Sometimes, MLB shows who is and isn’t ready
When the Phillies traded Gregory Soto, the return of Moises Chace was kind of seen as more than enough. Getting Seth Johnson was a solid pickup as he was still a prospect, but nothing too exciting. He’d give the Phillies some rotation depth and that’s something they actually needed.
He started pitching well enough in the Phillies organization that the team even gave him a spot start to see what they had in him. Choosing to start him against the Marlins seemed like a solid idea as they thought of their major league lineup as more of a theory than anything.
My oh my how MLB can humble a player. Johnson was shelled, shipping back to Reading and finished the season there.
It goes to show that if one has marginal stuff, even a lineup like the Marlins can do damage against it. Johnson remains a solid enough prospect, someone who can still progress enough to possibly fill in the backend of the rotation. That’s good enough for right now as the team has a full house in the major league rotation, but he might need a new organization to get a real shot at a full time job.
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 sixteenth best prospect along with scouting reports from Fangraphs (or Baseball Prospectus where indicated). (*It was suggested we go to more prospects at this point)
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.
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.
Mavis Graves
21 years old, 2025 expected level: A+ Jersey Shore, 2024 stats: 18 G (16 GS), 84 IP, 3.64 ERA, 117:36 K:BB
After Graves struggled badly with walks during his 2023 pro debut, he now looks like a very stable high-volume strike-thrower with modest present stuff and projection, a long-term backend starter. Graves is a massive 6-foot-6 and his delivery is so easy and effortless that it almost look lackadaisical. His consistent release allows Graves to fill the zone with four pitches, the best of which is his tight (albeit a little slow) two-planed slider. It’s tough to see Graves adding significant velocity as he matures because he’s already so massive, and he’s not an especially twitchy athlete. This is why he’s considered a fairly low-variance prospect despite his age and measurables.
Carson DeMartini
22 years old, 2025 expected level: A Clearwater, 2024 stats: .315/.385/.478, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 8 SB
DeMartini has above-average lefty bat speed, but it takes him quite a bit of noise and effort to generate it, and he had a 27.7% strikeout rate in his draft year at Tech, which is comfortably in red flag territory. His swing is geared for low-ball power in the extreme. DeMartini often collapses to one knee on his biggest swings, and he averaged 20 degrees of launch after the draft at Clearwater, where his K rate was half of what it was in college. Realistically, DeMartini is going to struggle to cover the outer third because of his approach and has a power-over-hit skill set. If he can play multiple defensive positions, then a role similar to the one Kody Clemens has been playing is realistic.
Hendry Mendez
21 years old, 2025 expected level: AA Reading, 2024 stats: .284/.386/.391, 3 HR, 41 RBI, 3 SB (scouting report from Baseball Prospectus)
Mendez might be an out-and-out case of prospect fatigue even though he’s only 21. Sent to full-season ball at age 18 in 2022, he struggled to perform for two years in the low minors at absurdly young ages for the level, hitting a disproportionate number of ground balls and barely staying afloat. Traded to the Phillies last offseason in the Oliver Dunn deal, he repeated High-A and had a decent consolidation year, hitting .284/.386/.391 as a still-young-for-level 20-year-old. He has good bat-to-ball ability and makes good swing decisions, and did some demonstrable damage on contact for the first time in his domestic career. His ground-ball rate is still comically high, in the Justin Crawford zone—Mendez and Crawford come from a fairly similar archetype in general and in evaluating them the gap was much smaller than I expected it to be—but if he can start lifting even a bit he’s got some major-league regular outcomes. Whether he can utilize the friendly confines of Reading to start hitting for more pop will be an interesting test.
John Spikerman
21 years old, 2025 expected level: A Clearwater, 2024 stats: .226/.360/.323, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 7 SB
Spikerman is a plus-running switch-hitter who plays great outfield defense. He’s a decisive outfielder with plus range and arm strength. Spikerman has a gap-to-gap line drive approach as a left-handed hitter and is more opposite-field oriented as a righty, though both swings tend to be vulnerable to fastballs at the top of the zone. Speed and defense should allow Spikerman to play a marginal role down the line.
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.