How The Phillies Top 4 Prospects Looked In Spring Training
Spring Training is not just the first look at players who will make the pro team this year, it also offers a glimpse into some of the team’s top prospects. The Phillies had a handful of guys on their top prospect list in camp this year. Names Like Justin Crawford, Aidan Millar, and Andrew Painter were with the team this spring.
Crawford and Miller were already sent down. Painter remains with the team for now but is not expected to make the Pros until June or July as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery. There was also the emergency of a smaller prospect, Gabriel Rincones Jr. How did each of them look?
Here Is How The 4 Phillies Prospects Fared in Spring Training
Aidan Miller
Miller is the prize of the Phillies hitting prospects. he is rated their 2nd best prospect behind only Andrew Painter, and is 27th in the MLB. Scouts love the pop in his bat. We have only had glimpses of it so far, with 11 HRs in 122 games, but the raw power is there waiting to be unlocked, and he is still only 20 years old.
This spring was his first taste of playing with the Phillies, and while he did not get a hit, he did impress people with his poise, his ability to play Short, and his approach at the plate. Including Jayson Stark who talked about his 1st impressions of Miller with Ricky Bo on our Hot Stove special.
“This was my first time really seeing Aiden Miller. Very comfortable in the big league setting. I thought he looked good at short. I agree with Larry Bowa, he can play short. He had really good at bats. He never did get a hit. Like at some point he’s going to need to mix in some hits, but there’s a lot to get excited about.”
He was recently sent down and is likely still a year or 2 away. But he is already at AA, and could easily fast-track his path to the majors if he starts showing off that pop every scout thinks he is capable of.
Justin Crawford
The son of former All-Star Carl Crawford, Justin was also sent down along with Aidan Miller recently. But unlike Miller, Crawford did produce some numbers while at Phillies camp.
Crawford went 3 for 10, drew a walk, and stole 2 bags on the way to scoring 4 runs. The guy can run, that much is clear from his 99 steals in just over 200 games down in the minors since 2022. And like many people assumed he eventually would, he bulked up a bit to look more chiseled at Spring Training than people are used to seeing him.
He left quite an impression on Rob Thompson in his 7 games played in the Spring.
“Crawford has a really good spring. He is an exciting guy… He is going to get bigger and stronger, and he does have some pop. But he has a lot of energy, and he can do a lot of things with his speed.”
Jayson Stark also weighed in on what he saw out of Crawfrod this Spring.
“He looked much more chiseled than I remember. He was impressive. He can really run. He had a game where he just manufactured a run with his legs. Only struck out 1 time all spring. I mean, he has work to do, but would it shock you to see him in the big leagues sometime this year, it wouldn’t shock me.”
His glove in CF, thanks in large part to his elite speed, has also been great down in the minors. But what will really excite Phillies fans is his tendency to put the ball in play. The team wants him to get the ball elevated more, just because he grounds out a bit too much. But a guy with his speed, who puts the ball in play, could cause a lot of trouble for teams.
We might see him this year if the Phillies need to bring up an Outfielder, and he continues to put up numbers down in AA. But if not this year, 2026 will be when Crawford makes his way to Citizens Bank Park.
Andrew Painter
Painter is the guy with the biggest chance to contribute this year. Dave Dombrowski straight-up told us we will see him in June or July.
But they are still taking it slow with him, hence why we have not seen him pitch in Spring. He is there, and he is drawing rave reviews for the work he is doing outside of the games, but fans have not gotten a real look at what he looks like post-Tommy John.
He did post a 2.3 ERA in the Arizona Fall League. But they will take it slow with him, and let him start down in the minors. Provided there are no setbacks, we will get a chance to see him in person closer to the All-Star Break.
For a reminder of how good he is, he had a 1.56 Era across 22 starts the last time he pitched in the Phillies organization back in 2022.
Gabriel Rincones Jr
Rincones is the camp darling and the wildcard among the Phillies prospects. He was not a highly regarded prospect coming into camp. He is not top 100 on any list, and as for the Phillies list, the highest any outlet had him was 10.
But you can not deny the noise he has made in camp. There is a reason the other guys were sent down, and he is still there. He has 4 hits, 3 of which left the yard. His OPS in the Spring is 1.438. He is crushing balls.
Here is what Jayson Stark said about him.
“Rincones is having an eye-popping spring. He has hit five balls over 100mph, and it’s the most on this team. So, you know, the bat speed is real. I would just caution people that he’s not a great defender in the outfield. And the left-right splits tell us he might be just a platoon piece offensively.“
The left-right splits are real. He is another lefty who struggles to hit lefties. His slash line vs them was .189/.250/.243/.493 last season. It was a very small sample size, but the small sample size shows the organization does not trust him vs lefties.
People expecting him to play his way into a starting spot might be getting ahead of themselves. But Stark does think he can be a contributor as a depth bat in case of injury.
“He’s probably going to start in Triple-A. So just imagine they need an outfielder in a couple of months. Say Max Kepler gets hurt. Would you rather see them call up that guy or a retread like David Dahl, who was last year’s insurance policy in the outfield, right? I mean, I think the fact that you got a guy like this to call up is just another sign of the progress they’re making in their system.”
He might be able to crack the roster. More likely it is what Stark suggests. He will hang out and AAA and wait for there to be a need. But it feels very likely we see him in Philadelphia at some point this season.
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