The Philadelphia Phillies have quite a few interesting prospects in their system. Most of those who follow baseball prospect lists can tell you about the likes of Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller, and Justin Crawford.
However, to begin the 2025 minor league campaign, a 20-year-old infielder made a name for himself with his scorching-hot start to the season. Aroon Escobar jolted up the prospect rankings list and even became a name tossed around at the trade deadline. Recently, though, Escobar's production has begun to fall off.
Aroon Escobar falls off MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospect rankings after struggles at High-A
Earlier this season, MLB Pipeline ranked Escobar No. 97 in the Top 100 prospect rankings. The meteoric rise for the young player from Venezuela was warranted. He compiled a 1.087 OPS in April and an .803 OPS in May. He clubbed a combined eight home runs in 44 games in that span and drove in 27 runs.
By early July, Escobar had found himself promoted from Single-A Clearwater to High-A Jersey Shore. He is about two years younger than the average High-A player, so some struggles were likely.
The 20-year-old's struggles have been apparent. In 26 games with Jersey Shore, he has slashed .245/.313/.347 with just one home run. Those numbers are a considerable drop-off in comparison to his slash line with Clearwater (.285/.377/.452).
Due to his lack of production since July, Escobar has been removed from MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects in their latest edition. The young infielder still sits within the Phillies' top five prospects at No. 5.
Given his age, this should not be setting off any alarms for Phillies fans or the front office. It's natural that players face adversities, especially when moving to a new level of minor league ball.
Miller, like Escobar, struggled when first promoted to High-A. Ironically, Miller was also 20 years old at the time of his promotion. Painter has faced his share of adversity, albeit for other reasons, pitching at Triple-A for the first time in his career.
Phillies director of player development Luke Murton was impressed with what he saw (paid subscription required) from Escobar earlier this year, per Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic.
“He’s hit the ball. He’s hit it hard. He’s swung at strikes. He’s hitting all different pitch types," Morton said, per Varnes. "He’s done outstanding defensively. He’s done well in the infield, making all the plays, catching all the balls he should.”
Escobar has plenty of time to develop. The organization still thinks highly of him, and despite falling out of the most recent Top 100 prospect list, he's still an interesting young player to keep tabs on. He has the ability to demolish the baseball if he can get the barrel on it.
Look for him to reappear on the rankings list again because it's likely to happen.