Phillies hope MLB debutant Felix Reyes can give them ‘a shot of energy’
“He can hit,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Reyes. “He’s a big man, but he’ll surprise you how athletic he is. He’s a lot better runner than people give him credit for."
You won’t find Felix Reyes’ name on MLBPipeline’s list of the top 100 prospects in baseball. In fact, he didn’t even make the list of the top 30 prospects just within the Phillies organization.
But even without much external recognition, the 25-year-old utility player has hit .331 over the past calendar year, between double-A Reading and triple-A Lehigh Valley. He was named the Eastern League’s Most Valuable Player last season for his standout performance in double A.
And 19 games into the 2026 season, he was the first position player to receive a call-up to the Phillies from triple A. Reyes, who bats right-handed, made his major league debut Saturday, starting in left field against Braves left-hander Chris Sale.
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Reyes has never put much stock in top-prospect lists.
“In the end, it’s just a list,” he said Saturday through a team interpreter. “When you read that list and when you check it, it doesn’t tell you who the players are, who we are, as a person or as a player. So it doesn’t tell you the story.”
The 6-foot-3 Reyes, who is originally from the Dominican Republic and signed with the Phillies as an international free agent in 2020, impressed as a nonroster invitee to spring training this year. He hit .303 with a .930 OPS in 18 games, and cited his consistently positive mindset as one of the reasons why.
“He’s a monster,” Brandon Marsh said with a smile. “Obviously a really, really, really good hitter, hits the ball hard, puts good at-bats together.”
The Phillies hope that injecting a young player with the raw power that Reyes has into the lineup could be the jolt that the team needs. They entered Saturday on a skid of three straight blowout losses, including a 9-0 drubbing at the hands of the Braves in Friday’s series opener.
There’s also hope that Reyes could help with the team’s struggles against lefties. The team is collectively hitting .179 against left-handed pitchers, which is third-worst in baseball. Reyes crushed lefties last season, with a .371 batting average and 1.091 OPS in 89 at-bats against them.
Sale, the 2024 Cy Young winner, will certainly be a tough first test. He has a 3.27 ERA through his first four starts, and is holding righties to a .188 batting average.
“He can hit,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Reyes. “He’s a big man, but he’ll surprise you how athletic he is. He’s a lot better runner than people give him credit for. He’s very intelligent, really good baserunner. He’s played seven or eight games in the outfield. ... He’s really performed. So maybe this gives us a little bit of a shot of energy.”
The move provides an opportunity for a reset for Otto Kemp, who had struggled in limited action. Kemp, playing in a left-field platoon with Marsh and only starting against lefties, was 2-for-20 so far this season. He was optioned to triple-A Lehigh Valley to get more consistent playing time and ideally get back into rhythm.
Reyes will get the next chance in the left-field platoon. Marsh started in center field against Sale over Justin Crawford, a lineup decision that Thomson said he made because Marsh has past experience facing Sale, while Crawford does not.
» READ MORE: Phillies place Jhoan Duran on 15-day injured list, send Otto Kemp to Lehigh Valley
The main question surrounding Reyes as he’s risen through the ranks of the Phillies’ farm system has been his outfield defense. Thomson said his biggest area of improvement is reading balls and routes.
“From what [IronPigs manager Anthony Contreras] told me, he’s gonna range around out there, he’s gonna catch what he gets to,” Thomson said.
Reyes also has corner infield experience, and it’s possible he could occasionally see time at first to give Bryce Harper a day at designated hitter, while Kyle Schwarber moves back to left. Reyes could draw into the lineup as the designated hitter, too.
Marsh said he told Reyes that he has his back in the outfield on Saturday.
“I’ll get as much as I can,” Marsh told him. “Just worry about hitting today. And I’ll do the best I can to cover that out there.”
Reyes found out about his call-up late Friday night from Contreras, while he was in St. Paul, Minn., with the IronPigs. His first call was to his mother to share the good news, and he had a little trouble sleeping afterward due to the excitement.
Now, the unheralded prospect will get an opportunity on the biggest baseball stage.
“He put good at-bats together all spring, mashed the ball hard forward, and that’s all we can ask for,” Marsh said. “And I feel like he’s gonna bring a lot of good to us.”