Category: Sports News

On January 21, 2026, Jett Williams was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. This list, and Williams’ place on it, was compiled back in late-November. For continuity’s sake, I decided upon including Williams’ profile, but for all intents and purposes, every player on our list below Williams can be considered to have moved up a spot on it.

Jett Williams has always been one of the smaller people on the field, leading to many doubting him, but from a young age, he turned the questions and skepticism into fuel and a chip on his shoulder. In high school, he made the Rockwall-Heath High School varsity baseball team as a freshman and helped lead them to state playoffs in virtually every season that he played for the Hawks. In his junior and senior years, arguably the most important for a high school player, he hit .347 with 5 home runs and 15 stolen bases and .411 with 7 home runs and 24 stolen bases, respectively.

The hard work that he put in paid off, and as the 2022 MLB Draft approached, evaluators considered Williams one of the best talents available in the draft class. With their second first-round pick, the 14th overall, the Mets selected Williams. He signed roughly a week later, forgoing his commitment to Mississippi State University in exchange for a $3,900,000 bonus, a few hundred thousand dollars less than the MLB-assigned slot value of $4,241,600 for the 14th overall pick. The 18-year-old was assigned to the FCL Mets to begin his professional career and appeared in 10 games for them in the month of August, hitting .250/.366/.438 with 1 home run, 6 stolen bases in as many attempts, and drawing 4 walks to 6 strikeouts. That winter, Amazin’ Avenue ranked Jett Williams the Mets’ 5th best prospect.

Williams began the 2023 season with the Single-A St. Lucie Mets and played there until the end of July, when he was promoted to the Brooklyn Cyclones. In the 79 games he played with them, he hit a respectable .249/.422/.410 with 12 doubles, 6 triples, 6 home runs, 32 stolen bases in 38 attempts, and drew 69 walks to 76 strikeouts. While many hitters struggle when sent to Brooklyn, it was quite the opposite for Williams. In the 36 games he played for the Cyclones, he hit .299/.451/.567 with 9 doubles, 2 triples, 7 home runs, 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts, and drew 33 walks to 32 strikeouts. In mid-September, the 19-year-old was promoted to the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies to finish the year and went 5-22 with them, hitting 1 double, stealing 1 base, and walking twice to 10 strikeouts. All in all, Jett Williams appeared in 121 games between Single-A, High-A, and Double-A in his first full season as a professional and hit a combined .263/.425/.451 with 22 doubles, 8 triples, 13 home runs, 45 stolen bases in 52 attempts, and 104 walks to 118 strikeouts. His 104 walks led the system and in doing so, the 19-year-old became the first teenager to lead the Mets minor league system in walks since David Wright did so in 2002.

On the heels of his excellent performance, Williams was considered the Mets’ top prospect by Amazin’ Avenue and one of the best prospects in all of baseball by national evaluators. Expectations were high for him coming into the 2024 season, but Williams did not live up to them unfortunately. Remaining in Binghamton to begin the year, he got off to sluggish start in April due to wrist discomfort and eventually underwent a right wrist triangular fibrocartilage complex debridement procedure. He missed four months of the season, hitting the injured list in late April and finally returning in late August. Williams struggled in his return, but there was light at the end of the tunnel, as a late-season promotion to Triple-A Syracuse saw him go 8-30 with 4 doubles and 8 walks to 7 strikeouts. In total, Williams only appeared in 28 games on the season, 22 in Binghamton and 6 in Syracuse.

After the season concluded, the Mets sent Williams to the Arizona Fall League. Appearing in 22 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions, he hit .225/.376/.388 in 80 at-bats, with 2 doubles, 3 triples, 3 homers, 7 stolen bases in 8 attempts, and 17 walks to 30 strikeouts. Ending his 2024 season on as ignominious a note as possible, Williams injured his right ankle in the first inning of the Scottsdale-Salt River Play-In Semifinal, crashing against the left-center field wall attempting to corral a Tyler Callihan fly ball that would ricochet for a double. Fortunately, the injury was just a sprain, and after a few weeks, Williams was healthy and ready to continue his off-season training.

