
January 30, 2025
The Phillies acted very deliberately this offseason, giving their top prospects a huge vote of confidence across the board.
Instead of making blockbuster trades to bring in veteran players to improve the lineup today, they elected to stand pat, hoping their homegrown and highly drafted talent can work its way to the majors over the next few seasons to help revitalize a team that has real World Series aspirations. It's also a roster that is aging.
There are theoretical paths for their top prospects to make it to the majors and start over the next few years — paths we'll break down in just a moment as we take a look at our expected prospect ETAs.
We've grabbed the top 10 from our friends at FanGraphs and we'll ponder when these youngsters might be ready and able to make their big league debuts:
1. Andrew Painter, SP — ETA: 2025
It's a matter of when, not if for Painter, who was recently named the 8th best prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com. Painter had an impressive showing in the Arizona Fall League, and Phillies President Dave Dombrowski has spoken about his plan for the 6-foot-7, 21-year-old. The plan is to bring Painter along slowly during the spring, ramp him up when the summer starts, and theoretically add him to the Phils' MLB rotation sometime during the summer. If there are no setbacks, Painter will be in South Philly when the weather gets warm.
2. Aidan Miller, SS — ETA: 2027
Miller is the top hitting prospect in the Phils' farm system and the No. 27 prospect overall. He's still a little raw but has the tools to be a middle of the order bat and at age 20, he has a little time. The team is likely planning to see how Miller does in Double-A this season, and in Triple-A next — with a spot opening up in 2027 when Alec Bohm becomes a free agent. The team could move Trea Turner to third and slide Miller into short.
3. Moisés Chace, SP — ETA: 2026
Chace has the raw skills to make an immediate impact in the Phillies' bullpen this season, but at 21 the likelihood is he'll have one more year to hone his craft in the minors before a potential rotation push or bullpen role becomes his to earn next spring. Fangraphs is higher on Chace than MLB.com is, as he is not in their top 100.
4. Jean Cabrera, SP — ETA: 2026
A pitcher who quickly climbed the prospect ladder, Cabrera is 23 and had a 3.80 ERA between Single and Double-A last season. Scouts love his sinker and he found some impressive control last season. He has a chance to work his way into rotation plans if he performs well in the higher minors this season.
5. Eduardo Tait, C — ETA: 2028
Tait is the best catcher in the organization and he is a very exciting prospect — but he's also 18. It's hard to project a player that young and that raw. He doesn't exactly pan out as J.T. Realmuto's heir apparent, but he could emerge as a franchise catcher a few years down the line if his trajectory continues into his 20s. He is the 93rd best prospect according to MLB.com.
6. Aroon Escobar, 2B — ETA: 2028
Another young offensive prospect, Escobar is 20 and has elite contact already. He'll need to show he has a little power and he can consistently play well on defense this season in High-A before he journeys through the org-chart. He does have team scouts excited about his potential, which projects as an everyday hitter on a big league club.
7. Justin Crawford, OF — ETA: 2026
Crawford was a recent first-round pick and has gotten respect from MLB.com's rankers who chose him as the 64th best prospect. He's shown he has all the tools to be a major league outfielder, he just needs to flex them consistently. He made the leap to Double-A last summer and in 40 games hit .333 with 26 RBI and 15 stolen bases. The sweet spot for Crawford would be one, maybe more productive minor league seasons before potentially helping the Phillies solidify a weak outfield corps at the MLB level.
8. Alex McFarlane, RP — ETA: 2025
Though he pitched mostly as a starter during his minor league career, the writing appears to be on the wall that the 23-year-old — fresh off Tommy John surgery — might be the next Orion Kerkering. If he adjusts well to the bullpen in the high minors, he could see a path to the bullpen later this summer.
9. Griffin Burkholder, OF — ETA: 2029
This projection is based totally on potential, as last year's second-round pick has had just two professional at-bats. But the Phillies like the speedy West Virginia product who is just 19 years old.
10. Dante Nori, OF — ETA: 2028
Nori was last year's first-rounder, and projects as a dynamic outfielder with a little less offense than might be desired. He's less of a project than Burkholder but both have a lot of work to do by way of maturing and gaining experiences in the minor league ranks.
Follow Evan on Twitter:@evan_macy
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports