One of the main reasons why the Philadelphia Phillies overhauled their front office after the 2020 MLB season was because the organization had failed to convert many of their high draft picks into high-quality major league players.

During the Matt Klentak-Andy McPhail five-year run, the Phillies drafted two players in the first round of the MLB Draft who were major disappointments (Mikey Moniak and Adam Haseley), while Alec Bohm has not performed like a player who was the third overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.

When the Phillies hired Dave Dombrowski to be President of Baseball Operations, one of the priorities was to rebuild the farm system, and strengthen the organization’s depth of prospects. Five years ago, Philadelphia was ranked as one of the bottom ten farm systems, with some media outlets rating the Phillies as low as 27th.

What are the Phillies Prospects and Farm System Rankings Heading into 2026 MLB Season?

ESPN.com MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel released his rankings of the best MLB Prospects and Farm Systems just a few weeks ahead of the start of 2026 MLB Spring Training. There are only three Phillies prospects ranked in the Top 100, and just three more guys ranked between 160-200.

Overall, ESPN’s MLB Insiders rank the Phillies Farm System at 17th among Major League Baseball teams. Here is McDaniel’s explanation for why Philadelphia lands in the middle-of-the-pack:

“(Aidan) Miller, Justin Crawford, and Dante Nori were all arrow up in 2025 in the system as prep position players and first-round picks from 2022 to 2024. I also was a big fan of Gage Wood, the Phillies’ 2025 first-round pick, who has the traits to be a front-line starter if his health and command can hold up under a bigger workload. And 2026 might finally be the year that heavily hyped right-handed pitcher Andrew Painter shows up in the big leagues and performs as many have foretold for years before an extended absence due to elbow surgery. Outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. could be a sneaky big league contributor in 2026 too.”

Miller is the top-rated prospect in the Phillies organization, and 10th overall in ESPN’s Top 100 Prospect Rankings. ESPN.com says Aidan Miller’s player comparison is Josh Donaldson, a three-time All-Star Third Baseman. Here is McDaniel’s prospect profile for Miller:

“Miller emerged as a big draft prospect early in his high school career, showing plus bat speed and raw power potential with a Donaldson-like bat waggle. Miller slid a bit in his draft spring due to a poorly timed hand injury, going No. 27 to the Phillies in the loaded prep position-player group in the 2023 draft then almost immediately looking like a steal….Many evaluators believe Miller settles as a fringy defensive shortstop who would be a bit above average at third base. His above-average to plus speed is apparent on the basepaths as shown by his 59 stolen bases last season. Miller could lean more into his power with more loft to his swing path, but I have a feeling what he’s doing is already optimized for him and he’ll naturally find his way to 25 homers with a strong on-base rate.”

Formerly a top ten MLB Prospect, Andrew Painter has fallen to 27th overall in the 2026 rankings. His up-and-down 2025 season in the Minor Leagues, his first after returning from Tommy John Surgery, has left some evaluators with questions about the man who use to be the Phillies’ top prospect:

“Between rehab and elbow surgery, Painter missed all of the 2023 and 2024 regular seasons, returning in the 2024 Arizona Fall League and the 2025 regular season. His stuff last season was similar to peak levels in 2022, but his off-speed command wasn’t quite back, and he spent the season in Triple-A, so there were some hiccups. – Painter has four above-average pitches (95-98, touching 100 mph fastball, cutter, slider, changeup) and the components for starter-level command with a real shot to break camp in the Phillies’ rotation in 2026….(Painter) should get a bigger boost to his performance from simply being another year away from his surgery and long layoff.”

Outfielder Justin Crawford is the third Phillies prospect to be ranked inside the ESPN MLB Top Prospects Top 100 list. Sitting at 69th overall, he is projected by ESPN.com to play Center Field for the Phillies in 2026:

“Yes, Justin is the son of longtime MLB outfielder Carl Crawford and is also a plus-plus runner who covers a lot of ground in the outfield, steals a lot of bags, and mostly wears out the gaps as a left-handed hitter, but also hits some mistakes over the fence. On the other hand, Justin plays center field and has a leaner build than his dad. Crawford has plus contact skills and a solid approach, along with solid-average raw power; he’ll sting the ball (46% hard-hit rate) though without the secondary power skills (loft in the swing and pull/lift ability) to regularly put the ball over the fence. This kind of player is often more productive via WAR than a fan would guess, because he’s racking up solid value in all aspects of the game (hitting, baserunning, fielding) while his speed helps round up his raw hitting ability.”

Three Phillies Prospects Ranked between 150-200 on 2026 MLB Top Prospects List:

*Gabriel Rincones Jr. (168th), Outfielder
*Gage Wood (169th), Right-Handed Pitcher
*Aroon Escobar (197th), Second Baseman

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