Ranked the Mets’ second-best prospect, most expected a bounce back season for Williams, who reported to spring training fully healthy. Assigned to Binghamton to begin the year, the young infielder hit .290/.355/.507 in his first month of play, highlighting that his return to form was indeed happening. In total, he hit .281/.390/.477 in 96 games with the Rumble Ponies, hitting 29 doubles, 5 triples, and 10 home runs, stealing 32 bases in 39 attempts, and drawing 62 walks to 96 strikeouts.  He was promoted to Syracuse in mid-August and closed out the season with them in the International League. In 34 games, the 21-year-old Williams hit .209/.285/.433 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 7 home runs, 2 stolen bases in 2 attempts, and drew 14 walks to 35 strikeouts. In total, he hit .261/.363/.465 in 130 combined games with both teams, recording 34 doubles, 7 triples, 17 home runs, stealing 34 bases in 43 attempts, and drawing 76 walks to 131 strikeouts.

The 5’7” infielder stands square at the plate, holding his hands high and his angling his bat at 1:30. He swings with a big leg kick and a short-levered swing that is quick to the ball. While he may be on the shorter side, on the cusp for what is considered viable in professional baseball, Williams is athletic and has strong arms and a thick lower body.

Thanks to his natural strength and plus bat speed stemming from his all-or-nothing swing, Williams makes a lot of hard contact. In limited at-bats in Syracuse, where statcast data is publicly available, Williams had a 104.5 MPH 90th percentile exit velocity and a high-water mark of 108.4 MPH. While such exit velocities are not poor by any means, they are not necessarily indicative of 20+ home run potential, like Williams has. As has been the case for his entire baseball career, the infielder makes the most of what he has, and in this case, he makes the most of balls that he puts into play. The swing has drawbacks, however. With its steep plane, Williams has shown difficulty adjusting his bat path and catching up to high heat, which may result in low batting averages and on-base percentages in the future.

In 2025, he pulled the ball at a 45% rate, went back up the middle at a 23.2% rate, and went to the opposite field at a 31.8% rate while posting a 25.6% line drive rate, 31.8% ground ball rate, and 42.5% fly ball rate, with a 14.9% pulled fly ball rate. While this has resulted in a 33.8% infield fly ball rate and perhaps less contact that he could be making, it also resulted in a slightly above-average 11.3% HR/FB rate. Coming into the season, Williams had a bit of a reputation of being a little passive at the plate, but he increased his Swing% to 41.9% as compared to his 2023 and 2024 rates, while still remaining a bit lower than the 2025 MLB average. His Contact% and SwingStr% remained static and within MLB norms, meaning that while the infielder was swinging a bit more in 2025, but he was still being selective and not hacking wildly at everything he saw.

On top of his impact hit and power-tools, Williams possesses plus speed. He stole 34 bases in 43 total attempts in 2025, a 77% success rate, and has an 83% success rate over the course of his professional career. He pushes the envelope on the basepaths, legging out doubles, taking extra bases, and challenging outfielders, and is pesky and distracting towards pitchers.

Drafted as a shortstop, Williams has spent the majority of his professional playing time there, but he has also seen considerable time at second base as well as in centerfield. At shortstop, his defense is a bit fringy. He is quick-twitch athletic and has quick reactions, a dynamic first step, fluid actions, soft hands and a smooth glove, and above-average range, but an arm that is, at best, average in strength and accuracy brings down his overall defensive profile at the position. His arm strength and accuracy issues get negated with a shift to second base, but Williams has less experience playing there, a less-valuable defensive position with different footwork.

In the outfield, his plus speed and athleticism are boons, giving him the ability to cover a lot of ground with afterburners to close in on balls. His reads of the ball off the bat and the routes that he takes to the ball have improved since he was drafted and began playing in the outfield and should continue improving as he spends more time at the position.

I like Gabriel Rincones, Jr.

You like Gabriel Rincones, Jr.

Seems like the Phillies like Gabriel Rincones, Jr.

You know who else likes him? Left handed pitching.

Gabriel Rincones, Jr. – 48
Moises Chace – 34
Matthew Fisher – 29
Keaton Anthony – 9
Jean Cabrera – 7
Cade Obermueller – 6
Carson DeMartini – 5
Griffin Burkholder – 2
Mavis Graves – 1
Yoniel Curat – 1

By now, the story is known. Rincones has a ton of power, the potential to hit the ball hard and does really, really well against right handed pitching. On some teams, that’s a really good thing to have. For the Phillies, they are in the unfortunate position of needing someone who can do damage against left handed pitching thanks to the presences of Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford on the roster.

It’s just that Rincones should never, ever, EVER see a left handed pitcher if it can be avoided. Maybe while in the minor leagues, he can continue to see them as that is what the minor leagues is for: player development. If he can even get respectable against them, which would require a very big jump in performance, the team might have something really good on their hands.

But boy do those split numbers suggest he really, really shouldn’t see a left handed pitcher.

