Philadelphia Phillies Pitching Prospect Shooting Up Team’s Minor League Rankings

A Philadelphia Phillies pitching prospect is shooting up the team's Minor League rankings.

Apr 12, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; A view of the helmet of Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) displaying the City Connect logo before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Despite their disappointing performance this past October in the postseason, the Philadelphia Phillies are still among the best teams in baseball. Squarely in win-now mode, they are looking to shake up their roster to avoid another late-season meltdown.

All of the focus this offseason has been on identifying what went wrong against the New York Mets in the ALDS and figuring out a way to fix it. To this point, the team has done a good job of adding depth pieces.

Jesus Luzardo was acquired from the Miami Marlins in a trade to bolster what is already a very strong rotation. Max Kepler was signed to a one-year deal in free agency and is penciled in as the starting right fielder. In the bullpen, Jordan Romano was also signed to a one-year deal.

A clear theme has developed with those moves, as the Phillies are banking on players with immense talent to bounce back in 2025 to the heights they have shown previously.

To land Luzardo, the team traded away two of their top prospects; shortstop Starlyn Cabo, who was No. 4 in their system and outfielder Emaarion Boyd, who was No. 23.

A lot of their system is still a year or two away from helping at the Major League level, but one player to keep an eye on is pitching Jean Cabrera.

Over at MLB.com, he was selected as the prospect who improved their stock the most during the 2024 season. The Phillies think highly enough of him that he was protected from the Rule 5 Draft this winter.

“Signed for just $10,000 back in 2019, Cabrera had a solid debut in the DSL in 2021, then spent two full seasons with Single-A Clearwater. Things started to click in 2024, at age 22, as he pitched his way from High-A Jersey Shore to Double-A Reading. That allowed him to not only go from unranked to No. 13 on the Phillies' Top 30, but to earn a spot on the 40-man roster as well.”

That is a huge jump up in the rankings, as he is now in the top half of the organization’s top 30. After the trade with the Marlins, he has moved up to No. 12; the only other pitchers ahead of him are No.2 ranked Andrew Painter, who could factor into the starting rotation mix in 2025, and Mick Abel, who is No. 5.

Cabrera turned only 23 in October and has some legitimate potential. Once he fills out, he looks to have the capability of hitting 100 MPH on the radar gun with regularity.

Having two complementary pitches that are already above average certainly puts him on the path to being a competent starting pitcher. He can consistently throw strikes, but if he cannot handle a full workload as a starter, he could quickly develop into a high-leverage reliever out of the bullpen.