Injured Pitcher Remains Philadelphia Phillies' Top Prospect
The Philadelphia Phillies saw some of their Top 10 prospects reshuffled as Baseball America re-ranked the prospects in each organization for the 2024 offseason.
But, their top prospect remained the same — pitcher Andrew Painter.
The right-hander was a pitcher the Phillies were hopeful would make the team in 2023. But, after he experienced pain in his UCL and spent time trying to rehab the injury, he had Tommy John surgery in the summer.
The Phillies have ruled him out for all of 2024.
In 2022 Painter went 6-2 with a 1.22 ERA with three different affiliates, as he struck out 155 and walked 25.
Outfield prospect Justin Crawford — the son of former Major League star Carl Crawford — was No. 2.
He worked his way up to High-A Jersey Coast in his first full pro season and batted .332 with 22 doubles, three home runs and 64 RBI.
Pitcher Mick Abel was No. 3. The right-hander is on Philadelphia’s radar for 2024 after he reached Triple-A Lehigh Valley and went 5-6 with a 4.13 ERA for the season. He struck out 132 and walked 65.
A pair of infield prospects, Aidan Miller and Starlyn Caba, were No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
Mille was the Phillies’ first-round pick in July and he batted .303 in 20 games with their Single-A affiliate in Clearwater. Caba, an international signee, batted .301 in the Dominican Summer League.
Pitcher Orion Kerkering — who made his MLB debut late in September and pitched during the Phillies postseason run — was No. 6.
Kerkering was the Paul Owens Award winner as the top minor league pitcher for the organization. He went 4-1 with 14 saves, a 1.51 ERA and 0.89 WHIP across 49 relief appearances with four different Phillies affiliates.
The remaining Top 10 prospects were shortstop Bryan Rincon at No. 7, shortstop William Bergolla at No. 8, catcher Eduardo Tait at No. 9 and outfielder Gabriel Rincones at No. 10.
