Even if the Major League season begins in a lockout, the minor leagues will go on. Players off the 40-man roster are not protected by the CBA; thus, MLBPA/MLB negotiations are almost entirely inconsequential to those in the lower minor leagues.
With that threat looming over Major League Baseball, farmhands across the leagues could take center stage next season, especially in spring, when the lockout's residual effects may still linger. Those with sharp memories will recall that the 2022 season didn’t start until April 8. The first two series of the year were postponed and tacked on to the end of the season.
With that in mind, let’s look at the talent who might have brighter lights on them next year. These Philadelphia Phillies prospects are primed to shoot up the rankings.
Keep an eye on these five Phillies prospects
Will Gasparino
We already covered Gasparino this week, but the 21-year-old out of UCLA showed something far more important than his 60-grade raw power in 20 games last year: plate discipline.
Gasparino had a higher walk rate at Clearwater than he did in college, despite hitting only two home runs. If he can keep seeing the ball like he did in those first few games in the pros and add his noted long-ball power, it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to reach Triple-A or the Majors next year.
Mavis Graves
President of baseball operations mentioned Mavis Graves in his end-of-season press conference two weeks ago as a guy who could have a lot of helium going into 2027. The lanky lefty with the big sweeper moved into the bullpen after his promotion to Double-A Reading and was lights-out from the jump, posting a 0.93 ERA over 18.1 IP.
With Alex McFarlane out of the Fightin’ Phils closer role, Graves is the next man up to start 2027. If he continues to pitch like he did at the end of 2026, Graves will likely land on the big-league roster or be packaged in a trade by the deadline.
Caden Bogenpohl
Like Gasparino, Bogenpohl is a power-hitting outfielder who performed adequately in a small sample size at Single-A Clearwater after being drafted last year. His line of .264/.325/.417 with two home runs is a good building block for his pro career.
The big lefty broke Ryan Howard’s Missouri State freshman home run record in 2024 with 20, and has tons of untapped raw power. At 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, Bogenpohl will excel in the minor leagues if he keeps his chase rate low. In 2026, he struck out 23 times in 83 plate appearances. If he can cut that number down, Bogenpohl has a long career ahead of him.
Matthew Fisher
Though he was drafted in the seventh round in 2025, you can treat Fisher much more like a second-round pick. He only fell so far because teams were scared off by his signing demands, and the Phillies were willing to meet them.
In his first professional season last year, 20-year-old Fisher pitched over 49.2 innings between Rookie-ball and Single-A with a 4.17 ERA. The bigger key to his game, though, was a 10.9 K/9. Though his command still needs work, Fisher was nasty in 14 starts last year, mixing his 12-6 hammer curve and traditional low-80s slider with a fastball that tops out at 95 mph.
He's is still growing too, and as he adds more strength, Fisher's fastball velocity should creep up. Perhaps this year he can sit at 95 mph instead of just touching it.
Dante Nori
It’s a make-or-break year for former first-round pick Dante Nori. The Team Italy World Baseball Classic star started the year strong, hitting two home runs and going 8-for-20 during the WBC, but struggled to overcome a slow start to his minor league season before injuries muddied his summer.
For a guy Alex Rodriguez deemed Major League-ready last spring, this season must have felt like a crushing blow. Nori slashed .238/.311/.347 across three levels and is still scuffling in the Arizona Fall League with a .541 OPS in nine games.
Nori has a ton of talent; he’s a great runner and fielder, and he should hit for a solid average. He’s played above his level his entire pro career, but at 22, if he hasn’t broken out after three years, evaluators will start writing off his career. A full season at FirstEnergy Stadium, a notoriously hitter-friendly park, might be the jumpstart Nori’s career needs… as long as he stays healthy from March through September.
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