Ever heard of him? Me either.
I consider myself to be somewhat up to date on the Phillies farm system. I know the major names, who they are, what positions they play, roughly the levels they’re at. I don’t pretend to know anything about their value to the organization or organizations around the game, but for the most part, unless we’re talking about players that have just recently been added in the international signing period, I can tell you who the players are.
Prior to this season, I had never heard of Aroon Escobar.
Seeing his name so high on the list on the Fangraphs prospect preview for the team was a bit jarring, but the write up there and the one provided over at Baseball Prospectus should make the fanbase both excited and a bit apprehensive.
I don’t really know what Escobar was doing in a complex league for a third year at age-19, though I’m also not really sure why he repeated the DSL in 2023 either. He hit .338/.495/.481 and walked more than twice as often as he struck out in the FCL last year; given his sterling DSL contact and swing decision traits there was not a whole lot to be learned by letting him dominate the level. Escobar is most famous as a cousin of the Acuña family, but in his own right he displayed useful bat-to-ball, swing decision, and damage indicators in the complex. It’s past time to let him try full-season ball.
Now I want to know – why was he kept in the complex league?
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 five candidates for the team’s second best prospect along with scouting reports from Fangraphs (or Baseball Prospectus where indicated).
Gabriel Rincones, Jr., OF
23 years old, 2025 expected level: AA Reading, 2024 stats: .252/.347/.453, 11 HR, 32 RBI, 23 SB
Rincones has plus left-handed power, but he struggles too much with secondary stuff to consider him a lock to be a suitable 400 PA platoon guy. Rincones’ limited amateur baseball reps and his time missed due to injuries leave room for him to improve a bit into his mid-20s, enough to be a lesser option of this sort.
Jean Cabrera, RHP
23 years old, 2025 expected level: AA Reading, 2024 stats: 20 G (19 GS), 106 2⁄3 IP, 110:33 K:BB
A lanky and athletic young righty with mid-90s arm strength and burgeoning changeup feel, Cabrera works in an even mix of his four pitches. He has distinct four- and two-seam fastballs (the way his sinker’s movement interacts with his vertical arm slot seems to flummox hitters), and throws a ton of his firm, upper-80s one-seam sinker-style changeups in basically any count. He is definitely a control-over-command type of pitcher whose direct line to the plate allows him to throw plenty of strikes, though often without precision. This caps the effectiveness of Cabrera’s slider, which tends to live on the plate rather than just off of it. There still isn’t a plus pitch here, but the changeup is tracking like it will be one soon.
Griffin Burkholder, OF
19 years old, 2025 expected level: A Clearwater, 2024 stats: .500/.500/.500 (he had two PAs)
He’s a long-levered speedster whose swing has tended to be on time to pull the baseball even though Burkholder is a lankier guy. Per Synergy Sports, he ran a roughly 73% contact rate on the showcase circuit, which is just south of the big league average. Burkholder’s hitting hands fire a little late, but they work well; they’re snappy through contact and give him surprising pop for someone his age who is as sinewy as he is. Right now, that manifests as gap-doubles power, and there might be more thump on the way via added strength and perhaps even a tweak to his mechanics. There is currently very little happening with Burkholder’s lower body during his swing, and he could stand to have a more athletic cut and see what kind of power arrives…Burkholder easily has the speed to play center field, but his balls skills are middling. The likelihood that Burkholder and Dante Nori, who is more obviously a center field fit, traverse the minors together will probably mean they split reps out there, with Nori taking the bigger piece of chicken.
Dante Nori, OF
20 years old, 2025 expected level: A Clearwater, 2024 stats: .240/.424/.280, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 4 SB
Nori has some exciting catalytic qualities, namely his speed. He’s a flat 70 runner and makes some of the fastest little strides in pro baseball. Though his feel for center field is a little unpolished, Nori has the wheels to be an impact glove out there at maturity. His offense is probably going to be a little lighter than that of most everyday center fielders, who tend to have some power. Nori’s hitting hands work in such a way that it causes him to spray lots of oppo contact. He’s going to pepper the gaps and the left field line with liners, and produce extra-base hits more with his legs than his power.
Mick Abel, RHP
23 years old, 2025 expected level: AAA Lehigh Valley, 2024 stats: 24 GS, 108 2⁄3 IP, 117:78 K:BB
There are still starter components here. The arm-side action of Abel’s curveball gives it utility against lefties, and his best sliders are 87-90 mph darts. Abel’s fastball velocity still peaks in the upper-90s, but it doesn’t sustain there, and his command and lack of explosive movement cause it to play down. He also has very little feel for locating his changeup, or really any of his offerings with any consistency. These have been Abel’s issues for several years now.
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 five, he’ll be crowned as the next top prospect.