Eduardo Tait
Catcher Eduardo Tait has become one of the franchise's most exciting prospects. He could end up being the Phillies future catcher for several years. The 18-year-old is still multiple seasons from being ready for the majors.
He was the No. 5 prospect during the 2024 season. Following the trade of Caba, Tait is now Philadelphia's No. 4 prospect. The catcher began last year with the FCL Phillies. He totaled a line of .321/.377/.500 along with an impressive OPS of .877 in 51 contests.
Eduardo Tait was a beast this season
— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) December 28, 2024
The 18-year-old No. 4 Phillies prospect showed off his powerful bat and arm in 2024 for the FCL Phillies and Clearwater Threshers pic.twitter.com/kxzriooPxR
Tait received a promotion to the Threshers in July. He compiled a .269/.316/.462 line with a .778 OPS in 28 games. He will begin the 2025 season in High-A, aiming to get even better and possibly ending the year with the BlueClaws or the Fightin Phils.
Preston Mattingly has expressed enthusiasm regarding the young catcher.
"This kid is extremely intelligent. He knows what he needs to work on and get better at," Mattingly said on The Phillies Show podcast earlier this offseason. "He's hungry to learn and do those things and I think we've seen, even being the 17-year-old kid that he is, he's taken big steps forward on the receiving side this year. We think he's going to stay behind the plate, and if he can stay behind the plate it's a hit-power combo, a guy that's going to be a force in the middle of the lineup.”
Between his time with the FCL Phillies and the Threshers, Tait totaled 18 doubles, 11 home runs and 73 RBI. MLB.com's Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Sam Dykstra listed the catcher as Philadelphia's breakout prospect for 2025. The Panama City, Panama, native is from the same country as former Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz.
What does Mattingly think Tait needs to improve upon? The Phillies assistant general manager of player development said the following: "I think once he gets that final piece [strike zone discipline and understanding where you can do damage] he's gonna be a guy that, I know everybody kind of knows about him now, but it'll be nationally known amongst everybody."
Callis, Mayo and Dykstra noted Tait's strong defensive skills including a good throwing arm. If he has a second consecutive strong season, the young catcher will further his reputation as one of the Phillies' best prospects along with Painter, Miller and Crawford.