In a Philadelphia Phillies organization ripe with pitching prospects, it felt like Michael Mercado could be a diamond in the rough. The tall right-hander was acquired in a November 2023 trade with the Tampa Bay Rays that went largely unnoticed. It was the second time in four years that the Phillies acquired a lower-level pitching prospect from a Rays organization that had a knack for developing under-the-radar homegrown arms.
They stole Cristopher Sánchez in a deal with Tampa Bay in 2019 that now has the front office looking like bandits. For a brief period of time it looked like Mercado might also blossom into a steal for the organization, but that no longer appears to be the case.
Michael Mercado drops significantly in MLB Pipeline's latest Phillies prospect rankings
Like every organization, the Phillies have many new faces in their farm system in the post-draft and trade deadline shakeup. That makes for a perfect time for a new Phillies Top 30 prospects list from MLB Pipeline. Mercado was tied for the biggest faller on the list, having gone down eight spots to the lowest possible ranking at No. 30.
The 26-year-old just hasn't been effective in Triple-A Lehigh Valley or the majors this season. Mercado's stats across the board are significantly worse than 2024, as he has a 5.19 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 30 relief appearances for the IronPigs. It's easy to forget that Mercado has appeared in the bigs for the Phillies this season, with him allowing five runs in just three innings of relief.
Mercado's MLB career got off to an excellent start last summer with him throwing a flawless inning of relief in his Phillies debut. He followed that up with a much-needed quality performance for a banged-up Phillies rotation in his first career start at Wrigley Field that had fans thinking he could be something special. However, it didn't take very long after for fans to pump the brakes a little on Mercado.
In his next three appearances, Mercado allowed 15 earned runs to raise his rookie season ERA to 11.08, earning him a demotion to Lehigh Valley where he would stay for the remainder of the season. He's been unable to consistently throw strikes and miss bats at the MLB level, with 13 walks and 10 long balls allowed in 16 innings in the majors.
Mercado's stuff is still there, with his upper-90s fastball and effective curveball getting him 36 strikeouts in his 34 2/3 minor league innings this year. But time is ticking for Mercado to put it all together, as the Phillies now have 13 pitching prospects ranked ahead of him, headlined by Andrew Painter and recent first-rounder Gage Wood.