This one is actually tough to find
The 2025 season is upon us. We’ll preview the upcoming year by going around the diamond and look at how the Phillies are stacking up both at the major league level and down on the farm.
I think we can all agree that the Phillies haven’t exactly been great at creating relievers from their farm system. We’ve seen them take waiver wire scraps and free agent castoffs, turn the dials a few times and have a quality reliever come off the production line, but from the minors? There hasn’t been much. Teams like the Rays and Dodgers and Guardians have seen their major league bullpen get populated by a seemingly endless supply of high velocity fastball throwin’, big spinner slider chuckin’ relievers that look like they fall out of the shaken reliever tree in their respective minor league systems.
Taking a look at what the Phillies have on the farm and there really isn’t that much to get too excited about. There are some candidates that might make some sort of impact this season on the major league bullpen if given the chance. Here are five candidates, some you know, others that may not be so familiar:
- John McMillon – The darling of stuff models all over the interwebs this spring, McMillion did pitch himself into something of an interesting spot. He did not allow a run over his five innings in Clearwater, but he was sent down nonetheless. He still struggled with control (four walks over those five innings), but his big fastball and solid slider gives the team something they can work with during his time in Lehigh Valley. He isn’t on the 40-man yet and still has minor league options, so the team will try and stash him for now. If he can harness that stuff a bit more, he’ll find himself with a roster spot sooner rather than later.
- Josh Hejka – You might think of this with one of the proverbial “WHO?!?!?” memes that are popular amongst the kids and you might be right. Hejka has never made his major league debut, hasn’t put up big numbers in the minors and the Phillies still made a trade to bring him into the organization. Why? Take a look around his social media. Hejka is a Driveline acolyte and the team might have interest in his spreading his gospel in their minor league system. Don’t get me wrong, there are qualities about Hejka that can help him succeed if given the chance. Just don’t expect a whole lot if the team does decide he’s worthy of a chance.
- Max Lazar – Lazar had a chance this spring to come in and lock down a spot in the major league bullpen, so long as he had a decent spring. With the departures of Hoffman and others, Lazar could take his last season with the team and build on that. How did it go? Well…not great. In 3 2⁄3 innings this spring, Lazar allowed seven runs on seven hits, walked four, allowed two home runs and only struck out three. It could be tantamount to his having a small issue with mechanics, but he has lost quite a bit of confidence in the organization. He remains on the 40-man roster, so there will always be a chance he gets called up in case of injury, but boy did he hurt his stock.
- Moises Chace – This is a longshot, but using Chace as a reliever in the big leagues might not be the worst idea if the team is truly stuck. He should be given every chance to continue as a starter this year, something that might be more valuable to the team in the long run. However, let’s say the team is really struggling with injury in the major league bullpen. They need an infusion of someone with good stuff that can make an impact. Would bringing Chace up for a half a season only be the worst idea, particularly if it is towards the end? It wouldn’t stunt his starter development and might give him a charge to want to reach it faster.
Some prospect will do something during the season that will put him on the fast track to the majors, popping up out of nowhere. Maybe it will be a person on this, maybe it will be someone else. Whoever it is, let’s hope it helps the team.