A first round pick that could be considered questionable
Dante Nori was a divisive pick even on the night he was drafted. On what should have been the biggest moment of his life to this point, Nori’s being selected into the Phillies organization was almost instantly recognized as a reach. An older high school player, Nori doesn’t have much power to speak off, meaning he’ll have to live and die with this ability to make contact and use his speed on the basepaths. The issue with this is that in today’s game, if the bat can get knocked out of your hands easily, pro velocity can separate you from the pack pretty quickly.
That means, unless Nori develops some semblance of power, teams are going to challenge him quite regularly with fastballs. It’s an issue, particularly since the player was chosen in the first round. We won’t know for a while if the players chosen after Nori would have been a better choice for the Phillies, but as of now, Nori continues to look a bit like a stretch to have been drafted at that point in the draft.
That doesn’t mean he can’t, or won’t, turn into a useful major league regular. The Phillies seem to fancy this profile lately in the amateur drafts, so they obviously believe in the bat and the projection that goes with it.
It’s just kind of hard to see it from the outside looking in.
With each new post, we’ll reveal who won the voting for that particular slot, then post new players for you to vote on, adding another one to the list each time until we get to our final tally of 20. Once we get to 20 top prospects, we’ll do an honorable mention post at the end. If a player gets traded to another team, we’ll just chuck him right on outta here and all the players will move up a spot. If a prospect gets acquired, we’ll ask where he should go on the list.
Probably the most important thing about this whole process – please vote. Give us a few minutes of your time, just click a button and then we can discuss other players and things in the comment section, but don’t forget – VOTE!
Here are seven* candidates for the team’s twelfth best prospect along with scouting reports from Fangraphs (or Baseball Prospectus where indicated). (*It was suggested we go to more prospects at this point)
Michael Mercado
25 years old, 2025 expected level: AAA Lehigh Valley, 2024 stats (AAA): 32 G (10 GS), 69 2⁄3 IP, 64:35 K:BB
Late in the season, Mercado’s seldom-used changeup took an enormous step forward. Once the calendar turned to August, it quickly became Mercado’s most-used secondary pitch, and it performed like a plus-plus offering during the last month of play. One in every three or four of Mercado’s changeups is really nasty, while the others aren’t in enticing locations. But he’s barely used it, so his command of it should improve, and I think it’ll be a consistently plus pitch soon. Given that his cutter and curveball are also pretty good, it’s plausible Mercado could revisit a starter role in the future now that he more clearly has the repertoire depth. But he was also routinely reaching back for 97 at the end of the year in single-inning bursts, has the tools to deal with hitters of either handedness, and seems likely to be a very successful reliever from the jump. There’s more upside here than that of just a generic middle reliever, be it via Mercado working four or more outs at a time or eventually stretching out as a starter again. He’s a sneaky candidate to be the Phils’ third or fourth best reliever this year.
Alex McFarlane
23 years old, 2025 expected level: A+ Jersey Shore, 2024 stats: did not pitch (Tommy John surgery)
Healthy 2025 McFarlane could enjoy a Kerkering-like rise through the minors, especially if the Phillies decide to ‘pen him. When he was totally healthy early in 2023, McFarlane was sitting 98-100 mph, then backed into the 94-97 range closer to when he was shut down. His monster arm strength helps make up for his fastball’s tailing shape, created by his nearly side-arm delivery. His gyro slider induced a plus-plus 21% swinging strike rate against A-ball hitters (an important caveat) in 2023, and McFarlane also has a rare changeup that he threw fewer than 50 times before he was shut down.
Seth Johnson
26 years old, 2025 expected level: AAA Lehigh Valley, 2024 stats w/ PHI (AAA): 5 GS, 23 IP, 19:14 K:BB
The Orioles were willing to use a 2023 40-man spot on a rehabbing Johnson, who returned to an affiliated mound barely a year after that. Now more than two years post-surgery, his control hasn’t gotten much better. He also doesn’t have a weapon to deal with lefties, as Johnson’s best secondaries remain his usual curveball and cutter. Especially now that he’s entering his last option year, Johnson is pretty likely to be a stock middle reliever.
Devin Saltiban
19 years old, 2025 expected level: A+ Jersey Shore, 2024 stats: .237/.346/.428, 17 HR, 53 RBI, 22 SB
Saltiban is built like a little running back and has an exciting power/speed combo, which allowed him to hit 17 bombs in Clearwater last year, a couple of which went out to the opposite field. He has a very authoritative top hand through contact and is capable of turning on fastballs up around his hands, but he struggles to recognize sliders. Saltiban is perhaps the highest variance prospect in this system. There’s a chance he doesn’t make enough contact to be anything at all, but there’s also a chance he’s a 20-homer center fielder in spite of a ton of strikeouts. Because his position is still totally up in the air, Saltiban remains more of a toolsy dev project than a true impact prospect, even though he has that kind of ceiling.
Bryan Rincon
21 years old, 2025 expected level: A+ Jersey Shore, 2024 stats: .198/.331/.322, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 8 SB
He was at or under the Mendoza Line all year when he was healthy enough to play. How much of this was rust, or related to discomfort and tightness that preceded the IL stint, and how much is related to Rincon’s talent? His underlying contact rates dipped from 88% in-zone and 81% overall in 2023 to 81% in-zone and 74% overall in 2024. Rincon looked better at shortstop the further away he got from his hamstring injury, and was good there in the AFL, but the same was not true of his hitting hands, which were still a little slow and stiff. A year ago, it looked like Rincon would have the skill set of a Geraldo Perdomo type of second division regular. Now he’s looking more like a lower-impact reserve whose best skill is his plate discipline.
Leandro Pineda
22 years old, 2025 expected level: AA Reading, 2024 stats: .260/.331/.413, 11 HR 52 RBI, 3 SB
Pineda is a big-framed lefty power bat with good pull-side power against middle-in pitches. He has some oppo ability against pitches middle-away, but really struggles to cover the top of the strike zone… Pineda’s power isn’t monstrous; instead, it’s solidly average and projects above as his statuesque 6-foot-3 frame continues to fill out. He began playing first base in 2024 and has continued to get reps there in Venezuela this winter. He should have enough playable power and defensive versatility to merit a low-end platoon role.
Otto Kemp
25 years old, 2025 expected level: AAA Lehigh Valley, 2024 stats: .285/.392/.489, 16 HR, 66 RBI, 20 SB
Kemp had power-hitting success at Reading in 2024. He has above-average power, but he’s a 30-grade contact hitter (struggling especially with secondary stuff) and a 40 defender at the hot corner.
So now, it’s your chance to vote. You’ve got 48 hours – go on and vote! If you have an option that isn’t listed here, let us know in the comments. If he gets enough recs to beat out of the other seven, he’ll be crowned as the next top prospect.