Three Phillies prospects to keep an eye on as the minor league season begins

The farm system is as ripe as it has been in years. With the Phillies having to dig deeper than they expected because of injuries, here is some talent to monitor.

Phillies Johan Rojas, left, and Carlos De La CruzRead moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Scott Lauber

Published Apr. 7, 2023, 9:19 a.m. ET

Nine days into the season, the Phillies placed their second first baseman (Darick Hall) — and eighth player overall, not counting top pitching prospect Andrew Painter — on the injured list.

It made them both unlucky and not unique.

The Dodgers opened the season with nine players on the injured list. So did the Yankees, who were missing 60% of their starting rotation. The Mets and Braves are down eight and six pitchers, respectively, including their aces (Justin Verlander and Max Fried) and closers (Edwin Díaz and Raisel Iglesias).

Front offices can’t predict health any better than they can forecast the weather. But as the Phillies pushed back the home opener Thursday in anticipation of a storm that never materialized, it was worth pondering their organizational depth as insulation for an avalanche of injuries.

The farm system is as ripe as it has been in years. Baseball America ranks it 19th out 30, up from 23rd last year, 27th in 2021, and 26th in 2020. But much of the Phillies’ top talent is below the triple-A level, prompting them to recently add pitchers Jeff Hoffman, T.J. Zeuch, and Nick Allgeyer for additional major-league experience in Lehigh Valley.

Teams can never stockpile enough depth. So, with the Phillies digging deeper than they expected, let’s look at three upper-level minor leaguers worth watching as double-A and A-ball seasons get underway this weekend:

Johan Rojas

Mark it down: One way or another, Rojas will make an impact this season.

Maybe he will emerge as the righty-hitting center fielder the Phillies have sought to pair with lefty-swinging Brandon Marsh. Rojas, 22, runs the bases and plays defense at a major league level. All that’s left is for him to hit, and the arrow may be pointing up. He ended last season on a 32-for-106 (.302) roll at double-A Reading and went 13-for-42 (.310) with an .876 on-base-plus- slugging in the Arizona Fall League.

“He’s worked really hard to get his bat path in a better spot to drive balls more consistently,” Phillies minor league director Preston Mattingly said this week. “It’s been publicized about him hitting a lot of ground balls. Some of the adjustments we’re trying to make allow him to get the ball on a line a lot more and hit the ball in the gaps and be the exciting player we think he can be.”

But center field is also a deep position for the Phillies. Rojas is opening the season back at Reading, sandwiched between Simón Muzziotti at Lehigh Valley and 2022 first-round draft pick Justin Crawford at low-A Clearwater. The Phillies believe power forward-size Carlos De La Cruz (more on him shortly) can play center field, too.

History suggests president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski trades from positional surpluses. Last year, for example, he dealt catching prospect Logan O’Hoppe, whose path was blocked by J.T. Realmuto, to the Angels for Marsh. The Phillies haven’t wanted to discuss Rojas in trades. But given the renewed emphasis on stolen bases amid MLB’s new rules, there may be a market for a player who went 62-for-67 in steal attempts last season.

“It is an area that we feel strongly that we have some depth there,” Mattingly said. “But we’ve got to continue to refine the bats. Defense is one thing, and it buys you a lot of [development] time. But as everybody knows, to play in the major leagues you’ve got to be able to hit, too.”

And if Rojas hits, he could help the Phillies more directly.

“There’s no question, with the new rules — we saw last year in the minor leagues — Johan has elite speed but also [he’s] an elite baserunner,” Mattingly said. “Take away the speed, the instincts on the bases are really good. Even without the pitch clock, you’re going to have a really hard time throwing this kid out on the bases. He has a chance to be special out there.”

Carlos De La Cruz

A few weeks ago, De La Cruz unfolded his long legs and stood up from a couch in the Phillies’ spring training clubhouse. Then, as much as ever, the 6-foot-8 outfielder looked like a curiosity as much as a prospect.

But against all odds, he’s the top home run hitter in the farm system.

