the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at T-Mobile Park on July 08, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.
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.
Florida Prospect Report on Twitter: “Aidan Miller opens up the scoring with his 1st pro HR! His blast to LF scores Boyd & its 2-0 Threshers. What a shot #milestone #clutch pic.twitter.com/N57tA2LcGP / Twitter”
Aidan Miller opens up the scoring with his 1st pro HR! His blast to LF scores Boyd & its 2-0 Threshers. What a shot #milestone #clutch pic.twitter.com/N57tA2LcGP
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.
