Fast-Rising Phillies Prospect Cost Just $10,000 at Signing

Five years later, a small investment by the Philadelphia Phillies is starting to pay off in a big way.

Variety of Philadelphia Phillies baseball caps for sale at the Rally House in Fairless Hills, on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 / Nancy Rokos / Special to the Bucks County Courier Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

The way Jean Cabrera is pitching, he may just join the Philadelphia Phillies one day.

If he does, he could end up being one of the best investments in team history.

Cabrera is the player that MLB Pipeline identified as the franchise’s fastest-rising prospect in the team’s Top 30 rankings.

Unlike some teams, we know how fast Cabrera rose. MLB Pipeline is preparing to release its new Top 100 prospect list next week, which should be followed by revised Top 30 rankings for each team.

But Cabrera, as MLB Pipeline pointed out, just joined the Phillies’ Top 30 prospect for the first time last month. He crashed the party, so to speak, as he entered at No. 15.

So what happened? Well, the right-hander laid the groundwork last year, working with the franchise’s pitching coaches on improvements to his fundamentals and that’s led to a breakout 2024 in which he started at High-A Jersey City and was then promoted to Double-A Reading.

His fastball is hitting 98 mph and MLB Pipeline described his change-up as a “potentially plus” pitch.

The 22-year-old has appeared in 17 games this season, with 16 starts, and has a 5-5 record with a 4.32 ERA. He’s already managed a single-season high 97 strikeouts and has only allowed 31 walks. Batters are hitting under .200 against him.

This ascension came after he played two straight season at Class-A Clearwater and was unable to earn an in-season promotion.

But, with Clearwater in 2023, he went 5-7 with a 4.32 ERA, as he shaved that ERA by nearly a point from 2022. That earned him a spot with Jersey Shore.

Thanks to his accelerated development, he could be Major League ready by 2025, according to MLB Pipeline.

The Phillies’ Top 30 has already undergone some turnover since the trade deadline. Philadelphia lost pitchers George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels to acquire reliever Carlos Estevez.

To replenish those losses, the Phillies snagged a pair of Baltimore Top 30 prospects as it moved pitcher Gregory Soto to the Orioles — pitchers Seth Johnson and Moises Chace. Johnson entered Philadelphia's rankings at No. 10.

The next re-rank will likely include some of the players the Phillies selected last month in the MLB Draft. That could include first-round pick Dante Nori, second-round pick Griffin Burkholder, third-round pick John Spikerman and fourth-round pick Carson DeMartini. All four were included in Baseball America’s Top 30 re-rank released last week.