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Justin Crawford enjoyed a (Grape)fruitful opener, Kyle Schwarber has already gone yard, and some pitchers stood out for the Phillies over the weekend.
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Geoff Mosher
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Tag: aidan miller
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Phillies spring training roundup: Opening weekend begins with a bloop and a blast
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Phillies Offseason Predictions – Philadelphia Sports Nation
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Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images The dust has settled on the 2025 MLB season with the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrating back-to-back World Series Championships just like everyone expected. With the 2025 season in the rearview mirror, the attention turns to the offseason. One that might be the most pivotal offseason this franchise has had since they signed Bryce Harper in 2019.
Who’s Back, Who’s Gone
Right off the bat, it’s very easy to say the Phillies’ top priority is Kyle Schwarber, which I completely agree with. I would love to see Schwarber finish his career in a Phillies uniform, especially after the season he put together last year. As great as his play is on the field, he’s an amazing clubhouse guy, which is another reason why I think the Phillies must re-sign him. It’s going to leave a bad taste in a lot of fans’ mouths if the Phillies don’t offer Schwarber.
While Schwarber is priority number one, resigning JT Realmuto would be my number two. I think JT should finish his career with the Phillies, and to me, it makes too much sense. He had a great offensive season, considering how slow he started out of the gate. He is familiar with our pitching staff, and I have never heard any of the pitchers he’s worked with complain about how he handles things. Realmuto is still a top catcher in the league despite his age, and there aren’t many other options to replace JT. The key replacement would be trying to trade for Adley Rutschman from the Baltimore Orioles, but I would much rather the Phillies resign JT and not give up any assets.
Harrison Bader, I would love to have back, but I’m not sure where he would fit. If we could sign him for a year or two, I don’t mind Bader being a nice bridge player until top prospect Justin Crawford gets settled at the major league level. Bader would be a great mentor for Crawford during his first few years at the major league level.
In terms of who’s gone, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Nick Castellanos traded along with Johan Rojas and possibly even Alec Bohm. Castellanos is the one most likely to be moved, especially with how things were handled with him the last few months of the season. Ever since his incident with Rob Thomson, it’s been painfully obvious that the Phillies want to try and move him.
Rojas has become expendable with the emergence of prospect Justin Crawford, who should definitely be on the Phillies’ opening day roster as their centerfielder. Crawford hit .334 in Triple-A last season and played above-average defense in centerfield. Mix in 46 stolen bases, and you now have a better version of Johan Rojas in centerfield.
Alex Bohm could be in a similar situation; however, I don’t know if they will cut ties with him just yet. Top prospect Aidan Miller is still only 21 years old, but he put together a strong season across Double-A and Triple-A last season. Miller broke the Reading Fightin Phils record for most stolen bases in a season with 52. If the Phillies move Bohm, I definitely expect Aidan Miller to be with the big league club this season. Unless Miller puts together an incredible spring, I do expect him to start the season in Triple-A. That means the Phillies would need to try and find a bridge third baseman until Miller is ready. Nolan Arenado is a name to watch if they do end up trading Bohm. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Phillies went with Bohm to start the season and then moved him in the middle of the year if Miller is ready and performing.
Pitching
In terms of the pitching, getting Zach Wheeler back healthy is the most important thing for this team. The development of Andrew Painter will be something to monitor as well. Ranger Suarez is the big decision this front office will have to make. His performance has statistically tailed off in the second half of the season, and staying healthy has been a struggle. I’m hesitant to throw money at someone who has struggled to stay healthy. It’s going to be an extremely important decision and one that takes a few years to develop before we decide if it was the right move. It all comes down to money, whether they want to give Suarez the contract he deserves.
If Suarez returns, the Phillies’ rotation will be poised to be a top rotation in baseball again. Christopher Sanchez was your NL Cy Young runner-up after Paul Skenes took home the award last week, which is an incredible accomplishment for Sanchez. A pitcher the Phillies acquired in a trade from the Rays a few years back has turned into a Diamond in the rough. If Wheeler comes back healthy, Aaron Nola bounces back, and Jesus Luzardo builds off of last year’s strong season, then the Phillies could no doubt have the best rotation in baseball.
