Three Young Phillies’ Arms to Keep an Eye on for 2023 Season

If the Phillies are going to improve the team and upgrade the roster, they might have to look at a few internal candidates.

"Our minor league system is very underrated. We're a lot better than people give us credit for.  We've got got good young pitchers coming, starters and relievers," Phillies manager Rob Thomson stated.

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Most Phillies fans have heard about their young starting pitchers, Andrew Painter and Mick Abel. However, there are a few bullpen arms you might not be familiar with in the system.

Phillies GM Sam Fuld mentioned three candidates on Wednesday that could be in store for a big league roster spot in 2023.

1. McKinley Moore
2. Andrew Schultz
3. Erik Miller

Moore who came over to the Phillies in a trade with the Chicago White Sox for Adam Haseley, had an erratic season with Double-A Reading. The 6-foot-6 right-hander struckout 71 batters in 49.2 innings pitched. However, his issue has been control.  The 24-year old had a 1.53 WHIP and a 4.35 ERA this season.

"He threw the ball very well, particularly in the second-half," Fuld said.

Schultz is a 25-year old right-hander who spent the 2022 season at both Jersey Shore and Reading, posting a 4.03 ERA, but had a 2.45 ERA at the Double-A level. he registered 14 strikeouts in 14.1 innings at the Double-A level and had 48 in 30 innings at Jersey Shore, which is High-A ball.

"Its nice to see his top-end stuff be healthy," Fuld stated.

Finally there is Miller, a 24-year old left-hander, who reached Triple-A ball and had 62 strikeouts in 48.1 innings pitched this season.

"Miller is another one with high-end stuff, we think he can get big league hitters out.  He's dealt with some injuries this year, as he has for most of his career. But when he is healthy, he's got big league stuff," Fuld added.

Oddly after Fuld mentioned Miller, the team left him unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft, later in the day, which comes as quite a surprise.

Not only was he singled out by the GM, he was a 2019 fourth-round pick in 2019, and performed well at Reading last year.

All three have a shot to be a part of the Phillies bullpen in 2023 according to Fuld.

"Those are three that are probably closest in the conversation," Fuld said. "They are similar, they all have warts, like most minor league pitchers do, but we feel any of those three could potentially help us in a really meaningful way."

The Phillies will need to replace quite a few bullpen arms this offseason, so keep an eye on these three names in Clearwater this March in Grapefruit League play.