The Phillies said on Thursday that 15 players who are not on the roster have been invited to spring training.
Mick Abel, Griff McGarry, Jose Ruiz, Ryan Burr, Tyler McKay, Tyler Phillips, and Nick Snyder are the seven pitchers, all of them right-handers.
Aramis Garcia, Cody Roberts, and William Simoneit are the three catchers.
Nick Podkul and Scott Kingery are two infielders.
Cal Stevenson, Matt Kroon, and Carlos De La Cruz are the three outfielders.
All of these players, who are not on the 40-man roster, are under the Phillies’ ownership. To be shielded from the upcoming Rule 5 draft, two of the Phillies’ best pitching prospects, Abel and McGarry, must be added to the 40 following the 2024 season.
2020 saw the Phillies select Abel in the first round, making him the highest-drafted high school arm (15th overall). Baseball America and MLB.com ranked him among the top 50 prospects going into the previous season. He made 23 starts, 22 at Double A and one at Triple A, and he also started for the National League in the Futures Game. In 113â…“ innings, the 22-year-old recorded a 4.13 ERA with 132 strikeouts and 65 walks.
In 2024, the Phillies will like to see Abel take more command of the field. After Andrew Painter, who underwent Tommy John surgery in July and is probably out until 2025, he is their No. 2 prospect. Abel anticipates being at Triple A for a large chunk of 2024.
Similar to Abel, McGarry began spring training as a longshot in the Phillies’ fifth starting competition, which Bailey Falter ultimately won by default following Painter’s elbow injury on March 1st. This spring, unless one of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suarez, or Cristopher Sanchez gets hurt, there won’t be a fifth starter contest.
Due to an oblique injury, McGarry, 24, started the previous season on the injured list (IL). He went on to make 13 starts at Double A, striking out 74 batters in 52.2 innings with a 3.13 ERA despite walking 36.
Early in August, he was promoted to Triple A, where he had dismal outcomes in just 4â…“ innings, allowing 20 earned runs and 14 walks. Later in the month, he was put on the development list.