Philadelphia Phillies Protect Three Star Prospects Ahead of Rule 5 Draft

The Philadelphia Phillies made sure teams wouldn't be able to poach three of their star prospects by adding them to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.

Jul 8, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; National League Futures starting pitcher Mick Abel (25) of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches to the American League during the first inning of the All Star-Futures game at T-Mobile Park / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

After prolonged years of not having a solid farm system, the Philadelphia Phillies remedied that by continuing to emphasize development after drafting players and acquiring prospects.

This is something that Bryce Harper implored the organization to do, and is something they clearly took to heart.

While they still aren't towards the top of the prospect rankings lists, the Phillies have some superstar minor leaguers who project to be franchise cornerstones for them whenever they are ready to make the leap up to the Majors.

However, they also had some tough decisions to make ahead of Tuesday's deadline to add players to their 40-man roster who are eligible for the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.

Those added are protected from being selected by other teams around the league on Dec. 11.

Philadelphia decided to protect three of their pitching prospects by adding Moises Chace, Mick Abel and Jean Cabrera to the roster according to Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors.

Abel is the highest-ranked out of the trio, coming in at No. 6.

Once viewed as a top two guy behind only Bryson Stott and Andrew Painter in separate years, he struggled mightily at the Triple-A level this season with a 3-13 record and 6.46 ERA across his 24 starts that caused the organization to reevaluate his future with the team.

Still, at just 23 years old, there is time for him to correct some things and get back on track, so protecting him ahead of the Rule 5 Draft was a no-brainer.

Cabrera is another youngster who could become an impact arm for the Phillies at some point.

Coming off his best season since he played rookie ball in 2021, the right-hander was able to showcase better control of his pitches with a 1.21 WHIP while also holding opposing lineups to a .240 batting average during his 20 appearances and 19 starts.

He's also just 23 years old, so it's not quite known what his role will be going forward.

Philadelphia could continue having him develop into a starter, or they could focus on adding velocity to turn him into a reliever to climb up the pipeline next season.

Chace might be the most interesting of the group.

Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in the trade that shipped Gregory Soto out of town, the ceiling is high for the 21-year-old even though he's had his issues at times.

Used as both a starter and reliever by the Orioles, he has a career 4.42 ERA across his 72 outings and 43 starts, but what makes him an intriguing arm is he's stuck out 320 batters in 230.1 innings pitched.

Control is the main thing that has plagued Chace, so if the Phillies can help him figure that out, then he could become a real option for them in the rotation or bullpen down the line.