Phillies top prospect and catcher of the future having a June to remember

For the Philadelphia Phillies and their faithful who might be a bit nervous about the future without J.T. Realmuto when he officially hangs up the cleats, they should worry no more. Apparently, they may already have a promising successor waiting in the wings. That player is Phillies top catching prospect Eduardo Tait.

Already ranked No. 8 among the Phillies’ top prospects according to MLB Pipeline at the young age of 17, Tait has shown why he has already been given such lofty expectations despite being in just his first professional baseball season in North America.

Phillies top prospect and catcher of the future having a June to remember

Playing in the Florida Complex League, Tait has been tearing the cover off the ball in June with the FCL Phillies. He is slashing .321/.403/.696 since June 1, with an eye-popping 1.099 OPS. On top of that, he has also put up some crazy offensive production numbers, with five home runs and 21 RBI during the 16 games he has played this month.

To give a brief glimpse of what Tait could actually provide the Phillies down the road, take a look at his outstanding 4-for-4 performance on June 21 against the FCL Tigers.

For the season, Tait has posted a .279 batting average and .845 OPS, along with 18 runs scored, eight doubles, one triple, five home runs, 35 RBI, two stolen bases, 12 walks and 24 strikeouts in just 34 games. His 35 RBI currently leads all players in the FCL. He has definitely continued his convincing and productive play after a strong showing in the Dominican Summer League as part of the Phillies organization last year.

So, for those who may be starting to panic that the likes of Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchán could be manning the backstop on a full-time basis in the not-so-distant future for the Phillies, they shouldn’t fret too much as a star in the making could be well on his way to take a stranglehold on the position.