HR 5 RBI 2 BB 1 K .462/.533/1.000

Francisco Loreto might be having the most fascinating season in the Phillies org this season. In 2024, he played 30 games in the DSL and hit .230/.358/.322 playing 1 game at second base and then 11 games at catcher, and 18 games at DH. That isn’t a remarkable year, but it was his age 17 season, but really just barely, just like this year is just barely his age 18 season as he turned 18 on June 21. This year Loreto is hitting .234/.331/.421 with 16 extra base hits in 41 games. Loreto has a smooth easy left handed swing with power to the pull side. He has had hot and cold stretches this year, but given his age it has been a good offensive season. The problem has been his glove, which really is not his fault. This year, due to a lack of infielders, Loreto has spent no time behind the plate and instead as 2 games at second base and 39 at third base where he has racked up a whopping 20 errors. That might underrate how poor his defense has been. But he has been thrown into this really impossible situation, and he has somehow not totally collapsed offensively. There is a chance he can grow into a passable defender with actual time at the position, he might also be better served at second, and his bat obviously plays the best if he goes back behind the plate. Overall it makes him a fascinating prospect and really unlike anyone else in the system.

Pitcher Spotlight

RHP Braydon Tucker

1 GS 7 IP 2 H 0 R 0 BB 5 K

In July that is now two games with 13 innings pitched, 5 hits allowed, no runs, no walks, and 13 strikeouts for Tucker. Tucker isn’t overpowering, he will sit low 90s with two different fastballs, throw two different breaking balls, and occasionally a changeup. He started the year as a bulk guy for the Threshers after being a decent starter for them last year. He just isn’t a prospect in the traditional sense. His sweeper is a good pitch and a large reason why righties are hitting just .187/.241/.280 off of him this year. His lack of velocity and good changeup is why lefties have a OPS nearly 300 points higher against him. Tucker was an undrafted free agent signing back in 2023 and is really mostly of a dying breed in the modern minor leagues. There is a miniscule chance he becomes some sort of fringe bulk guy in the majors, but really he is an org guy. With the contraction of the minors it becomes harder and harder to fight players on to minor league rosters who just help everyone else who needs to play baseball, play baseball. The solution from management has been to contract how many players get to play baseball, and that is just going to make a worse product. For as much as the BlueClaws need Tucker right now to take the ball every week and give them a good start, opposing right handed batters need to face a good sweeper in A ball before they have to face the real thing.

