No. 3: Orion Kerkering, RHP
Everyone knew that former top pitching prospect Orion Kerkering was something special when a three-game cameo with the Phillies at the end of the 2023 season was enough to convince them to include him on the postseason roster that year. Kerkering certainly didn’t disappoint during the Phillies’ playoff run and has been a staple in their relief corps ever since.
Last year, Kerkering was one of the top arms in the Phillies bullpen, going 5-3 with 14 holds, along with a tidy 2.29 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 74 strikeouts in 63 innings over a career-high 64 appearances.
The young 24-year-old righty may have struggled a bit coming out of the gate in 2025, but has bounced back nicely with a spectacular month of May, posting a stellar 0.87 ERA and 1.26 WHIP, yielding only one earned run in 12 total relief appearances. As the Phillies’ potential closer of the future, Kerkering will no doubt be playing a big role in the team’s success going forward.
No. 2: Aidan Miller, SS
As the Phillies’ top positional prospect, ranked No. 2 overall, Aidan Miller has not disappointed ever since Philadelphia took him in the first round in the 2023 MLB Draft. In his first full minor league season in 2024, Miller impressed enough to play through three levels to reach Double-A by the end of the year. In 102 contests, the 20-year-old shortstop amassed a .261 average and .811 OPS, with 64 runs scored, 28 doubles, six triples, 11 home runs, 60 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.
This season, Miller started off slow with Double-A Reading, but has since picked things up in the month of May (subscription required), per The Athletic's Charlotte Varnes. On the year, he has compiled a .235 average and .682 OPS with four home runs, 10 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 41 games. With loads of promise and potential, and likely the eventual successor of Trea Turner at shortstop for the Phillies, Miller is as close to being an untouchable as the No. 1 player on this list.
Aidan Miller sends one deep into the night 🌙
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 17, 2025
The @Phillies' No. 2 prospect has now reached safely in 23 of his last 26 games for the Double-A @ReadingFightins. pic.twitter.com/ABP34780G8
No. 1: Andrew Painter, RHP
Andrew Painter is unquestionably the unanimous top young player in the organization to look out for in the coming years. It isn’t too often that a team knows that they have a potential cornerstone franchise piece before the player has even reached the majors.
But the Phillies managed to find one by selecting Painter 13th overall in the 2021 MLB Draft with their first pick. The 22-year-old phenom wowed right away in his first full minor league season when he posted a 6-2 record with an eye-popping 1.56 ERA and 0.89 WHIP along with a whopping 155 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings over 22 starts across three levels in 2022.
In fact, Painter was actually on the verge of surprising everyone by potentially making the big league club out of spring training in 2023. However, an unfortunate elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery setback the promising right-hander for two years— until now.
Andrew Painter touched 99.2 mph while utilizing his cutter for 3 of his 5 strikeouts for the Triple-A @IronPigs.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 29, 2025
MLB's No. 5 prospect (@Phillies) has 32 K's in 28.1 IP this season. pic.twitter.com/N924rLSHQc
This year, Painter has already made his way to the Triple-A level and has dominated the competition with an impressive 3.65 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 17 innings of work over four starts with Lehigh Valley. His MLB debut looks to be imminent, so it’s just a matter of whether it will be in the coming weeks or coming month. Nevertheless, once Painter does, look for him to be a game-changer for the franchise for years to come.