Top 3 prospects among Phillies’ invites to spring training originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Right-hander Andrew Painter, shortstop Aidan Miller and outfielder Justin Crawford are regarded as the Phillies’ top three prospects and they are among a group of 23 non-roster invitees to Clearwater next month.
This will be the second big-league camp for Painter, who entered spring training 2023 in a battle for the Phillies’ fifth starter’s job before suffering an elbow injury that eventually led to Tommy John surgery.
The 21-year-old Painter is healthy now and dazzled in the Arizona Fall League, hitting 99 mph with his fastball and striking out 18 in 15⅔ innings to earn the AFL’s top pitching award.
There will be plenty of attention on Painter again this camp but it’s not the same situation as in 2023 when he appeared to have the inside track to a rotation spot. The Phillies’ starting staff is filled out with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo.
Painter will not pitch in games this spring training but he’ll go through a throwing program, then will continue building up in the minor leagues at some point in the first half. He has a chance to contribute at the big-league level in 2025, though president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said just before Christmas that the Phillies intend to save Painter’s innings for “July-ish.”
Miller, the highest-ranked Phillies prospect in MLB.com’s Top 100 at No. 26, will experience big-league camp for the first time as a 20-year-old. He was their first-round pick in 2023 and is coming off a strong season in which he demonstrated power and plate selection, earning two separate promotions. Miller hit .261/.366/.446 overall as one of the younger players at all three levels in which he appeared, starting 90 games at shortstop. He’s an important piece of the Phillies’ future because of his potential and their need to infuse inexpensive youthful energy into a costly veteran-laden lineup.
The same goes for Crawford, who turned 21 on Monday. The high-contact lefty hitter excelled at High A and Double A last season, batting .313 with a .360 on-base percentage and 42 stolen bases. The Phillies are hoping that in just a few years he can take over in center field.
Fellow outfield prospect Gabriel Rincones Jr. also earned an invite to Clearwater. Ranked by MLB.com as the Phillies’ No. 10 prospect, Rincones is a bit older, turning 24 on March 3. He’s a corner outfielder with power who hit .263 with an .843 OPS in 258 plate appearances last season at Double A.
The experience at big-league camp is valuable for young players whether or not they find success in games. It’s an important part of the process for organizations to get them around veterans and help them acclimate them to the major-league lifestyle, schedule and expectations. Many of them feel like the new kid on the first day of school but this group of Phillies vets is good at breaking the ice.
There are also veterans looking to crack rosters. Right-handed reliever Jose Ruiz broke through last spring as a non-roster invitee and was with the Phillies in the majors from the first week of May through the end of the NLDS, carving out a role for 2025.
Here is the full list of this year’s Phillies non-roster invitees:
Left-handed pitchers (2): Tristan Garnett, Nick Vespi
The Phillies signed Vespi to a minor-league contract on Dec. 19. He made the Orioles’ opening day roster last season but pitched in only 11 games. He has a 3.88 career ERA in 45 appearances.
Garnett had a 2.87 ERA in 31 games with Double A Reading last season.
Right-handed pitchers (9): Nabil Crismatt, Jose Cuas, Joel Kuhnel, Griff McGarry, John McMillon, Nicholas Padilla, Andrew Painter, Austin Schulfer, Guillo Zuñiga
Crismatt has pitched in 114 games over the last five seasons with the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Padres and Cardinals. His first two full seasons as a reliever in San Diego in 2021-22 were a success but he’s appeared just sporadically in the majors since.
Cuas has 132 games of big-league time with the Royals, Cubs and Blue Jays with more than a strikeout per inning. The Phillies claimed him off waivers in September.
McMillon has pitched for the Royals and Marlins over the last two seasons and allowed three runs in 16 innings. The Phillies added him via waivers from Miami just after the season ended.
McGarry has been in camp before and needs to show this year that he can throw strikes, not just in spring training but in the minors thereafter. He still has a big fastball if he can ever harness the repertoire.
Catchers (4): Josh Breaux, Payton Henry, Paul McIntosh, Caleb Ricketts
Catching depth is always important in spring training. Breaux and Ricketts played in the upper-minors for the Phils last season. Henry was at Triple A with the Blue Jays. McIntosh was part of the trade that brought Luzardo to Philadelphia.
Infielders (5): Rodolfo Castro, Otto Kemp, Rafael Lantigua, Aidan Miller, Carson Taylor
Castro is still in the organization after coming over from Pittsburgh at the 2023 trade deadline for left-hander Bailey Falter. He hasn’t hit much since and missed most of last season with thumb and shoulder injuries.
Taylor, a 25-year-old corner infielder, performed well offensively for Double A Reading last season, hitting .279/.396/.458 with 16 homers and 77 RBI.
Lantigua is a 26-year-old utilityman without much power who has put up big walk totals in the minors, 168 the last two seasons with an OBP approaching .400.
Outfielders (2): Justin Crawford, Gabriel Rincones Jr.
Infielder/outfielder (1): Matt Kroon
Kroon is a right-handed hitter with 1,510 minor-league plate appearances who has never played in the majors. He appeared in 18 games last spring with the Phillies, mostly as an outfielder with two at third base. The 28-year-old then hit .251 with a .766 OPS last season at Triple A. Organizations need players like Kroon to fill out the depth chart and protect against a rash of injuries, such as last spring when an illness spread through the Phillies’ clubhouse causing more than a dozen players to miss time.
Read the full article here