2025 stats (w/ Lehigh Valley)

506 PA, .240/.370/.430, 18 HR, 73 RBI, 21 SB, 22.5 K%, 15.8 BB%, 115 wRC+

Fangraphs scouting report:

A shoulder injury (2022), torn thumb ligament (2024), and sprained ankle (2025) have cost him big chunks of his pro career and, odd amateur arc included, he’s played far fewer high-level baseball games than most prospects his age. But when he’s been healthy (including right after returning from that nasty thumb injury), Rincones has destroyed righties. He’s career .256/.362/.476 hitter versus them (.164/.257/.224 vs LHP) and has some of the best raw power in the organization, even when you include Philly’s big league roster. A strapping 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Rincones will flash plus-plus pull-side juice against pitches in the middle-in portion of the plate, but doesn’t access it all over the zone.

With each new post, we’ll reveal who won the voting for that particular slot, then post new players for you to vote on, adding another one to the list each time until we get to our final tally of 20. Once we get to 20 top prospects, we’ll do an honorable mention post at the end. If a player gets traded to another team, we’ll just chuck him right on outta here and all the players will move up a spot. If a prospect gets acquired, we’ll ask where he should go on the list.

Probably the most important thing about this whole process – please vote. Give us a few minutes of your time, just click a button and then we can discuss other players and things in the comment section, but don’t forget – VOTE!

In this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, Jacob Milham and Jeremy “Hokius” Greco take a deep dive into the Kansas City Royals’ outfield, ranking current options while evaluating the organization’s short- and long-term outlook. The duo breaks down defensive value, offensive upside, and roster fit, with a spotlight on Jack Caglianone as a potential cornerstone piece for the Royals’ future.

The conversation also explores recent acquisitions, the importance of utility players, and how minor league performance shapes big-league decisions. From Gold Glove–caliber defense in center field to intriguing newcomers like Isaac Collins, this episode provides a clear-eyed look at how the Royals are constructing their outfield and what fans should expect heading into the upcoming season.

Email Jacob directly at: jm17971047@gmail.com

Need your Royals fix? Head to royalsreview.com for news, analysis, and to engage with Royals fans around the world! Follow us online:

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– Jeremy Greco: @hokius.fromthehawkseye.com
– Jacob Milham: @jacobmilhkc.bsky.social

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– Podcast: @RoyalRundownPod

The weather outside is cold, but Royals players will soon be in the warm weather of Arizona for spring training. Before they head out, they’ll interact with fans at Royals Rally this Saturday at Kauffman Stadium. From autograph sessions to interactive activities and panel discussions, the event is a way to get excited about baseball season and remind fans that the road to Opening Day is officially underway.

Fans can purchase general admission tickets for $27, which include access to one player autograph session per two-hour window and a roundtable discussion featuring players, coaches, and staff. A limited VIP option, priced at $152, guarantees an autograph session and provides additional clubhouse access. Fans can enjoy ballpark concessions, hear from Royals players, coaches, front office staff, and alumni, take photos in the visitor’s dugout, hit in the visitor’s batting cage, or visit the press box for kids’ activities. Parking is free. Tickets are available here.

The event will have three timed sessions that run from 10 a.m. to noon, 12:15 to 2:15 p.m., and 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. You can find a complete schedule of events here.

The Captain (and his kids!) have a message for you! 👀

Hang out with us this Saturday at Royals Rally! https://t.co/1F2QnCS9Bnpic.twitter.com/SLrsZgvlXq

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) January 29, 2026

The current players scheduled to appear include Ryan Bergert, Kris Bubic, Jac Caglianone, Noah Cameron, Isaac Collins, Carlos Estévez, Bailey Falter, Jonathan India, Kyle Isbel, Carter Jensen, Stephen Kolek, Nick Loftin, Seth Lugo, Nick Mears, Salvador Perez, Cole Ragans, John Rave, John Schreiber, Matt Strahm, Lane Thomas, Tyler Tolbert, and Michael Wacha. Manager Matt Quatraro and head of baseball operations J.J. Picollo will also speak, and former Royals outfielder Alex Gordon is scheduled to appear. The team has loosened bag rules, allowing fans to bring in larger items to be autographed, like bats, balls, and posters. You can read about some of the insights Matthew LaMar gained from players, coaches, and owner John Sherman at last year’s Royals Rally.

Are you headed to the K this weekend?

Braydon Fisher is a right-handed pitcher who came to us from the Dodgers, in trade for Cavan Biggio, in June of 2024. Fisher was a fourth-round draft pick in 2018.

