Jean Cabrera, RHP
Jean Cabrera was one of the trio of Phillies pitching prospects who drastically improved their stock earlier this season. The other two, George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri, were both dealt at the trade deadline, leaving the right-hander Cabrera as the lone one standing.
Cabrera, 22, wasn't even ranked in the Phillies Top 30 by MLB Pipeline at the beginning of the season but jumped all the way to No. 13 in the midseason update. Baseball America is even more bullish on the young Venezuelan, ranking him No. 8.
According to Pipeline's scouting report, Cabrera has big stuff. He throws a 94-95 mph two-seamer and a 98 mph four-seamer, with a changeup and a big 82-85 mph sweeper that can freeze hitters.
He began 2024 pitching in High-A, his first taste of that level. It's safe to say that it went well. Cabrera pitched to a 3.39 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 14 starts with the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. He struck out an incredible 91 batters in 77 innings, which was good for the second-highest strikeout total in the Florida State League at the time behind only Aldegheri.
Jean Cabrera's locked in 🔐
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 5, 2024
The @Phillies prospect twirls six hitless innings and strikes out 10, the third time he notches double-digit punchouts in a game for the @BlueClaws: pic.twitter.com/VqScPL5hqp
Following his promotion to Double-A in early July, Cabrera has struggled to find the same success against more advanced hitters. He has a 4.85 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings across six games (five starts). While prospects struggling with a new level isn't new, we'll have to wait to see if he starts to figure out Double-A this season.