5 Phillies prospects the farm system may have ruined forever

Will the Phillies ruin Mick Abel and Andrew Painter?

Mick Abel and Andrew Painter were the Phillies’ first-round picks in 2020 and 2021, as they desperately attempt to develop homegrown pitching. The two righties were both selected out of high school, and have both since entered the farm system.

Ahead of the 2021 season, Baseball America ranked Abel the 99th overall prospect in the game, MLB ranked him 76th, and Baseball Prospectus ranked him 54th.

The 19-year old Abel spent the season with the Low-A Clearwater Threshers, posting a 4.43 ERA over 14 starts, with 66 strikeouts over 44 2/3 innings. He only allowed five home runs, but 22 earned runs overall, and he issued 27 walks. If he can lower his H9 and BB9 rates, he will rise quickly in the system.

Painter, who was the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft, had a 0.38 ERA in 47 innings in his last season of high school ball. The former Gatorade Florida High School Player of the Year has already impressed Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, who admired how the young pitcher is “really poised on the mound.”

It’s too soon to tell if Abel or Painter will develop into big-league pitching, but hopefully, Dombrowski’s farm system shakeups will put the newest first-rounders in better hands than the prospects who’ve come before them.