3 under-the-radar Phillies prospects who are excelling this season
Here are just some of the youngsters showing out in the Phillies' minor leagues this season.
We hear about the Philadelphia Phillies' top prospects almost continuously it seems. However, with a farm system starting to burgeon with talent after the front office's hard work over the past few years, there are plenty of other names to take a look at in the minors that we don't hear enough about.
We're not interested in the Aidan Millers, Justin Crawfords or even the Starlyn Cabas of the world. Okay, we're obviously still interested, but we’ve had plenty of updates about them thanks to their impressive play this season.
For this endeavor, we wanted to explore some lesser-known names, so we picked three of the more under-the-radar prospects with whom some fans may not be as familiar.
3 under-the-radar Phillies prospects who are excelling this season
These players are all in the Phillies Top 30 prospect rankings from MLB Pipeline, but none of them are in the Top 10. What do they have in common besides being Phillies draft picks or international signings?
All three players are excelling this season at their various levels. So, let's jump in to see how the future of the Phillies franchise looks.
Nikau Pouaka-Grego, 2B/3B
Infielder Nikau Pouaka-Grego is back in action after missing all of 2023 with a torn ACL. The 19-year-old is making the most of it in Single-A with the Clearwater Threshers.
Ranked as the Phillies No. 29 prospect, Pouaka-Grego is slashing an impressive .293/.404/.439 in 26 games. He has just one home run but has shown off his bat-to-ball skills and quality of contact with seven doubles and a triple. He has struck out just 16 percent of the time while walking at a 13 percent clip.
.@__nikau__’s first homer as a Thresher 🦈 pic.twitter.com/kpsPZKlnBL
— Clearwater Beach Dogs (@Threshers) May 30, 2024
Pouaka-Grego was picked as a Phillies prospect breakout to watch this season and is showing why. Despite the missed season, he has picked up where he left off in the Florida Complex League in 2022 when he slashed .301/.424/.466 in his first pro season.
Hendry Mendez, OF
You may not be familiar with this name, as Hendry Mendez was originally signed out of the Dominican Republic as a 17-year-old in 2021 by the Milwaukee Brewers. Now 20, the corner outfielder came over to the Phillies organization in the offseason Oliver Dunn trade.
Playing in High-A Jersey Shore, Mendez is having his best season since his time in Rookie ball. He's slashing .297/.435/.352 with three doubles, a triple and a pair of steals in 29 games for the BlueClaws. The Phillies No. 22 prospect hasn't popped a home run yet, which isn't really surprising, as he isn't known for his power stroke.
He does have a good eye at the plate though, and makes lots of contact. His 22 walks to 17 strikeouts bear that out. Mendez uses the entire field at the plate, with 42.9 percent of his batted balls going the opposite way.
🦀 1-0 Claws on Hendry Mendez's RBI single... https://t.co/uDoFjvYZgo / @ballylivenow / https://t.co/sj3jRWBdY8 pic.twitter.com/w6RcIBcOrz
— Jersey Shore BlueClaws (@BlueClaws) May 30, 2024
Per his MLB Pipeline scouting report, he has some raw power and bat speed, with strength to come as he matures. However, he'll need to, "... learn not to pound the ball into the ground."
There's where the left-handed hitting Mendez can vastly improve his stock this season. He's running a 67.2 percent ground ball rate and needs to get that down and learn to get the ball up in the air.
Samuel Aldegheri, LHP
The lone pitcher on this list, left-hander Samuel Aldegheri, is having a solid season in High-A with the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. The Italian-born Aldegheri, signed in 2019, had his professional career delayed by the pandemic and, after getting started in 2021, got bit by the injury bug. He threw only 12 1/3 innings in 2022.
The No. 23 prospect jumped up to 83 2/3 innings last year, with a 4.20 ERA in 20 games (19 starts). This year, the 22-year-old from Verona is thriving with a 2.51 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in eight starts for the BlueClaws. He's holding opposing batters to a .144 average so far and has an impressive 2.76 FIP.
His 32.5 percent strikeout rate, which has earned him 55 punchouts in 43 innings, has helped him achieve that success. He has logged 10 strikeouts twice already this season.
"Aldegheri is lighting it up tonight!"
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 26, 2024
No. 24 @Phillies prospect Samuel Aldegheri whiffs three batters in the second en route to 10 K's over five scoreless innings for the @BlueClaws. pic.twitter.com/UoeuZn43vT
According to his MLB Pipeline scouting report, the Phillies, while initially concerned by his high walk rates, believe those will drop as he gets more reps. The overall walk numbers don't look great this year, but you have to look a little closer to see that 10 of the 19 free passes he has issued came in back-to-back starts.
Year | Level | K/9 | BB/9 |
|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Rookie/A | 13.71 | 4.29 |
2022 | Rookie | 12.41 | 5.11 |
2023 | A/A+ | 10.65 | 3.76 |
2024 | A+ | 11.51 | 3.98 |
The good news is that Aldegheri has the right attitude as he attempts to become the second Veronese player to make the major leagues.
"I just want to dominate every day," Aldegheri said last season about his approach on the diamond, per Sean Barie of FOX 13 News. "I'm doing everything possible to do it and to make it [to the majors]."
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