Notes and Thoughts

  • The Phillies signed a number of interesting looking catchers this offseason, with the one they gave the most money being out for the year with an injury. That has left more playing time for players like Anderson Araujo who after homering in three straight games this week has 5 home runs in 8 games in July. Overall, the 17 year old is hitting .256/.369/.523 on the season with maybe a little higher strikeout rate than you would like. However, you aren’t going to complain when your lower rated signees suddenly are threatening for the DSL home run title.
  • The draft is a good time to look back at the previous year, and it is probably good that Dante Nori somehow had a two home run week. Neither of them were particularly crushed, but in a very limited sample in July he is hitting the ball 3 mph harder on average than he has in any previous month with lower whiff rates than he has had in any of those periods. We can debate whether he can actually hit the ball hard enough to do anything when we get to rankings, but it is fine to acknowledge he is a on nice little run.
  • It wasn’t a two home run week for John Spikerman as he hit one last week and one this week. The problem with Spikerman is different than the problem with Nori in that while Nori also doesn’t hit the ball well, he doesn’t whiff at the alarming rate that Spikerman does. You can’t both struggle to hit the ball and then not hit it hard when you do.
  • The home run problems are becoming concerning for Andrew Painter. He allowed 5 against the Mets in his two starts this week and now has allowed 11 in 55.2 innings with the IronPigs. Hitters have made much more contact against him than is to be expected and it is why there has not really been a campaign to get him to Philly. On a positive note, it looks like Painter is throwing a distinct sinker, which should help vs RHB and to open up more parts of the plate.
  • Mick Abel coming back to AAA and cruising through 6 scoreless innings on 64 pitches is really nice to see. He needs to clean some things up and attack the zone more, but he really is on the cusp of being a MLB pitcher.
  • Avery Owusu-Asiedu just keeps getting better. You would like to see more power (just a triple in his 8 for 18 week), but he hit .444/.524/.556 this week with 2 walks to 2 strikeouts and is hitting .385/.467/.564 on the month with 5 walks and 9 strikeouts in 45 plate appearances.
  • Over his last 5 starts (3 in Clearwater and 2 in Jersey Shore) Gabriel Barbosa has a 0.78 ERA over 23 innings. He has 10 walks and 18 strikeouts, so that should all come with a grain of salt.
  • Alex McFarlane’s hitless streak came to an end in the first innings of his start this week, but 5 scoreless innings with no walks on only 65 pitches is pretty good.
  • It has not been a good season for Mavis Graves, but this week 4 IP 1 H 0 R 0 BB 4 K on 46 pitches is the type of start that maybe gets something to click.
  • It is just a weird year for Aidan Miller. He hit a monster home run and have 4 walks and 5 strikeouts in 5 games, and he stole 3 bases. He also only had three hits. Over the last two months he is hitting .213 with a .258 BABIP and has 23 walks, 26 strikeouts, and some how 18 stolen bases. It’s weird.
  • Six innings, one run, 6 strikeouts, and really just one hit different than what Jean Cabrera did last week. He threw 19 fewer pitches this week. He has just settled in for the season as a really solid AA pitcher.
  • The last two weeks, only Devin Saltiban has only played center field. Regaining that position would be good for flexibility, but it would be better if he could stick on the infield dirt. The return from injury has been slow, but he pulled a nice home run in his only game with the Threshers.
  • It wasn’t a breakout or dynamic performance by Aroon Escobar at his new level. He picked up a double and a reasonable 2 walks to 4 strikeouts in 25 trips to the plate.
  • It is now 3 games in the FCL for Zuher Yousuf, and he has allowed 1 run in each of them.

Injuries and Transactions

Links and Things

Minor Thoughts

Around the Web

Videos and Posts

Aidan Miller with an absolute missile at 108 mph for his eighth home run of the year to extend Reading’s lead to 3-1

— Mitch_Rupert (@mitchrupert.bsky.social) 2025-07-13T19:10:42.237Z

Welcome back, Devin Saltiban. He absolutely unloads on this mistake in the middle of the plate for the second homer of his rehab. Saltiban’s 3-run shot travels 384 feet at 105.5 mph

— Mitch_Rupert (@mitchrupert.bsky.social) 2025-07-13T17:31:41.701Z

Fourth strikeout for Andrew Painter in a good third inning, this one on a sinker. Also induced a ground ball double play. Painter up to 8 swings and miss through three innings. Much more slider usage than cutter usage today (14 sliders, 3 cutters), which I like.

— Mitch_Rupert (@mitchrupert.bsky.social) 2025-07-13T17:51:18.945Z

Dante Nori with his second home run of the series, a 2-run shot to push Clearwater’s lead to 7-0 … Nori is 3 for 4 today and his hitting .343 over his last 28 games … This homer goes 394 feet at 102.3 mph

— Mitch_Rupert (@mitchrupert.bsky.social) 2025-07-13T18:03:55.127Z

Former third round pick John Spikerman is finally healthy and finally seems to be heating up. His eighth hit over his last 4 games is his third home run of the season, this one goes 365 feet at 100.4 mph

— Mitch_Rupert (@mitchrupert.bsky.social) 2025-07-13T00:46:56.031Z

Alex McFarlane back at it again with his third consecutive scoreless outing for Jersey Shore, going 5 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 BB, 6 Ks. He threw 45 of 65 pitches for strikes and now has 15 consecutive scoreless innings

— Mitch_Rupert (@mitchrupert.bsky.social) 2025-07-10T22:42:27.533Z

1 thought on “Phillies Minor League Recap (Week 16 7/8-7/14)”

  1. Was on the Graves bandwagon last year. This year seeing him struggling would a move to the pending play his stuff up?

    Part of me still wants to say that Painter just came back from injury but he was pretty lights out in the AFL.

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