Cavan played 30 games for the Dodgers, hitting .192.306/.329 and was released in early August. He went from there to the Giants, then the Braves, the Royals and the Angels. He’s a free agent now.

Fisher pitched for New Hampshire and Buffalo after the trade and was pretty good, putting up a 1.62 ERA in 14 games with the Bison. At the end of the season he was a free agent but the Jays signed him as a minor league Free agent.

He started 2025 in Buffalo, but was called up on May 7th, he went back to Buffalo on August 21st and then was back September 4th.

It turned out to be a terrific rookie season. In 52 games, he had a 2.70 ERA. In 50 innings, batters hit .181/.269/.282 against him. He had 62 strikeouts in 50 innings. We couldn’t have asked for better. He ended up with 7 wins, no losses and 5 holds.

He didn’t have as good a time in 7 playoff appearances, putting up a 6.43 ERA. Such is life.

Fisher throws three pitches, a slider (38.3% of the time, a curve (36.6%) and a four-seamer (22.1%, averaging 95.5 mph), with a couple of cutters thrown rarely.

He struck out 30.7% of batters. The number dropped some at the end of the season, but he had thrown a lot of pitches, so I’m not too worried about it.

Braydon has, likely, moved back a couple of spots on the depth chart, since the end of the season. Yimi Garcia will be back, after missing a good part of last season with an injury Tyler Rogers was added. Louis Varland cemented his spot in the pen after pitch in (seemingly) every playoff game. And Jeff Hoffman is…..still there, likely still closer. So Braydon will have to pitch well (again) to get any high-leverage work. But then he came out of nowhere last year to became an important piece of the pen last year, he can do it again.

Steamer thinks he’ll pitch in 52 games, 52 innings (not much imagination there), with a 4.08 ERA (I’d guess that if his ERA is north of 4 he won’t be getting into 52 games). Steamer also figures his strikeout rate will drop to 25.1%, which would be bad news.

In Thursday night’s open thread, I discussed the weather forecast that was a bit concerning for Saturday. Saturday was important because that was when this year’s edition of Braves Fest was scheduled. Well, the weather forecast for Metro Atlanta hasn’t gotten any better since Thursday and as such, the Braves have officially made the decision to cancel Braves Fest for 2026.

#BravesFest update: pic.twitter.com/ychrurRC4D

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) January 30, 2026

This is definitely a bit of a bummer considering that this’ll now make it two years in a row where the annual winter hype event for the Braves has been cancelled. Last season it was due to stadium upgrades in preparation for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game and now this year it’s due to just plain ol’ bad luck in terms of the weather.

All I know is that 2027 better be an absolute banger to make up for the now-two-year gap that we’ll have without the event. Who knows? Maybe we’ll even get some unseasonably warm weather for the occasion next year. In all seriousness though, all I can do now is advise y’all (who are reading this in the Metro Atlanta area and anywhere else affected by this storm) to stay warm and safe over the weekend. There will be more Braves Fests in the future but for now, the best course of action is to hunker down and make sure you don’t freeze out there — for a second weekend in a row.

One thing Paul Toboni has made clear is that he values every single spot on the 40-man roster. He is happy to use the waiver wire and uses every spot on the 40-man. It is becoming clear that there will be a lot of churn on the backend of the 40-man roster this year.

Yesterday was a good example of this churn. Toboni claimed Richard Lovelady off of waivers. To clear a 40-man spot, he DFA’d Mickey Gasper, who was just claimed nine days ago. It is becoming apparent that we should not get too attached to any of the players on the fringes of the 40-man. They could be gone in an instant.

Nationals have claimed LHP Richard Lovelady off waivers from Mets and DFA’d UTIL Mickey Gasper (who was only recently claimed himself). The 40-man roster merry-go-round continues.

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) January 29, 2026

Richard Lovelady is a good example of what life is like for a fringe 40-man roster player. In the past 12 months, Lovelady has been DFA’d five times. So, I would not get too attached to this player. 

Lovelady has some interesting characteristics. He has great extension down the mound and gets ground balls. At points in his career, he has been a serviceable reliever, which the Nats need. He had a nice 28 outing stint with the Rays in 2024. Lovelady could be a factor in the Nats bullpen as a lefty, but he also could be DFA’d next week if Toboni finds someone on the waiver wire he finds more appealing.

Just churning through these players seems odd and a bit cruel, but there is a method to the madness. If these guys pass through waivers, they remain in the organization and can pitch in the minors. These fringe 40 man players tend to be good in AAA, so they provide valuable organizational depth.

