This Top Prospect Was Philadelphia Phillies’ ‘Shrewd Move’ At Trade Deadline

The Philadelphia Phillies traded for a prospect at the deadline that a major publication believes was a great move.

May 26, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Philadelphia Phillies hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles needed a reliever that could help them for a stretch run. The Philadelphia Phillies were willing to accept some pieces for the future to make it happen.

So, off went Gregory Soto to the Orioles, and in came a pair of pitching prospects that likely won’t give the Phillies a boost until at least next year.

One was Seth Johnson, a right-hander who is at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and could be a piece for the Phillies’ rotation next season.

The other is Moisés Chace, a starter who is now the Phillies’ No. 26 prospect per MLB Pipeline and was installed at Double-A Reading.

The right-hander might end up being the centerpiece of the deal.

Recently, Baseball America put the spotlight on what the publication called 10 unheralded young pitchers with plus stuff and performance this season.

BA rated those pitchers based on its Stuff+ metric, along with their overall performance. These are pitchers, in the publication’s estimation, who have elite stuff and can hold it over the season.

Chace made that list with a Stuff+ rating of 116.

The 21-year-old’s performance in 2024 is the best of his four professional seasons, as he is 4-3 with a 3.43 ERA in 20 games (12 starts) with three different minor league teams. He has struck out 95 and walked 34 in 65.2 innings. Batters are also hitting just .206 against him.

Why? According to Baseball America’s analysis, it’s all about the young pitcher’s emerging four-seam fastball.

“Chace has a plus four-seam fastball, sitting 94-95 mph and touching 97 mph at peak. The four-seamer generates efficient shape, averaging 18 inches of induced vertical break and 11 inches of armside run from a 64-inch release height. This creates a unique -3.83 degree vertical approach angle, one of the flattest fastball planes in professional baseball.”

He also has a slider and change-up that both rest in the low-80s and both have plenty of movement to throw hitters off.

That’s why, according to the publication, the move may end up being a “shrewd one” for the Phillies in the long-term.

The Orioles signed him out of Venezuela as an international free agent and turned him loose in the professional ranks in 2021, where he went 1-3 with a 5.64 ERA in nine games with the O’s Florida Complex League’s rookie team.

From there, he spent two seasons with Baltimore’s Class A affiliate in Delmarva where his performance improved each season, including a 5-2 record with a 4.50 ERA while batters hit .198 against him in 2023.