Winter Meetings
Most action won’t start happening until the week of the MLB Winter Meetings, which will occur from December 7-10. That is when the owners and managers will get to work on building their ballclubs for the 2026 season, as everyone has a fresh start for a World Series run.
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Matt Saglembeni
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Phillies prospect watch: Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford hitting like future roster cornerstones
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The Phillies are not the only team in the organization in a playoff hunt right now. Both the Iron Pigs (Triple-A) and Threshers (Single-A) have a chance to join the big league club in their respective postseasons.
And that’s because a lot of the franchise’s best prospects are playing pretty well as summer turns to fall and the 2025 season nears its conclusion.
While the trade deadline is firmly in the rearview and big league promotions the rest of the way are unlikely, the players we’ll document below could be names to keep an eye on in spring training next March.
Here’s our latest check in with the Phillies’ top 15 prospects (according to MLB.com):
Who’s hot?
Aidan Miller, SS (No. 2)
Philly’s top positional prospect has been everything the team has been hoping for so far, as he earned the farm systems hitter of the month honors for his performance in August — which was simply electric. The 21 year old slashed .348/.454/.629 (1.083 OPS), going 31-for-89 with 22 runs scored, 13 doubles, four homers, 16 RBI, 13 walks and 13 stolen bases in 22 games for double-A Reading.
Justin Crawford, OF (No. 3)
Crawford is also handling the bat very well, as he and Crawford both could factor into the team’s offseason plans and roster construction. The former first rounder is hitting .334 with a .411 on base percentage this season, numbers scouts are drooling over. He’s also finding more power in Triple-A — he had three homers in a four game stretch from August 24th to 28th.
Aroon Escobar, IF (No. 5)
Escobar has jumped from being the 13th top prospect in the organization to sixth, then to fifth after the trade deadline. He has a five-game hit streak right now over at Jersey Shore, and two nights before the streak started he went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer. He’ll have to prove it in the higher minors before the Phillies pencil him in as a future big league contributor.
Dante Nori, OF (No. 6)
Nori recently made the leap, like Escobar, from Clearwater to Jersey Shore and he’s shown worthy of the promotion. In 10 games there, he’s hit .308 with 13 stolen bases. The team desperately needs outfield talent in the near future and if he can keep playing like a first round pick he could factor into their plans quickly.
Gabriel Rincones, OF (No. 9)
An older prospect at 24, Rincones has been on an absolute tear the last 10 days, hitting .447 in Triple-A. Over that span he has five homers, 14 RBI and a crazy .895 slugging percentage.
Keaton Anthony, 1B (No. 15)
Anthony is another older prospect whom you may not have heard of, but he’s on a hot streak in the minors and handled a promotion with gusto from Double to Triple-A. After slashing .330/.380/.522 in Reading, he’s hit .313 over 33 games in Lehigh Valley.
Who’s not?
Andrew Painter, SP (No. 1 prospect)
Painter has been disappointing to fans, and probably to the organization too as each expected the top prospect in the organization to make a major league impact this summer. But he’s simply not ready for the majors — as he continues his return from TJ surgery. His most recent start Wednesday for Lehigh Valley saw the 21-year-old pummeled for 10 hits and seven runs (six earned) in 5.1 innings against Toledo. Painter will finish the season in Triple-A and attempt to compete for a roster spot next spring. His ERA this year is 5.45.
Jean Cabrera, SP (No. 11)
Cabrera has been one of the best pitchers in Double-A Reading this season, but after what seemed like a very consistent start to the year he’s had some blips over his last 10 starts. Three times he’s allowed four or more runs, and four times he’s earned a loss in the ledger. He still has a pretty solid 3.75 ERA over his 25 starts this year.
Carson DeMartini, 3B (No. 13)
DeMartini, last year’s fourth-round pick, was raking in Jersey Shore to start the year, prompting a promotion to Reading in June. He’s not made the jump well, hitting just .202 over 66 games for the Fightin’s.
Devin Saltiban, 2B (No. 14)
At just 20, Saltiban is having a rough go of it this season. With 66 games under his belt now for Jersey Shore, the infielder is hitting .188 — though he does have a decent walk rate and has hit five homers.
Who’s not playing…
Gage Wood, (No. 4)
The Phillies took Wood with their first round pick earlier this summer and he’s slated to make his pro debut Saturday afternoon. For now, he’s got juice and good vibes surrounding him — he did toss an epic College World Series no-hitter.
