4 under-the-radar Phillies prospects whose names you need to learn ASAP

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There's no doubt about the fact that the Philadelphia Phillies are not exactly full of prospect talent right now. Entering the year, multiple MLB media outlets put together farm system rankings, and the club was ranked no higher than 19th.

You get the point, nobody is very high on the Phillies farm system right now. With young guns like Logan O'Hoppe, Spencer Howard, Mickey Moniak, Matt Vierling being moved in recent years, it's not exactly a shock to hear that the club is not doing well in the prospect department. Whether it's an issue with player development or a bit of bad luck with recent draft picks, there's just not a lot of hype right now.

However, that does not mean that all hope is lost and that there are no notable prospects beyond the best of the best like Mick Abel, Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford. In fact, there are even a handful of prospects whose names you should know that don't even crack most outlets' top-30 lists.

Beyond the Abels and Painters and Crawfords, there are quite a few players of note; including Hao-Yu Lee, Griff McGarry, Simon Muzziotti, and Johan Rojas. But we're going to go even deeper than these youngsters and we're going to find four Phillies prospects who you need to familiarize yourself with as soon as possible.

Here are 4 under-the-radar Phillies prospects whose names you need to learn ASAP.

Weston Wilson

Signed as a minor league free agent earlier in 2023, Weston Wilson has hit the ground running as a member of the Phillies organization. After being drafted in the 17th round by the Milwaukee Brewers back in the 2016 MLB Draft, Wilson saw a gradual rise through the ranks in the Brewers system up to the conclusion of last season.

Always a power threat who has wheels on the bases and a strong glove, Wilson looked decent-but-not-great for the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate last year. Now, he is a member of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and is their top contributor.

In 81 games so far this year, Wilson has been quite the discovery for the Phillies. As a matter of fact, he is the only player in IronPigs history to record 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season. On the season, he is right at 20 for both and has 58 runs scored and just as many driven in. His .260 batting average is way up from last year (.228) and he has seen his OPS go from .655 to .895 in just a years time.

Defensive versatility is the name of the game for Wilson, who has been functioning primarily as a shortstop this year for the first time in his professional career. The 28-year-old has made just four errors in 436+ innings at the position and has drawn rave reviews for settling in nicely to a new(ish) position for him. Aside from short, he has spent considerable time at the other three infield spots as well as the outfield corners.

Wilson will not be found on any of the organization's top prospects list, but that's exactly why he falls in the "under-the-radar" category. The guy can straight up mash the baseball and could potentially see some big league time still this year if he keeps up the production in Triple-A.

Nick Podkul

Another player who may not be featured on any top prospects lists, Nick Podkul is a name you're going to want to familiarize yourself with as soon as possible. The former seventh-round draft pick of the Blue Jays back in 2018 has unlocked a ton of power in his bat this season and has been dominant in Double-A Reading for the Phillies.

After making it up to Triple-A with the Blue Jays, Podkul was a low average, low power hitter who drew his fair share of walks but failed to do anything at the plate of any real value.

Now, here he is through 45 games with Reading, and he has a career-high 12 home runs with 35 RBI already. Podkul pairs this with a .285 average which is a whopping 40 points above his previous best back in 2019, and a .984 OPS which is far and away the best of his professional career. He has been much more selective with his swings this season and has also seen a decrease in strikeouts.

On defense, the 26-year-old is another player who has what it takes to bounce around the infield a bit, which is a trait that teams absolutely love nowadays. In this year alone, Podkul has exclusively played at one of the corner infield spots, but he has past expereicne at second base back when he was in the Jays' system.

Tyler McKay

Tyler McKay, a right-handed pitcher, is currently in his second season as a full-time relief pitcher and the numbers have only gotten better for him as of late. The Phillies selected him in the 16th-round of the 2018 MLB Draft and he spent the first two-plus years in the organization as a starter who routinely looked lost on the mound.

Prior to the 2022 season, the club made the decision to move the 6-foot-6 hurler to the bullpen. Last year, the numbers once again weren't there, but there was steady improvements. In 40 outings and 60.2 innings of work, he had a 5.19 ERA, but saw his strikeout rate increase and walk rate decrease.

Here we are in 2023 and McKay is once again finding incremental ways to improve his game, and may now be doing enough to warrant a promotion to Triple-A soon. In 25 outings this year, the Missouri native has a sparkling 2.54 ERA in 28.1 innings of work with 32 strikeouts and just 10 walks on the season. His 10.2 K/9 rate is easily the highest of his professional career and his 6.0 H/9 is almost four hits lower than last year's numbers.

Again, the improvements have been gradual for McKay, and at 25-years-old he's due to get out of Double-A any day now, but the latest results have been encouraging and it's easy to see that his best path to the big leagues is in the bullpen.

Cristian Hernandez

In a funny turn of events, Cristian Hernandez was packing his bags to head from the Phillies to the Pirates at the 2021 trade deadline, but the deal ultimately fell apart. The Phillies could not have known that his stock would improve so much in the next few seasons, but they sure do now.

At the time of the failed trade, Hernandez was functioning as a high strikeout starter who seemed to be the real deal for the Phillies of the future. He regressed a bit last season, but things have been seriously turning around for him in 2023.

So far this year, the 22-year-old has made 23 outings for Double-A Reading and has seen his numbers return to 2021 form. In 35.2 innings of work, the right-hander has 41 strikeouts and just 14 walks. The former international free agent signing is still extremely young and the fact that his strikeout numbers are so high and his ascension through the organization has been steady to start his career is highly encouraging. Look for him to be in the big leagues before you know it.

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