MLB Pipeline has released their initial 2026 ranking of the Philadelphia Phillies Top 30 prospects. Some of these players could play a role for the 2026 Phillies. Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford, who are second and third respectively, should graduate from the list at some point this season. Barring an injury both Painter and Crawford will be on the Phillies opening day roster. Six of the prospects on the MLB Pipeline list have an MLB expected time of arrival of 2026. Furthermore each of the top three prospects and four of the top 10 fit into this category. There are also three 17-year old international signees on this list as well as five players age 24 on the list. One of those 17-year old prospects, Francisco Renteria, is in the top five of the rankings. Meanwhile Gabriel Rincones Jr. is the oldest.
Feb 26, 2025; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. (85) hits a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the third inning during spring training at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Phillies Top Prospects Based On MLB Pipeline Rankings
No. 1 – No. 10
Unsurprisingly Aidan Miller, Painter and Crawford are the top three prospects in that order. Miller has not played in spring training because of back issues keeping him out of action. It remains to be seen if Miller will play in a Grapefruit League game. Miller was expected to get work at second base, shortstop and third base. Painter and Crawford have a lot of pressure on them this season given the lack of other changes to the Phillies roster. Crawford has a .333/.375/.533 line with a 128 wRC+ in five spring training games. Gage Wood comes in fourth and is a sneaky September call up candidate. Other prospects to watch in this part of the ranking include Aroon Escobar and Dante Nori.
No. 11 – No. 20
Pitching prospects make up most of this portion of the rankings. Eight of the ten players are pitchers including seven right-handed pitchers. Phillies 2025 sixth round pick James Tallon is the lone left-handed pitcher. The two position players in this section are Griffin Burkholder and Carson DeMartini. This spring DeMartini has a .200/.200/.500 line with a 57 wRC+ in seven games. Jean Cabrera who comes in at 15 on this list has made a start with an additional one scheduled. Cabrera pitched two scoreless innings in his first spring training outing. Additionally Alex McFarlane who comes is ranked at 19 has pitched two scoreless innings across two outings.
No. 21 – No. 30
At 28 on the list is Kehden Hettiger who has been the Phillies best performing non-roster invitee at the plate this spring. Hettiger has a .400/.571/1.200 line with one home run and two RBI in five games. Furthermore Hettiger has a 300 wRC+ along with a 1.00 BB/K rate. Hettiger has split his time in the minor leagues between catcher and first base. The Phillies do not have a clear long term catcher of the future at the moment but Hettiger could emerge in that role. Bryan Rincon and Keaton Anthony are two other prospects in this part of the rankings to watch. With Bryce Harper playing in the World Baseball Classic, Anthony is in line for playing time at first base. Rincon will get additional time at shortstop with Miller out as well.
Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images