3 Phillies prospects heading into a make-or-break year
Some youngsters who have seen their stock fall in recent years are heading into a big season in 2024 that might decide their futures with the Phillies organization.
The Philadelphia Phillies are nearly three weeks into spring training, and most of the roster is set. A couple of open bullpen spots remain, and some competition for the fourth and fifth outfield spots is generating buzz as the Phillies are into the second week of the Grapefruit League schedule.
While the Phillies' farm system has seen vast improvement following the last couple of MLB drafts and international signing periods, most of the top prospects are still young and developing at the lower levels of the minor league system. Top pitching prospect Andrew Painter is still recovering from Tommy John surgery last summer, and very few of the prospects in the high levels of the minor leagues are likely to break camp with the big club when the season begins later this month.
A number of prospects are doing their best to force the Phillies front office and coaching staff to make some difficult decisions in camp, with open roster spots nearly non-existent. Mick Abel showed electric stuff in his first appearance of the spring against the New York Yankees. He turned in a scoreless performance with two strikeouts in one inning of work. While the outing surely turned some heads, it's likely Abel is auditioning to make his debut sometime during the middle of the season unless injuries force the Phillies' hand to give him an Opening Day roster spot.
This might not be the spring for young players hoping to crack the roster of a mostly veteran team. Still, opportunities exist for a few players who have seen their prospect status fall over the last couple of seasons to reestablish their value within the Phillies organization.
Today, we will look at three players heading into a make-or-break year, looking to turn their fortunes around.
Rafael Marchán is heading into a make-or-break year
Rafael Marchán has seen his prospect status fall since being ranked No. 5 in 2021. The soon-to-be 25-year-old switch-hitting catcher made his Phillies debut in a three-game sample back in 2020 and appeared in 20 games for the 2021 club.
Hamstring problems have been an issue for much of Marchán's career, and those injuries cost him significant time in 2021 and 2022, while a fractured right hamate bone led to Marchán missing the beginning of the 2023 season and ultimately a roster spot out of spring training.
Across three minor league levels in 2023, Marchán appeared in 55 games and hit .305 with two home runs and 35 RBI in 224 at-bats. Marchán again finds himself injured to begin spring training this year, as the backstop has not appeared in a game yet due to lingering back soreness. In a separate but telling move, the Phillies signed former Kansas City Royals catcher Cam Gallagher to a minor league deal to add upper-level organizational depth.
Marchán will need a healthy and productive season if he wants to remain in the conversation for a future roster spot. It's starting to look like Marchán is running out of chances to become an impact player for the Phillies.
Simón Muzziotti is heading into a make-or-break year
Another former Phillies top prospect is also in a make-or-break year with the organization. Simón Muzziotti was once ranked as one of the team's most promising young position players, but injuries and bad luck have caused Muzziotti's stock to plummet even as outfield opportunities have presented themselves with the big league club over the last two seasons.
Muzziotti made his major league debut for the Phillies in April of 2022 and didn't do enough with the bat to stick with the big club. In nine games, Muzziotti hit .143 with only one hit in seven at-bats. His minor league season would come to an end on Aug. 26 after suffering a partially torn right patellar tendon. Unable to secure a roster spot last spring training, Muzziotti was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he spent the entire 2023 season.
While Muzziotti has shown decent contact skills as a hitter, his lack of power has created questions regarding his role on a major league club. Last season, the Phillies found themselves with various needs in the outfield. Muzziotti was never given a chance, with the team opting to give the right-handed hitting Johan Rojas a call-up when injuries and poor defensive play began to hurt the Phillies in the field.
Muzziotti put up solid numbers in Lehigh Valley, batting .296 with seven home runs and 61 RBI in addition to 26 stolen bases in 124 games. Those numbers weren't enough to convince the Phillies, and on Feb. 7, he was designated for assignment to create a roster spot when the Phillies claimed pitcher Max Castillio off waivers. Muzziotti cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A.
Now finding himself in camp as a non-roster invitee, is time almost up for Muzziotti?
Griff McGarry is heading into a make-or-break year
Unlike Muzziotti and Marchán, who are approaching post-prospect status, Griff McGarry is still a young pitcher the Phillies have confidence will be a major league contributor at some point in the not-so-distant future. Will that future be as a starter or a reliever? 2024 will likely be the year the Phillies find out what kind of pitcher McGarry can be.
Ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Phillies system by MLB Pipeline only a season ago, McGarry's stock has fallen rapidly as he has struggled to figure out Triple-A hitters. He's now ranked No. 11 in Pipeline's most recent update.
With top pitching prospect Andrew Painter still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, McGarry and Mick Abel are viewed as the two best starting pitchers currently in the Phillies minor league system. If McGarry wants to make a bid to get a call-up to the big leagues in 2024, he has a lot of work to do.
McGarry has pitched as high as Triple-A Lehigh Valley in each of the past two seasons. In a seven-game stint with the IronPigs in 2022, McGarry was shelled in nine innings of work while compiling an 0-2 record and a 9.00 ERA with nine walks and only nine strikeouts in eight innings out of the bullpen. After repeating Doube-A for most of 2023, McGarry was again torched on the mound during three Triple-A starts during a late-season call-up. With a record of 0-2 and bloated 41.54 ERA, McGarry walked 14 batters while only striking out five and allowing 20 runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.
After an impressive spring training debut on March 1 against the Miami Marlins, in which he struck out the side, McGarry had a rough second outing. He only went 2/3 of an inning against the Toronto Blue Jays, giving up three runs on three hits with a walk and a hit batter.
It's clear that McGarry has a lot of work to do to regain his status as a top prospect in the Phillies system. The 24-year-old will likely get a long look at Triple-A this season, and the Phillies hope that a change in his mechanics will make a big difference against more advanced hitters. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that McGarry has zeroed in on a more compact delivery (subscription required), and perhaps that will make a difference on the mound for the talented righty this season.
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