4 Phillies Make It Onto MLB’s Top 100 Prospects List
Since 2014, only a single player who came up through the team’s system has made an All-Star game. But things may be starting to turn around. Dave Dombrowski has slowly started to restock the cupboards. And to start out 2024, they have 4 prospects in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects. Andrew Painter, Mick Abel, Aidan Miller, and Justin Crawford all remained on the list, after finishing the season on it to close out last season.
RHP- Andrew Painter- 27
Andrew Painter remains their highest-rated prospect. He opens the year at 27, after closing out the year at 28 last season. He has reached as high as 8th overall in the rankings. But after missing all of last season, and undergoing Tommy John Surgery, he fell a bit to 28 and now 27. Painter is expected to miss all of 2024, with the goal being for him to make his debut in 2025. But people around the league are still very excited about his potential. MLB Execs recently voted him as the 2nd best pitching prospect in the minor leagues.
RHP- Mick Abel- 49
Abel has been on MLB Pipeline’s list dating back to 2021 when they ranked him 76. Now Abel has climbed up to 49. Abel’s ERA has rarely dipped below 4.0 in his 3 seasons. But there is a good reason the Phillies drafted him 15th overall and a reason scouts still love him. Scouts have long loved Abel’s stuff, it is just a matter of him putting it together. We could see him as early as this season. At some point, the Phillies will need to replace at least one of their starting pitchers due to injury. And Abel would be one of the prime candidates to get a call-up.
3B/SS- Aidan Miller- 61
The big surprise is the rise of Aidan Miller. Despite playing in just 20 games, he already finds himself rated as the 61st-ranked prospect and the 9th-best 3B prospect. Up from 90 at the end of last season. At one point, people expected him to be one of the top draft picks last year. Especially after being named MVP at the All-American Game, and winning the HR Derby. But a broken hamate bone caused him to fall in the draft, and the Phillies scooped him up. Scouts think he can have plus power at the Major League level. We got a small glimpse of that last season.
Having just been drafted, he is obviously the furthest away from playing in the Majors. It will be 2026 at the earliest. With 2027 being a more realistic goal. But he could one day force the Phillies into a tough decision between him and Alec Bohm.
OF- Justin Crawford- 77
Justin Crawford stays at 77, where he finished the season last year. His first full season in the Phillies system was a huge success with him hitting .332 and stealing 47 bases across two levels. They will bring him up to AA this season and will hope to see him develop more power and hit fewer ground balls. His ground ball rate of around 70% was perhaps the lone concerning trend in his game. But with his elite speed, great glove, and his natural ability, scouts expect big things from him going forward. If all goes well, and he continues to play like he did last year, we could see him as early as 2025.
Players Outside The Top 100 Prospects to Watch Out For:
None of the Phillies’ other prospects have cracked the top 100, yet. But there are a few more worth keeping an eye on. Phillies fans are already familiar with Orion Kerkering. It did not go too well for him in the playoffs last season. To be fair, it is hard to expect anyone who has thrown just 3 innings in the Majors to step up and look great in the playoffs. He is expected to have a large role in the Phillies pen next season, and a pool of MLB execs recently voted him as one of the best future closers in baseball.
There is also Griff McGarry. He was fantastic in 13 games at AA last season. A 3.13 ERA, a BAA of .163, and 74 Ks across 54.2 innings. His 3 starts at AAA may have killed all of that goodwill though. His BAA ballooned up to .400, and his ERA up to 41.54. But if he can get off to a good start this season, he could get called up in the case of an injury to one of the Phillies starters.