Some of these players are just claimed to be DFA’d again, but others can make a real impact. Mike Rizzo did not use the waiver wire a ton, but he found a couple nice pieces when he did use it. Robert Garcia and Hunter Harvey were both waiver claims who had nice spells in DC.

Paxton Schultz is the claim from this winter I am most excited about. The Nats claimed him off of waivers from the Blue Jays, and I think he is really interesting. He was a serviceable arm in 24.2 MLB innings last year and I think he can be a big league contributor. Schultz has a solid four pitch mix and a fastball that generates whiffs. He can also pitch in a number of different roles.

we've claimed RHP Paxton Schultz off waivers pic.twitter.com/rjLezrDz0s

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) January 9, 2026

Gus Varland is also a pitcher I like, but I am not as confident in him. In 2024, Varland was effective in 26 outings, but had an injury plagued 2025. His fastball sits at 95 and has carry at the top of the zone.

Toboni has also claimed a few position players. Tsung–Che Cheng and Joey Wiemer are both strong defenders who could be bench pieces. Like Gasper, I would not be surprised if either of these players are DFA’d in the coming weeks.

As we enter the season, I think Toboni will continue to be active on waivers. The Nationals have chosen not to be big spenders in recent years, so they have to find creative ways to acquire talent. Toboni has been getting creative this offseason. He has been active on the waiver wire and even made a rare prospect for prospect swap this offseason.

Last offseason, the Nats did not make any waiver claims. Instead, they filled the back of their roster with guys like Lucas Sims and Colin Poche. Those players had guaranteed contracts, so they got more time despite awful results. 

This is a different way of doing things. It is more analytically inclined and forward thinking. Some of this is dumpster diving, but there is not much to lose. If things don’t work out, these players are easy to get rid of and if they hit, you get a cheap asset. As a real baseball sicko, these moves are also fun to follow.

Life after Ranger: Evaluating Painter, Phillies' 2026 rotation originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Starting pitching has been the Phillies’ bread and butter over the past two seasons.

Since the start of 2024, the Phillies own a tied-for-league-best .590 winning percentage, and their starting pitchers have driven much of that success. Over that span, Philadelphia ranks first in the National League in ERA (3.69) and opponents’ OPS (.691) and second in Major League Baseball in strikeouts (1,817).

With pitchers and catchers reporting in just under two weeks, it’s fair to evaluate this staff a bit differently than in years past. Ranger Suárez is now in Boston, leaving the staff with one fewer reliable arm.

The margin between the rotation and the bullpen has narrowed. The relief group appears deeper and more stable, while legitimate questions exist near the back end of the rotation.

Those questions, however, do not begin at the top.

Sánchez enters 2026 as the ace

Cristopher Sánchez is positioned for another dominant season in his first year as the Phillies’ unquestioned ace and projected Opening Day starter.

Sánchez went 13-5 in 2025 with a 2.50 ERA and a league-leading 8.0 bWAR, completing his first 200-inning season — a “personal goal” he had entering the year. His profile remains unique, relying on a three-pitch mix that saw velocity gains across the board last season.

His best weapon continues to be his changeup, particularly against right-handed hitters. Since 2023, opposing batters have hit just .169 against the pitch. Sánchez leaned into it even more last season, increasing its usage by five percent to 37.4 percent.

Given his year-over-year growth and command profile, Sánchez appears poised to pitch himself into another Cy Young-caliber season and remains one of the most effective left-handed starters in baseball.

Luzardo enters a pivotal contract year

Entering his contract year, Jesús Luzardo is positioned to take on added responsibility following Suárez’s departure.

While his first season in Philadelphia featured inconsistency, it also showcased the ceiling that made him a priority acquisition. Over his first 11 starts in 2025, Luzardo posted a 2.15 ERA — sixth-best in the Majors during that stretch. His final 11 starts mirrored that performance, producing a 2.84 ERA and a 2.65 FIP.

Between those two runs, however, came a difficult 10-start stretch in which Luzardo recorded an 8.04 ERA — the worst mark in baseball during that span (Luis Severino ranked second at 6.37).

Despite the turbulence, Luzardo’s NLDS Game 2 start against the Dodgers helped reset the narrative. After entering the postseason with a 7.71 ERA across three career playoff starts, he delivered six innings of two-run ball in a high-leverage environment.

Luzardo led the Phillies in wins (15) and starts (32) last season. With Suárez gone and a contract year looming, Philadelphia will lean heavily on him to provide consistency behind Sánchez.