Unselected in the 40-round amateur draft out of a New York high school, De La Cruz had big right-handed power when he actually made contact. Hitters who are that tall, with such long arms and legs, tend to struggle to repeat the mechanics of a swing. And after signing with the Phillies, De La Cruz struck out in 35% of his first 863 minor league plate appearances. A year ago, he was inactive on opening day at high-A Jersey Shore.

But the 23-year-old broke through as much as any Phillies farmhand last year. He slugged 10 homers in 64 games at Jersey Shore and seven in 38 games after moving up to Reading despite whiffing in 29.7% of 403 plate appearances. He played in the Arizona Fall League and went 19-for-62 (.307) with three homers but a whopping 27 strikeouts. The Phillies left him unprotected in the Rule 5 draft, and he wasn’t selected.

“With the humongous frame that he has, he has to continuously try and stay short to the ball and make as much contact as possible,” Mattingly said. “Because when he does that, with the leverage he has, he’s going to create some top-end exit velocities and do a lot of damage.”

Indeed, De La Cruz’s power makes him a potential difference-maker. And with a well-stocked outfield at Reading — Rojas, 2021 second-round pick Ethan Wilson, and lefty slugger Baron Radcliff will play most of the time — De La Cruz will see time at first base, according to Mattingly.

If that seems interesting it’s because the Phillies have already lost two power-hitting first basemen: Rhys Hoskins for the season after knee surgery and now Hall to a sprained right thumb. De La Cruz would surely have to continue to chop down his strikeout rate to become a consideration, but, well, keep an eye on him.

“Last year, he kind of somewhat figured it out a little bit,” Mattingly said. “He just continuously found his swing and what worked for him and had a really nice year. We’re really excited with what he’s done.”

Noah Skirrow

If not for Trea Turner’s Captain America impression, the most eye-opening performance by a Phillies player in the World Baseball Classic may have come from an undrafted 24-year-old right-hander from Ontario.

Skirrow led Phillies minor leaguers last season in starts (25) and innings pitched (119⅔) but also posted a 4.36 ERA between Reading and Lehigh Valley. Team Canada recruited him for the WBC, an experience that he described as “surreal,” and he held Colombia to two hits in five scoreless innings of a 5-0 victory on March 14.

“I couldn’t ask for much more, really,” Skirrow said. “It went about as good as you could ask for it to go.”

Skirrow carried it into the season, too. In his first start for Lehigh Valley, he gave up one earned run on four hits in five innings. At a time when the Phillies crave starting pitching depth — their top triple-A option is Michael Plassmeyer, a 26-year-old lefty on his fourth organization in six years — Skirrow may have at least put himself on the radar.

“Whenever you get thrown onto the big stage, you’re playing with major league players and against major league players, I think it was really a boost to his confidence that he belongs on that level,” Mattingly said. “We kind of thought this. Letting him go out and do it and perform the way he did, it was great for the kid.”

Skirrow is primarily a fastball-slider pitcher, with the occasional changeup and curveball mixed in. But the Phillies believe he has the repertoire to remain in a starting role, especially given his high strikeout rate. Last season, he fanned 25.8% of the hitters he faced in double A and triple A.

The Phillies have a pitching-rich system, even beyond Painter and fellow top prospects Mick Abel and Griff McGarry. Power-armed reliever Andrew Baker will open the season in Reading but may be a fast-riser. Mattingly highlighted right-handers Gunner Mayer and Tommy McCollum at Jersey Shore and Alex McFarlane and Orion Kerkering in Clearwater.

But injuries to Ranger Suárez, Painter, Nick Nelson, and Cristopher Sánchez stretched the Phillies’ upper-level pitching depth. Skirrow isn’t on the 40-man roster, but his continued emergence would give them another option.

“We think he has some unique characteristics to his stuff,” Mattingly said. “He could be a guy that’s pretty close to the major leagues.”

The Phillies can never have too many.

After winning the pennant and getting all the way to Game 6 of the Series last year, the Phillies are back to finish the deal. The home opener of the 141st season in franchise history is set for Friday at Citizens Bank Park — and The Inquirer will have it covered. Join Phillies/MLB reporter Scott Lauber and staff writer Matt Breen as they host Gameday Central starting at 1:30 p.m. at inquirer.com/philliesgameday.