CLEARWATER, Fla. ¨C When the Phillies¡¯ Spring Breakout roster was announced last week, there were the big names fans would have been looking for -- Mick Abel, Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford. But upon a closer look, what might have popped even more than the Top 100 talents were the names of two teenagers who made the roster with only Dominican Summer League action on their professional resumes.
No. 5 prospect Starlyn Caba (18 years old) and No. 9 Eduardo Tait ( 17) -- both the ages of typical American high-school seniors -- are ticketed for Spring Breakout as Philadelphia continues to be aggressive with the shortstop and the catcher.
Signed as members of the 2023 international class, Caba hit .301/.423/.346 with 16 steals and way more walks (28) than strikeouts (16) over his 38-game spin in the DSL last summer, while Tait produced a .333/.400/.517 line with 18 extra-base hits in 44 contests at the same complex level. Based on those performances, the pair became priorities to head stateside not just for spring but even earlier.
¡°These guys have been here since January, so they got a little bit acclimated from the training aspect in the weight room and some field work before actual Spring Training,¡± said Phillies assistant general manager in charge of player development Preston Mattingly. ¡°So they¡¯ve been training with us for a couple of months now, but we have a team in place to transition these guys whether it¡¯s our life skills education department, the field staff. Our field coordinator came over with them to make sure everyone was introduced the right way. We try to put all the pieces in place so it¡¯s a seamless transition for them.¡±
Caba¡¯s glove alone would make any move easier. The $3 million signee out of the Dominican Republic earned a 65 grade on his fielding tool from MLB Pipeline this offseason, and Mattingly noted that he not only makes flashy rangy plays but also consistent fundamental ones at the demanding position of shortstop. If he gets stronger and hits for more impact offensively, there¡¯s Top 100 potential for the switch-hitter.
¡°Just an elite defensive player with athleticism, run, contact ability. I think he¡¯s pretty mature for his age. With his wisdom on the field, he¡¯s a pretty high-IQ player. We felt very comfortable bringing him over and exposing him to this level of baseball. Honestly, he¡¯d be fine at higher levels just because of how good the defense is and how smart he is.¡±
Tait was much more under the radar when he entered pro ball out of Panama for just $90,000, but as a left-handed-hitting catcher who¡¯s already shown some impact, he has the early makings of an offensive force behind the dish. Need proof? Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has mentioned that Tait is often asked about as a potential prospect return in trades. Instead, the Phillies have held on to the backstop, hoping they¡¯re the ones on the receiving end of his offensive growth and enough defensive development to keep him from behind the plate.
¡°We really like the bat and think he¡¯ll get a chance to catch too,¡± Mattingly said. ¡°He throws plenty good enough, and he¡¯s shown he¡¯s capable of making adjustments very quickly pitch to pitch and at-bat to at-bat.¡±
Spring standout: Tjayy Walton
A former multisport standout in Virginia, Walton pushed himself into the fourth round when he focused on baseball at IMG Academy in 2023, and while you never want to get too caught up in small samples, it was certainly interesting that he began his pro career by going 5-for-13 (.385) with one triple, two doubles and three walks in his five-game spin in the Florida Complex League.
The Phillies had high hopes Walton could build on that momentum in his first offseason, and they¡¯ve noted that he showed up to his first Spring Training even stronger, showing off exit velocities above 110 mph on the backfields. If he can elevate the ball just a bit more -- his 57.1 percent ground-ball rate popped as much as the other numbers in the FCL -- Walton will carve out an even more prominent spot in the system than his current No. 18 ranking.
¡°There are bat-to-ball skills there,¡± Mattingly said. ¡°Hasn't tapped into his power yet, but when he does, he could be a guy with top-of-the-chart power. It¡¯s top-of-the-scale exit velocities already.¡±
Breakout potential: Nikau Pouaka-Grego
Pouaka-Grego already has an interesting backstory as a $250,000 signing out of New Zealand in January 2022, and he put himself on the map by hitting .301/.424/.466 with as many walks as strikeouts (16) over 35 games in the FCL that summer. He was set to build on that in the Australian Baseball League that winter but tore his ACL after only four games, ending his 2023 season before it even began.
The Phillies¡¯ No. 30 prospect kept his batting eye sharp during the downtime, using the organization¡¯s Trajekt machine to track pitches and replicate the pitches he may have missed during the summer. After striking out only 12.8 percent of the time in the pros, maintaining that knowledge of the zone is huge, and given the left-handed slugger¡¯s previous barrel control, it isn¡¯t out of the question that he flirts with a .300 average again in his age-19 season this summer and takes a significant jump in prospect prominence.
¡°He¡¯s been training with us all offseason in rehab, and he¡¯s in great shape right now,¡± Mattingly said. ¡°Obviously before he got hurt, he was a guy that could put an at-bat together. He has bat-to-ball skills. He¡¯s probably more of that second-base profile, but he¡¯s a guy we like. We really like the bat.¡±
Something to prove: Griff McGarry
There was some hope that McGarry -- a 2021 fifth-rounder out of the University of Virginia -- could have helped Philadelphia¡¯s Major League staff at some point in 2023 based on the strength of the stuff alone. His fastball could touch as high as 99, and his mid-80s sweeping slider broke hard down and glove-side, getting a ton of swing-and-miss when he could control it.
But to call McGriff¡¯s control a major issue last season might even be an understatement. The right-hander walked 50 batters in 59 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023 (striking out 79 in the same span), and he was placed on the Lehigh Valley development list twice in August and finished his season on that designation after issuing free passes to 11 of his 18 batters faced in his last two outings with the IronPigs.
The Phillies took the ¡°development¡± portion of that seriously.
¡°We started this last September of completely remapping the arm,¡± Mattingly said. ¡°It¡¯s a noticeably shorter arm path. That¡¯s part of the thing we always knew we would have to do, and we were just searching for the right time. Obviously, Griff was very receptive to it. He¡¯s throwing a tighter, shorter slider -- a more cuttery slider -- that helps him get in the zone more a little bit. He still obviously has great stuff, and metrically, it¡¯s about as good as you could ask for.¡±
McGarry, who has touched 95.7 mph with his fastball in front of Statcast, has thrown that upper-80s cutter/slider more often this spring with spin rates in the 2,600-2,800 rpm range, but the jury remains out on early results. He struck out all three Marlins he faced in his Grapefruit League opener on March 1 but has allowed eight batters to reach over just 1 2/3 innings in his two appearances since. After those uneven results, McGarry was reassigned to Minor League camp on Monday. He is expected to open the season in the Lehigh Valley bullpen.
The Phillies¡¯ No. 11 prospect is Rule 5-eligible next offseason and has the stuff to be a Rule 5 pick if left unprotected. But any control improvements that he can carry into the season would likely get him to Philly ahead of time anyway.