Phillies’ bounce-back candidate named to AFL Fall Stars Game

The Philadelphia Phillies have quite a few interesting prospects in their minor league system currently. Young players like Andrew Painter and Aidan Miller have been the talk of the prospect list for the organization recently, as they rank highly in most rankings. However, there are other young players who have shown glimpses of Major League talent over the past few seasons.

Griff McGarry — a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher — was ranked as the franchise's No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline in 2023 but fell off big time after struggling mightily in the past two minor league seasons. Could some recent success catapult him back into the conversation of pitching in the big leagues sooner rather than later?

Phillies’ bounce-back candidate Griff McGarry named to AFL Fall Stars Game

McGarry, 25, was a fifth-round pick in 2021 out of Virginia. In his first two seasons in the Phillies system, he flourished. He posted a 2.96 ERA with 43 strikeouts over 24 1/3 innings in 2021 and a 3.71 ERA in 87 1/3 innings with a whopping 130 strikeouts the following year.

Despite displaying a K/9 strikeout rate of 15.90 in 2021 and 13.40 in 2022, command was a glaring issue for the young right-hander. His BB/9 walk rate was over 5.00 in both of those minor league seasons, and it only continued to rise in 2023 and 2024.

The Virginia product posted a 6.00 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in 2023 and a 4.55 ERA with a staggering 1.86 WHIP in 2024. Even more mind-blowing was that he walked more hitters (36) than innings pitched (31 2/3) this past season.

There is some positive news surrounding the Phillies' No. 21 prospect, however. McGarry was one of nine Phillies' prospects who participated in the Arizona Fall League this year. His performance in the extended season was encouraging. His 3.21 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 8 2/3 innings were solid enough to earn him a spot on the AFL All-Star roster. Additionally, opponents hit just .172 off of the right-hander over four appearances.

That is promising as the AFL has some of the top prospects in baseball participating. The downside is that McGarry still struggled with command despite posting solid numbers otherwise as he walked nine opposing hitters.

McGarry has the stuff to be an effective Major League pitcher. His command has been the bane of his development. He has moved back and forth between developing as a starter and a reliever to see if he could gain some traction in either role. If the right-hander can hone his location, he could see time in the big leagues. Command is the only thing holding him back.

You can catch McGarry in the AFL Fall Stars Game at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 9, on MLB Network, MLB.com and the MLB app.

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