This Week’s Schedule
- Lehigh Valley (19-20) @ Rochester (20-19)
- Reading (16-16) @ New Hampshire (19-11)
- Jersey Shore (15-17) vs Greensboro (21-12)
- Clearwater (20-13) vs Lakeland (18-15)
- FCL Phillies (2-5)
Hitter Spotlight
5 G 11-20 2 2B 2 HR 9 RBI 0 BB 1 K 1 HBP 2 SB
Ferrebus has been one of the best hitters in the Florida State League, and really the minors overall this year. He had to miss a game after getting hit by a pitch, but still managed to bat .550 for the week to keep his OPS above 1.000. His defense is still a struggle, and a 5.8% BB% isn’t anything to brag about. However, when it comes with a 13.2% K% and .368 batting average there is a tendency to give some leniency when all pitches look like beach balls (though he could stand to chase less). With 5 home runs through 28 games, Ferrebus has already tied his career high for home runs in a season which he did in 69 games last year. He has taken an unreasonably high ground ball rate (56.3% in 2025) to a reasonable one (48.4%) and converted most of the change into line drives and fly balls to the outfield. If he can figure out the catching piece then he is knocking on the door of being a top prospect, and if he can’t the Phillies should probably start looking at another position for him if he keeps hitting like this. The last few seasons a hot early start has been blunted by a promotion, and at this rate he is probably heading for that rude awakening with Jersey Shore in not too much longer.
Pitcher Spotlight
RHP Ramon Marquez
1 GS 4 IP 1 H 2 R 0 ER 2 BB 9 K
Marquez was one of the breakout players of the 2025 season, and a minor injury and workload management had him spend the first month of the season in extended spring training. In his first start for the Threshers he struck out the first 7 batters he faced. Daytona doesn’t have Statcast, but the broadcast had him 95-96. In his latest appearance on the backfields he was 94-97, so it looks like there is a velocity uptick that is sticking. Marquez is throwing is still finding feel for a slider, but he is throwing the pitch harder this year and it looks better. His changeup, which was his best pitch last year, still is a devastating offering, that he is also throwing 3 mph harder. He isn’t Cristopher Sanchez (he is shorter, throws more of 4-seam fastball than a sinker, and does not have as easy a delivery), but his secondary pitches have a way on invoking a mirrored image of the Phillies ace.
Notes and Thoughts
- Things have sort of gone the way they were expected for Romeli Espinosa to open the FCL season. The 17 year old has a home run, 3 errors, and a big pile of strikeouts through 6 games. Part of why his the top prospect on the team is because he is so young, but that obviously comes with growing pains.
- Logan Dawson has some holes in his swing, but in the early going of the FCL season that has not slowed him down because his pitch recognition and approach is too good for the league. He has three extra base hits in 6 games, but his 9 walks in 25 trips to the plate says he might not be having his weaknesses challenged.
- It was “only” a 6-24 week for Bryan Rincon, but he put the ball in play, to the tune of two doubles and two home runs (one of them a grand slam). His power output does appear to be boosted by Reading and Hartford, but the approach numbers are pretty similar regardless of location.
- Aroon Escobar just keeps chugging away. This week he went .333/.400/.571 in 6 games with 3 stolen bases, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. He is struggling against righties in the early going, but has heated up in May.
- Gabriel Rincones Jr. started a rehab assignment and has already hit a massive home run. Once he is back with Lehigh Valley his splits against lefties will be one of the things watched closest.
- Griffin Burkholder has ramped up from 3 games a week to 4 games a week, and had the best week of his career this week. We don’t have Statcast, but he had 4 doubles, 2 home runs, and only two strikeouts, going overall 9 for 17. He still has some concerning numbers in the season line, but this was a good week on starting to trend in the right direction.
- Matthew Ferrara nearly doubled his walk total for the season this week with 7 walks to just 5 strikeouts in 5 games. He also added on a double, triple, and home run on his three hits for the week. The Threshers have been on the road a bunch early, but Ferrara having a .283 OPS at home and 1.051 on the road is a bizarre split given Clearwater is a good place to hit.
- This week was officially Matthew Fisher’s pro debut, and it really did not go well (2.1 IP 3 H 6 ER 2 HR 2 HBP 2 BB 4 K). I address him more during the April recap, but he is much more of a work in progress than anticipated.
- I pointed to Devin Saltiban as an arrow down player earlier in the week, and after going 0-4 in his first game of the week, he went 12-20 with 3 doubles, a triple, and a home run. He still only has 3 walks on the season and only one in the last calendar month.
- Wen-Hui Pan stumbled in his second outing of the week, but overall for the week he struck out 8 of the 12 batters he faced. Since his first appearance, Pan has gone 5 G 6 IP 8 H 2 ER 0 BB 12 K). According to the broadcast he was up to 99.7 mph, but we will get an official guage this week when he is back in a Statcast stadium.
- After going only 2 innings as part of the second part of the two start week last week, Mavis Graves went 5 innings for the first time this season, striking out 9 while allowing only 1 run and 2 walks.
- After striking out 6 in 4 innings (and allowing only 2 base runners), Cody Bowker now has 23 strikeouts to 2 walks over his last 4 games spanning 12 innings. On the season he is second in K% in the FSL behind only Seth Hernandez (min 20 IP), Gate Wood is 5th.
Injuries and Transactions
- Victor Cardoza (CLW, FCL), Gabriel Azocar (FCL), Wilmer Blanco (JS), Ramon Marquez (CLW), and Ryan Dromboski (REA) added to new levels
- Erick Brito (FCL), Zach Pop (LHV), Mitch Neunborn (FCL), TJayy Walton (FCL), Gabriel Rincones Jr. (CLW), Max Lazar (REA), and Estibenzon Jimenez (FCL) assigned on rehab assignment
- Andrew Walling added to 7-day IL
- Oscar Mercado and Richard Reyes released
- Zuher Yousuf added to Development List
- Nathan Humphreys moved to temporarily inactive list
Links and Things
Minor Thoughts
Around the Web
- Hot Sheet (5/11/26) – Baseball America (Alirio Ferrebus & Griffin Burkholder)
Videos and Posts