Pair of Philadelphia Phillies Rising Stars Among MLB’s Best Prospects

The Philadelphia Phillies have two of the best prospects in all of baseball, as they were ranked in one publication’s latest Top 100.

Jul 13, 2024; Arlington, TX, USA; American League Future outfielder Spencer Jones (93) steals second base ahead of the tag by National League Future infielder Aidan Miller (10) during the fourth inning during the Major league All-Star Futures game at Globe Life Field. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have been waiting a long time on pitcher Andrew Painter. They haven’t been waiting nearly as long on infielder Aidan Miller, but he could pay off just as handsomely.

The pair were the only two Phillies prospects ranked among the Top 100 in Baseball America’s latest preseason rankings.

Curiously absent is outfield prospect Justin Crawford, who at one time last year was among the Top 100 prospects in baseball.

Painter came in at No. 9 while Miller came in at No. 36.

Even though Painter hasn’t pitched in a minor-league game since 2022 due to injury and recovery, he’s remained a Top 100 prospect among all major ranking services.

Painter did pitch in the Arizona Fall League last year and was impressive enough to get the Phillies to begin planning for 2025. He will be in spring training and will pitch there, but he won’t be in the opening day rotation. The franchise plans to manage Painter’s workload and have him ready for the Majors sometime during the season.

He boasts an impressive repertoire of pitches. The 2021 first-round pick has a career record of 6-2 with a 1.48 ERA in 26 minor league starts, most of which came in 2022 when he pitched his way all the way to Double-A Reading. He has 167 career strikeouts against 25 walks.

Philadelphia was going to give him a shot at their opening day rotation before he suffered an elbow injury that eventually led to Tommy John surgery and shut him down for 2023 and 2024.

As for Miller, the prep star out of New Port Richey, Fla., was the Phillies’ first-round pick in 2023 and he reached Double-A Reading last year. Late last year he bypassed Painter as the organization’s No. 1 prospect, as ranked by Baseball America. But that proved momentary.

Across three different affiliates last season, Miller slashed .261/.366/.446/.812 with 11 home runs and 60 RBI in 102 games. He played in the MLB Futures game, along with Crawford, which paved the way for him to earn the promotion to Reading.

Miller’s path to the Majors is unclear, given that Philadelphia has veteran shortstop Trea Turner on a long-term deal. Miller will likely have to find a different spot on the diamond. But, if he moves as quickly this season as he did in 2024, the Phillies might have to find a spot sooner than expected.

The Phillies are preparing to start preparations for the 2025 season next month in Clearwater, Fla. They’ll head to spring training hoping to make the playoffs for the fourth straight season.