Two Phillies pitchers break off The Top 10 RHP prospects for MLB Pipeline in 2024
Even though 2024 is still a little less than three weeks away, MLB Pipeline has already begun to publish its rankings of the best prospects at each position. The Philadelphia Phillies have two outstanding prospects who made the list of the Top 10 right-handed pitching prospects, which was just released.
The top-ranked prospect for the Phillies, Andrew Painter, was ranked No. 4, while the top-ranked prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Paul Skenes, was ranked No. 7.
Even though he missed all of 2023, Andrew Painter maintains a high ranking.
In fact, Painter dropped two spots from his ranking of the best RHP prospects in 2023 at No. 2. Given that he underwent Tommy John surgery last season and will probably miss the majority of 2024 as well, his ability to maintain such a high ranking on the list is a testament to his immense talent and potential.
Before getting hurt, Painter had a fantastic breakthrough season in 2002. He pitched his way up to three minor league levels, finishing with a 6-2 record, 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and an incredible 155 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings of work. Furthermore, even though he was idle for the entire previous season, he was still able to secure the 28th spot on MLB Pipeline’s most recent update of its Top 100 prospects in 2023.
In 2025, Painter hopes to be fully recovered to 100 percent health and ready to make a stronger comeback.
Mick Abel continues to be listed in the Top 10.
Regarding right-handed pitching prospects from 2023, Abel is still ranked seventh in spite of a strong campaign with the Reading Fightin Phils and Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 2021.
Abel, who split his time between the two minor league affiliates, finished 23 starts with a 5-6 record, 4.13 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 132 strikeouts in 113 1/3 innings. Abel, who was listed by MLB Pipeline as one of the Top 50 prospects in all of baseball at No. 45 last season, will start 2024 in Triple-A and, with luck, could make the Phillies’ major league roster this season.
The Phillies’ starting rotation appears to be bright and intimidating for hitters in the future, so they will be adding some youth to their staff in the coming years. We are definitely here for it if they can maintain one of the best pitching staffs in the league by switching from a veteran-heavy staff to a younger rotation with Painter and Abel.
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Josh Hader, a five-time All-Star closer, has not been available to the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason. There is a catch: despite being arguably the second-best reliever available, they do not appear to have been interested in him.
The Phillies and RHP Jordan Hicks had “mutual interest” at one point during the offseason, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. At the start of the offseason, Hicks was ranked as the No. 2 reliever available and the 25th overall free agent by Just Baseball.
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Josh Hader, a five-time All-Star closer, has not been available to the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason. There is a catch: despite being arguably the second-best reliever available, they do not appear to have been interested in him.
The Phillies and RHP Jordan Hicks had “mutual interest” at one point during the offseason, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. At the start of the offseason, Hicks was ranked as the No. 2 reliever available and the 25th overall free agent by Just Baseball.
It’s unclear if the Phillies ever presented Hicks with a formal offer, but even if they had, it might not have mattered. Gelb reports that the Phillies “viewed Hicks as a reliever.” That makes sense given that he has spent 204 of his 212 MLB appearances in the bullpen, including this past season, when he pitched 65 games for the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals and recorded a 3.29 ERA.
Hicks, whose career fastball average has been 100.8 mph, started eight games for the Cardinals in 2022 and recorded a 5.47 ERA. Even though Hicks is still only 27 years old, San Francisco still believes they have a chance if Hicks is given the chance to start for the Giants.
Meanwhile, the Phillies are still attempting to figure out how to replace the 71 games that Craig Kimbrel played for them in the previous season. With Orion Kerker out of the pen for the entire season and José Alvarado and Seranthony Domínguez in better health, some of those extra innings may come from within. However, one would assume that Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, is still planning to add another outside player.