Wheeler’s health looms large

From there, the rotation becomes less certain.

Zack Wheeler’s outlook remains difficult to project. While the vascular form of surgery used to address thoracic outlet syndrome has produced improved outcomes historically, Wheeler will turn 36 at the end of May and has openly discussed the possibility of retirement when he reaches free agency in 2028.

There has been progress, but no guarantees.

“I don’t know where Wheeler’s going to be at spring training,” manager Rob Thomson said recently. “He’s out to 90 feet right now. He looks good, but there’s no guarantees when he’s going to get up on the mound or when he eventually will.”

If Wheeler is ready for Opening Day, expecting roughly 170 quality innings is reasonable, though expectations must be tempered given the injury. An ERA in the 3.30–3.50 range would represent solid No. 2 starter production, and his postseason track record only increases his value if healthy.

Nola searching for consistency

For Aaron Nola, effectiveness remains the primary concern, even after an injury-riddled 2025.

Before landing on the injured list with a right ankle sprain, Nola made nine starts and posted a 6.16 ERA. A subsequent rib injury delayed his return, and his first four starts back were even rougher, producing an 8.38 ERA.

His final four starts, however, offered some optimism. Over that stretch, Nola posted a 3.91 ERA and a 3.29 FIP, convincing Thomson to hand him the ball in Game 3 of the NLDS. Nola responded with two scoreless innings before giving way to Suárez.

Nola is just one year removed from leading the league with 33 starts and posting a 3.57 ERA. With a full offseason and Spring Training — including participation with Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic — the Phillies would gladly accept production in that range from a projected fourth starter.

Walker vs. Painter at the back end

If Wheeler is available to begin the season, the Phillies’ preference is clear: competition for the fifth rotation spot between Taijuan Walker and Andrew Painter.

That preference may already be leaning one direction, though. “You’ve got Sánchez, Luzardo, Nola, Taijuan and Painter, and I like those guys,” Thomson said. “Wheeler’s not far behind.”

Walker and Painter occupying the back end of the rotation presents different challenges.

Walker, now 33, has posted a 4.88 ERA across three seasons with Philadelphia. His struggles against high-end competition have been particularly pronounced. Since 2023, he owns a 6.67 ERA in 21 starts against playoff teams, with opponents hitting .306.

Walker is in the final year of his four-year, $72 million contract, and Wheeler’s uncertainty complicates any effort to move him via trade.

As a starter, expectations should be modest. Walker did find success in relief last season, posting a 3.15 ERA in 13 bullpen outings while holding opponents to a .647 OPS.

Painter represents the higher-upside option, but questions remain. In his first full season following Tommy John surgery — which cost him two years — command proved to be the biggest obstacle.

At the Major League level last season, none of the 339 pitchers who threw at least 50 innings finished with a first-pitch strike rate below 50 percent.

In the minors, Painter posted a 48.8 percent first-pitch strike rate, allowing hitters to sit in fastball counts. This would have tied the lowest big-league percentage since 2021. That lack of early-count control was a major factor in his 5.40 ERA at Triple-A.

If MLB’s No. 28 prospect can stay ahead in counts, his six-pitch arsenal certainly plays. Spring Training will offer the Phillies a clearer evaluation of whether Painter is ready.

Depth options and outside possibilities

If Walker struggles, Painter isn’t ready, or injuries arise, the Phillies may need to explore alternatives.

Internally, starting options on the 40-man roster are limited but notable. Seth Johnson, converted to relief last season, had a strong 2024 as a starter, posting a 2.73 ERA in 95.2 innings across 25 starts at Double-A and Triple-A. Alan Rangel made 25 Triple-A starts last season and recorded a 4.55 ERA.

Hard-throwing Yoniel Curet, acquired this winter, possesses big-league velocity but profiles more naturally as a bullpen arm due to command concerns. Jean Cabrera and Moisés Chace have also found success at Double-A and could push for consideration with strong springs.

Free agency still offers veteran depth options willing to accept minor-league deals with guaranteed-elevators. Former Phillie Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin and José Urquidy remain available, though a significant signing appears unlikely unless Walker is moved.

The outlook

The Phillies’ rotation should remain a strength.

It’s anchored by an ace, supported by veterans who should be healthier than they were six months ago, includes two pitchers in contract years, and features one of the highest-upside rookie arms in the game.

Spring Training will provide clarity, but with J.T. Realmuto back behind-the-plate, there is ample reason for optimism, even with the questions that remain.