Phillies Farm Report: May 5, 2025 Roundup

This is part of series of reports on the Phillies farm system other and future updates can be accessed via the home page here.

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA)

The IronPigs are out to an incredible 23-10 start to their season, which makes them the best team in the International League (and AAA overall).

Two batters are really pushing their way to the point of being noticed by more and more Philadelphia fans. Otto Kemp (primarily playing third), has appeared in all but one game an is slashing .344/.433/.703 with a 1.136 OPS. He leads the team with 10 home runs and 14 doubles along with 35 RBIs and 30 runs scored. His defense would NOT be an upgrade, but the offensive numbers are drawing attention. Top prospect Justin Crawford is also showing some  offense with a .322/.390/.421 slash line.  On the flip side Rodolfo Castro is having an offensive season to forget so far.

In the bullpen, Nicholas Padilla, Guillo Zuñiga, and Koyo Aoyagi have each allowed just one run on the season while Brett de Geus has allowed just two in 12.1 innings pitched. Top prospect Mick Abel is in the midst of his best season to date. He leads the team with 39.1 innings pitched and a 2.75 ERA with opponents hitting just .230 against him. He’s got a 9.61 K/9 rate and a career-low walk rate. Nabil Crismatt has combined with Abel to be a deadly pairing – he had a 2.73 ERA with a .219 BAA in 33 innings pitched.

Notable injuries: C Payton Henry (7-Day), OF Matt Kroon (7-Day), C/1B Carson Taylor (60-Day)

Reading Fightin Phils (AA)

Reading houses eight of the team’s top 30 prospects and four of them are injured – and that’s without considering McGarry or Lee Sang from last year’s top 30. While Lehigh Valley is tops in AAA, Reading is an abysmal team. Their 7-18 record makes them the worst team in all of AA ball (there are just two teams above rookie league that have a worse record and no teams with fewer wins).

As can be expected of a team that has trouble winning any games at all, there isn’t much to highlight. Griff McGarry, now injured, is the lone pitcher to have appeared in more than one game and not have an ERA over 3 and actually has yet to allow a run. He has a WHIP of 0.75 and opponents are batting just .051 against him, but he’s a starter averaging just four innings per start. Moisés Chace has a 3.97 ERA in four starts, but has averaged under three innings per start, so the team has to rely on a shaky bullpen in his starts, too. Jack Dallas has been the top guy in the bullpen to date with just five runs allowed in 14.2 innings across eight games.

Among hitters, Keaton Anthony (.278/.344/.443) and Hendry Mendez (.284/.359/.358) are the only qualified batters hitting above .250. The return of Felix Reyes (.306/.333/.583 ) from injury has been a boon for a team that’s had three players hitting below the Mendoza line in almost every one of their starting lineups.  Top-1oo prospect Aidan Miller has just pushed himself over the Mendoza line and is now slashing .216/.324/.307 and has four extra base hits on the season.

Notable injuries: P Eiberson Castellano (7-Day), P Griff McGarry (7-Day), C Caleb Ricketts (7-Day), C Paul McIntosh (7-Day), OF Marcus Lee Sang (Full Season then transferred to 60-Day), P Tristan Garnett (60-Day, has not played this season), P Christian McGowan (60-Day, has not played this season), P Wen-Hui Pan (60-Day, has not played this season)

Jersey Shore BlueClaws (A+)

Jersey Shore is also off to a rough start with a 9-16 record, though two rainouts have left them ahead of two other teams in the South Atlantic League that hold 9-18 records.

In the bullpen, the leaders have been Tommy McCollum (promoted to AA Reading last week) at 1 earned run in 8.1 innings and an 11 K/9 rate, Luke Russo at an 11.09 K/9 rate (2.89 ERA, 18.2 IP), and Brandon Beckel who is in the midst of his most successful season to date with opponents hitting just .200 against him and a 2.03 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched. Casey Steward is the lone starter averaging more than 3.1 innings per start and he’s coming off of a 2 inning start where he allowed 9 earned runs. Prior to that, he had allowed just four earned runs in 20 innings pitches (averaging 5 innings per start to that point).

CF Raylin Heredia (.333/.385/.563)  and C Luis Caicuto (.391/.440/.478) lead the way for the batters, but they’ve appeared in just 16 and 7 games respectively. Devin Saltiban (2B) is the team’s highest-rated prospect (by MLB.com) at the moment, but he’s hitting just .186 on the season as the team’s leader in at-bats.

Notable injuries: CF Raylin Heredia (7-Day), P Erubiel Armenta (7-Day), Nathan Karaffa (60-Day, has not played this season)

Clearwater Threshers (A)

Clearwater is in a four-way tie for the top team in the Florida State league with a 15-12 record on the year.

Ryan Dromboski has been an MVP for the the Threshers pitching staff. He just made his first start of the season on April 30, but he’s second on the team in innings pitched (20.1) and strikeouts (19). He’s served as a long-relief man out of the bullpen who’s kept the team in all but one of the games he’s been brought into. He holds a WHIP of 0.84 with a .194 BAA and a 4.75 strikeout to walk ratio. Though the team hasn’t been getting too much length from starters (including the limited pitch starts for the rehabbing Andrew Painter), a strong bullpen has been what’s keeping the team in such good position in the standings with Ryan Degges (0.93 WHIP, .130 BAA), Saul Teran (0.80, .188), and Titan Hayes (1.18, .189) combining for 35 innings pitched and just two earned runs allowed between the three of them.

2B Aroon Escobar (.333/.456/.583) and C Eduardo Tait (.247/.304/.505) are the team leaders in most every offensive category. Tait, the team’s 4th-overall prospect per MLB.com, has been a far better batter with runner on than when the bases are empty and he’s had the worst luck of his career on balls in play of his career at .262 (the past two seasons, it was closer to .350). Escobar is the team’s 13th-ranked prospect and has continued his strong play from the FCL last year. At this rate, his play and the lack of strong hitters at the two levels above him, he doesn’t seem like he’ll be in Clearwater for too much longer.

Notable injuries: P Orlando Gonzalez (7-Day), P Danyony Pulido (7-Day, has not played this season), OF TJayy Walton (60-Day, has not played this season)