Cade Obermueller (No. 7)
Obermueller is the Phillies’ second round pick from June and hasn’t yet thrown a pro pitch, though it is anticipated his 98 MPH fastball and killer slider could make him a future major leaguer.
Moisés Chace, SP (No. 8)
After a decent start to 2025, Chace’s season ended when he got Tommy John surgery late in the spring.
Matthew Fisher, SP (No. 10)
Does it reflect poorly on the Phillies farm system that three of their top 10 prospects have yet to play and were drafted just this year? The consensus from experts is that the prospect pool for the Phillies is top-heavy and thin. Fisher is a talented HS pitcher drafted in the seventh round who will likely have a longer road to the majors.
Griffin Burkholder, OF (No. 12)
Burkholder was last year’s second-round pick is currently on the 60-day IL where he’ll be for the rest of the year. He did not play well in just second pro season, hitting .197 over 34 games.
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Evan Macy
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MLB Draft: The Phillies are picking late again, but have hope that another top prospect might slide
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The Phillies will be picking at the back of the MLB Draft order again.
And just like last year, you’ll hardly find Brian Barber, the club’s assistant general manager of amateur scouting, complaining.
“Our hope every year is that we’re picking 30th overall,” Barber told the media in a pre-draft Zoom call on Wednesday. “It’s just the reality because that means we walked away and won the World Series the year before.”
But a key lesson learned from when you have to pick later in the draft, especially from last summer: Be ready for any prospect to fall to you, and have scouting on top of its game in the event it does happen.
“You just have to be prepared for so many different eventualities,” Barber said. “Rather than if you draft higher, or even in the middle of the first round, the pool is smaller. So one of the things that we learned last year is that anybody can necessarily fall to you and you have to be prepared for a lot of situations.
“You have to be prepared that you’re picking, for us, the 27th best player on the board with a hope that somebody you have evaluated at a higher level happens to fall down to you.”
Last summer, it was Aidan Miller who fell to the Phillies at 27th overall, a pure-hitting third baseman out of Dunedin, Florida who many didn’t get to see in his draft year because of a broken hand.
The high school prospect fell down the board because of it, but to the Phillies’ advantage. The now 20-year old has since become the second-ranked prospect in their farm system, behind only prized pitcher Andrew Painter, who will still be rehabbing from Tommy John surgery into 2025.
So set to pick at No. 27 again, the Phillies’ scouts have been doing their homework and will be ready to make a call wherever the chips might fall.
“You never have any certainty that somebody will be there or won’t be there,” Barber said. “So I think at our spot, once the draft starts, you sit there, see how it plays out and you’re ready to pounce on a player that you have evaluated higher. Hopefully they fall, and if they don’t, you’re also prepared for that on guys that you normally don’t get to 27.”
The 2024 MLB Draft will begin Sunday night in Texas with Rounds 1 and 2 (plus the competitive balance rounds) as part of a lead-in to the All-Star break, then progress through rounds 3-20 over Monday and Tuesday.
The Phillies will be picking 27th in each round. Here’s a rundown of what that will look like 1-5, per MLB:
Rd. Pick 1 27 2 63 3 100 4 130 5 162 And to get somewhat of a sense of who might be around for the Phillies by the time they’re on the clock in the first at 27, here are MLB’s top-ranked prospects from 25-35:
Rk) Player Position Age School 25) Jurrangelo Cijntje RHP/LHP 21 Miss. St. (NCAA) 26) Malcolm Moore C 20 Stanford (NCAA) 27) Slade Caldwell OF 18 Valley View, AR (HS) 28) Theo Gillen SS/2B 18 Westlake, TX (HS) 29) Kellon Lindsey SS 18 Hardee, FL (HS) 30) Kash Mayfield LHP 19 Elk City, OK (HS) 31) Kaelen Culpepper SS 21 Kansas St. (NCAA) 32) Billy Amick 3B 21 Tennessee (NCAA) 33) Caleb Lomavita C 21 California (NCAA) 34) Dakota Jordan OF 21 Miss. St. (NCAA) 35) Wyatt Sanford SS 18 Independence,TX (HS) NOTE: You are seeing that right up top. Cijntje is a switch pitcher.
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Nick Tricome
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