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5 Phillies prospects who should participate in the 2024 MLB Spring Breakout

The Phillies have some young prospects with potential who rank outside their Top 10 rankings. Which young players should participate in the first-ever MLB Spring Breakout in March?

By Matt Grazel |
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During MLB's 2024 Spring Training, the inaugural Spring Breakout will take place. From March 14-17, 16 exhibition contests will feature organizations' top 20-25 prospects. It will give baseball fans another way to watch some of the brightest prospects in the minor league system.

The Philadelphia Phillies will host the Detroit Tigers on March 16 at 1:05 p.m. EDT in a contest that will feature each club's top prospects. Some of the Phillies' top-ranked players in their system who will likely participate include outfielders Justin Crawford and Carlos De La Cruz, infielder Aidan Miller, and pitcher Mick Abel. However, players who are not ranked as highly will also receive a chance to participate.

Here are some of the other younger players who are ranked outside MLB Pipeline's Top 10 who may participate in the Phillies' first-ever Spring Breakout contest.

Eduardo Tait, C, No. 23 prospect

Eduardo Tait is a 17-year-old catcher who demonstrated his skills as a hitter in his first summer with Philadelphia's minor league system in the Dominican Summer League (DSL). He had a good offensive campaign last year in 44 games, 35 with DSL Phillies Red and nine as a member of DSL Phillies White.

The catcher had a .331/.396/.554 slash line with a .950 OPS with DSL Phillies Red that included 12 doubles among his 40 hits, 25 runs, and 27 RBI in 121 at-bats. He had a .346/.419/.346 line and a .765 OPS that included nine RBI in 26 at-bats for DSL Phillies White.

Philadelphia president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski mentioned Tait's name among the prospects other teams want to acquire within the Phillies' prospect system. If he participates, the catcher is a player worth watching in the Spring Breakout game.

Starlyn Caba, SS, No. 13 prospect

The 18-year-old native of the Dominican Republic is another Phillies prospect who performed well in his rookie minor league season. Starlyn Caba has been compared to New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor.

The infielder had a slash line of .301/.423/.346 with an OPS of .769 in 38 games for DSL Phillies White. Caba finished with 40 hits,17 RBI, and 28 walks in 133 at-bats. He also had 29 runs and 16 stolen bases.

Caba has potential on defense as he showed during his first year in the minors. Like Tait, he will be a young player worth watching to see how he will progress during his second season. If he continues his development, he'll be a good all-around player both offensively and defensively.

TayShaun Walton, OF, No. 19 prospect

The outfielder drafted in 2023 by Philadelphia stands out at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds. TayShaun "TJayy" Walton. He has considerable raw power, according to Brian Barber, the Phillies' amateur scouting director: "He is a strong, massive human being and he hits the ball hard. We're getting an 18-year-old that has good at-bats and has bat-to-ball skills."

Walton, who Philadelphia drafted out of the IMG Academy of Florida, did well at the plate in his limited action last season. The outfielder had a slash line of .385/.529./692 and a 1.221 OPS in five games last season for the Florida Complex League Phillies. It will be interesting to see how he can progress if he plays in many more games during the 2024 season.

Ethan Wilson, OF, No. 16 prospect

The Phillies have several outfielders within their Top 30 prospects. Ethan Wilson is the organization's sixth-ranked player at the position. He is known for his power-hitting based partially on his home run total but also due to his high strikeout numbers. Home run power hitters also have many strikeouts over the course of a season.

Last season at Double-A with the Reading Fightin Phils, Wilson had 17 homers and 110 strikeouts in 420 plate appearances. He also had 24 doubles, 61 RBI, 52 runs, and 12 stolen bases in 114 games. The outfielder had a .250/.307/.443 line with an OPS of .750.

He was promoted to Reading in 2022 and spent 18 games with the club. After spending all of last year with the Fightin Phils, he may earn a promotion toward the middle or end of the 2024 season to Triple-A with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Tommy McCollum, RHP, No. 21 prospect

After spending 2021 in Single-A with the Clearwater Threshers, Tommy McCollum gained more playing experience and improved the following year with Clearwater. He appeared in 23 contests and finished with a 1.45 ERA. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound reliever earned five saves and limited hitters to a .111 batting average. He also finished with 52 strikeouts and a 0.87 WHIP.

Last season, he spent a good portion of the year in High-A with the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. McCollum had 34 appearances, seven saves, 56 strikeouts, and a 1.14 WHIP. He earned a promotion to the Fightin Phils and appeared in 10 contests with Reading. He finished with a 3.86 ERA, one save, 11 strikeouts, limited batters to a .100 average, and had a 1.29 WHIP. The reliever will begin 2024 at Double-A with a good chance of ending the year at Lehigh Valley.

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