No. 9: Otto Kemp, INF
After going highly unnoticed for much of his past few minor league seasons in the Phillies organization, infielder Otto Kemp has suddenly vaulted himself into a name of relevance so far in 2025. He's currently ranked 24th among the Phillies’ top prospects according to MLB Pipeline.
Kemp has had a blazing start to the year with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, amassing a phenomenal .318 average and 1.017 OPS, along with 44 runs scored, 17 doubles, 12 home runs, 45 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in just 51 games.
Otto Kemp hit his 11th home run of the season yesterday! 💥
— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) May 21, 2025
He has reached base safely in every game this month, after winning International League Player of the Month in April. pic.twitter.com/YOKQ81LIIP
With the uncertainty of Bohm's future at third base or Edmundo Sosa’s return to the Phillies upon the completion of the 2025 season, along with Kemp’s ability to play multiple positions in the infield, he could become the ideal in-house replacement if either player ends up leaving the organization for good.
No. 8: Aroon Escobar, 2B
As for under-the-radar prospects who have had quite the surprise to start their professional baseball career, Phillies No. 13 prospect Aroon Escobar certainly falls under that category. As a promising young hitter with great plate discipline, Escobar showed glimpses of his offensive potential last season with the Rookie-level FCL Phillies, posting a stellar .338 average and .976 OPS, with 24 runs scored, three home runs, 17 RBIs, nine stolen bases, 21 walks and just 10 strikeouts in 24 games played.
This year, the now 20-year-old infielder hasn’t missed a beat after beginning the season with Single-A Clearwater. In 41 games to date, Escobar is batting .329 with a .953 OPS, 37 runs scored, eight doubles, eight home runs, 27 RBIs, along with 24 walks and 33 strikeouts. It may still be early, but he could be the next coming of Chase Utley for the Phillies. If Escobar ends up becoming even half as good as Utley, it would be a massive win for Philadelphia.
5-for-5 with a homer, 3 runs, and 2 RBI?
— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) May 19, 2025
Have yourself a day, Aroon Escobar 🙌 pic.twitter.com/7EMj53a6ZM
No. 7: Moisés Chace, RHP
When the Phillies got rid of Gregory Soto at last year’s trade deadline, many believed it was already an addition by subtraction for the Phillies. Nevertheless, Philadelphia still managed to pry some assets from the Baltimore Orioles in the deal by landing prospects Seth Johnson and Moisés Chace. Johnson was thought to be the focus piece coming back, but No. 5 prospect Chace has started to make a case to be the prominent return piece instead.
After joining the Phillies, Chace put his amazing strikeout ability on full display by whiffing close to two batters per inning while posting a solid mid-3.00 ERA at the same time over his six starts he made to end his 2024 campaign.
An unfortunate elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery ultimately ended his 2025 season just six starts in. Nevertheless, once Chace is fully recovered, he appears to be on track to become the next big pitching prospect coming up in the Phillies system and could come close to matching the levels of a Mick Abel or perhaps even glimpses of an Andrew Painter.