CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Phillies believe Justin Crawford is ready for the next big challenge. He will start the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, despite turning just 21 in January and having only 180 plate appearances above High-A Jersey Shore. Crawford is the Phillies’ No. 3 prospect and the No.

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Before the top Phillies prospects played the top Pirates prospects in Spring Breakout, a 5-3 Philadelphia victory, on Friday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark, Andrew Painter provided a large crowd at Carpenter Complex a peek at what the summer might look like at Citizens Bank Park. Painter threw

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Phillies opened Spring Training last month saying top pitching prospect Andrew Painter could be a difference-maker in the big league rotation by “July-ish,” which is how president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski phrased Painter’s tentative timeline. But there is more than Painter to watch in the

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki's Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Though the Phillies shied away from making a massive blockbuster deal at last year's Trade Deadline, they did make a flurry of moves that resulted in an influx of newcomers. Relievers Carlos Estévez and Tanner Banks joined the big league bullpen, Austin Hays was added to the

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

This is the third straight year that right-hander Andrew Painter has topped a new Phillies’ Top 30 list at the start of the season. The biggest difference, of course, is that he’ll actually pitch in this one. The Phillies’ first-round pick in 2021 was the best pitching prospect in baseball

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- It was just one at-bat at the very beginning of a very long season. But it signaled progress. Justin Crawford barreled a 92.8 mph fastball up in the zone in the ninth inning of Saturday’s 7-6 Grapefruit League loss against the Tigers in Lakeland. He scorched a

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Cole Hamels approached Andrew Painter just after he finished his bullpen session on Tuesday at Carpenter Complex. Hamels might be the

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Aidan Miller grew up about 30 minutes from BayCare Ballpark. He still lives at home, and why wouldn’t he? Miller loves the food, and he gets to share his experiences from his first Phillies camp with family and friends. According to MLB Pipeline, Miller, 20, is baseball’s

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHILADELPHIA -- Andrew Painter is healthy again, which means everybody is talking about him again. And that means everybody is wondering when he will crack the Phillies’ rotation.

To say that Nieves Izaguirre is from a baseball family would be an understatement. Philadelphia has signed the 17-year-old Venezuelan shortstop, who is ranked as the No. 44 prospect in the 2025 international class per MLB Pipeline. Over 60 members of his lineage have become pro ballplayers, including a pair

The Phillies announced 23 non-roster invitees to Spring Training on Tuesday, including each of their top three prospects: Shortstop Aidan Miller, right-hander Andrew Painter and outfielder Justin Crawford. The Phils have been open about their expectations that Painter -- the club's top pitching prospect and the No. 32 prospect overall,

Ever since Roki Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe, met with the media at the Winter Meetings, there’s been speculation about which team might be the best fit to land the prized right-hander, who was recently posted by his Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines. As one executive put it when asked

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Let's dive into some questions to go with the leftovers ...

With Paul Skenes and Luis Gil taking home their leagues' respective 2024 Rookie of the Year Awards, it's time to turn our attention to 2025.

The Arizona Fall League is over, with tremendous prospects shutting things down for the offseason. All 30 teams have made their 40-man roster decisions, adding big-name prospects and some sleepers to keep an eye on. So what’s a prospect hound to do? Answer your questions, of course! We answered a

Season No. 32 of the Arizona Fall League is in the books, with the Salt River Rafters beating the Surprise Saguaros, 3-2, in the Championship Game on Saturday. It was another fall full of top prospects and top performances. Below is the 2024 MLB Pipeline All-AFL Team. This is based

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies added three starting pitchers to the 40-man roster on Tuesday night, protecting them from next month’s Rule 5 Draft: right-handers Mick Abel (Phillies’ No. 6 prospect), Jean Cabrera (No. 13) and Moisés Chace (No. 26). The Phillies are looking to create as much starting pitching depth

For six more weeks again this year, some of the best prospects in baseball shined in the Arizona Fall League, the game’s most elite prospect circuit. Now it’s time to give out some hardware. The Fall League annually awards the Joe Black MVP Award to its top performer, and since