2023 Phillies Prospect Rankings - High-A

While the club went only 51-81 last season, the Clearwater Threshers saw a lot of talent appear in their lineups and rotation last season. Which players who topped out there, however, have the most promise? Let's break it down.

Hao Yu Lee^
Christian McGowan
Tristan Garnett^
Erubiel Armenta
Victor Vargas
Cristian Hernandez
Rixon Wingrove
Marcus Lee Sang^
Sam Jacobsak
Jordan Fowler^
Nick Ward#
Andrick Nava
Baron Radcliff
Jordi Martinez
Rodolfo Sanchez^

The projectable Lee of course ranks first year after a tantalizing first full professional season. Could another year of growth and better health see Lee rise to prospect stardom in 2023? McGowan is still woaking his way back from Tommy John Surgery, but his tantalizing upside preserves his rank here. Garnett is a finesse guy who may face a tougher test this upcoming season, whereas Armenta, Vargas, and Hernandez have better stuff. Keep an eye on particular on the last of that group, whose stuff may play up as a reliever (as evinced in the AFL). Power hitters Wingrove, Ward, and Radcliff are power-first prospects who took great strides last season. Finally, keep an eye on Lee Sang, a 2019 11th rounder with CF experience who just turned 22 as a project guy who could open eyes this season.

2022 Phillies Mid-Season Prospect Rankings - A+

Hitting struggles have persisted all year for the A+ Jersey Shore Blue Claws, who sit at just 31-55 at the All-Star Break, but the club has been boosted by strong pitching production out of a core made up mostly of former high school draftees. Here are the club's top fifteen prospects:

Andrew Painter
Mick Abel
Kyle Glogoski
Christian McGowan
Ben Brown
Ethan Wilson
Erubiel Armenta
Andrick Nava
Victor Vargas
Rixon Wingrove
Carlos De La Cruz
Cristian Hernandez
Luis Garcia
Rafael Marcano
Albertus Barber

Painter of course of the biggest name on this list as the consensus top prospect in the system having just turned 19 and already dominating at the A+ level. Abel at #2 is no surprise, but Glogoski takes the wide open #3 spot having shown well in his return from an injury-crossed 2021 season. Brown is having a breakout season, and could see his stock rise even more if he can translate his A+ success into AA success. Armenta slides a bit thanks to less impressive production in his second go at the A+ level. Nava looked poised for a breakout season in his first year above the rookie level, but he was sent down to Clearwater after his hot stretch ran out. Two names increasing their stock this season have been Vargas and Wingrove, both of whom have rebounded this season after nightmarish 2021 campaigns. Hernandez, Garcia, Casey Martin, and Nicolas Torres, on the other hand, have struggled to perform at the A+ level, with the hitters particularly taking a hit after having already played at the A+ level prior.

2022 Phillies Prospect Rankings - AA

Reading's FirstEnergy Stadium is known as one of the most hitter-friendly parks in all of the Minors, making it a tough beast to conquer. As it turned out, Reading was also the starting point for a lot of Phillies prospects in 2021, such as Matt Vierling, Simon Muzziotti, and Francisco Morales, but most ended up in AAA or the Majors. Here are some of the best that did end up here.

Erubiel Armenta
Billy Sullivan IV
Ethan Lindow
Noah Skirrow
Carlo Reyes
Trevor Bettencourt*
James McArthur
Jhailyn Ortiz
Luke Miller
Matt Kroon
Andrew Brown
Tyler Lehman
Tyler Phillips
Oscar Gonzalez

Again, here we have a short list, and once again one that is pitcher-heavy. Armenta is a name I had actually never heard of at the start of the season, but if you don't know it than it's best you do. The Tijuana product was otherworldly at three levels of the Minors, reaching AA with just twenty-one innings of regular-season professional experience under his belt. All told, he posted a monster 19.2 K/9 over 23 frames, mowing down 49 of the 104 batters he faced - over 47%! Another arm to watch is Sullivan, a UDFA product out of Delaware who was converted to the bullpen due to injury issues - ones that ended his 2021 season. However, he still managed to make AA before he recorded his eighteenth professional out, the held his own at AA thereafter. Should his health hold, Sullivan is a pitcher who could aid the Phillies as early as this season.

More arms file in after these two. Lindow was a serious prospect coming into last season, but he was demoted to A+ partway through the season. This is a make-or-break season for him, especially now that he is Rule V eligible. Skirrow, meanwile, is a Liberty product who posted a 1.07 ERA over his first nine outings of the season in a mixed role, but struggled after a promotion to AA and was also demoted late in the season. Carlo Reyes followed up a strong 2019 as an older DSL player with a strong 2021 across three levels, though his decent AA ERA was aided by some UER. Finally, Bettencourt is already 27 and missed most of both 2019 and 2021 with injury, but if he can get back on track his track record in the Minors shows he could be a useful arm out of the bullpen.