The Phillies are clearly in win-now mode, and at any given moment, Dave Dombrowski is itching to trade from his stockpile of prospect capital. One could argue he has the best pitching prospect in baseball, who is healthy now after dominating Arizona Fall League hitters and the offensive environment. The Phillies have always not been shy of investing in their scouting set-up, and their farm system is littered with nice finds in the IFA market like Starlyn Caba, who might be an all-world defender when all is said to go along with Eduardo Tait, who might be one of the most exciting young catching prospects in the low minors. The Phillies are involved in every trade rumor because of how good their farm system is because of their scouting prowess. The system is littered with interesting pitchers and exciting up the middle talent in the lower minors.
About Our Top 20 Lists
Prospects Live, led by its evaluating team & Director of Scouting Rhys White, is proud to begin rolling out its annual offseason system reports. The team combines industry feedback, our live looks, film, and available data to compile each org. We believe this effort has enabled us to present you, the reader, with our best possible view of the prospects in the organization.
We have constructed this list using the Overall Future Potential (OFP) scale. There is no perfect equation for ranking prospects or assigning value to them, but we believe this method is the best possible approach. Every prospect on this list has been graded based on the tried and true 20-80 scouting scale. An 80 is the highest tool and OFP grade on the scale, reserved for MVP-caliber players or tools. Conversely, a 20 is reserved for non-prospects (NPs). A 50 OFP falls in the middle, indicating our evaluators deem this player a future average major league player. Below the 50 OFP tier are the 45s and 40s, comprising a large majority of players on each list. These are specific-role players, such as platoon hitters, utility players, or low-leverage relievers. Above the 50 OFP tier are the 55s and 60s. A 55 represents a future above-average player, and a 60 OFP designation is reserved for future All-Star caliber players.
In addition to the tool grades and OFP, we will also include a 'Risk' associated with each prospect. We use this to better communicate to you, the reader, whether a grade is more aggressive or conservative in nature. The evaluation team has worked hard to apply both the grades and risk components to better illustrate how each individual prospect stacks up in their respective system and in the baseball ecosystem.
Below you'll find the top 5 players in the system with a full report for the #1 prospect in the system. The full rankings and scouting reports on all top 20 prospects per team will be available on our Patreon at the 55-tier ($5) as we publish them. We’ll also have additional content on Patreon for each team: Honorable Mentions, and Top 10 players 25 years and under.
Top 5 Team Rank and Scouting Report for #1 System Prospect Below
1. Andrew Painter, RHP
DOB: 4/10/2003, HT: 6-7, WT: 215, H/T: R/R, Acquired: 2021, Round 1 ($3,900,000)
Highest Level: Double-A, ETA: 2025
OFP: 60
Fastball: 70, Slider: 60, Curveball: 60, Changeup: 60, Command: 60
Risk: High
Scouting Report:
If he was healthy, Painter would be the top pitching prospect in all of the minor leagues, and the fact that he’s still very much in that conversation after missing all of 2023 and 2024 speaks volumes. He made five starts in Double-A as a 19-year-old and will likely make his big league debut at a still very young 22. When healthy, Painter has sat 94-99 and touched 100 with ride and life up in the zone. He’s able to hold that velocity throughout his starts. The slider is the best secondary in his arsenal, sitting more in the mid-80s while averaging nearly a foot of sweep and consistently being landed for strikes. The curveball is more of a 12/6 shape in the high-70s to low-80s with solid break and bite when he’s on. It’s mainly used to steal strikes. Finally, the changeup improved in 2022, with him becoming more confident on the pitch later in the season. It’s a high-80s pitch that touches 91 MPH with serious dive and garners quite a bit of swing and miss down in the zone. The pitch could be a plus later on. He also has excellent command of his entire arsenal, especially his fastball. Thanks to his plus extension, everything plays up, and he repeats his delivery extremely well and pumps strikes. He is the complete package when healthy and one of the few minor league arms with the ceiling of an ace with four above-average or better offerings and plus command. He returned to the mound in 2024 to pitch in the Arizona Fall League and was back to hitting triple digits and showing his excellent stuff and command. Painter is ready for the big leagues, but the primary question is how much he will be able to contribute in 2025 with a likely innings limit. - Matt Thompson
Fantasy Spin:
Prior to this year’s Arizona Fall League, Painter hadn’t graced a mound in-game since 2022 due to injury. If not for those injuries, he likely would have spent the entirety of the past two seasons in the big leagues already; instead, he will undoubtedly make his debut in 2025. What his workload will look like in his debut season is uncertain, but he will unlikely throw 100 innings. His long-term outlook, however may be the brightest for any pitcher in the minor leagues, with two plus or better pitches in his high-octane heater and wicked slider and two more comfortably above-average pitches in his change and curve, all wrapped up in a 6’7” frame with uncanny command for his size, Painter has the makings of a true ace and could provide that kind of fantasy production as early as 2026 barring any further setbacks- Kyle Sonntag