2021 Philadelphia Phillies Instructional League Roster

The obvious star of the Phillies instructional league camp is righthander Mick Abel, who showed massive stuff at Low-A Clearwater in his pro debut, even if the numbers didn't always match the repertoire. His pure stuff looked every bit of a future top-of-the-rotation arm—now it's up to the team's player development group to help him achieve that ceiling. 

Pay attention to righthander Cristian Hernandez as well. His 94 strikeouts were the second most in the system, and scouts who saw him in the Low-A Southeast believed he had a chance to be a back-end starter if he reached his potential. First-rounder Andrew Painter, a righthander with stuff and polish, will also be among the system's highlights. 

On the position player side, Johan Rojas and Yhoswar Garcia are as smooth as they come in the outfield and should help out pitchers plenty on defense as they move up the ladder. Baron Radcliff hits the ball as hard as anyone in the system; now he needs to make enough contact to extract that raw juice.

Phillies' Mick Abel Will Pitch To His Strengths In 2023

The 2020 first-rounder learned a valuable lesson about power versus precision in 2022. It will make him a more effective pitcher in the future.