In 2024, the Philadelphia Phillies had many of their top prospects make huge strides in their game. In doing so, it ultimately took them one step closer to reaching the next level. For some of them, such as Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford, it was pretty much as expected. However, among them, there was a key prospect that really took everyone by surprise, including the Phillies’ brass.
He was so impressive that he has been named as the Phillies' potential breakout prospect for the upcoming 2025 season by a panel of experts from MLB Pipeline, including Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Sam Dykstra. That player is none other than promising young catcher Eduardo Tait.
Phillies top prospect Eduardo Tait poised for a big breakout in 2025
Tait put together an impressive 2024 minor league campaign that saw him rise all the way to No. 4 in the Phillies’ top prospects rankings, according to MLB Pipeline, by the end of the year. In his 79 games of action split between their Rookie-level affiliate FCL Phillies and Single-A affiliate Clearwater Threshers, he compiled a .302 batting average and .842 OPS, with 42 runs scored, 18 doubles, 11 home runs and a whopping 73 RBI. That meant that Tait averaged almost an RBI per game, which is quite the feat in itself.
On top of that, he even displayed some of his surprising speed, going five-for-five in stolen base attempts. If that wasn’t already convincing enough, Tait was solid behind the plate as well, committing only five errors all season for a .988 fielding percentage while throwing out 31 percent of the baserunners who tried to steal off of him.
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
At just the young age of 18, the expert panel from MLB.com believes that with his elite mix of a strong arm on defense and enormous power on offense, Tait is destined for a huge breakthrough season in 2025.
For a Phillies organization that severely lacks catching depth behind the incumbents J.T. Realmuto and Garrett Stubbs, along with the soon-to-be-ready Rafael Marchán, it is quite heartening to know that there could be a star-in-the-making coming up through the ranks in Tait. As a result, the Phillies should be more comfortable now that their catcher position could become an area of strength in the not-so-distant future.